A closer look
Humans are remarkably stupid when it comes to figuring out why their own hearts are beating faster, often confusing the adrenaline of mortal terror with being horny. In a classic 1974 psychology study, researchers had an attractive female interviewer approach men on a terrifying, wobbly suspension bridge and a safe, boring bridge. The men on the death-trap bridge were significantly more likely to call her later and ask her out. Their brains felt the elevated heart rate and sweaty palms from almost falling to their doom and completely misattributed it to intense sexual attraction. This phenomenon, called the misattribution of arousal, basically means you can trick someone into falling in love with you just by taking them on a terrifying roller coaster or forcing them into a high-stakes bank robbery on the first date, saving you the trouble of actually developing a likable personality!
