

STOP THE PRESSES: Men Buy Porsches to Bed Women

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In 1979, psychologists Daniel Kahneman and Amos Tversky developed an alternative model to expected utility theory called "prospect theory," which "found empirically that people underweight outcomes that are merely probable in comparison with outcomes that are obtained with certainty" and that "people generally discard components that are shared by all prospects under consideration."

Stanley Milgram's groundbreaking experiments, the results of which were first published in 1963, measured peoples' willingness to obey instructions from authority figures, even when their actions would result in injury to another human being.

His findings? Regular people are capable of evil.


New research by faculty at Rice University, the University of Texas-San Antonio and the University of Minnesota has published a study that promises to upend one of the very truths we hold dear as Americans:

Men do not buy expensive sports cars for the 0-60 performance. They buy them, in fact, to get laid.

A series titled "Peacocks, Porsches and Thorstein Veblen: Conspicuous Consumption as a Sexual Signaling System," published recently in the , finds that "men's conspicuous spending is driven by the desire to have uncommitted romantic flings."

"This research suggests that conspicuous products, such as Porsches, can serve the same function for some men that large and brilliant feathers serve for peacocks," Jill Sundie, assistant professor of marketing at UT-San Antonio -- and lead author of the paper -- tells

Writes PhysOrg:

"According to the researchers, women found a man who chose to purchase a flashy luxury product (such as a Porsche) more desirable than the same man who purchased a non-luxury item (such as a Honda Civic).

"However, there was a catch: Although women found the flashy guys more desirable for a date, the man with the Porsche was not preferred as a marriage partner. Women inferred from a man's flashy spending that he was interested in uncommitted sex."

Co-author Daniel Beal, assistant professor of psychology at Rice, explains:

"When women considered him for a long-term relationship, owning the sports car held no advantage relative to owning an economy car. People may feel that owning flashy things makes them more attractive as a relationship partner, but in truth, many men might be sending women the wrong message."

However, do men truly mean to send "the wrong message" or could it be a physical process taking place when said male starts the engine of a six-figure automobile?

In 2009, researchers at Montreal's Concordia University recruited 39 men to take part in a study that tested their testosterone levels after an hour behind the wheel of a 16 year-old Toyota Camry versus an hour of riding through the city in a brand-new Porsche 911 Carrera.

Guess what?

Reported The Telegraph:

"Tests on saliva samples showed a significant increase in testosterone while drivers were cruising around in the Porsche."

But? There's always a "but"...

"...there was either no effect, or even a slight decline, when they got behind the wheel of the battered old Toyota."

The study, which was published in the journal Organisational Behaviour and Human Decision Processes, found that testosterone levels were highest "when there were plenty of potential female admirers."

Thanks to Sundie, Beal, et al, those "potential female admirers" now know the Porsche drivers are less likely to ever call them back.

Looking for a husband? Start hanging around GM dealerships. Everyone else? Chalk up a win for the common man.
POSITION:  No positions in stocks mentioned.