

Uncertainty Can Increase Romantic Attraction - cwan
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21169522

======
NathanKP
I wonder if this can be applied to a startup, not just romance. The first few
things that comes to mind are Apple's "just another day that you will never
forget" and Google's Cr48 pilot program. Both have an element of uncertainty.
In Apple's case it was the nature of the announcement, and in Google's case it
is whether or not you will get one of the pilot laptops.

In both case people's attraction seems to have been peaked more than it
otherwise would have. So uncertainty can be a powerful tool if used properly.

Of course, I'm thinking about applications towards startups because I'm not a
really socially adept person, and am therefore not too sure how one could go
about deliberately creating uncertainty in a social relationship to attract a
female.

~~~
corin_
The Cr48 example is a bad one - would people have been any less excited if
Google had said "we are giving _everyone_ a free laptop"?

~~~
hackinthebochs
Absolutely. I signed up for one and I was excited at _possibly_ getting a free
laptop. I then told my friend about it and in the process of explaining to her
what this laptop was about (why she couldn't install anything on it) I
realized I didn't actually want the thing.

------
natrius
A participant reportedly commented, "I don't know how much he likes me, but I
know exactly where he is." A restraining order was obtained.

------
l0nwlf
Too bad that we need to sign-in to checkout the complete text.

[Edit: I was planning to check the size of sample data i.e. number of women
who participated in the research, but chucked the idea after the bothersome
process.]

------
endlessvoid94
Uncertain things are the most interesting. I think that's another possible
explanation. People are attracted to other people whom they find interesting.

------
cptnred
Wonder if this goes in both directions or just for women.

~~~
orblivion
Yeah I'm pretty sure it happens to me.

------
aneth
I'm glad the government is contributing to pickup artist literature.

Indeed, I think uncertainty is a major part of attraction. It creates
insecurity and a desire to settle the uncertainty in ones own favor which
manifests itself in attraction.

~~~
mikeknoop
Your conclusion may be correct but it is not the one provided by the abstract:

"Uncertain participants reported thinking about the men the most, and this
increased their attraction toward the men."

~~~
aneth
Can you clarify? This seems to be exactly my point.

~~~
ramchip
I'm not sure if that was mikeknoops's point, but the study does not support
that "[uncertainty] creates insecurity and a desire to settle the uncertainty
in ones own favor". They merely say that the participants thought more about
the men, heightening the attraction. This may or may not be explained by your
theory.

------
zackattack
the most attractive thing a woman can say to me is "i find you attractive."
but hey, that's just me. a generic male

~~~
zackattack
kidding aside, this is a waste of time and a grand opportunity to mention the
LUDIC FALLACY

