Normally, human beings misinterpret the sexual signals or "cues" that the opposite sex sends us. At least that is what emerges from a new American investigation. "There are many studies that show that men usually think that women are interested in them when they really are not," explains Carin Perilloux, from Wiliams College in Massachusetts (USA), co-author of the study. "Ours is the first to systematically examine individual differences," he adds.
In a speed dating experiment, researchers found that men tend to overestimate the positive effect they have on women , and often think that women are attracted to them even though it is not true. Interestingly, the more attractive a woman is, the more men overestimate her sexual interest in them. Women, on the other hand, tend to underestimate the attraction they cause to the opposite sex.
From an evolutionary point of view, the authors explain in an article published in the journal Psychological Science , these so-called "mistakes" improve reproductive success in men . In other words, men who "go for it", even at the risk of being rejected, are more likely to "get the girl," they conclude.
