George Clooney and Brad Pitt in “Ocean’s Thirteen.” Do not make any financial decisions while looking at this photo. (Warner Bros.)
If you want a man to take bigger risks with his money, bring along a male model.
According to a new study from the University of Technology, Sydney in Australia, when a heterosexual man sees another man who they believe to be more attractive than themselves, they are more inclined to try to increase their own wealth.
In one experiment, a group of men were shown male models from Abercrombie & Fitch advertisements, another group was shown images of female Victoria’s Secret models, and a third group was shown photos of “average” looking people. The participants were then offered the choice of getting $100, or taking a bet where they only had a 10% chance of getting $1,000, but a 90% chance of getting nothing.
The study’s author found that the men who saw male models were more likely to choose the risky bet compared to the men who were shown images of female models and average individuals. When participants rated the models as “more attractive” than themselves, the study’s author found that the effect was even greater. However, the researcher found that there was no difference in the behaviour of women.
According to the study, the risk-taking behaviour exhibited by men could be a way for participants to compensate for their perceived inferiority and lack of good looks.
So maybe Danny Ocean was onto something when he recruited 10 other men to his team in Ocean’s 11—when the stakes are high, remember to surround yourself with good-looking men. It’ll help to take the house down.
MORE ABOUT GAMBLING AND WORKPLACE CULTURE:
- Bank employees are slightly less honest than the rest of us
- Greed isn’t as powerful a motivator as everyone thinks
- How the Canadian who founded the world’s largest poker site almost lost it all
- Should we really be turning investing into a video game?
