TruTV Counts Down “10 Dumb Sex & Relationship Studies” (Part II)

What do romantic comedies, Sudoku puzzles, and Twitter have in common?

They were all tools used in experiments in TruTv's countdown of "10 Dumb Sex & Relationship Studies." We've already covered some of the most ridiculous research collected by Nick Nadel in Part I, so let's jump straight into more highlights from the list:

Dubious Study #4: Researchers at the University of Valencia in Spain studied 84 male students, who were asked to solve a Sudoku puzzle while an attractive woman was in the room. They found that the cortisol levels of some men were so high they had reached the level of a person jumping out of a plane. Contact with an attractive woman, the researchers then reasoned, can cause stress hormones to reach dangerously high levels.

Nadel's Take: This study is just plain ridiculous. "Who did the researchers bring in for this study," he wonders, "Sofia Vergara? Just how hard up are these guys that they can't solve a simple Sudoku while in the presence of a pretty face?"

My Thoughts: Maybe it was a really hard Sudoku puzzle?

Dubious Study #5: Women love men with mystery, according to a team from Virginity University and Harvard, who found that women were more drawn to the Facebook profiles of men who showed little interest in them.

Nadel's Take: Isn't this basic dating wisdom that everyone learns in elementary school? Was a scientific study really required?

My Thoughts: Once again, I find myself taking Nadel's side, with one important addition - yes, it's a well-known fact that women are drawn to men they think are unattainable, but men are also consistently drawn to women they think they can't have. Playing hard to get works both ways.

Dubious Study #6: "Children of divorce tend to lag behind in math test scores and interpersonal skills," says a doctoral candidate at the University of Wisconsin.

Nadel's Take: Divorce isn't easy on anyone, but does it deserve to be blamed for everything?

My Thoughts: Divorce is rough on all involved, there's no doubt about it. It should come as no surprise that the end of a marriage - or any other traumatic experience - may have negative effects on other areas of a person's - child or not - life.

Dubious Study #7: Women who marry men who are less attractive than they are have happier marriages, according to a study published in the Journal of Family Psychology.

Nadel's Take: These findings represent nothing more than the stereotype that men place more value on physical appearance than women, while women seek out support and stability.

My Thoughts: There is also plenty of research, as Nadel points out, that suggests that people seek out partners with matching levels of attractiveness. So perhaps what all these studies are really telling us is that love and attraction cannot be quantified and explained - merely enjoyed.

Read the original post here.