The Psychology of Money
Money and sex are more closely tied than you may have first suspected – and there’s scientific research to back that up. A new brain-scan study showed that when young men were shown erotic pictures, they were more likely to take a bigger financial gamble than if they were shown a picture of something scary.
Perhaps not-so-surprisingly, the arousing pictures lit up the same part of the brain that also lit up when financial risks are taken.
The study involved 15 heterosexual young men at Stanford University and focused on the sex and money “hub” of the brain, which is near the base of the brain and plays a central role in what you consider to be pleasurable.
When the erotic images activated that hub, the men were far more likely to bet high on a random chance game that would earn them either a dollar or a dime.
Stanford psychologist Brian Knutson, a lead author of the study, says the trigger doesn’t HAVE to be sex – it could just as easily be something like a winning lotto ticket, good food or delicious dessert. Basically, he says, it’s all about the power of emotion and arousal and our financial decisions.
“It didn’t matter if the sexy woman didn’t tell you anything about the odds of winning a roulette game,” he explained. “What really matters is that the sexy woman is having an emotional impact. That bleeds over into your financial decisions.”
Part of a fulfilled life and relationship is keeping these emotional triggers – whatever they may be – from spilling over into your financial decisions too much. Letting sex – or food – affect your financial relationship can have a severe impact on your emotional relationship. For more behind this connection, check out my book, “Financial Infidelity.”