7 Ways Women Affect Male Behavior

Women can make a man's exercise routine feel easier, for instance — but they can also cause them to show up late to the bus stop and do more dumb things on skateboards.

1. In the presence of ladies, men find running easier.

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Running feels easier for men when women watch, according to a recent study. Ten men were asked to rate the difficulty of 20-minute runs when a man watched the last half, when a woman watched the last half, and when no one watched. The results: when the runners knew a woman was watching, they ranked perceived effort as lower than when no one was watching; when the runners knew a man was watching, they reported perceived effort has higher than when no one was watching. (The effect of canine observers was not measured.)

2. With women around, men take more risks.

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Multiple studies suggest that men exhibit riskier behavior when women are present. One study at the University of Liverpool showed men arrived to catch a 9:40 a.m. bus later than women, who arrived at the fairly non-risky time of 9:35 a.m. The researchers also found that men were more likely to cross a street when cars were passing while women were present "as if this was their way of showing off for the opposite sex." (Hot!) Similar behavior has been seen in other studies — men skateboarding in front of good-looking researchers took more falls, for instance.

3. Men donate more money in the presence of attractive women.

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The presence of hot men or women does not affect a women's monetary donation habits, but having a hot woman around causes men to donate more, a British Journal of Psychology study found. "Theoretically, this suggests that a good deed is the human equivalent of the peacock's tail. Practically, this research shows how societies can encourage selfless acts," study author Dr Wendy Iredale of Sheffield Hallam University explained. Practically? By hiring only pretty ladies to run charity drives?

4. Men consume more calories when having meals with women.

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"Men, whether unconsciously or consciously, don't want to be seen as light eaters, especially in front of women," ABC reported of the 2011 study on college students' eating habits. While men consume more in front of women, women consume less in front of men and more in front of other women. "The theory is you're more aware of gender when you're with the opposite gender and may want to prove your gender more," a co-author of the study said. So, men shouldn't complain when women encourage them to finish their plates at restaurants, which is merely an unconscious assertion of gender.

5. Men also experience cognitive impairment when they have to interact with women.

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A 2009 study showed that men experience a decline in cognitive performance after interacting with pretty women. A more recent study showed that men experience cognitive decline when just thinking about interacting with ladies, or interacting with ladies on the phone or some other way that they can't see them. The same is not true for women.

6. The number of women around affects the way men manage their finances

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The more women a man thinks are around (like, to date him), the more likely he is to save. If a man perceives fewer women are around, he's more likely to be risky with his spending and take on debt. "A male-biased sex ratio increases the degree to which men must compete for mates, and given the importance for men of advertising financial resources via spending and consumption, we predicted that shifts in sex ratio would be associated with men’s desire for immediate gains," study leader Vladis Griskevicius of the University of Minnesota said.

7. Women can cause their husbands to talk more.

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Studies show men are chattier around their wives. Also, FYI, men are more talkative than women overall.

Overall takeaway?

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Women turn men into blathering, self-harming fools. And all we have to do is exist.