Strutting to impress

I read recently in The Daily Telegraph that men are more likely to carry a suitcase up a flight of stairs for someone else if that other person is an attractive woman.  I can’t tell you how exact this was for one of my experiences.  One might say it's obvious that men do gratuitous things to impress women but I was tickled by the example used as an opening illustration for the report.  I was on the London Underground, ooh, about a decade ago and I saw this stunning lady - flowing light brown hair, lovely legs and curves - about to attempt to hump a huge suitcase up a flight of stairs (no lift was at the station).  Immediately, I offered my assistance, she surrendered the handle and I built up a sweat hauling it to the top because she had certainly been ergonomical in packing it.  I expected no pay-off, after she thanked me, expressed I was glad to be of assistance and strode off, good deed done for the day.

In the slovenly way that all newspapers report science stories, latching on to any press release before the research is peer-reviewed, some social scientists had discovered that (of course in a controlled, artificial environment) men were more likely to give to invest in a group-share scheme if they knew a woman was watching, rather than a man watching or no-one at all, whereas women were unaffected in each case.  Hence, a ‘peacock’ factor was evident (or so they claim).  I can’t say I would have not have helped out someone else in the same situation if they were not struggling (or looked like they might encounter difficulties), but I do remember, vividly, the unexpected surge of motivation to help out a damsel in potential distress.