Tuesday, November 27, 2007

It's not the blondes who are dumb . . .


This just in--well, as of Nov. 18th. 

"Men's mental performance drops in the presence of blonde women, apparently because of the perceived link of dumbness with blondness, Britain's Sunday Times newspaper reports.  A study published in the Journal of Experimental Psychology found that men's scores fell in tests after they had been shown a picture of a fair-headed woman. Further analysis ruled out that the poor performance came down to any distraction the image might have caused.  Instead, the subjects "mimic the unconscious stereotype of the dumb blonde," said Thierry Meyer, a joint author of the study and a professor of social psychology at the University of Paris X-Nanterre."  

Poppycock, I say.  Notice that the "going dumb" is the result, and the cause is an assumption. And I have no proof, but I'll bet those photos were of attractive blonde women. Marilyn Monroe, anyone? 

I hereby hypothesize that the "going dumb" has nothing to do with presumed lack of intelligence in the blonde, but rather the fact that the blood has left the man's brain.  Maybe it's primeval, like moths to a flame . . . 

I spent most of my younger life as a natural blonde, then decided to join the league of my red-haired cousins.  My IQ didn't change, but men suddenly seemed a whole lot smarter. 

Just kidding.  ;-) 

~~Angie 

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

I agree, Angie. That's ridiculous. I wonder if they tried showing them an attractive brunette as well. I'm sure they went "dumb" after that, too!