3rd September 2014 | by MFC Team
The sound of a clock may increase a woman’s desire to have children!
A new study published in the journal Human Nature suggests that the sound of a ticking clock can actually increase a woman’s desire to have children – if she comes from a background where having children is important.
The two stage study was conducted at Florida State University, with men and women between the ages of 18 and 22. In the first stage, 18 men and 41 women were asked what age they intended to have children and what socio-economic factors influenced their decisions. In the second stage, they asked 51 women and 23 men whether the idea of having a family sooner could cause them to reduce their standards when selecting potential partners. During each of these stages, the participants were either in the presence of a ticking clock, a silent clock, or no clock at all.
The researchers found that the ticking clock made no difference in men’s responses about the timing of having children. However, for women who came from backgrounds where having children was important, the sound of the ticking clock increased their urgency to have children, and altered the traits they were looking for in partners.
Given that this study was small, more research is needed to continue to understand the relationship between environmental stimuli such as a ticking clock, on women’s childbearing intentions, timing, and choice of partner.
Read more about the study here.
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