Neorology and attraction

[jargon]

Hoping this i an alright place to post this, wasn't sure where else fit.

So I'm in a psychobiology course at my college right now. Recently we've been talking about theories on the relation between emotions and the physiological responses that go with them. One study that caught my attention went like this:

Two groups of men are taken on a hiking trip through the mountains. The trails they use are the same, except that one ends at a small, sturdy bridge not to high up from the water, and the other takes the second group over a rickety, terror-inducing rope bridge across a ravine where you could easily fall to your death. At the end of the bridge an attractive woman hands out surveys and - very generously - offers each participant her phone number "in case they have any questions." A few weeks later, the researchers tally up how many men in each group eventually called the woman up and asker her on a date.

The point of this is: we often misinterpret physiological arousal! The way our body reacts to sheer terror has a lot in common with the way it reacts to attraction (increased heart rate, for one example... there are plenty of exceptions too, of course ).

So how is this relevent here? My thought was, maybe this is (part of) why its so hard for so many people to figure out their orientations. The fear and stress that often accompanies homosexuality in this culture might have weird effects on our ability to distinguish attraction to one gender versus another. Of course, the more well known flip side is that nerves can prevent us from feeling arousal (not that I would ever have experienced that sort of thing...) Why it would increase attraction in one case and inhibit it in another, I have no idea. I'm not an expert, and hell, I don't know if there is any good research out there that does have an answer.

I wonder if anyone has any experience that they could make an argument for or against this with? Or can relate in some way? I'm definitely wondering now whether this has come into play at any point in my life. Maybe someone out there actually knows something about the science behind this? Anyways, I just thought it was an interesting idea, and I'd love to hear what the rest of you thought.

[Rooni321]

Oh my gosh. Psychology is the biggest brain workout ever.
And I LOVE IT. When it comes to psychology, thinking is my favorite thing like ever!
Other subject can gtfo. haha