Magnets Influence Attraction, Says Study
Trending News: Magnetic Attraction Isn't Just An Expression - It's Real
Why Is This Important?
Because love really is magnetic.
Long Story Short
The phrase "attraction is magnetic" isn't just an expression, it causes us to feel more attracted when we play with actual magnets, according to a study into how words influence us.
When you think of attraction, you probably think of that crush or person you love, probably not literal magnets with their positive and negative charges, unless you're really into science or electricity or something. But it turns out that since we use the same word "attraction" in reference to both love and for magnets, when we see actual magnets it influences us to think about love.
The study published in PLOS ONE is an experiment in priming, which is the study of how expressions, phrases or stereotypes — thoughts associated with words in general — can influence us. Similar studies have found that water and candy taste sweeter after people talk about love and people forced to think about loneliness generally find the room colder.
What the researchers did for the magnet study was ask 120 18-22-year-old lovebird college students to fill out questionnaires about their connection with their partners. But before answering the questions, some of the students were asked to play with magnets beforehand. Those who played with positively charged magnets before were more likely to report being more attracted and committed to their partner as well as being generally satisfied with their relationship.
Since these types of primer studies have come under heavy criticism over recent years because they don't always work when replicated, the researchers asked 150 more students, and found more or less the same results, although satisfaction and commitment were down. The researchers attribute the dip to it being later in the semester and thus the students had probably gone through breakups and had negative associations with commitment.
Still, the fact that the same researchers replicated the study themselves is problematic.
"These studies reiterate the basic point of conceptual metaphor theory, that these metaphors that we use in language aren't just figures of speech or ways of talking about things," said study co-author Andrew Christy to Live Science. "They actually are reflective of how we think about things, too."
Own The Conversation
Ask The Big Question
Can you fiddle with magnets before going out to the club and turn into a chick magnet?
Disrupt Your Feed
Going to keep a magnet in my pocket from now on.
Drop This Fact
The same affect didn't happen when the participants played with negatively charged magnets.