Do-gooders or mere peacocks?
The results of a new study by the British Journal of Psychology are not entirely surprising. The key observation was that men volunteered more time to charitable acts when they knew that they were watched by a female audience. In addition, it also affirmed that the size of the good deed correlated to how attractive they rated the female observer to be. The researchers dub this phenomenon peacocking, drawing parallels between the good deeds that a man performs to impress women and the ostentatious unfolding of tail feathers with which the peacock tries to impress a mate.
It turns out then that a man doesn’t need to have a BMW or an iPhone 5 to knock out women. All he needs to do is to exhibit that he’s a good man capable of helping people. So girls, next time you see a man going all goodie-goodie helping a woman get her suitcase off a luggage rack, or helping an elderly person cross the road, don’t look at the suitcase or the elderly, look at the woman or the women around for whom this little act of chivalry is being performed.
Kaamini Khanna, anchor, author, RJ and founder of a website called Beauty With Astrology, couldn’t agree more, “I certainly feel that most men fake being tender-hearted to impress women and they will go to any extent. But in the case of a woman, she is inherently born with a selfless attitude. Having said that, don’t mean to generalise that all men are the same. And I’m sure that girls definitely find guys who are selfless in public very cute and any girl would want a man who seems to be benevolent.”
Actor Arjan Bajwa, however, disagrees, “I don’t think it’s something you find more often today. Guys have come a long way and they’re more socially conscious and help people with deeply felt compassion. Though a few of today’s youngsters fake it, the larger part is genuinely humanitarian. And when a guy helps a woman or someone elderly to cross a road or anything of the sort, he does it because he’s a gentleman and not for brownie points.”
The same study also clarified that women are not guilty of peacocking and those who perform such deeds do so regardless of whether they are being watched. Apparently, while women’s altruistic deeds are confined to their social network that involves helping friends and family, men’s good deeds tend to be more of a public show and very conspicuous, often directed towards strangers and actually expecting a desirable repercussion.
It is a fact that even a pea-brained gawky teenager can gain brownie points by just being a good Samaritan and trump those who stand in front of the mirror for hours. But there certainly have to be also men out there who are instinctively do-gooders. Actress Shamita Shetty says in unison, “I certainly feel it’s not right to say that only guys fake it. I’m sure both men and women do it. A woman can do it to impress a man as well. It all goes down how to you’re brought up. So, if you have compassion inherently you go ahead and do it.” She goes on to sum up, “But yes girls do fall for it and I’m sure the vice versa happens as well.”
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