想求愛成功? 來點兒背景音樂吧!
編者按：
許多男士都將約會地點選在咖啡廳或酒吧中，寄望浪漫優美的環境，再加上動聽情話(romantic words)能夠迅速掠獲佳人芳心。但他們可能忽視了浪漫背景音樂所發揮的作用。目前法國研究人員發現，浪漫音樂或許可以暗中幫助男性贏取佳人芳心。
音樂是打開女性心扉的鑰匙。研究顯示，在浪漫的背景音樂下，男性更容易要到女性的電話號碼。
Music is the key to a woman's heart, after research showed that they are more likely to give men their phone numbers if romantic songs are playing in the background.
在由法國心理學家組織的測試中，一位“相貌普通的男性”接受考驗，儘可能多地去要到單身女士的電話並邀請她們去喝一杯。
In tests by French psychologists, an "average-looking man" was challenged to get as many single women as possible to hand over their numbers and go for a drink.
如果在約會前聽上一段浪漫的歌詞，那麼他的成功機率將會翻倍。
If his potential dates had been listening to romantic lyrics beforehand, his chances of success were doubled.
來自南布列塔尼大學和南巴黎大學的專家們挑選出87位18至20歲女性參加該實驗。
For the tests, experts from the University of southern Brittany and the University of southern Paris selected 87 female volunteers aged 18 to 20.
她們要各自在等候室中呆上5分鐘，背景音樂是精心挑選的兩首歌曲中的一首。有人會聽到由福蘭西斯•加布瑞爾演唱的浪漫民謠《我愛她至死不渝》；有的則聽到的是由文森特•德萊姆帶來的“中性歌曲”《飲茶時間》。
They each spent five minutes in a waiting room while one of two carefully selected tunes played in the background. They heard either a romantic ballad – Je L'aime a Mourir (I Love Her to Death) by Francis Cabrel, or L'heure du The (Time For Tea) by Vincent Delerm which was classed as neutral.
接下來，以爲是在參加顧客調查的這些女士會被帶到不同房間，根據指示她們會同一位20歲的男士討論兩種餅乾的不同之處。
Next, thinking they were taking part in a consumer survey, they were taken to a different room and asked to discuss the difference between two types of biscuit with the 20-year-old man.
在討論結束時，他會以相同的聊天式語氣向各位女士說：“我叫安託萬。我覺得你很好，不知道你可否給我留下你的電話號碼。下週我給你打電話，我們找個地方喝一杯。”
At the end of the discussion, he would use the same chat-up line with each one: "My name is Antoine, as you know. I think you are very nice and I was wondering if you would give me your phone number. I'll phone you later and we can have a drink together somewhere next week."
每次說完這句話後，安託萬要凝視對方並微笑，等待對方回答。
Each time after making his pitch, Antoine was instructed "to gaze and smile at the participant" while she considered her answer.
在收聽“中性歌曲”的女士中，只有27.9%的人欣然接受了安託萬的提議。而那些收聽浪漫情歌的女士更容易接受安託萬的請求——該組中有52.2%的人將個人信息透露給他。
Only 27.9 percent of the women who heard the neutral music agreed to Antoine's proposal. But those who were exposed to the love song were much easier to win over – 52.2 percent of that group offered their details.
該研究似乎可以證實一個理論：男士在求愛時，應謹慎選擇背景音樂。
The research appears to back up theory that any man making romantic overtures should be careful to when choosing music "back at his place."
參與研究的科學家們將實驗結果發表在《音樂心理學》期刊上，他們相信浪漫情歌可以刺激人類的行爲。
The scientists, who published the results in the journal Psychology of Music, believe that romantic lyrics may "prime" people's behaviour.
他們表示：“聽過浪漫音樂的女性與聽中性音樂女性相比更容易接受請求。這種差別十分明顯。如果約會有困難，挑對音樂可以增加成功機會。”
"It was found that women previously exposed to romantic lyrics complied with the request more readily than women exposed to the neutral ones. The difference was significant. If you're having trouble getting a date, picking the right soundtrack could improve the odds," they said.
作爲研究者之一，尼古拉•蓋岡表示：“對研究背景音樂對個體行爲影響的科學家而言，這是個有趣的結論。”
One of the researchers, Nicolas Gueguen, wrote, "The results are interesting for scientists who work on the effect of background music on individuals' behaviour."
其實，在愛情歌曲的魔力面前，不是隻有女性爲之傾倒。該研究小組早前就曾通過實驗發現，在花店中播放浪漫音樂會使男性願意花更多錢買花。
It is not just women who fall under the spell of love songs. Previous work by the same team found that men spent more money in florists when romantic music was being played.
