Sexy catalogue images make men shop instantly

The study found that 'sexually charged' catalogues can actually 'warp time' as men who look at catalogues don't just want to buy the products, they want to buy them immediately.

A review of studies in America found that men exposed to 'sexy' images were more impatient, and wanted rewards immediately.

Men who had seen sexy images, as opposed to 'control' images of animals, were prepared to lose money to enjoy an offer right away, the 'Daily Mail' reported.

They were also inclined to rate three months as being a 'very long' time to wait for a voucher from the catalogue.

"Sexual cues influence decisions not only about sex, but also about unrelated outcomes such as money," said Gal Zauberman of the University of Southern California.

"That is, sexual cues induce impatience not only by changing the perceived value of immediate rewards, but also by influencing the perceived distance to delayed rewards," Zauberman said.

The researchers presented 116 males with images from an on-line Victoria's Secret catalogue and gauged their response to receiving one of two fictitious Amazon.Com promotions: a gift certificate available that day or one available three months from now.

They asked the subjects the dollar value that would compensate for having to wait.

Those exposed to sexually charged imagery were found to be more impatient and expressed that future discounts would have to be steeper to compensate for the time delay.

In one of five studies conducted, male subjects were presented with sexually charged imagery.

The subjects were then asked to judge whether three and six-month time frames were 'very short' or 'very long' distances away from the present time.

Those who had been exposed to individuals to whom they were attracted, reported the three and six-month time frames to be further into the future.