Posted on 07/11/2009 9:10:00 PM PDT by rawhide
A lost wallet which contains a picture of a baby is more likely to be returned to its owner, scientists have discovered.
A total of 240 wallets on the streets of Edinburgh last year to see how many were returned.
Some contained one of four photographs – the baby, a puppy dog, a family and a portrait of an elderly couple.
Other wallets contained a card suggesting the owner had recently made a charity donation, while a control batch contained no additional items.
Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist who supervised the experiment, said 42 per cent of the wallets were posted back in total.
Those containing the picture of the infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those containing pictures of the puppy at 53 per cent.
Of those featuring the family snapshot, 48 per cent were sent to the return address and only 28 per cent of those with the picture of the elderly couple.
Wallets containing the charity cards and the control sample were least likely to be returned, with rates of 20 and 15 per cent respectively.
Prof Wiseman said that the result reflect a compassionate instinct towards vulnerable infants that people have evolved to ensure the survival of future generations.
Prof Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, added: 'The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective.
'We were amazed by the high percentage of wallets that came back.'
(Excerpt) Read more at dailymail.co.uk ...
After a lot of study they found out the least likely wallet to be returned is the one with a lot of cash.
That is one item they did not include within the wallet. This is the last line of the article that was excluded becasue of the excerpt requirment:
The wallets were planted at random about a quarter of a mile apart. Snapshots were inserted into a clear plastic window inside the wallets, none of which contained money.
And you are most likely right. The percentages would have be much lower if money was inside the wallet.
Is that a picture of Winston Churchill?
“Evolutionary perspective.” It’s everywhere.
I would try some other baby. Or at least another photo.
that is cute baby not ugly baby as pic name implies.. haha
Okay - that picture cracked me up!
The baby looks like it’s thinking “You will be assimilated.”
What if someone said... oh, I dunno.... "baby on a camel" how long would it take for you to post a picture that is apropos?
/johnny
or a pic of your (or someone else’s) grandmother with the inscription “please keep your wallet safe, you are my only living grandson..love grandma”
Could be. It could also be Obama's worst nightmare- the official punishment baby. "Hi. I'm the punishment baby and I'm here to straighten you out. Look at me when I'm speaking to you!"
/johnny
waiting...
/johnny
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