Washington: A new study has found that men are more helpful towards women in high heels than those wearing flats.
Nicolas Gueguen of the Universite de Bretagne-Sud in France observed for the first time ever how the height of a woman's shoe heel influences how men behave towards her.
Research across various cultures has shown at length how important physical features, such as body size and the style and colors of a woman's clothing, influence a man's behavior towards and judgment of a woman.
Even though the models wearing such shoes in magazines and adult films implied a link between high-heeled shoes and sexiness, only one previous study has tested the effect of women's shoe heels on men's judgment.
The findings suggested that men's helpfulness increased along with the height of the heels a woman was wearing. However, heel height had no influence on other women's willingness to help.
Researcher also found that men in a bar were quicker to start chatting with a woman wearing heels than when she was wearing flat shoes.
The researcher speculated that, because sexy female models often wear such shoes in the media, men have started to associate the wearers of high-heeled shoes with those having sexual intent.
The study, published in Springer's journal Archives of Sexual Behavior.
