Falling in love has been linked to a tendency to take risks and commit immoral acts

Falling in love can actually push a person to take a decisive step, as new romances can make people more prone to taking risks and committing immoral acts.

Falling in love has always been something of a leap of faith, but perhaps more so than anyone realised, writes the Daily Mail. New research suggests that people in the throes of a new romance are more likely to engage in risky behaviour, such as bungee jumping. Newly in love people are also more likely to commit immoral or fraudulent acts, including bribing strangers for financial gain.

A series of studies conducted in China demonstrate how falling in love can weaken our ability to control ourselves and increase our desire for danger. Researchers from Sichuan International Studies University in Chongqing tested how exposure to images of love and romance affected volunteers’ judgments.

In one experiment, researchers recruited 150 men and women who were told they were there to evaluate the quality of a new television advertisement.

Half of the test participants watched ads filled with romantic imagery—for example, a man kissing a woman on the shoulder, a dozen red roses on the floor, and a pink heart-shaped Valentine's Day cake on the table. The other participants watched ads for cell phones and video games that did not contain romantic images.

As a reward for participating, participants were offered free tickets to a new gardening exhibition or to bungee jumping, where they had to "jump headfirst from a great height using a thick rubber cord tied to their feet."

The results of the study, published in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology, showed that 53% of those who watched TV ads for phones and computer games chose bungee jumping. But among those who saw romantic images, almost 75% did.

In a second experiment, another group of volunteers were shown the same romantic or non-romantic images and then asked to rate the design of a new website in terms of its consumer appeal. The website featured two fictitious adverts: one about finding the best video games to play, and one promoting a course on bribery and how to do it. Those who watched the romance-themed TV ads were more likely to click on the bribery advert for more information, the Daily Mail reports.

The researchers said previous research had shown that risky behaviour may reflect a desire to demonstrate health and vitality to a potential partner.

The report on the study's findings states: "Romantic relationships may cause people to focus more on short-term mating strategies, which may lead to increased risk-taking. This behavior may be aimed at increasing attractiveness. There also appears to be a strong link between romantic relationships and a lack of personal control."