Men Flowers = Happiness

Want To Get Him To Open Up? Send Flowers.

A recent behavioral study conducted at Rutgers University shows that men who receive flowers demonstrate increased social interaction and happiness. This research expands on previous data collected, which showed that flowers enhance happiness and social connections among women.

Conducted by Rutgers University student researcher Holly Hale and psychology professor Jeannette Haviland-Jones, Ph.D., the study involved two groups of men who varied in age and ethnicity, one group who received a surprise gift of flowers and a control group who did not. The subjects' verbal cues and body language (measures of social interaction) were studied.

The men who received flowers demonstrated increased eye contact in conversation, stood in closer proximity to the researchers, and produced more and truer smiles than those men who did not receive flowers.

While in general, women displayed a greater level of emotion in their study, the effects are equal. "When it comes to receiving flowers, men and women are on the same playing field," said Haviland-Jones. "It seems that we all express extraordinary delight and increase our social behavior."