If you want to increase the chances recovering a lost wallet, be sure to include baby photos.
Researchers set up an experiment in which 240 wallets were left on the streets of Edinburgh. Some of the wallets had photos, either a baby, a cute puppy, a family snapshot, or an elderly couple. One group of wallets contained a card indicating a recent charity donation. The last group was a control: No photos, no cards. None of the wallets contained money. All of the wallets contained a return address.
42% of the wallets were returned. Did the photos make a difference? Here are the results for the returned wallets:
- Photo of infant – 88% return rate
- Photo of puppy – 53% returned
- Family snapshot – 48%
- Elderly couple – 28%
- Charity card – 20%
- Control group – 15%
The psychologist who supervised the study, Professor Richard Wiseman, commented that he was amazed by the high percentage of returned wallets, but not surprised that the baby photos were the winner: “The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary perspective.”
In tomorrow’s post I’ll talk about why we respond so strongly to babies and puppies.
Sources:
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David Barrett, How to ensure lost wallets are returned, Telegraph, July 11, 2009
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