A study published in 2025 in the Scandinavian Journal of Psychology by Chinese psychologist Heng Li shows that all it takes is romantic cues – words, images, love stories – to change our decisions. Without the participants necessarily being in love, their risk taking increases significantly. And above all, well beyond love life.
Why love clouds judgment: what Heng Li’s study reveals
A fan of romantic stories and professor of cognitive science and psychology at the Sichuan International Studies University, Heng Li asked himself a question at the origin of many novels and personal dilemmas: “PDid we really sacrifice everything for love? Does love make us blind? Is this an ancient myth, or a cultural reflex that modern people have simply inherited, so that when faced with love we remain fearless and ready to give up everything? .
And according to him, these questions remain very current, regardless of age: “My friends may not be willing to sacrifice their lives for love, but they can sometimes display surprising blindness – for example, taking out loans to buy gifts for their partner or quitting a stable job to embark on an affair with their loved one. Even in the age of ubiquitous artificial intelligence, this enduring tendency toward daring in love seems unchanged.”. It is in this context that he carried out a study to find out if love is really an “uncontrollable” force, a force that exceeds us.
This concept suggests that when faced with romantic stimuli, individuals may feel less in control of their actions. Language often reflects this idea through metaphors such as “lovesickness” or “love at first sight.” The research also considers parental investment theory regarding reproductive strategies. This theory proposes that risk-taking can sometimes serve as a strategy to demonstrate value and attract partners.
Less Self-Control, More Risk: How Romantic Cues Work in Secret
In his article Blind Love, Risky RomanceHeng Li conducted four experiments in China.
In the first experiment, 182 students saw either words associated with love such as “marriage”, “romance” or “date”, or neutral words. After the vocabulary task, participants completed a questionnaire aimed at measuring their sense of personal control and another to assess their propensity to engage in risky activities (ethical, financial, recreational, social and health/safety). Results: Those exposed to romantic words said they were more willing to attempt risky behaviors in several areas and reported a lower sense of personal control over what happens to them.
A second experiment, with 151 adults, offered false advertisements (for one group, romantic cards such as couples kissing or red roses and for the other group, advertisements for telephones or video games). At the end of this viewing, the participants completed the same questionnaires. The researcher offered them, as a thank you, the choice between two gift tickets: a garden exhibition or a bungee jump. Finally, 74% of “romantic” participants chose a bungee jumping voucher, compared to around 53% after phone or video game ads.
In a third study, a love story made a “how to become a corrupter” connection more appealing than a simple friendship story.
The last experiment aimed to demonstrate that the mechanism underlying these behaviors was the
self control. The researcher used the two previous stories (love story vs. simple friendship story) but changed the reading locations. When students read a romantic story in a dormitory (a relaxing place associated with social interactions and great freedom), they again preferred bungee jumping, but the effect disappeared in the library (a quiet place, associated with concentration and better self-control). A place associated with discipline thus seemed to restore control and block the influence of romantic cues on the decision.
When no one is looking: protecting yourself from recklessness in love
According to the work of Professor Heng Li, it seems that when we are in love, our brain lets down its guard, not only in the emotional domain. In daily life, this can look like risky financial choices “to please ourselves”, career bets presented as proof of devotion or even ethically borderline decisions, justified as sacrifices for the couple. “In other words, romance is more than a feeling, it can shape our decisions, sometimes pushing us toward risk when we least expect it“, explains Heng Li, quoted by PsyPost.
As with all research, this study has certain limitations. Participants were only Chinese, meaning cultural variations in perceptions of love and romance could influence results in other parts of the world. Additionally, the experiments were based on laboratory tasks and theoretical decisions.
However, these results invite us to take care of the context of our choices; it can be useful to postpone an important decision when we are in the middle of a romantic whirlwind or to rely on places and routines that help us keep a cool head.