Jfc. The premise of that experiment was horrifying.
Apologize for necroing an ancient post but i'm always surprised when i hear this from people, though it is the reaction most seem to have.
Atavistic desires are understood from a young age. As a 13 year old you weren't jerking off to the women who had the most stable income and best temperament were you? You know candy tastes great even though you also know it's unhealthy and makes you feel like shit later, and you flinch when something happens in a movie even though you know it's just a movie.
Or imagine if you were in the hospital with a violent uncomfortable illness. Who would you prefer to have sitting by your side? A middle aged fat muttfaced lardass bitch who had an attitude and was constantly pissed off, BUT she had a ton of certifications, a perfect safety record, and several degrees? Or an angelic looking fit blonde 22 year old with a symmetrical face, and a patient demeanor BUT it was her first day and she scored poorly on her exams?
You might make the logical choice given time to think about it but one is going to make you
feel safer than the other.
Given monkeys have far less logical understanding of the world than we do i felt it makes sense they would go for the thing that their senses tell them is comforting rather than what their pattern recognition tells them.
I remember hearing about this experiment in some really old vsauce video and i didn't find it remotely surprising but all my friends were shocked. Maybe i'm just a sociopath.
Edit: The experiment i heard about involved the monkey's reaction to be startled which might not have been the one you were referring to? Same basic concept though.
