It may take them at least three months to get round to it but, contrary to popular perception, men are the first to say 『I love you』.
However, their motives may not be entirely noble.
A study found men who profess their love early in a relationship are not to be trusted – and that women actually prefer it when males wait to get serious.
When researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the U.S. questioned 45 men and women, most thought women were first to broach the topic.
But quizzing others about current and past relationships revealed the opposite to be true, with the man saying the phrase first 61.5 per cent of the time.
Men began thinking about professing their love 97.3 days into a relationship – six weeks earlier than women, the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology reports.
But not because they are soppy sorts. Instead, they see the declaration as a sign a woman wants to go to bed with them.
Said later on, they may fear commitment and head for the hills.
Women, however, are loath to trust men who bring up the subject too early, perhaps as they have more to lose from pregnancy.
But said after they are in a sexual relationship, it brings with it the promise of commitment and a potential father to any child.
Researchers said: 『When examining what actually happened in their past and current relationships, it was men who were more likely to confess love first.
『This was not simply a function of women waiting for their partners to make the first move – men first considered expressing their feelings six weeks before women did.
『One important reason men may confess love earlier than women do is because men have a stronger desire to motivate early sexual activity in relationships.』
(Read by Lee Hannon. Lee Hannon is a journalist at the China Daily Website.)
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(Agencies)
也許這句話至少要三個月後才能說出口，但男人是先說「我愛你」這三個字的，和人們普遍認為的情況正相反。
不過，他們的動機也許並不都那麼高尚。
一項研究發現，在戀情初期就示愛的男人不可靠，女人其實更喜歡男人在戀情步入正軌後再表白。
來自美國麻省理工學院的研究人員調查了45名男性和女性，大多數人都認為女人是先表白的那一方。
然而，在對其他人現在和過去的戀情做了調查後，發現事實正好相反，61.5%的情況是男性先表白的。
據《個性與社會心理學雜誌》的報導，男性在進入戀愛關係第97.3天時會開始考慮示愛，比女性早了六周。
不過這並不是因為他們情意綿綿。相反地，他們將其視為女人願意和他們上床的一種信號。
如果晚些再表白，他們可能會害怕承諾而逃得遠遠的。
但是女人並不願信任過早示愛的男人，也許是因為她們懷孕了之後失去的更多。
不過，假如男人在他們發生性關係後再表白，這意味著承諾，並可能成為孩子的父親。
研究人員說：「在審視了他們過去和現在戀情中的真實情況之後，我們發現男人更可能先示愛。」
「這一結果並不僅僅是因為女人一直在等待伴侶踏出第一步，男性開始考慮表白的時間本來就比女性早了六周。
「男人比女人先示愛的一個重要原因是男人想藉此早點發生性關係的欲望更強烈。」
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（中國日報網英語點津 陳丹妮 編輯：馮明惠）