One in five men has claimed to have fallen in love at first sight, with more than half of them saying they are smitten with a partner after only one meeting, according to a new survey.
Nearly three-quarters of men had lost their hearts within three dates.
In contrast, only one in 10 women said they had experienced love at first sight. Most waited until at least the sixth date before deciding whether or not they had found the 'real thing'.
Professor Alexander Gordon, a chartered psychologist and member of the British Psychological Society, was intrigued by the findings and agreed that the gender difference was stark.
He said men tended to tick more superficial boxes, such as looks, to help them decide whether they were 'in love' while women were a little more complicated and likely to weigh up the pros and cons before settling on their choice.
"Women are better at reading social situations and are more likely to ask more questions of themselves after meeting someone, like is he going to make me feel secure and will he be a good father to my children," the Daily Mail quoted Gordon as saying.
"They are cannier than men at making a lifetime choice," he stated.
The survey, of 1,500 men and 1,500 women aged 16 to 86, was commissioned for the launch of Elizabeth Noble's novel, The Way We Were, the story of childhood sweethearts who reappear in each other's lives years later.
According to the findings, the average British man falls in love just over three times in his life while the average woman falls in love only once.
And more men than women claimed to have loved someone who did not love them back.
Men were also more likely to say 'I love you' first and to pine after their first love.
However, both sexes did agree on one thing though. They declared their first love was the one that took the longest to get over.
One in four said they felt they would never fully recover from the heartbreak.
