Wallets containing the picture of an infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder.

Lost wallets which contain a snapshot of a baby are more likely to be returned to their owners, scientists have discovered.

Researchers left 240 wallets on the streets of Edinburgh last year to see how many were returned to their owners. Some of the wallets contained one of four photographs – the baby, a cute puppy, a family and a portrait of an elderly couple.

Other wallets contained a card suggesting the owner had recently made a charity donation, while a control batch¹ contained no additional items.

Professor Richard Wiseman, a psychologist who supervised the experiment, said 42 per cent of the wallets were posted back in total.

Those containing the picture of the infant were most likely to trigger an honest reaction from the finder, with 88 per cent being returned, followed by those containing pictures of the puppy at 53 per cent.

Of those featuring the family snapshot, 48 per cent were sent to the return address and only 28 per cent of those with the picture of the elderly couple.

Wallets containing the charity cards and the control sample were least likely to be returned, with rates of 20 and 15 per cent respectively.

Prof Wiseman, of the University of Hertfordshire, said: "The baby kicked off a caring feeling in people, which is not surprising from an evolutionary² perspective.

"We were amazed by the high percentage of wallets that came back."

The wallets were planted at random³ about a quarter of a mile apart. Snapshots were inserted into a clear plastic window inside the wallets, none of which contained money.

最新研究发现，放有宝宝照片的遗失钱包最有可能失而复得。

研究人员在去年将240个钱包丢在了爱丁堡的大街上，来验证有多少可以物归原主。其中一些钱包内分别放有宝宝、宠物狗、全家福或者老夫妇的照片。

还有一些钱包里放了失主近期慈善捐献的认证卡，而对照实验组的钱包里则没有放任何附加物。

研究负责人、心理学家理查德•怀斯曼教授称，有42%的钱包被送回。

有宝宝照片的钱包最容易使失物获得者做出诚实的反应，归还率为88%，有宠物狗照片的钱包归还率紧随其后，为53%。

有全家福照片的钱包按地址寄回的比例为48%，而有老夫妇照片的钱包归还率仅为28%。

放有慈善卡的钱包以及对比组的钱包归还率最低，分别为20%和15%。

赫特福德大学的怀特曼教授说：“宝宝能让人产生关爱的感情，从进化角度来看，这一点儿也不奇怪。”

“我们很惊讶钱包归还率能有这么高。”

这些钱包以大约0.25英里的间隔随意丢放。照片放在钱包透明的塑料格里，所有钱包内均未存放现金。

Vocabulary:

control sample: 对照试样，取样