A new study finds that chick flicks can be man magnets if they follow a few simple storytelling rules.

Jennifer Argo, an associate professor at the School of Business at the University of Alberta and one of the authors of the study, said she found that men are much more likely to enjoy 'chick flicks,' if they know they're watching a fictional story.

Women, on the other hand, generally have a higher level of empathy than men and tend to enjoy a story more when they know it is based on fact.

Fact or Fiction: An Investigation of Empathy Differences in Response to Emotional Melodramatic Entertainment, will be published in 2008, but the results have just been released.

Researchers asked undergraduates to read several stories and fill out a survey on how they felt about the material.

The researchers were attempting to determine the factors under which a male was most likely to enjoy a melodramatic story -- typically a sad tale where a protagonist or a main character tries to overcome a major obstacle, resulting in a struggle and sad emotions.

"We were interested in, well, is there ever a time when guys might actually enjoy this," Argo said. While many men would respond with a resounding "no," that may not necessarily be the case.

The research found that men who were told in advance that they were about to read a make-believe story, had a much higher chance of enjoying it than those who thought it was based on reality.

That may be because men are conditioned to dislike 'mushy' tear-jerkers or sad stories. When a story is make-believe, however, men can escape reality, detach themselves from cultural gender-role expectations, and simply enjoy the show.

Women who manage to convince their husbands, boyfriends or male friends to go to a chick flick with them, should try to convince them the story is fictional, if they want them to enjoy it, Argo said.

"We wouldn't say that the men are going to go out and, you know, start picking all the emotional movies all of a sudden, just because they're told it's fiction," Argo said.

But if they're told in advance that they show they are about to watch is fiction, their chances of enjoying it will increase dramatically, she said.

Unfortunately for men, Argo said, her research has not yet determined how men can turn the tables, and convince women that the next Jean Claude Van Damme action flick is worth their time and effort.

"We haven't found the answer yet," she said. "I think it would take quite a bit more research."