Hello vs. Hi, again...

[allen ives]

Last year I upset Homer and Shedman by pointing out the correlation between success on University Challenge and the participants introducing themselves with 'Hello' rather than 'Hi'. This year I have analysed the series. In the early rounds, the ratio of Hi to Hello was high, averaging 6:2 and peaking at 8:0. In the semi-finals and final the ratio was 2:6 peaking at 1:7. I explain this as follows. Mature thinkers who choose their words rather than respond automatically tend to use greetings such as Hello, Good Evening, and so on. Other individuals respond like Pavlov's dogs, without thought. Hence, the former group do better on University Challenge. Alternative explanations?

[artisan]

I reckon you may need to get out more...

[dogfrank]

Following Allen Ives's logic, it's a plausible explanation.

[allen ives]

Thanks Dogfrank, and I really would appreciate alternative explanations. The phenomena were certainly observed, but there might be another answer.