KU researchers find dangerous sexism in pickup artist strategies
To some picking up women is like a science, following a formula to score the next hook-up. New research at Kansas University, however, looks closely at pickup artists and the women who fall for their techniques.
“They’re kind of like personal trainers for courtship,” Jeffrey Hall said.
Hall is an assistant professor of communication studies at KU. He and Melanie Canterberry, a doctoral graduate in psychology, recently published a study about pickup artists, or the men who train others to pick up women using certain strategies. The research was motivated by the idea of who uses these techniques and who finds it appealing. Their results show that aggressive strategies work best when a sexist man seeks a sexist woman.
“What you do on that first date or what you do in that first time you meet somebody tells us as researchers but also tells us as people out there in the dating world what a person’s really like,” Hall said. “There’s a lot of revealing information in just that sort of flirting interaction that happens.”
Three pickup strategies touted through various books and television shows, including isolate, compete and tease. Hall says the men who use these techniques to score casual sexual encounters have a low regard for women – not very surprising. They, however, did not expect to find that women who fall for these strategies also have a disregard for their own sex.
“We’re not just describing something that never happens,” Hall said. “We’re describing something that actually is somewhat common out there.”
The survey quizzed two sample groups, including 850 adults nationwide and 363 KU undergraduates. Many described their encounters with pickup artist strategies. Their responses showed how sexist attitudes relate to dangerous consequences, like acceptance of date rape or the belief that sexual coercion is reasonable.
“We realize men using strategies that are appealing to certain women create conditions where sexism is reinforced and potentially negative consequences could happen,” Hall said.
Hall is now working on a book about flirting styles, expounding on a research project he completed in late 2010.