Analysis Of The Cognitive Psychology Of Pick-Up Lines By Scott Barry Kaufman

In the article, “The Cognitive Psychology of Pick-up Lines” by Scott Barry Kaufman written in 2012, Kaufman explores the behavioral impacts of first impressions through the use of pick-up lines by analyzing the results of multiple studies. The first research analyzed was conducted by using three different types of pick-up lines (direct, innocuous, or cute/flippant gambits) in a variety of settings. The researcher reported that cute/flippant gambits were rated as the least attractive among women and men. Also, women prefered innocuous pick-up lines and men prefered direct gambits. The researcher attributed these preferences to trait perception, which is the inference of underlying traits from behaviors. Another study found that innocuous lines were perceived to be smarter and sexier than
Kaufman explained that data reported from other studies said that cute/flippant pick-up lines were correlated with short term relationships because of the traits that people perceive from them such as being untrustworthy and less intelligent. Later in the article, Kaufman explored why mental state and cognitive fatigue influences people’s receptivity to certain types of pick-up lines. Cognitively taxed individuals were less tolerant of cute/flippant pick-up lines because less mental energy was required to figure out a person’s true intentions due to these types of lines being obviously suggestive. In short, cognitively depleted people had less tolerance for obvious pick-up line attempts. Likewise, innocuous gambits were the most well received to cognitively depleted individuals because intention was less clear from the beginning and natural curiosity caused individuals to tend to stay in the conversation longer. The impact of direct gambits were unchanged while individuals were mentally taxed. Gender preference of pick-up line type was consistent even while cognitively depleted (Kaufman