PUA, short for Pickup Artists, sets out to seduce women and develop sexual relationships with them. Whether overseas or in mainland China, PUA has stirred up its share of fervour, and in recent years mainland China in particular has seen a steady stream of negative news stories about it. Writing as an academically minded psychology layperson, what I want to share with you today is not how to become a seduction expert, but rather how to use PUA as an example to explain two principles that matter in psychology.
What is PUA?
PUA courses fly the banner of "the science of dating," teaching men various techniques to attract the opposite sex through their image, their language and so on. Thanks to the marketing and the success packaged into the brand, PUA courses have drawn plenty of male sign-ups everywhere they go. Yet I would argue that PUA's theory violates two principles of psychology, and therefore lacks any scientific or ethical foundation.
Psychology Principle One: Scientific Evidence
Anyone familiar with psychology knows that psychology is "the scientific study of the mind and behaviour." Beyond mind and behaviour, the other key word here is scientific. When we carry out scientific research, the usual steps are: observe, pose a question, form a hypothesis, and verify. The scientific spirit insists on empirical evidence and rigorous reasoning, rather than loose speculation drawn from nothing more than observation or guesswork. For a technique or training programme to be backed by science, experts first draw on existing theories or models, then distil from those theories the elements that can be turned into practical techniques; once the technique or training has gradually matured, experts gather data and use statistics to analyse whether the training genuinely makes a measurable difference, or whether the technique really works in practice, continually testing the details to refine it further. From this we can see that genuine psychological training or techniques pass through two rounds of rigorous scientific reasoning, at both the "design" and "verification" stages. PUA's theory, by contrast, is not rooted in scientific research supported by evidence, and for now there is not much research verifying how effective PUA techniques are. Science is, after all, a discipline full of criticism and doubt. Although there has been linguistic research (Hambling-Jones & Merrison, 2012) and a psychology doctorate (Nicholson, 2013) comparing the similarities between PUA and psychological theory, I still believe that when we look at PUA or other kinds of courses, we should adopt the stance of a scientist and hold on to a sceptical attitude until the evidence is in.
Psychology Principle Two: Ethics and Morality
Let us take a giant step back: even if PUA really did meet scientific standards, it would still be a concept that violates universal moral values. Whether conducting research or providing services, psychologists must follow a series of ethical rules, of which the five basic principles include: beneficence and nonmaleficence, fidelity and responsibility, integrity, justice, and respect for people's rights and dignity. If we examine PUA through this set of principles, we find that PUA runs directly counter to them. One of the aspects of PUA most often attacked by people today is its premise of treating women as a kind of prey, on the assumption that PUA can bend a woman's will entirely to its own ends. Among PUA's many techniques, perhaps the most reprehensible is the practice of belittling women so that they come to depend on the man; and if a woman rebuffs the PUA expert's advances, she is then attacked with labels such as "bitch shield." For the most part, a PUA expert's motivation is not to care about the opposite sex, but to lure the opposite sex into developing intimacy. In this way, PUA causes harm to women: its theory advocates the use of deceptive methods and an absence of responsibility towards the relationship, and its attitude towards women shows an outright disregard for their individual worth and dignity. As the modern world places ever greater emphasis on human rights and equality, these values stand far apart from PUA's core thinking. Even if PUA could effectively improve a man's chances of meeting women, its theory lacks any ethical foundation, making it hard for people to identify with its premise and its methods.
Conclusion
In this article PUA is merely a theory used to discuss two professional principles of psychology. Even if you have no interest in PUA yourself, it is still worth trying to examine different courses or theories through a critical lens when you come across them. We can ask ourselves whether these ideas are supported by science, and whether they accord with our own or with universal moral values. In an age awash with "pseudoscience," the two principles of scientific evidence and ethical morality can at the very least spare us the confusion of misinformation, and let us experience the world from a more well-rounded perspective.
References
Hambling-Jones, O., & Merrison, A. J. (2012). Inequity in the pursuit of intimacy: An analysis of British pick-up artist interactions. Journal of Pragmatics, 44(9), 1115-1127. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pragma.2012.04.008
Nicholson. J. (2013, January 31). Do Pick-Up Artist Techniques Really Work? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/intl/blog/the-attraction-doctor/201301/do-pick-artist-techniques-really-work
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