A recent study by Carolyn Bradshaw and colleagues of James Madison University tackled the relative merits of heterosexual hooking up and dating, with a survey done on male and female college students about these themes.
The findings? There were 41% of the female respondents who preferred traditional dating over the more casual hook-ups, and only 20% male respondents who found the same situation ideal.
But first, what are the differences between dating and hooking up? Dating has an unspoken guideline consciously or unconsciously followed by the people involved.
Usually, the male takes the assertive role in establishing contact and asking the female out for a date.
He arranges the time, place, and activities for said date, while the female's role is usually confined to accepting/rejecting, or agreeing with the plans.
However, these are by no means set rules and roles, because at any time, the female can do the asking and planning of the date, with the male taking on the more passive role of being receptive to the plans or not.
Sex may or may not be part of a date, but usually, dates yield the possibility of a more long term set-up or relationship for the people involved.
On the contrary, hooking up is all about sex...
one night stands, if you will.
At any given time, a couple can hook up and have sex without going through the usual patterns of dating.
Everything is casual and no discussions of a future together take place.
In short, while dating paves the way for commitment, hooking up allows participants to remain footloose and fancy-free.
In the study conducted by Bradshaw et al, 150 female and 71 male students from a public Southern American university were asked questions dealing with dating and/or hooking up situations.
Among those discussed was the possibility of having a relationship borne out of either set-up.
When this issue was brought up in conjunction with dating versus hooking up question, considerably more women (41%) said they still preferred dating over hooking up.
Fewer men (20%) preferred the same.
While overall, both men and women in the study favor long-term dating over hooking up, context still played a big role in the surveys.
When there was no mention of a long-term relationship in the query, more male respondents picked hooking up over traditional dating.
Most female respondents still chose dating.
The questionnaires that the participants had to fill up asked them asked them to discuss details of their dating and hooking up activities of the last two years.
They also had to choose the top three benefits and the top three risks of dating and hooking up from a checklist provided.
The issue of independence came up in the study.
More men appeared to value their independence, hence the preference for hooking up over dating (17% of men versus 2% of women who preferred the same).
They expressed apprehension at being asked to commit to a long-term relationship by the women they date or hook up with.
Similarly, while the female participants seemed to be more inclined to committed relationships as compared to their male counterparts, they also expressed fear of becoming emotionally attached to a disinterested potential partner.
Carolyn Bradshaw's analysis of the practice of dating and hooking up has indeed revealed that women seem to be partial to dating, while men are to hooking up.
The findings? There were 41% of the female respondents who preferred traditional dating over the more casual hook-ups, and only 20% male respondents who found the same situation ideal.
But first, what are the differences between dating and hooking up? Dating has an unspoken guideline consciously or unconsciously followed by the people involved.
Usually, the male takes the assertive role in establishing contact and asking the female out for a date.
He arranges the time, place, and activities for said date, while the female's role is usually confined to accepting/rejecting, or agreeing with the plans.
However, these are by no means set rules and roles, because at any time, the female can do the asking and planning of the date, with the male taking on the more passive role of being receptive to the plans or not.
Sex may or may not be part of a date, but usually, dates yield the possibility of a more long term set-up or relationship for the people involved.
On the contrary, hooking up is all about sex...
one night stands, if you will.
At any given time, a couple can hook up and have sex without going through the usual patterns of dating.
Everything is casual and no discussions of a future together take place.
In short, while dating paves the way for commitment, hooking up allows participants to remain footloose and fancy-free.
In the study conducted by Bradshaw et al, 150 female and 71 male students from a public Southern American university were asked questions dealing with dating and/or hooking up situations.
Among those discussed was the possibility of having a relationship borne out of either set-up.
When this issue was brought up in conjunction with dating versus hooking up question, considerably more women (41%) said they still preferred dating over hooking up.
Fewer men (20%) preferred the same.
While overall, both men and women in the study favor long-term dating over hooking up, context still played a big role in the surveys.
When there was no mention of a long-term relationship in the query, more male respondents picked hooking up over traditional dating.
Most female respondents still chose dating.
The questionnaires that the participants had to fill up asked them asked them to discuss details of their dating and hooking up activities of the last two years.
They also had to choose the top three benefits and the top three risks of dating and hooking up from a checklist provided.
The issue of independence came up in the study.
More men appeared to value their independence, hence the preference for hooking up over dating (17% of men versus 2% of women who preferred the same).
They expressed apprehension at being asked to commit to a long-term relationship by the women they date or hook up with.
Similarly, while the female participants seemed to be more inclined to committed relationships as compared to their male counterparts, they also expressed fear of becoming emotionally attached to a disinterested potential partner.
Carolyn Bradshaw's analysis of the practice of dating and hooking up has indeed revealed that women seem to be partial to dating, while men are to hooking up.
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