Reaction Paper Prompt and Rubric
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•
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Select an article, chapter, podcast, or film from the course materials list and provide a
thoughtful analysis or evaluation. You can choose to argue for or against the argument
that the author, filmmaker, or podcaster is trying to make. Use evidence to support your
argument from the film/article/podcast and from outside sources as well. Sources should
be cited appropriately within the text and in a references section at the end of the
document.
This paper should be 3-5 pages in length and written in APA style, Times New Roman
12pt font, 1” margins all around, and double-spaced. Please do NOT include your
references section in the page count.
Upload via the upload link on Canvas by Monday, June 10th at 11:59pm. Papers
submitted late will be penalized 10% of the grade for each day late. In other words, if you
turn it in 5 days late, you will receive credit 50% of your score.
Rubric (100 points total)
• Selected an appropriate source from the course materials (5pts)
• Clearly summarizes the author/filmmaker/podcaster’s argument (5pts)
• Includes a thesis clearly stating your argument (10pts)
• Discusses information from the source to support your argument (25pts)
• Discusses information from outside sources (at least 2) to support your argument (25pts)
• Acknowledges counterarguments and refutes them (15pts)
• Conclusion summarizes your main argument (5pts)
• Grammar/spelling is correct, APA format, includes references section (10pts)
Sex Roles (2010) 62:661–669
DOI 10.1007/s11199-010-9765-7
ORIGINAL ARTICLE
To Hook Up or Date: Which Gender Benefits?
Carolyn Bradshaw & Arnold S. Kahn & Bryan K. Saville
Published online: 13 March 2010
# Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2010
Abstract Hooking up on college campuses has become
more frequent than dating in heterosexual sexual interaction. Analysis of the relative benefits and costs associated
with dating and hooking up suggest that women benefit
more from dating while men benefit more from hooking up.
U.S students (150 women, 71 men) at a midsized
southeastern university indicated preferences for dating
and hooking up across a number of situations and indicated
the perceived benefits and risks associated with each. As
hypothesized, in most situations women more than men
preferred dating and men more than women preferred
hooking up. Both genders perceived similar benefits and
risks to dating and hooking up; differences provided insight
into the sexual motives of college women and men.
Keywords Dating . Hooking up . Gender differences
Introduction
Because hooking up has replaced dating as a means for
heterosexual sexual interaction on U.S. college campuses,
we sought to explore the perceived benefits and costs of
hooking up versus dating for U.S. college women and men.
We exposed college students to a variety of situations and
asked the extent to which they would prefer dating or
C. Bradshaw : A. S. Kahn (*) : B. K. Saville
Department of Psychology, James Madison University,
Harrisonburg, VA 22807, USA
e-mail: kahnas@jmu.edu
C. Bradshaw
e-mail: carolynabradshaw@gmail.com
B. K. Saville
e-mail: savillbk@jmu.edu
hooking up in each situation. Although past research has
examined gender roles in college students dating (Laner
and Ventrone 2000; Morr Serewicz and Gale 2008; Rose
and Frieze 1993), as well as hooking up (Lambert et al.
2003; Paul and Hayes 2002; Paul et al. 2000), research has
not explored college student preferences for the two forms
of heterosexual interaction.
Traditionally, among heterosexual college students,
courtship includes the practice of dating. Although dating
can take many forms, research suggests that when asked
what happens on a typical date, college students report a
predictable pattern that is consistent with traditional gender
roles, the man being active and the woman being reactive
(Laner and Ventrone 2000; Morr Serewicz and Gale 2008;
Rose and Frieze 1993): The man asks the woman to go out
with him and informs her where he would like to take her
and at what time. He then picks her up and takes her to the
location of the date, pays any bills, initiates sexual activity
(if any), and takes the woman home, ending the date. The
woman waits to be asked out on a date, takes extra effort to
groom, waits to be picked up, accompanies the man to the
place he has chosen, accepts or rejects the man’s sexual
overtures, and is taken home. Typically, drinking alcohol is
mentioned by both college women and men as occurring on
a date (Laner and Ventrone 2000; Morr Serewicz and Gale
2008). This dating pattern is the predominant one across
various date contexts and assessment methods (Bartoli and
Clark 2006; Morr Serewicz and Gale 2008) and seems to be
what college students think of when asked what happens on
a date. A date differs from “going out with a friend”;
whereas a date implies romantic or sexual interest, going
out with a friend does not.
On college campuses, in recent years, “hooking up”
appears to be as popular as, if not more popular than, the
traditional date (Gute and Eshbaugh 2008; Lambert et al.
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2003; Paul and Hayes 2002; Paul et al. 2000). A hook up is
defined as “a sexual encounter which may or may not
include sexual intercourse, usually occurring between
people who are strangers or brief acquaintances” (Paul et
al. 2000, p. 76). Although casual sex or one-night stands
are certainly not new phenomena, hooking up appears to
have become normative on college campuses. In their
survey, Lambert et al. (2003) found that 77.7% of female
and 84.2% of male college students indicated they had
hooked up. Paul et al. (2000) found that 78.4% of college
students reported having hooked up, with a mean of 10.8
and a range of 0–65 hook ups. Paul and Hayes (2002)
found that 75% of men and 84% of women had hooked up
during their college career, with a mean of 10.28 hook ups.
When casual sex is more narrowly defined as vaginal, oral,
or anal sex with a non-dating partner, over one-half of male
students (52%) and over one-third of female students (36%)
reported having engaged in such behaviors (Grello et al.
2006; see also Gute and Eshbaugh 2008). Hooking up is
not limited to college students. Of 7th, 9th, and 11th grade
students who were sexually active, Manning et al. (2006)
reported that 68.5% of the boys and 51.8% of the girls
engaged in non-dating sexual intercourse.
Like dating, hooking up in a college student population
tends to follow a pattern, although the script appears to be
less detailed. Two people, usually strangers or casual
friends, meet at a party or bar where they have been
drinking alcoholic beverages; indicate their interest in one
another through flirting, eye contact, or dancing; and
engage in sexual behaviors ranging from kissing to sexual
intercourse, with no commitment to a future relationship
(Paul and Hayes 2002).
Although much research has addressed who hooks up
and what happens during a hook up, little is known about
the situations that facilitate or inhibit dating and hooking
up. Likewise, research has not explored the perceived
benefits and risks of hooking up and dating. Because, as
indicated below, hooking up can have many negative
consequences for women, including rape, we were interested in exploring the extent to which women and men prefer
hooking up or dating. Based on previous literature of what
happens on a traditional date and a typical hook up, we
conducted a cost-benefit analysis of dating and hooking up
for women and men.
Gender and Dating
Men and Dating
Traditional heterosexual dating among college students is a
highly patriarchal affair in which the man usually has more
control than the woman because he is both the initiator and
decision-maker; the woman, for the most part, only has
Sex Roles (2010) 62:661–669
veto power (Bartoli and Clark 2006; Morr Serewicz and
Gale 2008; Rose and Frieze 1993). Having this control can
be difficult for men, who risk rejection from the outset
when they attempt to initiate a date. Dating is also costly
for a man both in terms of responsibility and finances. He is
responsible for getting himself and his partner to the
location of the dating activity, paying for himself and his
date, and making sure the woman has a good time. The man
also risks rejection if he attempts sexual overtures. These
decision-making responsibilities can lead to stress and
anxiety in college students who may be shy and lack
confidence in their ability to successfully carry out all the
dating functions (Himadi et al. 1980). Unlike women who
date infrequently, college men who date infrequently report
more anxiety about dating and fewer dating-related social
skills (Leck 2006).
Traditional dating is not without benefits for college
men: They decide who to ask out; they arrange the date at a
time of their convenience; they choose to engage in
activities they enjoy; and they decide when to end the date
(Laner and Ventrone 2000; Rose and Frieze 1993).
Nevertheless, the risks and stresses of dating may outweigh
these benefits for some men.
Women and Dating
Traditional dating presents a very different set of circumstances for college women. Women tend to play a more
reactive role in order to complement the man’s behavior (Rose
and Frieze 1993). The woman chooses to accept or reject the
man’s invitation to go out. If she chooses to accept, she
becomes a passive participant. She is picked up by the man
and taken to the dating location. Her activities are paid for by
the man, and she is then taken home. If the man initiates
sexual behaviors, the woman can choose either to engage in
these behaviors or reject them (Bartoli and Clark 2006;
Laner and Ventrone 2000; Rose and Frieze 1993; Morr
Serewicz and Gale 2008).
Although gender roles may be changing, research
suggests the changes have had little effect on traditional
dating. Laner and Ventrone (2000) reported that 92% of
college men and 78% of college women believed the man
has to pay the bill on a date. Likewise, only 29% of women
and 16% of men stated that a woman as well as a man can
ask the other gender for a date. A female-initiated date leads
to different sexual expectations than a male-initiated one;
specifically, college men expect more sexual activity to
occur when the woman initiates the date (Lenton and Bryan
2005; Mongeau and Carey 1996; Mongeau et al. 2004;
Morr Serewicz and Gale 2008). Although date rape was
perceived as unjustifiable regardless of the gender of the
date initiator, Muehlenhard et al. (1985) found that college
students perceived date rape as more justifiable during a
Sex Roles (2010) 62:661–669
female-initiated than a male-initiated date. Thus, men who
receive date initiations from women may have expectations
of enhanced sexual activity, which may be one of the
reasons why women are reluctant to initiate them.
Despite women’s passive, reactive role, they receive
many benefits in traditional dating situations. They have the
power to reject a date initiation. They do not have the
responsibility of planning the details of the dating activity
and do not have to pay for those activities. They are usually
expected only to look nice and be pleasant. They usually
have the ability to accept or reject a man’s sexual overtures.
The costs of traditional dating for women include not being
asked out in the first place, engaging in activities in which
they have little or no interest, and fending off unwanted
sexual advances. Compared to men, it would appear that
traditional dating involves fewer costs and responsibilities
and is often less stressful for women. Finally, college
women more than college men report relationship goals for
dating such as companionship, intimacy, and having fun
that can more easily be achieved through dating than
through hooking up (Mongeau et al. 2007; Mongeau et al.
2004; Roscoe et al. 1987).
Gender and Hooking Up
Hooking up can be a much more egalitarian relationship
than traditional dating. A college-student hook up involves
two people, typically casual acquaintances or individuals,
who have met earlier that evening, agreeing to engage in
some sexual behaviors for which there is little or no
expectation of future commitment. The sexual experience
can either be completely spontaneous, or a person may plan
to hook up with someone that evening without knowing his
or her future sexual partner’s identity (Paul and Hayes
2002; Paul et al. 2000). Hooking up has become such a
common occurrence on college campuses that students,
even those who have never hooked up, report very
consistent stories when asked to describe a typical hookup
(Paul and Hayes 2002).
Paul and Hayes (2002) collected data from college students
on what they would characterize as a typical hook up. They
found that a hook up was preceded by activities such as
flirting, drinking alcohol, hanging out and talking, attending
parties, and dancing. Hook ups typically occurred at parties,
in dorms, fraternity houses, at bars and clubs, and in cars.
Alcohol and drugs were frequently involved and, unlike
traditional dating, 60% of college students believed that either
a man or a woman could initiate a hook up. The sexual
behaviors during a hook up ranged from kissing to sexual
intercourse. Participants reported that there was typically little
or no communication between hook up partners, and the
hook up ended when one partner left, fell asleep or passed
out, or when one or both partners reached sexual climax.
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Men and Hooking Up
Men have consistently expressed more comfort than
women for engaging in sexual behaviors (e.g., Cohen and
Shotland 1996; Knox and Wilson 1981; Mongeau et al.
2007; Oliver and Hyde 1993). Consistent with this
research, Lambert et al. (2003) found that college men
were more comfortable than women in engaging in a
variety of hooking up behaviors ranging from petting above
the waist to sexual intercourse.
College men would appear to benefit more from hooking
up than from a traditional date. The flirting and brief
interactions that precede a hook up make rejection less
likely; and women sometimes initiate hook ups (Paul and
Hayes 2002). The frequent presence of alcohol or drugs
helps lessen men’s (as well as women’s) inhibitions and
reduces the anxiety many men feel interacting with women
(Himadi et al. 1980; Leck 2006; Öner 2000). Furthermore,
at least within college samples, men are more likely than
women to have sexual goals as the primary motivation for
dating (Mongeau et al. 2007; Mongeau et al. 2004; Roscoe
et al. 1987), as well as more positive attitudes towards
casual sex (Oliver and Hyde 1993). These sexual goals can
be more easily obtained at less cost by hooking up than by
dating. Although frequent casual sex is associated with
greater depression in women, this is less true for men
(Grello et al. 2006).
Women and Hooking Up
College women consistently express less comfort engaging
in sexual behaviors than do men (e.g., Cohen and Shotland
1996; Knox and Wilson 1981; Oliver and Hyde 1993).
Lambert et al. (2003) found that in hooking up, college
women expressed less comfort than men with petting above
the waist, petting below the waist, oral sex, and sexual
intercourse. Paul and Hayes (2002) reported that college
women’s descriptions of their worst hook ups involved
being pressured by aggressive partners to engage in
unwanted sexual behaviors, including behaviors that would
legally be considered rape. As mentioned previously,
college women are more likely than college men to mention
dating goals of companionship, intimacy, and fun, whereas
men are more likely than women to mention sexual goals
(Mongeau et al. 2007).
The sexual double standard can make women feel guilty
about hooking up. Although there is some evidence this
double standard has disappeared (Marks and Fraley 2005),
most research suggests this double standard continues to
affect the perceptions of women and men, such that women
are derogated and men rewarded for frequent sexual
activities (e.g., Crawford and Popp 2003; Smith et al.
2008), and the double standard continues to be endorsed by
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the media (Medley-Rath 2007). Paul and Hayes (2002)
reported that following a hook up, college women often felt
regret and shame for uncommitted sexual behaviors with a
stranger they might never see again; men, on the other
hand, rarely expressed regret and shame following a hook
up. Hooking up can also be costly to women who risk
unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
Depression is also associated with hooking up. Eshbaugh
and Gute (2008) found that feelings of sexual regret in
college women were associated with having sexual intercourse with someone only once, having intercourse with
someone they had known for less than 24 h, and receiving
oral sex from someone known for less than 24 h—
behaviors more likely associated with hooking up than
with dating.
Of course, hooking up can provide benefits to women.
College women can have an enjoyable sexual experience,
feel wanted and cared for, and feel excitement (Paul and
Hayes 2002); they can also enjoy a break from the
traditional gender role restrictions associated with dating.
However, on balance, men would appear to gain more by
hooking up than would women.
Hypotheses
The evidence appears to suggest that women are likely to
perceive more benefits from traditional dating than from
hooking up, whereas men appear to be likely to perceive
more benefits from hooking up than dating. Based on this
cost-benefit analysis, we hypothesize that, overall, when
given the choice between a traditional date and hooking up,
women, more than men, will prefer a traditional date to
hooking up. Given that women more likely than men seek
more long-term relationships, we hypothesize that a
woman’s preference dating over hooking up should be
greater in situations that imply the possibility of a long-term
relationship. In contrast, we hypothesize men, more than
women, will prefer hooking more than a traditional date.
We also examined gender differences in the perceived risks
and benefits of dating and hooking up, but we did not make
specific hypotheses. Because the risks and benefits differed
slightly for women and men, we were unable to conduct
statistical analyses for these items.
Although not based on it, we note that the same
predictions can be made from an evolutionary psychology
framework (Buss and Schmitt 1993; Trivers 1972). According to this perspective, women have higher parental
investment than men and should therefore seek a longterm relationship. If a woman gets pregnant, she will have
to carry the fetus until birth and then care for the infant. As
a result, she will be careful with whom she mates, seeking
to choose a partner who will help her care for the infant and
provide resources for the family. Dating, more than hooking
Sex Roles (2010) 62:661–669
up, would give a woman the opportunity to assess the
likelihood that her date would provide such resources. Men,
whose parental investment at a minimum is to provide
sperm, should be more interested in short-term relationships
in order to impregnate as many women as possible and
increase the likelihood of reproducing their genes. Hooking
up provides men with such short-term sexual relationships.
In summary, we predict that women more than men will
prefer dating to hooking up and men more than women will
prefer hooking up to dating. We tested these relative
preferences by presenting college students with an overall
preference question followed by preferences across a
variety of situations.
Method
Participants
Two hundred twenty-one undergraduate students (men=71,
women=150) from a southern, public university volunteered to participate in the study through the Psychology
Department participant pool. Most participants were firstyear students (81.4%), White (89.1%), and heterosexual
(96.4%), with an average age of 18.72 years (SD=.47).
Asked to identify their current relationship status, 115
reported being single, 29 were in a relationship of 6 months
or less, 76 were in a relationship of 7 months or more, and
1 was engaged.
Materials
Participants were given a definition of traditional dating and
a definition of hooking up. Traditional dating was defined
as “one person asks another person to do something
together on a date and this may or may not turn into a
committed relationship.” Hooking up was defined as “a
sexual encounter, usually only lasting one night, between
two people who are strangers or brief acquaintances. Some
physical interaction is typical and may or may not include
sexual intercourse.” They first answered 11 questions
concerning the extent to which they prefer traditional dates
or hooking up across a number of different situations: (a)
overall, (b) when there was potential for a relationship, (c)
when you had a friend with whom you could see the
potential for a relationship, (d) when partner has a great
personality, (e) when partner was physically attractive, (f)
when you are interested in a long-term relationship, (g)
when the person and you lived in the same residence hall or
apartment, (h) when drinking was involved, (i) met an
attractive person in class and there was no risk of rejection,
(j) when you met an attractive person at a party and there
was no risk of rejection, (k) when you met an attractive
Sex Roles (2010) 62:661–669
person when you were consuming alcohol, and (l) when
you met an attractive person and no alcohol was consumed.
Participants indicated on 7-point scales their relative
preferences: 1 = greatly prefer traditional dating to hooking
up, 2 = prefer traditional dating to hooking up, 3 = slightly
prefer traditional dating to hooking up, 4 = no preference,
5 = slightly prefer hooking up to traditional dating, 6 =
prefer hooking up to traditional dating, 7 = greatly prefer
hooking up to traditional dating.
Next, participants indicated from a checklist the top three
benefits and the top three risks to traditional dating and
hooking up. We generated the checklists by asking other
undergraduate students from the same university to indicate
what they believed were the benefits and risks of each
practice. Women responded for women in general (e.g.,
“What are the benefits to dating, such as the man paying for
things?”); and men responded for men in general (e.g.,
“What are the benefits of dating, such as being able to
choose where to go and what to do on a date?”). Because
the benefits and risks of traditional dating and hooking up
differed for women and men, our checklists were somewhat
gender-specific. For the benefits of traditional dating, we
listed 36 possible benefits for men and 34 possible benefits
for women. Twenty-seven of these benefits were identical
for both genders (e.g., “Traditional dating is romantic”),
with the remaining possible benefits gender specific (e.g.,
for men, “You can ask anyone you are interested in on a
date”; for women, “You have the power to reject a date”).
For the risks of traditional dating, we listed 27 risks for men
and 29 risks for women. Seventeen of these risks were
identical for both genders (e.g., “Risk of a broken heart)
with the remaining risks gender specific (e.g., for men,
“You are expected to initiate sexual advances”; for women,
“You are expected to deflect sexual advances”). We listed
32 possible benefits to hooking up for both women and
men, the potential benefits of which were identical (e.g.,
“Hooking up is fun and exciting,” “Hooking up is sexually
gratifying”). We listed 28 possible risks of hooking up for
both women and men. Twenty-six of these possible risks
were identical for men and women (e.g., “You risk being
with a ‘bad’ partner,” “Risk of feeling shame/self-blame
after the hook up”). Two items were gender specific. (“Risk
getting pregnant” vs. “Risk of getting partner pregnant” and
“Can get a bad reputation of being ‘easy’ or a whore” vs.
“Can get a bad reputation of using women”).
Finally, after answering several demographic questions
(gender, age, class year, ethnicity, religious involvement,
Greek involvement, dating status, and sexual orientation),
participants reported (a) how many times in the last 2 years
they had been on a first date, (b) how many times in the
last 2 years they had initiated a first date, and (c) the
number of people with whom they had hooked up in
the last 2 years.
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Procedure
Participants signed up for the research through the
Psychology Department participant pool and received
partial course credit for their participation. Up to 45
participants at a time reported to a large classroom and
were seated in every other seat, with women in the front
half of the room and men in the back. The first author then
distributed an information sheet containing general background information about the study, informed consent
information, and a statement regarding participants rights.
After everyone finished reading the information, she
answered questions and then distributed the survey. Upon
completion of the survey, participants returned the surveys
to a box by the door. The survey took approximately
20 min to complete.
Results
An independent-samples t test revealed that men (M=2.79,
SD=3.09) initiated significantly more first dates in the past
2 years than women (M=.45, SD=.90), t (218)=−8.56,
p
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