Women with “dark” personality traits are more likely to go on a date with someone they have no desire to be with just to get a free meal, according to new research published in the journal Social Psychological and Personality Science.
“As a social psychologist, I study people’s impressions of others and romantic relationships. I’m especially curious how people’s pursuit of love could be derailed or obstructed,” said study author Brian Collisson, an associate Professor at Azusa Pacific University.
“One day, my co-author, Trista Harig, walked into my office with a copy of Maxim magazine and asked, ‘Do you know what a “foodie call” is?’ After admitting that I did not, she then explained that a foodie call occurs when a person, despite their lack of romantic attraction to someone, agrees to go on a date just to get a free meal. My immediate questions were ‘How often do you think foodie calls happen and who do you think would do that?'”
To obtain some insight into the phenomenon, the researchers conducted two surveys to collect data regarding women’s foodie call behavior, dark personality traits, traditional gender role beliefs, and online dating history. Because the study focused on deceptive female-to-male foodie calls, the researchers examined responses from 1,055 self-identified heterosexual women.
“Many people believe the biggest take-away from our study is that nearly a third of women have dated someone they weren’t attracted to for a free meal,” Collisson told PsyPost.
About 23% of women in the first survey and 33% in the second had engaged in a foodie call. “And most did so occasionally (27%), followed by rarely (26%) or very rarely (21%). The number of foodie calls ranged from 1 to 55, with an average of about 5 per woman,” Collisson explained.
“However, I think it’s more revealing to ask what type of women are most likely to engage in foodie calls. We found that women who score high in the dark triad — a constellation of three antisocial personality traits known as Narcissism, Machiavellianism, and subclinical Psychopathy — were most likely to engage in foodie calls,” he added.
In other words, participants who agreed more strongly with statements such as “I tend to manipulate others to get my way” (Machiavellianism), “I tend to expect special favors from others” (Narcissism), and “I tend to lack remorse” (Psychopathy) were more likely to engage in greater foodie call behavior.
“Although men tend to score higher on the dark triad than women, and many studies have already documented the negative dating behaviors exhibited by men, our study showcased how women’s dark traits can also predict exploitative and manipulative dating behavior,” Collisson said.
The researchers also found that women who endorsed traditional gender role beliefs were more likely to engage in foodie calls and find it acceptable.
But the study — like all research — includes some caveats.
“Our sample was limited to heterosexual women in the United States. Future studies may explore why foodie calls are perceived as more acceptable to some, whether or not they’re explicitly communicated, whether they occur across same- and opposite-sex relationships, and whether they could be perpetrated by either men or women,” Collisson said.
The study, “Foodie Calls: When Women Date Men for a Free Meal (Rather Than a Relationship)“, was authored by Brian Collisson, Jennifer L. Howell, and Trista Harig.