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This brings to mind an interesting meta-discussion that I've been wanting to have, and perhaps it has already been done and those of you who've been on the forum could point me to where to find it, but here is the question it is centered around:
There's obviously a lot of PUA material out there now. Not all of it is very scientific. How does one sift through it to find the stuff that is actually worth reading?
I would think that the best material out there has GOT to be thoroughly investigated by conducting actual research in the field. Just because I'm a man that doesn't qualify me to speak on behalf of all men. And just because you're a woman that doesn't qualify you to speak on behalf of all women. There is no substitute for in-field research with lots of different people. A lone individual's opinion, while interesting, is irrelevant (unless he can cite data to support it). We all want somewhat different things. I think good PUA literature comes from a place of understanding, and that can only happen if the authors have conducted in-depth research with the same level of rigor you might expect to see from a professional social scientist. A good social scientist does not merely go with her "gut feeling" or try to expand on what she believes to be "common sense", she goes out there in the field and collects real, actual data, only forming theories after a wealth of data naturally leads to it.
One thing I dislike about simple "rule following" is that without a theory to ground the rules, you have no explanation of why the rules are what they are or when to break them (and no set of rules is ever 100% perfect--there are exceptions to every rule out there and knowing the theory behind it might help you learn when to spot such an exception).
I am curious how many actual interviews Fein and Schneider conducted in doing the research for their book. How many social science publications did they read? Did they consider alternative points of view to their theory and do they have data and arguments to refute them? If this is like most pop-psychology self-help books out there, I suspect the answer to these questions is probably "few to none".
There are lots of little nuggets of wisdom in the PUA world out there, but unless we can take a solid scientific approach to this the field of PUA is not going to advance any; our understanding of the process of romantic/sexual attraction won't increase. And since everyone's goals are different, knowledge/understanding is what needs to be gotten from the PUA literature, not a one-size-fits-all set of rules for people who have vastly differing goals to all follow. I am hesitant to go out there and buy PUA materials for exactly this reason. I need to have good reasons to think it is quality stuff before I'll buy it.
(This thread has been split from the original. If the poster wishes for a different name for the thread, PM Hobbit)
Scientific Research is what I want more PUA's to be concerned with as well.
PU however has largely been under-ground, there hasn't been much testing of the more asbtract theories, but to PU, the theory behind it is irrelevant.
Most well known and respected PUA's and teachers for that matter are in such a position not because they have developed accurate theories but becuase they or their theories contain behaviours that get results.
Short hand, more PUA's are starting to use psychological studies, (Adam Lyons I believe has sued studies to prove his work), but previous PU has been built on the basis of "what works" not neccessarily "which theory has been proven".