Research Shows Not Just Confidence, But Overconfidence, Gets the Girl

Ever since Neil Strauss’s The Game reached stratospheric success, the pick-up artist strategy of “Peacocking” dipped its feathers into the single male’s mainstream. Not because guys had never before considered wearing a big dumb hat or a glow-stick necklace to a bar, but because few had ever imagined it would work in their favour.

But time and time again the heuristic science of seduction and now the more quantitative science of, well, science, has proven that sparks of audacity do in fact produce results. Simply being more notable than the competition and not just being confident but overconfident – what most would label, “cocky” – is a great way to get the gal.

Doctoral students at the University of Queensland in Australia recently published a study that explores the links between overconfidence and romantic appeal, and while many might instinctively think of overconfidence as a deterrent, according to one of the study’s authors, “…our work indicates that is such a powerful signal that a little overconfidence can actually be helpful.”

But why?

Do women just have a natural attraction to smooth-talkers who love blathering about their stellar careers while they stand up straight look everybody in the eye? Is a man who “takes control” and conducts himself convincingly and charismatically just irresistible to the fairer sex?

Maybe, but that doesn’t quite get to the core of the findings.

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What it seems to come down to, according to this study, is competitive performance…or lack thereof.

The men in the study who were measured as overconfident were found to rarely back down from a head-to-head battle of appeal against another guy, while less cocky participants tended to shy away from competition against their more forward, egotistical counterparts.

As a result, based on simulations run from those initial findings, the cockier men were deemed more likely to succeed in competitive environments, like a crowded bar, or really anywhere that attention will undoubtedly be offered by and shared across multiple admirers.

So essentially, anywhere.

In other words, just as important as having game, is the drive, stamina and composure to simply play it until the whistle blows.

It also wouldn’t hurt to be good-looking, somewhat articulate, and have a few interests outside of napping and books about sorcery.

The study also noted that cockiness in women was also effective at scaring off the competition, thus making the quality equally as effective in locking down a mate from the opposite direction.

As interesting as this study might be, there is a delicate balance to be considered in assessing the concept of competitive mettle; in the context of romantic sport, a legitimate signal of confidence can be indifference to a discrete loss.

If I’m actually super-confident, and have some understanding of statistics, then getting beaten out for one girl in one situation by one (or more) particular guy isn’t going to make much of a mark. Nor is the mere presence of competition going to necessarily compel me to charge into battle like some horny Spartan.

Confidence, and its perception from the outside, is a complicated, creative business.

But I think where we can all agree with the folks at Queensland is that generally, it’s a pretty good business to be in.

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