http://www.flirtingstyles.com/sites/all/r/pdf/hall_and_canterberry_2011.pdf

The purpose of the current studies was to explore the predictors of men’s reported use of and women’s reported reception to assertive courtship strategies, similar to those espoused in popular media (i.e., The Game, The Pickup Artist). In support of the hypotheses, results from Study 1 suggested that sociosexuality positively predicted men’s reported use of and women’s reception to assertive courtship strategies. Additionally, for women, both indicators of ambivalent sexism predicted finding such strategies desirable. In Study 1, among women an interaction effect was detected, where women with a combination of an unrestricted approach to sex and high HS preferred men’s dominant strategy use the most. Study 2 mainly replicated Study 1 with a larger (N=850), older (Mage=32.6), and unmarried sample. Study 2 found robust support for most of the hypothesized relationships, suggesting that HS and sociosexuality uniquely and positively predicted the reported use of such strategies by men and the reported desirability of such strategies by women. The relationship between BS and general assertive strategies, however, was unique to women. In addition, despite (or perhaps due to) the diversity of the second sample, a larger percent of the variance was accounted for in Study 2 (men R2=.23, women R2=.23) in comparison to Study 1 (men R2=.09, women R2=.21). The results are interpreted in light of past research on sociosexuality and sexism below.

Sociosexuality and Courtship

In demonstrating that sociosexuality was a robust and consistent predictor of men’s use of and women’s receptiveness to assertive courtship strategies, the present investigation provides evidence for the association between assertive and persistent courtship strategies and interest in short-term mating (McDaniel 2005; Urbaniak and Kilmann 2006). In using and responding positively to these strategies, individuals who are seeking short-term sex are able to identify one another. This supports past research suggesting that messages that convey dominance and relational control are more likely to be interpreted as conveying sexual interest (Hall et al. 2008; Lannutti and Monahan 2002). By conveying an interest in short-term, rather than long-term relational interest, partners are able to efficiently increase the possibility that such a relationship will transpire.

TL;DR PUA techniques, specifically those designed to emulate "alpha" males, definitely work. More notably, these strategies pre-select for certain traits. In particular, PUA techniques are attractive to:

  • sexually experienced women (some might say slutty)
  • women that pursue short-term dating strategies
  • sexist women, who view women as the "fairer" sex and are entitled to certain courtesies in society (pussy pass)
  • women that prefer traditional gender roles
  • women that seem to consciously apply alpha fucks beta bucks

It was definitely an interesting read. Obviously it's far from conclusive, and it generates more questions than answers. I think it's good that there's some research on the topic of PUA. It certainly offers one potential explanation as to why PUAs so frequently observe certain negative traits amount their female peers.