One theory that presents itself in American Hookup is the Causal Attribution Model, also known as Kelley’s Covariation Model. The Causal Attribution Model is when we decide if an action was caused by internal (dispositional) or external (situational) factors by considering the action’s distinctiveness, consensus, and consistency. Distinctiveness is how common the behavior is, consensus is how many people respond in the same way, and consistency is whether the actor responds the same way over time (Von Der Haar pages 130-131). An example of how this theory applies to the book is when the steps of a hookup are described: it is known that turning around while dancing initiates a hookup (Wade page 39). The action of initiating a hookup has a large consensus and people consistently do it, which would allow one to figure out that it is caused by external factors since it is more correlated with the situation. Another example is when a student named Mara describes the action of saying no to a hookup as “just weird,” implying that it is because of internal factors rather than external factors (Wade page 87). Saying no to a hookup is looked at as based on a person’s disposition rather than on other factors, such as if the person is already in a relationship (external).
Another theory that shows up in the book is Goffman’s Elements of Impression Management. This is when we “attempt to control the way we present ourselves to others,” which could include putting on a front of setting, appearance, or manner (Von Der Haar pages 117-118). In American Hookup, it is expected for students to act cold toward each other following a hookup so that they don’t look desperate or clingy in any way, which is the worst thing to someone having casual sex (Wade pages 138-139). The students want to present themselves to others as uncaring and emotionless when it comes to sex, putting on fronts to make their manner appear cold. Students engaging in hookup culture, like one named Miranda, think “the goal is to look fuckable,” which can be achieved by wearing more revealing clothing so you look like you’re ready to hookup (Wade page 27). Students put on an appearance front and present themselves as more provocative so that others will know they are open to having casual sex.
Similarly to Goffman’s Elements of Impression Management, Actor-Observer Differences play a big role in American Hookup as well. Actor-Observer Differences are the “tendency for actors to attribute their actions to situational requirements whereas observers tend to attribute the actions to stable disposition” (Von Der Haar page 140). This is shown in the book when people not participating in hookup culture, like adults or people not in college, think that internal factors contribute to hookups and college students purely want to have sex. But, there are actually many external factors because college kids now are a part of a “generation… pressured to do everything… having a significant other doesn’t need to be as important” and that is actually where hookup culture comes from (Wade page 116). The actors in hookup culture, therefore the students, attribute their actions to external causes like stress and feelings of pressure. Meanwhile, the observers view it as internally caused. Another example of Actor-Observer Differences in the book is when abstainers (people not participating in hookups) are described. They fear that they will be called “outcasts, losers, and prudes” because they choose to abstain, which would be internal (Wade page 103). However, these students actually opt out of hookups for a number of reasons, whether it’s that they simply don’t like casual sex, they are saving for marriage, or they are asexual (Wade page 93). The abstainers are the actors in this situation, so they attribute the choice not to participate to external causes.
Another theory depicted in Wade’s novel is the Social Exchange Theory. The theory says that “social interaction resembles business transaction” with “rewards, costs, and profits… of… interpersonal relationships.” People use their relationships to attempt to maximize their benefits and minimize costs (Von Der Haar page 200). One way this is shown in American Hookup is when a student named Brooke describes kissing other girls at parties. She doesn’t do it because she is sexually attracted to women, but because the rewards of doing so would be guys noticing and liking it (Wade page 181). Females partake in the social interaction of kissing other girls because they like the rewards. Another example is when it is stated that “hooking up with a hot student can increased one’s own popularity” and “hooking up with one widely considered unattractive can harm it” (Wade page 37). Students try to hookup with those they find attractive or those who are “hot” because the reward is more popularity. In contrast, hooking up with someone unattractive has costs of less popularity.
The Filter Theory presents itself in Wade’s book in a couple ways. The Filter Theory says that “people seeking spouses sift eligible candidates through successive levels of criteria” such as “geographical proximity; social class; race, ethnicity, and religion; physical attraction; and age” (Von Der Haar page 228). This is shown in the book when some students who have been interviewed say that they are “‘not attracted to Asian men in the slightest,’ ‘mostly attracted to white people,’ ‘just really into white chicks,’ and ‘only… attracted to Caucasian men’” (Wade page 94). These students have sifted through eligible candidates, like it says in the Filter Theory, and determined the race of someone they would desire to date. Another example of the Filter Theory in American Hookup is when a female student said, “I want to hookup with him for the social status” (Wade page 34). In this case, the student has filtered out who she believes to be unattractive so that her only candidates are attractive and therefore will increase her status if she hooks up with them.
I connected with American Hookup in some ways and did not connect with it in others. I connected to it primarily because I myself am a college student who experiences similar things as many of the students interviewed in the book. I’ve been to parties and events like most of the students in the book and have seen flirting and grinding and things that Wade describes as steps to a hookup. Hookup culture is pretty clearly present here at Ohio State just like all colleges across the country. I think Wade did a good job with describing students’ desires to get drunk a lot because things seem more fun and carefree. That is another huge part of college life, probably even bigger than hookup culture in my opinion. I have experienced that firsthand so I know what “drunk world” is like and the appeal of it. I also connected to Wade’s point that one of the main reasons why hookup culture is popular currently is because today’s college students are under so much pressure. Everyone is expected to go to college and get a degree and do internships and get a steady job and all the normal adult responsibilities that have always been around, except now they’re expected to be done so much faster and better.
In many ways, however, I found myself disconnected with Wade’s points in American Hookup. One point that she implied is that college students nowadays are only all about having casual sex and they don’t know how to have real relationships because they just mess around in college. I disagree with this because as someone who has been in a relationship for a while now, and who has many friends also in long term relationships, I can say that people my age definitely know how to have true, meaningful relationships. Me being in a relationship also made the book somewhat unrelatable for me as well. I have never participated in hookup culture in college for that reason. I also think that hookup culture is not as prevalent as the book made it out to be. I think college students care a lot more about forming real, lasting relationships than the book made it seem, and there’s also a large portion of people who either don’t go out to parties enough to really participate or they just aren’t interested.
Whether I connected with it or not, American Hookup certainly opened my eyes to different perspectives of hookup culture. Wade presented many things I never really thought of before, like all the reasons why people choose to participate in hookups and all the reasons people don’t. As someone in a relationship who hasn’t seen or participated in a hookup, I also learned a lot more about what it truly is like. As a high schooler, you hear things about hookups in college but you don’t really know what it’s actually like. I think American Hookup would be an excellent book for someone to read so they better understand it, even without having to experience it firsthand.