What is a 'Foodie Call' and why it is getting so popular

It refers to a new phenomenon, where a person sets up a date with someone they are not romantically interested in, for the purpose of getting a free meal.

According to an online study conducted at the California-based Azusa Pacific University and University of California, 23 to 33 per cent of women admitted they have engaged in a "foodie call". In the first phase of the study, 820 women were analysed. They answered a series of questions that measured their personality traits, beliefs about gender roles, and their "foodie call" history. They were also asked if they thought a "foodie call" was socially acceptable. In the second phase of study 357 heterosexual women were questioned and 33 percent accepted that they had engaged in a "foodie call".

The researchers have found that women who scored high on the "dark triad" of personality traits (psychopathy, Machiavellianism, narcissism), as well as expressed traditional gender role beliefs, were most likely to engage in a "foodie call" and find it acceptable. For those, who had engaged in a foodie call believed it was more acceptable, while others believed that it was extremely to moderately unacceptable.

It has been found that several dark traits have been linked to deceptive and exploitative behaviour in romantic relationships, such as one-night stands, faking an orgasm, or sending unsolicited sexual pictures. The increasing frustration and unhappiness makes women look for a distraction that results in such unfair behaviour patterns.

It has been shown in the study that foodie calls could occur in all types of relationships, and could be perpetrated by all genders.

Inputs from IANS