Ah, the bars.

Ahh, Thursday nights.

Ahhh, midterms at 9:15 a.m. Friday morning.

Ahhhhhhhhh.

Why in the name of all things good would I do something like that?

Blame it on college.

Blame it on living through the #yolo hype.

Blame it on being easily peer-pressured by friends to make "the most" of Senior Year.

It may seem like ~not the best~ idea, to stay out & then make moves on my grades running on 4.5 hours of sleep.

But what would happen if this ~event~ was actually beneficial?

*say what now*

What would happen if going out to bars, instead of dampening my cognitive abilities, helped me study for my midterm the next day (ahem, later that morning)?

Well, when you’re studying attraction and mate selection in a class called Psychology of Close Relationships, the reason may become a little bit clearer.

We’ve recently come across the term proceptivity. And the example in the book used to illustrate it WAS set at a bar.

So, what is it?

Proceptivity can be thought of as the behaviors a ~person~ uses to demonstrate or signal interest in another person who may be pursuing him/her/they/it/etc.

And late on a Thursday night/early Friday morning, I got to witness proceptivity in action. A LOT.

Eyes lock & the gaze of interest lasts just a little longer than usual. The {girl} smiles or does something to suggest reciprocal interest (from afar). The {boy} makes his way over. They inch closer, begin to dance & the rest is history…

What’s the big deal?

It happens ALL THE TIME. It’s part of our prominent hook-up culture. Some will say it’s “just the way things work.”

But in the event that you’re interested in relationships at all, it becomes a little more important. It’s a relationship psych phenomenon that gives insight as to how we humans interact. That’s right–people study this stuff. (And I’m one of those people.)

And guess what concept showed up on my midterm that morning?

And guess who got an A on said exam?

And guess who got to experience Psychology in the real world?

~everyone at bars that night actually~

So, aside from making me more productive and motivating me to finish homework before 12 a.m., going out & observing the world had its advantages that night...with the caveat of related course material ;)

*Disclaimer: OK, so I didn't actually drink or anything that night, but I did stay out pretty late, so it counts in my book.*