What's the psychology behind the cat call?

I’d say it’s usually the single man’s way of building some confidence for them self, or earn the “respect” of their friends. That, or the married man’s way of letting off some steam.

The more negative the persons reaction the better.

@poisonedantidote The more negative the person’s reaction, the better? Why? I’m so confused.

Three builders are standing on a construction sight balcony, one of them cat calls at a blond girl with big boobs. He knows he is not getting any action, and even if he were given attention, he is still stuck at work.

Not so negative reaction:

Builder 1 – “Hey, nice tits sexy!” (She looks round nothing happens)

Builder 2&3 – “Haha, she gave you the could shoulder”

Builder 1 – “Whatever” (Work continues)

More negative reaction:

Builder 1 – Hey, nice tits sexy!”

Girl – “Fuck off you pathetic pervert”

Builders 1, 2 & 3 – “HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA” (work is disrupted for the next 5 minutes and esporadically during the day as everyone jokes about it.

In the more negative situation, the guy who calls out takes a bigger blow to his ego, thus showing his co-workers he has a thicker skin than in the not so negative situation. The reaction is more memorable, and can be joked about again tomorrow, when a different cat call and different girl result in another reaction. e.g. “Hehe, at least she did not call you a pervert, maybe you have some luck to come”.

The more negative reaction allows for far more mockery and laughter.

EDIT:

It can also help to have memories of really horrible things a girl said to you one time, specially if you are just about to make a pass at a girl you like, when it all goes wrong, you can say “Oh well, at leat she did not call me a fucking pathetic pervert”.

@poisonedantidote So it’s like when guys do seemingly stupid stunts (drinking an entire bottle of hot sauce, skateboarding over a trash can on fire, etc) to prove their masculinity, and the less likely they are to succeed, the better?

@Aethelflaed Yes and no, that would be just one aspect of it. It could also be for fun, or could also be that the delusional guy thinks he actually stands a chance by doing this.

EDIT:

I would just like to mention, this is not something I personally do. I’m more quiet than that. However I have a lot of experience observing it happen. The only time I will do anything at all like this, is actually more face to face. e.g “Well hello there” as a new pretty client walks past me at work.

I’m an idiot that thinks this girl is a slut because what intelligent woman would answer to my primitive mating call…....

It’s an assertion of his heterosexuality. A desperate, embarrassing assertion.

I believe that’s a condition known as neanderthalprick syndrome.

It’s just a stupid attempt at fun, along most of the lines @poisonedantidote mentioned.

Usually from a car load of guys so one guy can show off for the others. It is not done to make a female feel good about herself. Several years ago I was walking my dog and happened to be walking by a church that was letting out. Doesn’t matter that it was a church, it was a lot of people coming out of a building and some guys that I didn’t know drove by and one screamed out the window, “fucking cunt” and all the other guys started laughing. I had no reason to be embarrassed at what some idiots yelled at me, but I was.

I call it hornytude.

the attitude of the horny, desperate, macho male

The horn is broken.

So, if it’s just a “stupid attempt at fun”, is there any acknowledgement that this is not fun for the woman in question? Because, you know, I hate to ruin it for you guys but there’s a person in there.

@blackberry I’d agree that I think it derives from the instinct to try a mating call/ritual.

Very interesting. Thanks all!!

Not sure of the origins of it, but the mentality really is idiotic.