Why Wingmen keep us out of flaps

The job of a newspaper editor would be more difficult and less fun if university professors did not conduct and publish reports about odd research in the social sciences. In a way, on many a slow night on the newsdesk, you might call such a researcher — perhaps with a survey about the secrets that pets hear from their owners — the gleeful editor’s wingman for the evening.

Which is why it was singularly appropriate that we had a story to publish this week on research into the very notion of the wingman, conducted by a group of three academics including Jennifer Argo of the University of Alberta’s school of business.

The research suggested a) it is a human instinct to assist a peer in getting a more positive outcome from an interaction with a third party who is perceived to be reacting poorly, and b) this tendency is much stronger if the “wingman” is one friend “having the back” of another when facing one of life’s challenges.

The concept of the wingman is probably most associated with a man assisting another in an interaction with a new female acquaintance – although perhaps the truth is that for every male wingman trying to cover for a pal’s awkwardness, there is a wingwoman telling her friend, “For heaven’s sake, not him!”

But the fact is, with apologies to the researchers, their findings aren’t that surprising. Most of us know life is very much a team sport. The real issue is that too often our wingmen are on the ground refuelling when we could really do with some help.