Interpersonal Attraction and Close Relationships

Today

- mate preferences

- meeting online or in person and relationship outcomes

Evolutionary Psychology

: our current preferences and traits evolved via natural selection because they presented a survival and / or reproductive advantage to our early human ancestors

Classical Psychological Approach : Mate Preferences _ Buss & Barnes, 1986

- Typically measured by giving people a list of attributes and asking them to rank order them in terms of their importance in a romantic partner.

- Top three

1. kind and understanding

2. exciting personality

3. intelligent

- Sex Differences

1. men want physically attractive more than women

2. women want good earning capacity more than men

Q Why sex difference in mate preferences ?

A Evolutionary Psychology, Social Role Theory 

Critique of mate preferences research using classical psychological approach

- existing theories constrain what researchers look for ( they may be focusing on the wrong things )

- Solution : big data !

Mate preferences research using big data _ Lee, Benedict & Debruine, Year

- method Used an algorithm to find themes in online dating

profiles

- 8,143 profiles

- results top 25 topics mentioned

- results sex differences

1. men mentioned education and status and video games more often

2. women mentioned being honest and caring and pets/animals more often

- results What makes an online dater desirable?

female dater

_ less desirable : sex being a parent

_ more desirable : food/health friends/family outdoor activities

male dater

_ less desirable : sex being a parent

_ more desirable : outdoor activities music/art

Comparing Approaches

- Little data / classical psychological

http://www.midss.org/sites/default/files/matepreferencesquestionnaires.pdf

- Big data

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/521995413049981514/?lp=true

Online Dating Profile Examples for Men

Meeting online vs. In person : Your preference

I prefer to meet potential romantic partners in person

Meeting online vs. In person : The research

: big data psychological research

- big data : largeish data sets

- big data : online data 

- psychology : based on theories

- psychology : includes self-report data

Meeting online vs. In person : The theory

-   choice overload : having too many choices makes people have a difficult time choosing and they feel less satisfied with their choices

-   the advantage of choice : more overall options allows people more options that fit their specific needs or criteria

Meeting online vs. In person _ Cacioppo Et Al, 2013

- method : nationally representative sample of 19,131 adults married between 2005 and 2012

- results

1. Fewer marital breakups in couples who met online (vs. in person)

2. Higher marital satisfaction in couples who met online (vs. in person)

Both of these were relatively small differences.

Meeting online vs. In person _ Rosenfeld, 2017

- method : longitudinal study of approximately 3,000 adults who were initially married or coupled from 2009 to 2015

- results : No difference in breakup rates based on meeting online vs. in person.

Meeting online vs. In person : Summary

1. Meeting online seems to be as good as or better for creating lasting relationships than meeting in person.

2. Marital satisfaction of couples who met online is a bit higher than those who met offline.

( also differences depending on exactly where and how couples met )

3. Consistent with the advantage of choice. May also be due to characteristics of people who pursue online dating

( ex. ready to find a partner and settled down )