Chapter 12. Online Dating

12.1 Introduction

Think Like a Scientist
true
dependent variable
The factor that is observed and measured for change in an experiment, thought to be influenced by the independent variable; also called the outcome variable.
correlation
The relationship between two variables.
independent variable
The purposely manipulated factor thought to produce change in an experiment; also called the treatment variable.
random assignment
The process of assigning participants to experimental conditions so that all participants have an equal chance of being assigned to any of the conditions or groups in the study.
experimental research
A method of investigation used to determine cause-and-effect relationships by purposely manipulating one factor thought to produce change in another factor.

Think Like a Scientist

Online Dating

By: Susan A. Nolan, Seton Hall University Sandra E. Hockenbury

FAQ

What is Think Like a Scientist?
Think Like a Scientist is a digital activity designed to help you develop your scientific thinking skills. Each activity places you in a different, real-world scenario, asking you to think critically about a specific claim.

Can instructors track your progress in Think Like a Scientist?
Scores from the five-question assessments at the end of each activity can be reported to your instructor. To ensure your privacy while participating in non-assessment features, which can include pseudoscientific quizzes or games, no other student response is saved or reported.

How is Think Like a Scientist aligned with the APA Guidelines 2.0?
The American Psychological Association’s “Guidelines for the Undergraduate Psychology Major” provides a set of learning goals for students. Think Like a Scientist addresses several of these goals, although it is specifically designed to develop skills from APA Goal 2: Scientific Inquiry and Critical Thinking. “Online Dating” covers many outcomes, including:

  • Interpret, design, and conduct basic psychological research: Define and explain the purpose of key research concepts that characterize psychological research [identify independent and dependent variables in a study]
  • Use scientific reasoning to interpret psychological phenomena: Ask relevant questions to gather more information about behavioral claims [consider alternative explanations offered by psychology research]

REFERENCES

Consumer Reports. (January 17. 2017). Consumer Reports survey finds online dating can be frustrating, time-consuming, but also produce long-term results. Retrieved from https://www.consumerreports.org/media-room/press-releases/2017/01/consumer_reports_survey_finds_online_dating_can_be_frustrating_time-consuming_but_also_produce_long-term_results/

Forgas, Joseph P., & Laham. Simon M. (2017). Halo effects. In Rüdiger F. Pohl (Ed.) Cognitive illusions: Intriguing phenomena in thinking, judgment and memory (276-290). New York, NY: Routledge.

Lewandowski, Gary W.; Aron, Arthur; & Gee, Julie. (2007). Personality goes a long way: The malleability of opposite-sex physical attractiveness. Personal Relationships, 14, 571–585. doi:10.1111/j.1475-6811.2007.00172.x

Lorenzo, Genevieve. L.; Biesanz, Jeremy C.; & Human, Lauren J. (2010). What is beautiful is good and more accurately understood: Physical attractiveness and accuracy in first impressions of personality. Psychological Science, 21, 1777–1782. doi:10.1177/0956797610388048

Rudder, Christian. (July 28, 2014). We experiment on human beings! OkTrends: Dating Research from OkCupid. Retrieved from http://blog.okcupid.com/index.php/page/2/

Sheppard, Leah D.; Goffin, Richard D.; Lewis, Rhys J.; & Olson, James. (2011). The effect of target attractiveness and rating method on the accuracy of trait ratings. Journal of Personnel Psychology, 10, 24–33. doi:10.1027/1866-5888/a000030

Smith, Aaron., & Duggan, Maeve. (October 21, 2013). Online dating and relationships. Pew Research Center. Retrieved from http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/10/21/online-dating-relationships/

Smith, Eliot R., & Collins, Elizabeth C. (2009). Contextualizing person perception: Distributed social cognition. Psychological Review, 116, 343–364. doi:10.1037/a0015072

12.2 Introduction

This activity invites you to explore claims about how we judge online dating profiles. First, you’ll review several online dating profiles and rate each of them. Next, you’ll examine evidence from a study that the online dating site OkCupid conducted on their members. Then you’ll consider alternative explanations for the OkCupid findings by examining psychology research on person perception. Finally, you’ll look at the source of the data—an online, for-profit company—and ask questions about the potential for bias in this type of research.

12.3 Identify the Claim

1.

Identify the Claim

12.3.1 Have You Tried Online Dating?

Online dating is increasingly popular. About 40% of those who describe themselves as “single and looking” have tried online dating (Smith & Duggan, 2013). And one study found that 44% of those who tried online dating ended up in a long-term relationship or marriage as a result (Consumer Reports, 2017). As the graph below shows, online dating has become a more and more acceptable way to meet someone.

Psychology research has told us a lot about factors that affect which people we’re attracted to in real life settings. Now, that research is helping us understand which people we’re attracted to online. If you have an online dating profile, you know firsthand how you evaluate potential dates. But even if you’ve never tried online dating, you probably have a sense of what you’d look for. In the next set of screens, you’ll get a chance to rate some profiles.

The image is a bar graph with the title 'Perception of dating online - 2005 and 2013'. The X-axis is titled 'Opinions' has two labels: 'online dating is a good way to meet people' and 'people who use online dating are desperate'. There are two bars for each label, one for data from 2005 and one for data from 2013. The Y-axis is titled 'Percentage' and is labeled from 0 to 80 in increments of 20. The data in the graph is as follows: Opinion 'Online dating is a good way to meet people' for 2005 is 42%, for 2013 is 60%. Opinion 'People who use online dating are desperate' for 2005 is 25%, for 2013 is 20%.

12.3.2 Rating Online Dating Profiles

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_profiles

Now it’s time to rate some fictional online profiles. Select whether you prefer to rate men or women by clicking on one of the two images below.

An image of a young man
Flashon Studio/Shutterstock

Rate him to continue.

An image of a young woman
Olga Bogatyrenko/Shutterstock

Rate her to continue.

12.3.3 Rate the First Dating Profile

Rate this man in terms of looks and personality. (You can see a larger version of the profile by clicking on it.)

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'SandDollar88' a Single, 24-year-old female from Chicago, Illinois. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I work in the travel and tourism industry and am on the road about 10-14 days a month. My job is great because I am constantly traveling to new places, but being out of town so much makes it hard to meet new people. So here I am! When I am in town, I like to explore new restaurants, take my nieces to museums, go to the beach, have drinks, and go shopping with my girlfriends. Traveling is something I like to do when I'm not working too, and I'm looking to meet someone who shares this interest. My friends and family are my world, so I spend a lot of time at hockey games, ballet recitals, and try to grab lunch or a drink with someone I care about daily. To stay active, I like to job and do tae-bo ( I can take it on the road with me!), so if you just want a jogging buddy, that could work too. What I'm doing with my life: Globetrotting, staying grounded on the go, and connecting with people I care about from all over the world. I'm really good at: Reading maps in foreign languages, whether I understand them or not. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: All the Lonely Planet books, National Geographic, The Bridges of Madison County, Downtown Abbey, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Orange is the New Black, whatever the local cuisine is wherever I am! I spend a lot of time thinking about: Where to travel next, figuring out what time zone I'm in. You should message me if: If your passport is your most prized possession, we'll probably have a lot in common. If you want to settle down in the suburbs tomorrow, we're probably not meant to be.
Olga Bogatyrenko/Shutterstock; Heidi van der Westhuizen/Getty Images; Hande Guleryuz Yuce/Getty Images; Wilson Valentin/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'Waiting4u', a Single, 22-year-old male from Providence, Rhode Island. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: What to say about myself: I'm a recent tech grad, working in IT. I'm also taking night classes towards my MBA. I have a great group of friends who share my love of the outdoors, so I'm basically in the city during the week and anywhere but on the weekends. Hiking, cycling, skiing, I don't care as long as there is fresh air involved. My goal in life is to own my own tech start-up, but I'm still a few years from getting that off the ground. I'm not really into TV, but enjoy movies and documentaries. Science fiction, horror, and suspense are my usual genres, but I'm not too picky. I usually get along best with people who are pretty laid back (or at least not high maintenance), who have good senses of humor and know how to laugh. I think these self-descriptions are pretty limiting, so if you have any questions about me, just send me a message. Or, better yet, let's meet for a drink, lunch, hike, or jog, and let's see if we click! What I'm doing with my life: Working at my laptop, taking classes, and getting outside as much as I can. I'm really good at: Making a tent out of two trash bags and starting a fire outside in the rain. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Mexican, Italian, tequila. Catcher in the Rye, Tennyson, The Blind Assassin, Castle, CSI, anything with Kevin Spacey. Hockey, camping, hiking, beach BBQs. Skiing, cycling, live music, old-school country, bluegrass. I spend a lot of time thinking about: Places I want to camp/hike, how lucky we are to be alive, how technology can make life better and safer. You should message me if: If you are looking to meet someone new, have fun, and see where things go. If it turns into something more, great, and if not, nothing lost.
Flashon Studio/Shutterstock; Pawel Gaul/Getty Images; Daniel Bendjy/Getty Images; Iain Sarjeant/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

Image description

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "Waiting4u", a Single, 22-year-old male from Providence, Rhode Island. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: What to say about myself: I'm a recent tech grad, working in IT. I'm also taking night classes towards my MBA. I have a great group of friends who share my love of the outdoors, so I'm basically in the city during the week and anywhere but on the weekends. Hiking, cycling, skiing, I don't care as long as there is fresh air involved. My goal in life is to own my own tech start-up, but I'm still a few years from getting that off the ground. I'm not really into TV, but enjoy movies and documentaries. Science fiction, horror, and suspense are my usual genres, but I'm not too picky. I usually get along best with people who are pretty laid back (or at least not high maintenance), who have good senses of humor and know how to laugh. I think these self-descriptions are pretty limiting, so if you have any questions about me, just send me a message. Or, better yet, let's meet for a drink, lunch, hike, or jog, and let's see if we click!

What I'm doing with my life: Working at my laptop, taking classes, and getting outside as much as I can.

I'm really good at: Making a tent out of two trash bags and starting a fire outside in the rain.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Mexican, Italian, tequila. Catcher in the Rye, Tennyson, The Blind Assassin, Castle, CSI, anything with Kevin Spacey. Hockey, camping, hiking, beach BBQs. Skiing, cycling, live music, old-school country, bluegrass.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: Places I want to camp/hike, how lucky we are to be alive, how technology can make life better and safer.

You should message me if: If you are looking to meet someone new, have fun, and see where things go. If it turns into something more, great, and if not, nothing lost.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "SandDollar88" a Single, 24-year-old female from Chicago, Illinois. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I work in the travel and tourism industry and am on the road about 10-14 days a month. My job is great because I am constantly traveling to new places, but being out of town so much makes it hard to meet new people. So here I am! When I am in town, I like to explore new restaurants, take my nieces to museums, go to the beach, have drinks, and go shopping with my girlfriends. Traveling is something I like to do when I'm not working too, and I'm looking to meet someone who shares this interest. My friends and family are my world, so I spend a lot of time at hockey games, ballet recitals, and try to grab lunch or a drink with someone I care about daily. To stay active, I like to job and do tae-bo ( I can take it on the road with me!), so if you just want a jogging buddy, that could work too.

What I'm doing with my life: Globetrotting, staying grounded on the go, and connecting with people I care about from all over the world.

I'm really good at: Reading maps in foreign languages, whether I understand them or not.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: All the Lonely Planet books, National Geographic, The Bridges of Madison County, Downtown Abbey, Mad Men, Parks and Recreation, Orange is the New Black, whatever the local cuisine is wherever I am!

I spend a lot of time thinking about: Where to travel next, figuring out what time zone I'm in.

You should message me if: If your passport is your most prized possession, we'll probably have a lot in common. If you want to settle down in the suburbs tomorrow, we're probably not meant to be.

LOOKS

PERSONALITY
LOOKS

PERSONALITY

12.3.4 Rate the Second Dating Profile

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_profiles

Rate this man in terms of looks and personality. (You can see a larger version of the profile by clicking on it.)

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'Scribbles A lot' a Single, 19-year-old female from Toronto, Ontario. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I'm a journalism student by day, restaurant server by night. I do the work I have to do to do the work I love. And I do pretty well. Recently I was an intern at The New York Times Magazine, and I am currently writing a piece about fluoride in drinking water for my special studies project. I sometimes have to cover the odd shift to make ends meet, but it's totally worth it. Though I'm not a scientist, I find it fascinating, and I'm really interested in the interaction between people and natural resources. My ideal partner is someone who likes time together and time alone, likes to talk about social issues and is curious about what makes the world and people in it tick. I've been told I can be intense sometimes, but I am also fun-loving and a great listener. If it sounds like we might get along, send me a message! What I'm doing with my life: Chasing the next story, serving burgers, dreaming big. I'm really good at: Telling it like it is, being a human thesaurus, and grammar. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Anything by Michelle Tea, Mary Oliver, A Call to Service, An Inconvenient Truth, The Madness of King George, burritos, and sushi. I spend a lot of time thinking about: When we can stop debating whether climate change is real and what story I have to write to get the obvious facts across. You should message me if: People with opinions are intriguing to you, you've got ideas to share, and you're open to new ideas.
Stuart Monk/Shutterstock; Todd Klassy/Shutterstock; Floortie/Getty Images; david franklin/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'Flirtin' foodie', a Single, 21-year-old male from Sacramento, California. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a sous chef working in catering. I love my job and work hard ( on a typical work day I may not get home until 2 in the morning), but I still find time to have fun. In my time off, brunch, movies, cooking for friends, and reading are all ways that I like to relax. I like to learn about food and good beer (I brew my own). If you like foodie road trips (visits to breweries, wine tastings, cheese shows), you should definitely send me a message. My friends would say I am thoughtful, a little impulsive, and more than a little goofy. I prefer to date people with a sense of adventure. Overall, I really like my life, but I'd like to share it with someone. Teach me about something you care about and I'll cook you dinner. You should message me if you like to work hard and play hard, like to eat, can handle my wacky sense of humor, and are up for a dinner with a nice guy. You won't be bored! What I'm doing with my life: Constantly learning my trade, enjoying my wonderful friends. I'm really good at: Getting people to like foods they thought they hated by preparing them a way they've never eaten before. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Cookbooks, Gourmet magazine, the New York Times, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Master Chef, Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, American Horror Story. Food. All of it. I spend a lot of time thinking about: Dreaming about owning my own restaurant someday. You should message me if: You are kind, honest, outgoing, don't mind my crazy work hours, like to work hard too, and want to see where things go!
michaeljung/Shutterstock; Daniel Bendjy/Getty Images; rich legg/Getty Images; Heidi Kristensen/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

Image description

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "Flirtin' foodie", a Single, 21-year-old male from Sacramento, California. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a sous chef working in catering. I love my job and work hard ( on a typical work day I may not get home until 2 in the morning), but I still find time to have fun. In my time off, brunch, movies, cooking for friends, and reading are all ways that I like to relax. I like to learn about food and good beer (I brew my own). If you like foodie road trips (visits to breweries, wine tastings, cheese shows), you should definitely send me a message. My friends would say I am thoughtful, a little impulsive, and more than a little goofy. I prefer to date people with a sense of adventure. Overall, I really like my life, but I'd like to share it with someone. Teach me about something you care about and I'll cook you dinner. You should message me if you like to work hard and play hard, like to eat, can handle my wacky sense of humor, and are up for a dinner with a nice guy. You won't be bored!

What I'm doing with my life: Constantly learning my trade, enjoying my wonderful friends.

I'm really good at: Getting people to like foods they thought they hated by preparing them a way they've never eaten before.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Cookbooks, Gourmet magazine, the New York Times, Breaking Bad, Game of Thrones, Master Chef, Hell's Kitchen, The F Word, American Horror Story. Food. All of it.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: Dreaming about owning my own restaurant someday.

You should message me if: You are kind, honest, outgoing, don't mind my crazy work hours, like to work hard too, and want to see where things go!

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "Scribbles A lot" a Single, 19-year-old female from Toronto, Ontario. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I'm a journalism student by day, restaurant server by night. I do the work I have to do to do the work I love. And I do pretty well. Recently I was an intern at The New York Times Magazine, and I am currently writing a piece about fluoride in drinking water for my special studies project. I sometimes have to cover the odd shift to make ends meet, but it's totally worth it. Though I'm not a scientist, I find it fascinating, and I'm really interested in the interaction between people and natural resources. My ideal partner is someone who likes time together and time alone, likes to talk about social issues and is curious about what makes the world and people in it tick. I've been told I can be intense sometimes, but I am also fun-loving and a great listener. If it sounds like we might get along, send me a message!

What I'm doing with my life: Chasing the next story, serving burgers, dreaming big.

I'm really good at: Telling it like it is, being a human thesaurus, and grammar.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Anything by Michelle Tea, Mary Oliver, A Call to Service, An Inconvenient Truth, The Madness of King George, burritos, and sushi.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: When we can stop debating whether climate change is real and what story I have to write to get the obvious facts across.

You should message me if: People with opinions are intriguing to you, you've got ideas to share, and you're open to new ideas.

LOOKS

PERSONALITY
LOOKS

PERSONALITY

12.3.5 Rate the Third Dating Profile

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_profiles

Rate this man in terms of looks and personality. (You can see a larger version of the profile by clicking on it.)

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'Nebraska Newbie' a Single, 24-year-old female from Atlanta, Georgia. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: New to Atlanta, looking to meet new people! What I'm doing with my life: Working for the Centers for Disease Control. I'm really good at: Finding deals and the silver lining of almost any situation. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: A Room with a View, Casino Royale, Jane Austin, Vietnamese food. I spend a lot of time thinking about: How I will melt in Atlanta's summer heat! You should message me if: You want to show me around this cool city.
aastock/Shutterstock; Maxim Bolotnikov/Getty Images; Antonio Diaz/Getty Images; Boris Katsman/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'Happy Traveler', a Single, 18-year-old male from Topeka, Kansas. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a hopeless romantic with a two-year-old son who stays with me two days a week. What I'm doing with my life: Working in construction, trying to be the best parent I can be. I'm really good at: I'm pretty good at fixing stuff, and I make the best lasagna (sorry, Mom). Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: The X-men movies, Gravity, Iron Man, pizza, wings, nachos, and classic rock. I spend a lot of time thinking about: How awesome my son is and how much he means to me. You should message me if: You're responsible, fun, and open to starting something long term.
Maridav/Shutterstock; DimasEKB/Shutterstock; simply creative photography/Getty Images; snapphoto/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

Image description

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "Happy Traveler", a Single, 18-year-old male from Topeka, Kansas. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a hopeless romantic with a two-year-old son who stays with me two days a week.

What I'm doing with my life: Working in construction, trying to be the best parent I can be.

I'm really good at: I'm pretty good at fixing stuff, and I make the best lasagna (sorry, Mom).

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: The X-men movies, Gravity, Iron Man, pizza, wings, nachos, and classic rock.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: How awesome my son is and how much he means to me.

You should message me if: You're responsible, fun, and open to starting something long term.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "Nebraska Newbie" a Single, 24-year-old female from Atlanta, Georgia. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: New to Atlanta, looking to meet new people!

What I'm doing with my life: Working for the Centers for Disease Control.

I'm really good at: Finding deals and the silver lining of almost any situation.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: A Room with a View, Casino Royale, Jane Austin, Vietnamese food.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: How I will melt in Atlanta's summer heat!

You should message me if: You want to show me around this cool city.

LOOKS

PERSONALITY
LOOKS

PERSONALITY

12.3.6 Rate the Fourth Dating Profile

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_profiles

Rate this man in terms of looks and personality. (You can see a larger version of the profile by clicking on it.)

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'ApplesnOranges' a Single, 22-year-old female from Boston, Massachusetts. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I'm a nursery school aide who's been living in Boston for the last four years. I've been single for most of that time, and I'm ready to have some fun! What I'm doing with my life: Shaping young minds and enjoying the moment. I'm really good at: Keeping track of the scores for three sports games at once. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Anything Oprah recommends, Silver Linings Playbook, When Harry Met Sally, Mexican food and margaritas, pretty open-minded on music. I spend a lot of time thinking about: The fact that I still (kind of) have a summer vacation, and I'm so excited! You should message me if: You're committed to your family and interested in making a genuine connection.
PathDoc/Shutterstock; nautilis_shell_studios/Getty Images; Todd Keith/Getty Images; Jim Jurica/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for 'ANor' easter22', a Single, 19-year-old male from New York, New York. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a performing arts student and musical theatre whiz. I don't slow down and I don't sit still! What I'm doing with my life: Currently in school to pursue musical theatre and dragging my friends to as many off-Broadway shows as I can. I'm really good at: Singing in elevators, dancing in subways,, making old people and kids laugh. Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Glee, Grease, Showgirls, sushi, Bjork, St. Vincent, Damian Rice, and show tunes! I spend a lot of time thinking about: Fred Astaire vs. Michael Jackson. I can't decide! You should message me if: You have a lot of energy and like being around upbeat people.
Dundanim/Shutterstock; Arthur Carlo Franco/Getty Images' Massimo Merlini/Getty Images; Gregor Inkret/Getty Images
Licensed Material is being used for illustrative purposes only; person depicted in the licensed Material is a model.

Image description

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "ANor' easter22", a Single, 19-year-old male from New York, New York. The following is the content posted on his page. My Self-Summary: I'm a performing arts student and musical theatre whiz. I don't slow down and I don't sit still!

What I'm doing with my life: Currently in school to pursue musical theatre and dragging my friends to as many off-Broadway shows as I can.

I'm really good at: Singing in elevators, dancing in subways,, making old people and kids laugh.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Glee, Grease, Showgirls, sushi, Bjork, St. Vincent, Damian Rice, and show tunes!

I spend a lot of time thinking about: Fred Astaire vs. Michael Jackson. I can't decide!

You should message me if: You have a lot of energy and like being around upbeat people.

The image is a screenshot of a profile page on Findr for "ApplesnOranges" a Single, 22-year-old female from Boston, Massachusetts. The following is the content posted on her page. My Self-Summary: I'm a nursery school aide who's been living in Boston for the last four years. I've been single for most of that time, and I'm ready to have some fun!

What I'm doing with my life: Shaping young minds and enjoying the moment.

I'm really good at: Keeping track of the scores for three sports games at once.

Favorite books, movies, shows, music, and food: Anything Oprah recommends, Silver Linings Playbook, When Harry Met Sally, Mexican food and margaritas, pretty open-minded on music.

I spend a lot of time thinking about: The fact that I still (kind of) have a summer vacation, and I'm so excited!

You should message me if: You're committed to your family and interested in making a genuine connection.

LOOKS

PERSONALITY
LOOKS

PERSONALITY

12.3.7 Determining Personality Rating

You just rated four people for looks and personality based on their online dating profiles. Now, in a couple of sentences, explain how you determined the personality rating for the four profiles. What was your general strategy for how you judged these people’s personalities?

Question

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Did you notice that two of the profiles you rated had very little personal information, while the other two had a fairly extensive self-description? Yet, all four profiles included a photo. If there wasn’t much text, you may have felt no choice but to use the photo when judging personality. In that case, did the person’s attractiveness influence how you rated his or her personality? On the other hand, while judging personality, did you consider the photo or ignore it when there was a lot of text?

12.3.8 Identifying the Claim

Based on your experience rating these four dating profiles, let’s identify a claim about the use of photos—and perhaps attractiveness—in assessing the personality of people based on their online dating profiles.

Question 12.1

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This is the claim you identified: People consider attractiveness when rating someone’s personality even if there is other information available. Next, let’s think like a scientist and evaluate the evidence!
This is the claim you identified: People consider attractiveness when rating someone’s personality only if there isn’t other information available. Next, let’s think like a scientist and evaluate the evidence!
1

12.4 Evaluate the Evidence

2.

Evaluate the Evidence

12.4.1 "We Experiment on Human Beings!"

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_slide13

It turns out that a major online dating company, OkCupid, tested your claim—that people rely on attractiveness when rating personality only if there isn’t other information available (Rudder, 2013). In fact, if you used OkCupid in 2013, you may have been in this experiment! Let’s look at what they did.

A blog post titled “We Experiment on Human Beings!” summarized the results of several experiments that were conducted on the site’s users. In its earlier years, OkCupid allowed for separate ratings of looks and personality, just as you saw in the profiles you rated. Data showed that ratings of looks and personality were strongly related. The graph shows the highly positive correlation of the two ratings. Almost without exception, the looks and personality scores for each profile were no more than a half point apart.

The image is a scatterplot titled 'The highly positive correlation between ratings of looks and personality'. The X-axis is titled 'Looks' and has too labels: 'Low in attractiveness' and 'High in attractiveness'. The Y-axis is titled 'Personality' and has two labels from top to bottom: 'Great' and 'Poor'. The dots in the graph are clumped tightly together forming a band of dots that is diagonal in the graph, going from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. Those who rated looks low in attractiveness, also rated personality as poor. Those who rated looks high in attractiveness, also rated personality as great.

12.4.2 The OkCupid Study, Part I

Today, OkCupid has one overall rating scale. After all, there’s no point in separating scores for looks and personality if they’re pretty much identical. So, OkCupid conducted an experiment on the new single scale to test whether people rate profiles based only on the photo, while ignoring any text. To test this idea, OkCupid hid a profile’s text half of the time so only the photo was available. The other half of the time, they showed the whole profile—text and photo.

Question 12.2

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Correct! The independent variable was type of profile (photo only, or photo and text). The researchers manipulated the type of profile through random assignment, so that profiles were shown with the photo only or with both the photo and the text.
Actually, the answer is A. The independent variable was type of profile (photo only, or photo and text). The researchers manipulated the type of profile through random assignment, so that profiles were shown with the photo only or with both the photo and the text.

Question 12.3

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That is correct! The dependent variable was each profile’s overall rating for each condition. The researchers wondered whether the overall rating would depend on the type of profile: photo only, or photo and text.
Actually, the answer is B. The dependent variable was each profile’s overall rating for each condition. The researchers wondered whether the overall rating would depend on the type of profile: photo only, or photo and text.

12.4.3 The OkCupid Study, Part II

hockenbury_tls_ch12_online_dating_slide15

If your OkCupid profile was used in this study, it received two scores—one for your full profile and one for your profile with just the photo (no text). Earlier, you hypothesized that people only took the photo into account when judging personality if that was the only piece of information. Turns out that’s not the case.

You can see the findings in this graph. The ratings were basically the same with or without the text. Here’s OkCupid co-founder and researcher, Christian Rudder’s, take-away from the OkCupid experiment: “So, your picture is worth that fabled thousand words, but your actual words are worth . . . almost nothing” (Rudder, 2013).

The image is a scatterplot titled 'The highly positive correlation between ratings of OK Cupid profiles with and without text'. The X-axis is titled 'Rating based on photo and text' and has too labels: 'Low' and 'High'. The Y-axis is titled 'Rating based on photo only' and has two labels from top to bottom: 'High' and 'Low'. The dots in the graph are clumped tightly together forming a band of dots that is diagonal in the graph, going from the lower left corner to the upper right corner. Those who rated low based on photo and text, also rated low with a photo only. Those who rated high based on photo and text, also rated high with a photo only.

12.5 Consider Alternative Explanations

3.

Consider Alternative Explanations

12.5.1 Why Do We Use Looks to Judge Personality?

According to Rudder, the site’s users viewed looks and personality as “the same thing, which of course makes perfect sense because, you know, this young female account holder, with a 99th percentile personality … and whose profile, by the way, contained no text, is just so obviously a really cool person” (Rudder, 2013).

This snarky example makes fun of the fact that most of us are fine using just a photo to judge a stranger’s personality; we don’t really care about personality as long as someone is attractive. But is that really true? Thinking like a scientist requires us to consider alternative explanations.

Serg Zastavkin/Shutterstock

12.5.2 Alternative Explanation #1

Alternative explanation #1: We believe in a link between looks and personality. The researcher’s explanation for the fact that we judge personality based on looks seems to be that we don’t really care about personality. But research shows that people tend to believe that more attractive people actually have better personalities than less attractive people (Forgas & Laham, 2017; Lorenzo & others, 2010). As we learned in the chapter on social psychology, this is known as the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype. In fact, movies and TV shows often use this stereotype to quickly cue an audience to a character’s role. Even if you know nothing about the Harry Potter or Hunger Games series, you can probably guess just from their looks that Lord Voldemort (top photo) is evil, and Katniss Everdeen (bottom photo) is good.

Image of a angry faced man with pointy teeth, no protruding nose, and who is dressed in black.
Warner Brothers/Everett Collection
Image of a young man and woman dressed in white with nice features and highlights in the image.
Color Force / The Kobal Collection

12.5.3 Alternative Explanation #2

hockenbury_tls_ch12_change_feedback

Alternative explanation #2: There really is a link between looks and personality. The stereotype that “what is beautiful is good” might be true. Research shows that attractive people actually do tend to have more positive personality traits than average-looking people (Sheppard & others, 2011). This may occur because attractive people often receive more favorable treatment based on their looks from parents, teachers, employers, and peers. It’s possible we have picked up on this pattern without being fully aware of it.

So, OkCupid’s research tells us that profiles are rated primarily based on the photo. And we have outlined three competing explanations for that finding.

Question 12.4

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3

12.5.4 Not Hot? Don’t Worry!

A good scientist always remembers that psychology findings are about groups, not any one specific person. So, on average, more attractive people might have more positive personality traits than less attractive people. But there are always individual differences—people who don’t fit the group pattern. We can all think of plenty of people who aren’t widely considered attractive, but who are funny or cool – such as Lena Dunham or Zach Galifianakis (pictured below). And there are plenty of highly attractive people who are difficult to be around. For example, some good-looking actors like Russell Crowe, Julia Roberts, Jennifer Lopez (pictured below), and Christian Bale are notoriously difficult to work with on set.

Image of Zach Galifianakis
Warner Brothers/The Kobal Collection
Image of Jennifer Lopez
Jordan Strauss/Invision/AP

12.5.5 First Impressions Don’t Always Last

The good news for those of us who fall short of Hollywood standards of beauty: First impressions don’t always last. If we can get to the stage of meeting someone in person, we adjust our perceptions as we get to know that person better (Smith & Collins, 2009).

Even without meeting someone in person, we can adjust perceptions. It turns out we do this routinely with dating profiles. When researchers showed a photo paired with desirable personality traits, perceptions of physical attractiveness (on a scale from 1-10) increased for both women and men, as you can see in the graph (Lewandowski & others, 2007). The opposite occurred when researchers showed undesirable personality traits alongside a photo. Both women and men then found the person in the photo to be less attractive.

The image is a bar graph. The X-axis is has two labels: 'effect of desirable personality traits' and 'effect of undesirable personality traits'. There are two bars for each label, one for men and one for women. The Y-Axis is titled 'Change in attractiveness ratings' and is labeled from -1.5 to 1. in increments of 0.5. The data for the graph is as follows: Effect of desirable personality traits for men is 0.50, for women is 0.65. Effects of undesirable personality traits for men is -0.50, for women is -1.10.

12.6 Consider the Source of the Research or Claim

4.

Consider the Source of the Research or Claim

12.6.1 OkCupid’s Goal

When a for-profit company conducts research, always consider how this might influence their findings. Which of the following are likely reasons that OkCupid conducts experiments on their users?

Question 12.5

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Correct! “We Experiment on Human Beings!” is a provocative title and it worked. OkCupid’s research was picked up by media outlets around the world, which led many online users to the OkCupid site. Success!
Actually, this is a likely reason. “We Experiment on Human Beings!” is a provocative title and it worked. OkCupid’s research was picked up by media outlets around the world, which led many online users to the OkCupid site. Success!
2

Question 12.6

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Correct! Here is how OkCupid described their primary reason for conducting this research: “OkCupid doesn’t really know what it’s doing. . . . Experiments are how you sort all this out.”
Actually, this is a likely reason. Here is how OkCupid described their primary reason for conducting this research: “OkCupid doesn’t really know what it’s doing. . . . Experiments are how you sort all this out.”
2

Question 12.7

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Correct! There are no indications that OkCupid let outside researchers access their data.
Actually, this is not a likely reason. There are no indications that OkCupid let outside researchers access their data.
2

12.6.2 When Money Is Involved, Ask More Questions

When money and research are involved together, think like a scientist and ask more questions. First, ask questions about ethics. Research conducted by people at for-profit companies is not always subject to important ethical safeguards. For example, ask whether participants have given informed consent, as well as how their data are stored and shared. OkCupid users did not realize they participated in experiments.

Second, ask questions about peer review. OkCupid didn’t use the gold standard of peer review; other scientists did not give their stamp of approval to this research. So, we need to ask whether these findings make sense when compared to other research that’s been done on this topic. In this case, the OkCupid data seem to fit with research on the “what is beautiful is good” stereotype. But they do not seem to fit with other research in which a photo plus a description of positive personality traits led to higher ratings of attractiveness than just a photo (Lewandowski & others, 2007). So, the full story of how we judge personality may be more subtle; we probably don’t judge people’s personalities based just on their looks.

WIN-Initiative/Getty Images

12.7 Assessment

5.

Assessment

12.7.1 Assessment

Question

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The correct answer is A. Person perception refers to the cognitive processes that guide how we form impressions of other people.

Question

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
The correct answer is D. Correlational studies examine how closely two variables are related to each other—in this case, ratings of looks and personality.

Question

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The correct answer is C. Researchers at OkCupid reported that ratings of looks and personality are highly correlated. These researchers believe that raters rely on people’s photos—and how attractive people are—when rating both looks and personality.

Question

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
The correct answer is B. For-profit research sometimes raises ethical concerns. For example, participants may not have provided informed consent, an indication that they are participating voluntarily. And they may not have received information about the study afterwards, a procedure known as debriefing.

Question

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The correct answer is C because human behavior is messy. Psychological science can tell us about people on average, but there will always be some people who behave differently. Psychological research typically applies to groups rather than individuals.