Supporting user evaluation of messaging interactions with potential romantic partners discovered online

Online dating systems have transformed the way people pursue romance. To arrive at a decision to meet for a face-to-face date, users gather information about each other online pertinent to romantic attraction. Yet sometimes they discover on the date that they made the wrong choice. One aspect of online dating system-use that may be a contributing factor, but is largely overlooked in the literature, is interaction through text-based messaging interfaces. This dissertation explores how messaging interactions inform face-to-face meeting decisions through two qualitative studies, and explores through a mixed methods field study how innovative messaging interfaces that embody theory from marriage literature can help users predict enjoyment of face-to-face interactions. Two qualitative studies of users of the online dating system OkCupid (n=41) and professional online dating coaches (n=35) indicate that users may have difficulty foreseeing unenjoyable face-to-face interactions because some users behave in ways during messaging interactions that differ from subsequent face-to-face interactions. Typical approaches to messaging resembled auditions in which female users hastily reject men whose messages are not immediately appealing, and male users compete for female attention with prewritten or carefully crafted message content. Theories of relationship satisfaction are used to propose new ways that messaging interfaces could support online daters. Models of marital satisfaction posit that problem-solving discussions (i.e., interactions in which partners are prompted to discuss a disagreement of opinion) are conducive to expression of attraction-relevant traits (e.g., personality). If this theory extends to potential romantic partners, messaging interfaces that prompt online daters with problem-solving discussion topics may yield interactions online that are similarly enjoyable to future, in-person interactions in which the richer, face-to-face context inherently supports signaling of attraction-relevant traits. A messaging interface prototype is designed based on the concept of problem-solving discussions and assessed alongside a standard, open messaging interface through a mixed methods field study (n=85). Results indicate that prompting users to discuss topics that they disagreed on does not help them make better face-to-face meeting decisions. Female daters are uncomfortable with an emphasis on disagreements because of anticipated arguments and men are indifferent to the interface because they seek signals of attraction more so than compatibility. However, female users\u27 decisions to meet face-to-face do benefit from a messaging interface that prompts users to discuss topics that they agreed on. In contrast, men\u27s decisions to meet face-to-face are worsened by the same prompted-agreement interface due to misinterpreting an emphasized agreement as a signal of attraction from women. Together, results suggest that a redesigned topic-prompted messaging interface should clarify to users that an emphasized (dis)agreement of opinion is not intended to incite an argument or insinuate attraction. A broader design implication includes acknowledging that users prioritize signals of compatibility and attraction differently and customizing messaging interface components to highlight information pertinent to users\u27 varying needs

Uncertainty In Online Dating

Relationship initiation is a moment typically characterized by high uncertainty, and online dating platforms have the potential to heighten uncertainty and thus deeply affect relationship formation dynamics. While previous research has focused on other-uncertainty and on its reduction through information-seeking, this qualitative study adopts Babrow’s (2001) problematic integration (PI) theory to expand our understanding of uncertainty in online dating beyond other-focused uncertainty, by exploring the meanings and sources of uncertainty in online dating, how uncertainty is appraised, and what strategies daters adopt to cope with it. Data obtained from 13 semi-structured interviews with active online daters was analyzed using thematic analysis. The analysis uncovered multiple sources of uncertainty related to the self, the other, and the relationship, and multiple epistemological and ontological meanings daters ascribed to uncertainty that validated PI’s perspective. Daters often appraised uncertainty as undesirable, but they also appeared willing to tolerate unsolved uncertainty they deemed acceptable; furthermore, uncertainty was not always salient in their interactions, suggesting the need for further investigation into the biopsychological aspects of the appraisal process. Daters’ varied coping strategies revealed that uncertainty reduction was often forgone when it conflicted with communication goals, and the reliance on decision-making heuristics reflected the recognition that uncertainty could rarely be solved in full, especially in a context characterized by an emphasis on mate selection and abundance of choice. The analysis also revealed that the online dating process has the potential to increase the negative effects of uncertainty by delaying interpersonal communication and thus problematizing the most significant coping strategy available to daters

Factors of adoption: Initiating relationships using online dating sites

The present study used the Diffusion of Innovations Model to explore the circumstances that lead graduate and professional students enrolled at the a university in southern Nevada to adopt online dating services with the intent of initiating a serious commitment with a potential partner. The diffusion model was used to frame online dating as a process that people go through in acquiring knowledge about the service, forming an opinion about it, testing the service, and finally adopting the service into their daily life. Factors such as time afforded to relationships, apprehension in social situations, safety, and opinions of online dating were tested to determine adoption. Using an online quantitative survey, 68 graduate and professional students volunteered to participate in the study, 31 having used online dating, and 37 not having used online dating. There were 14 males, and 54 females from ages 21 to 57 (m = 31.57, sd = 7.076). Analysis was run using t-tests and correlations to determine whether or not the hypotheses were supported

Muslim students’ intention to search for a life partner over the internet

This study aims to examine factors that could influence Muslim students’ intention in searching for a life partner over the internet. The Theory of Planned Behaviour is adapted as a theoretical framework and four hypotheses are proposed. Data collection was conducted using a self-administered questionnaire and analysed using Partial Least Square-Structural Equation Modeling. The result of the study provides support towards all the hypotheses. Attitude, subjective norms, perceived behavioural control and trust are found to be positively and significantly related to intention. These findings offer knowledge to the online matrimonial site operators on the important factors to be considered in attracting prospective users. In addition, the study has also empirically tested the applicability of the Theory of Planned Behaviour in the context of the internet as a medium to search for a life partner among Muslim students. The study is among a few marketing researches available in the context of online matrimonial services

Language Use and Impression Formation:The Effects of Linguistic Cues in Online Dating Profiles

Online daters: check je taal en spelling, goed taalgebruik maakt aantrekkelijk Promovenda Tess van der Zanden onderzocht hoe het taalgebruik in onlinedatingprofielen van elkaar verschilt en hoe dit indrukken over de aantrekkelijkheid van de profieleigenaar beïnvloedt. Ze vergeleek daarbij 12.000 datingprofielen en bevroeg online daters voor haar empirische onderzoek waarop zij op 22 oktober promoveert. Van der Zanden onderzocht eerst de fase van profielconstructie waarin gebruikers een profiel(tekst) creëren om zichzelf te presenteren. Vervolgens de fase van profielverwerking waarin observanten profielen van anderen bekijken en de informatie hierop verwerken. En tot slot de impressievormingsfase waarin lezers indrukken over profieleigenaren vormen op basis van die verwerking. Originaliteit en taligheid scoren Het lijkt erop dat het taalgebruik van daters die een vaste relatie zoeken zowel bewust als onbewust beïnvloed wordt door dit relatiedoel. Onbewust door meer naar zichzelf te verwijzen (bijv. “ik”) en bewust door, strategisch, bepaalde persoonlijkheidskenmerken te noemen die belangrijk worden geacht in een betrouwbare relatie.  Eigenaren van profielen die hoog scoorden op tekstoriginaliteit werden gezien als intelligenter en grappiger, wat er vervolgens voor zorgde dat ze ook als aantrekkelijker (datemateriaal) werden beoordeeld. Dat lukte vooral als meer (concrete) persoonlijke informatie onthulden en metaforen gebruikten. Taalfouten hebben invloed als profielfoto gemiddeld aantrekkelijk is Taalfouten hebben effect op de indrukken die mensen vormen over date-intenties en de persoonlijkheid en aantrekkelijkheid van de profieleigenaren. Dat laat zien dat taalfouten dienen als een belangrijk gegeven voor indrukvorming. Maar niet het enige. Want hoewel taalfouten een negatief effect hebben op fysieke aantrekkelijkheid als een profiel een gemiddeld aantrekkelijke foto bevat, is dat niet het geval bij een aantrekkelijke of onaantrekkelijke foto is. Van der Zanden: ‘In het geval van datingprofielen waar zo weinig gegevens beschikbaar zijn kan elk stukje informatie al grote gevolgen hebben op hoe je persoonlijkheid of aantrekkelijkheid wordt beoordeeld. Op datingplatforms waar de tekst een belangrijk onderdeel is van het profiel, kan ik online daters aanraden om bij het schrijven van hun profiel niet alleen na te denken over wat ze over zichzelf schrijven, maar ook hoe ze de tekst schrijven. Zo kunnen taalfouten het best voorkomen worden en wordt een originele tekst met bijvoorbeeld metaforen juist aangeraden.

Mate Choice Patterns in Social and Non-Social Decision-Making Domains

Thesis (Ph.D.) - Indiana University, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences and the Cognitive Science Program, 2019Humans are a fundamentally social species, and an individual may have social ties of many flavors. One social domain, mate or romantic partner choice, has been thoroughly examined, but others remain relatively understudied. How do our choice patterns vary between different social domains? In this work, I argue that although choice constraints vary between social domains (e.g. a collaborator, spouse, friend, mentor, or dodgeball teammate), the fundamental patterns of choice are ultimately similar. In this dissertation, I present studies of three different choice areas. First, I compare the search for non-social resources such as food (i.e. Optimal Foraging Theory; OFT) with that for a romantic partner to produce a theory-driven framework for mate choice as a foraging problem. Mate foragers demonstrated sensitivity to search costs as predicted by OFT, where those searching longest for their first marriage (but not cohabitations) had a decreased risk of relationship dissolution. However, periods of relationships and search also covaried in ways unexpected by OFT. Next, I tested for the presence of two common patterns in romantic partner choice: positive assortment (e.g. homophily) and the stated-revealed preference gap (inconsistency between one’s stated preferences and the actual traits of a chosen partner). I demonstrated these patterns in two social domains: academic collaborator choice and companion animal choice. I tested whether homophily was the best predictor of academic collaborations forming. I held three academic speed-networking events, a modified form of speed-dating. Pairs were assigned experimentally based on the similarity of academics’ current research and complementarity of desired vs current knowledge. These manipulations did not significantly impact collaboration rates; rather, believing a partner’s research was similar was predictive of collaboration, suggesting homophily has a nuanced role in collaboration formation. I then examined dog choice in animal shelters. Comparing the traits of a newly adopted dog to the stated preferences of their adopter, adopters perceived their dog to fulfill their stated preferences at above-chance rates. These adopter-dog pairs also exhibited weak positive assortment of personality. I summarize the implications of exapting choice mechanisms which are appropriate for one adaptive domain to novel social domains with different choice constraints