Impact of Self-Descriptions and Photographs on Mediated Dating Interest

Abstract

This simulated dating experiment addresses the relative impact of photographs and self-descriptions on dating interest in White students in Los Angeles (n = 223). A previous study demonstrated that self-descriptions had little impact on dating success. This was attributed to obstacles in inspection and processing time, primacy effects, information overload, interference, mental discomfort, and low variability in descriptions. The present study controlled for these factors. Results show that for men the self-descriptions were half as important as the photographs, whereas for women the impact of the descriptions was equal to the photographs. This article includes a discussion of the contrast between findings in research on mating preference and actual dating studies, and the implications of its findings for dating and the dating industry.