A study using a mock dating app found that people retain better memories of faces they chose to match with than of those they did not choose. People who were short-term oriented, sexually attractive, and had higher mate value were more likely to match with individuals they considered attractive. The research was published in Evolutionary Human Sciences.
For most individuals, finding a suitable romantic partner is one of life’s key goals. However, the chosen partner must also reciprocate that choice, which doesn’t always occur. This mutual selection process has evolved into complex social games or rituals within human society.
Studies indicate that an individual’s choice of a romantic partner depends on the characteristics of prospective mates—referred to as mate value—the romantic goals of the person doing the choosing (e.g., long-term vs. short-term orientation), and various social and cultural factors.
In recent years, online dating apps like Tinder and Grindr have revolutionized the way people select potential romantic partners. Instead of face-to-face interactions within local communities, people now have the option to evaluate and contact a vast pool of potential partners across different countries. However, data on these potential partners is initially limited to what they present in their dating app profiles, leading individuals to develop new mate selection strategies to sift through the large pool of options.
Researchers Yikang Zhang and Pekka Santtila sought to explore how individuals choose potential mates on dating apps. They hypothesized that these choices would depend on sexual strategy (long-term vs. short-term orientation), perceived desirability or mate value (based on factors such as physical appearance, social status, resources, and personality), disgust sensitivity (making mates perceived as health risks—e.g., due to sexually transmitted diseases—less desirable), and memory.
The study involved 269 participants recruited through Prolific, who completed an online dating task and a series of assessments. Of the participants, 137 were women, and their average age was 25 years.
In the dating task, participants viewed photos of individuals of the sex they were attracted to, rated each photo for attractiveness, and chose whether or not they would want to match with each person. Each photo was also labeled as representing a person who was either short-term or long-term oriented in their romantic relationships. A day after this task, participants were again shown a set of faces and asked if they recalled seeing them and what their matching decision had been.
Before rating the faces, participants reported on their own perceived mate value (using the Mate Value Scale, e.g., “Overall, how would you rate your level of desirability as a partner on the following scale?”), adherence to a short-term mating strategy (e.g., “With how many different partners have you had sex within the past 12 months?”), adherence to a long-term mating strategy (e.g., “Interested in maintaining a long-term romantic relationship with someone”), and disgust sensitivity (using the Three-Domain Disgust Scale).
The results showed that individuals who saw themselves as more sexually attractive were slightly more likely to pursue a short-term mating strategy. These individuals also showed lower levels of sexual disgust and somewhat lower levels of moral disgust. Those who reported a stronger long-term mating strategy tended to see themselves as having higher mate value and reported higher levels of moral disgust.
People who were short-term oriented, sexually attractive, and had higher mate value were more likely to match with target individuals they found attractive. Participants generally had better memories of faces they chose to match with (on the first day) than of faces they did not choose to match with.
“We found behavioral evidence for assortative mating regarding sexual strategies. People with greater short-term (long-term) mating orientation were more likely to match with short-term (long-term) oriented targets. Further, people who perceived themselves as having higher (v. lower) mate value, or being more (vs. less) sexually attractive, were more likely to match with individuals they considered as attractive. Finally, people have better memories of the faces they chose to match than to not match, which could underlie the individual differences in perceived mating pools,” the study authors concluded.
The study contributes to the scientific understanding of online mate selection strategies. However, it used a very simple mock-up of a dating site selection procedure. Real-world mate selection on dating sites involves much more information than was available to participants in this study. Additionally, the faces used in the study came from the Oslo Face Database and involved university students who were mostly White, so results might differ if a broader selection of faces was offered.
The paper, “Predictors and Memory Consequences of Dating Decisions in a Dating App-Analogue Study,” was authored by Yikang Zhang and Pekka Santtila.