Research conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic sheds light on how the health and safety measures individuals adopted during the crisis impacted their attractiveness in the realm of online dating. The study, published in Evolutionary Psychological Science, found that profiles featuring individuals wearing masks were favored over those that did not, while the indication of vaccination status appeared to have a less significant impact on dating preferences.
The pandemic introduced a seismic shift in social norms, particularly around health and safety protocols designed to curb the virus’s spread. With the rise of masking and vaccination as pivotal measures, individuals’ adherence to these practices began to signal broader values and affiliations, especially in politically charged environments like the United States.
“I initially became interested in this topic when I noticed a large number of users on social media wearing masks in pictures they posted. Given that these were virtual environments and no one could infect one another with communicable illnesses, I was curious about the potential alternative functions of masking in online settings,” said study author Zach Buckner, an experimental psychology graduate student at the University of Southern Mississippi.
The research unfolded across two studies involving heterosexual participants from a large public university in the Southeastern United States. In Study 1, conducting during the spring of 2022, the researchers recruited 119 women and 26 men with an average age of around 20 years. The participants were shown a series of simulated dating profiles. These profiles were constructed using images from the Chicago Face Database, ensuring a baseline of neutrality in terms of attractiveness.
The profiles varied along two key dimensions: whether the person in the profile was wearing a mask and whether their vaccination status was indicated. This design allowed participants to view profiles across four combinations of masking and vaccination status, with the order of presentation randomized to prevent order effects. Participants rated each profile on several criteria, including likability, attractiveness, and their likelihood of wanting to date the person, both in person and virtually.
The findings revealed a preference for profiles featuring individuals wearing masks, with these profiles rated more favorably across several dimensions, including attractiveness and likability. Interestingly, vaccination status did not significantly impact perceptions, suggesting that the visible act of mask-wearing played a more critical role in shaping initial attractions in this online dating context. Surprisingly, this preference did not notably vary with participants’ political leanings.
“The study underscores the importance of signaling masking status in dating profiles during the pandemic. These findings highlight the role of cues like masking in shaping attraction within contexts of risk of getting sick,” Buckner told PsyPost.
“I was particularly surprised political affiliation did not seem to have a strong impact on our findings. Much research collected during the pandemic documented very politically polarized views of masking, including its effectiveness and potential infringement on personal freedoms. Thus, the fact that our findings were not strongly influenced by political affiliation was certainly a surprise and we are interested in understanding why moving forward with this work.”
Building on these insights, the researchers then sought to explore whether these preferences would shift under conditions of social exclusion. This experiment, conducted during the fall of 2022, involved 135 heterosexual participants who were single and had used dating apps. This study introduced a manipulation before participants viewed the dating profiles: they were asked to write about an experience of social rejection, social acceptance, or a neutral topic (their morning routine) to simulate feelings of exclusion, inclusion, or a control condition. Following this, participants evaluated the same set of manipulated profiles as in Study 1, rating them on similar dimensions of attractiveness, likability, and dating interest.
Participants in the control group showed a slight preference for masked profiles, the acceptance group had a lesser preference, and the rejection group displayed a reversed preference, favoring unmasked profiles. This reversal in the rejection group suggests that social exclusion may lead individuals to deprioritize health precautions like mask-wearing in favor of traits that might enhance social inclusion. However, this finding was observed within a marginally significant statistical framework.
“Like any study, ours has limitations,” Buckner said. “Specifically, it would be useful to replicate these findings with a larger and more representative sample. This would tell us how robust our findings are and if there are any important demographic qualifications.”
“My long term goal with this line of research is to continue researching modern trends in the online dating space, including how other factors beyond masking might serve signaling functions to potentially help people meet viable relationship partners,” Buckner added. “This is an ongoing research collaboration and it has led to many additional questions for future research that I hope to explore in the coming years — stay tuned!”
The study, “The Signaling Function of Vaccine Status and Masking in Evaluations of Online Dating Profiles,” was authored by Zach Buckner, Mitch Brown, August Namuth, and Donald F. Sacco.
