Online Dating

Finkel, Eli J.; Eastwick, Paul W.; Karney, Benjamin R.; Reis, Harry T.; Sprecher, Susan

doi:10.1177/1529100612436522

Cited by 506 publications

(188 citation statements)

References 300 publications

(391 reference statements)

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“…Some of the prior research reviewed earlier suggests that metaphorical effects are most salient under conditions of uncertainty (e.g., Keefer et al, 2011). Physical appearance, as a strong cue for romantic interest (Eastwick & Finkel, 2008;Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis, & Sprecher, 2012;Walster & Aronson, 1966), may reduce uncertainty in a dating context and thus dampen the metaphorical effect of sweet taste on romantic perceptions of a potential partner. Hence, Study 3 manipulated the profile of the target person participants received by including (vs. omitting) the target's photo to test whether the presence of visual information would moderate the effect of taste.…”

Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet love

Ren

Tan

Arriaga

et al. 2014

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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Terms of endearment such as ''sweetie,'' ''honey,'' and ''sugar'' are commonly used in the context of describing romantic partners. This article explores how a relatively subtle manipulation, namely taste sensations, might influence romantic perceptions of a nonestablished relationship. Consistent with predictions, results from Studies 1 and 2 (n ¼ 280) showed that participants evaluated a hypothetical relationship, but not an existing relationship, more favorably when exposed to sweet taste compared to nonsweet taste control. Study 3 (n ¼ 142) further showed that participants indicated greater interest in initiating a relationship with a potential partner when exposed to sweet taste, as compared to control participants. Implications for the role of sweet taste experiences in attraction and relationship initiation are discussed. Keywords Attraction, metaphors, romantic interest, romantic relationships, sweet tasteMetaphors are used to represent relational bonds symbolically. In English, this is best captured by the oft-heard phrase, ''love is sweet,'' which brings to mind prevalent ideas of love and romance. For example, terms of endearment such as ''sweetie,'' ''honey,'' and ''sugar'' are commonly used with close others and especially in reference to romantic partners (with similarities in other languages, such as Mandarin, German, etc.). J S P RRecent research suggests that these terms may be more than mere metaphors (Chan, Tong, Tan, & Koh, 2013;Meier, Moeller, Riemer-Peltz, & Robinson, 2011). When words indicating sweet taste (e.g., honey or sweetie) are used in a romantic context of describing close others, they become cognitively mapped in such a way that triggering one concept (e.g., sweet taste) may make the other more accessible (e.g., romantic love). This article explores the idea that the experience of a sweet taste and the concept of love can become intertwined. This research specifically examines whether sweet taste experiences affect one's romantic perceptions. We posit that sweet taste experiences may direct romantic perceptions in the form of romantic interest and evaluations of a potential romantic relationship. These romantic perceptions matter because they can orient people toward some romantic partners and/or away from others. Romantic perceptions can be the basis for initiating new relationships, and this is especially important as romantic bonds figure prominently in adult social lives, given that they satisfy important needs and can have important consequences for short-and long-term well-being (Kielcolt-Glaser & Newton, 2001). Hence, we sought to establish whether something as subtle as a sweet taste experience might alter one's perceptual orientation toward a potential romantic relationship. Metaphorical thinking: Sweet taste and loveMetaphors are useful linguistic tools to understand abstract concepts by using the knowledge of more concrete examples (Lakoff & Johnson, 1980), such as when emotions are communicated by being paired with terms of physical positions (e.g., ''I feel ...

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Section: Studymentioning

confidence: 99%

Sweet love

Ren

Tan

Arriaga

et al. 2014

Journal of Social and Personal Relationships

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“…One of the studies Finkel et al (2012) cited that led to this conclusion was a meta-analysis of 313 laboratory and field studies on the effect of similarity (of attitudes and personality) on attraction and satisfaction (Montoya et al, 2008). In their meta-analysis, Montoya et al considered three types of studies: no interaction studies (bogus stranger), brief-interaction studies (in which previously unacquainted individuals interacted), and studies of existing relationships.…”

Section: Evidence That Perceived Similarity Is More Important Than Acmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Recently, Finkel, Eastwick, Karney, Reis, and Sprecher (2012), in a critical analysis of the emphasis on similarity matching at Internet matching services (e.g., eHarmony), concluded the following about the literature on similarity: "On one hand, most people do end up paired with partners who strongly resemble themselves, at least in terms of demography and attitudes. On the other hand, once paired, it remains unclear whether the degree of similarity within the couple is associated with more versus less successful relationships over time" (p. 46).One of the studies Finkel et al (2012) cited that led to this conclusion was a meta-analysis of 313 laboratory and field studies on the effect of similarity (of attitudes and personality) on attraction and satisfaction (Montoya et al, 2008). In their meta-analysis, Montoya et al considered three types of studies: no interaction studies (bogus stranger), brief-interaction studies (in which previously unacquainted individuals interacted), and studies of existing relationships.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Correlates of Couples’ Perceived Similarity at the Initiation Stage and Currently

Sprecher

2013

Interpersona

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Although prior research (Montoya, Horton, & Kirchner, 2008) has indicated that perceived similarity is more important than actual similarity as a predictor of satisfaction and attraction, there is a lack of research on factors associated with couples' perceptions of similarity in their relationship. In the present study, a sample of couples (both partners) provided ratings of the degree to which they perceived similarity in six areas (background characteristics, attitudes and beliefs, leisure pursuits and interests, communication style, personality, and physical attributes) for two stages in their relationship: currently and at the initiation stage (viewed retrospectively). The couples perceived greater similarity for the current stage of their relationship than for the beginning stage of their relationship. Factors found to be associated with perceived similarity included positive social network reactions, overlap in social networks (predictor of current perceived similarity only), perceived compatibility, and satisfaction and commitment (examined only for current perceived similarity). Of the various types of perceived similarity considered in this study, similarity in attitudes and beliefs was most consistently associated with the various predictor variables. Implications of these results for enhancing couple relationships are discussed.Keywords: perceived similarity, similarity-attraction hypothesis, attraction-similarity model, satisfaction, social networks Interpersona, 2013, Vol. 7(2), 180-195, doi:10.5964/ijpr.v7i2.126 Received This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0), which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.Decades of research in the areas of interpersonal attraction and close relationships have established the important role of similarity, both in the development of relationships and in established relationships (Byrne, 1971;Newcomb, 1961). In addition, similarity has been found to be important in many different cultures (e.g., Byrne et al., 1971).The similarity-attraction hypothesis refers to the principles that people become attracted to those who are similar to them, are more satisfied in relationships with similar others, and dissolve relationships when there are dissimilarities (Morry, 2009). People can be similar to a partner on a number of dimensions, including attitudes and beliefs, personality, leisure interests, communication styles, and sociocultural background factors (Baxter & West, 2003).Various theoretical explanations have been provided for why similarity leads to attraction and satisfaction, including that similarity (especially in attitudes and beliefs) is consensually validating and reinforcing (Byrne, 1971;Clore & Byrne, 1974), similarity leads to uncertainty reduction and predictability (Berger & Calabrese, 1975), and similarity can lead to enjoyable and fun interactions (Berscheid & ...

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“…Among the Internet dating sites that cater to people looking for relationships rather than for hookups exclusively, long detailed questionnaires are the norm (Finkel et al 2012). Many kinds of personal attributes of potential partners that might have taken weeks or months to discern in the course of a relationship are, via Internet dating profiles, discernable before the first date.…”

Section: Theoretical Background: Choice Overload Versus the Advantagementioning

confidence: 99%

“…If the Internet provides advantages because of partner choice (following hypothesis 2), then Internet dating websites should provide the greatest relationship advantage because Internet dating websites are dedicated to an efficient search for particular partner criteria (Finkel et al 2012) in a way that provides, in theory, better matches and more rapid information gathering on matched partners. Many other ways of meeting online, such as through gaming or through chat, are serendipitous and would lack the maximized choice set or potential informational advantage of online dating.…”

Section: Hypothesis 3: Of All Ways Of Meeting Online Meeting Throughmentioning

confidence: 99%

Marriage, Choice, and Couplehood in the Age of the Internet

Rosenfeld¹

2017

SocScience

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Online Dating

Cited by 506 publications

References 300 publications

Sweet love

Sweet love

Correlates of Couples’ Perceived Similarity at the Initiation Stage and Currently

Marriage, Choice, and Couplehood in the Age of the Internet

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