Researchers have spent years trying to figure out the exact formula that brings two people together. There have been numerous researches that focus on evolutionary theory suggesting that facial symmetry signals strong and healthy genes which attracts more males. There’s no doubt that getting past the first step usually involves some form of attraction. Recent researchers and matchmaking programs have attempted to stimulate environments online similar to what you experience during a first meeting.
While it makes sense that attraction is a key element to getting pass the first step towards dating, are there certain factors that solicit more responses than others?
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The Attraction of Science conducted a research on profile pictures in an attempt to narrow down aspects that garnered the most attention online. They distilled 5 main types of profile photos: the webcam selfie, holiday outdoor photos, at home photos, photos of someone doing something interesting and abstract photos that represent who you are.
Researchers found that:
1. Men more focused on the physical aspects compared to women while women primarily put personality and career prospects of the potential partner first.
2. Women who also show lots of skin receive a higher response rate but a genuine intent is not usually so apparent.
3. The highest rated response is a photo that shows someone doing something interesting. The reason why? According to the study: “ if you initially show your personality and interests, then you’ll find more people drawn to you. People [also] perceive you as more interesting and worth engaging of you have a diverse and interesting personality.”
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While the topic of racial preference has been an issue that is tabooed, it appears to also be significant according to a new study by Ritchie King. He sourced data from 2.4 million participants of AYI (Are You Interested) app that basically allows you to say yes or no to a photo reel of profile pictures from subscribers of the app with the goal of detecting trends in online dating. The report stated that two thirds of the AYI were older than 35 years old.
According to King’s research:
1. Men responded to women about three times more than women responded to men.
2. All men except Asians preferred Asian women. All races also preferred white men except black women.
3. All racial groups preferred another race instead of their own.
While most researchers argue that online dating stimulates real life situations, it’s debatable that it’s directly comparable since the aspect of anonymity allows people to be more uninhibited in their actions. For now, we’ll just stick with what we can extrapolate from these studies—first impressions count so be sure to pick a picture that tells others who you are beyond “eye-candy” and for what it’s worth, you’re likely to be approached by someone who is racially different from you.
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Amy Yew is a registered clinical counselor and relationship therapist. Tell us what you think and submit any questions you have to amyvancouvercourier@gmail.com. You can also tweet your thoughts on Twitter @AmyYew.
