Speed dating studies

Researchers hate relying on surveys. They assume that people will lie, give the socially acceptable answer, or, in the case of hypothetical questions, just make something up.

So researchers prefer to rely on revealed preferences, i.e. what people actually do rather than what they say. Some of this data can be found in historical records, but occasionally researchers get to run actual experiments. And when it comes to human attraction, their preferred experiment is speed dating, where a bunch of men and women chat to each other for a few minutes, mark their card yes or no, then move on to the next person.

Looks matter

In the paper HurryDate: Mate preferences in action researchers analysed the results of commercial speed dating events and found that

  • Men were attracted to women based on weight and age.
  • Women were attracted to men based on looks, height, and age.

They also found that men who were in good shape with a high income were the pickiest, while the pickiest women were the slimmest ones.

No other factors made much difference.

A followup study also found no correlation between people's stated preferences and who they were actually attracted to. However, some of the speed dating events were pre-sorted by age, race, and religion, so those preferences may have come into play when selecting which events to attend.

Personality doesn't matter

Another study, carried out with undergraduate students, got the participants to fill in detailed questionnaires before the event. The questionnaires recorded demographics, interests, political views, and a personality profile, among other things. Being undergrads, the participants all had roughly the same age, income, and education level, so those factors probably didn't come into play.

The researchers found that, once again, looks were strongest predictor of attraction. Everything else was just noise.

Sure, speed dating only measures initial attraction, and says very little about long-term compatibility. But let's be honest, without initial attraction there probably won't be a relationship in the first place, either long- or short-term.

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