Hot or Not? The Psychology of Attraction on Dating Apps

Human attraction, the elusive spark or personal chemistry you have with some people (but not others), has evolved over hundreds of thousands of years. We assess available metrics in person: body language, eye contact, confidence - all these tiny signals that help us work out whether someone is attractive, trustworthy, dangerous, charismatic, boorish, pompous, intelligent or completely insufferable.

Then, in the space of about fifteen years, we collectively decided to move dating onto apps where most of that information disappeared. Now attraction often begins with six photos, a vaguely ironic reference to Hawaiian pizza, and the strategy of delayed replies.

So, how are we actually navigating this strange new environment? Are dating apps helping us identify compatible partners more efficiently, or are they distorting this natural in-person attraction process entirely? Looking to explore this with me is today’s guest, Dr Claire Hart, an Associate Professor at the University of Southampton whose work explores attraction, relationships and the psychology of human connection in digital environments. Dr Hart’s research is in quantitative social and personality psychology, such as looking at: narcissism, empathy and bullying.

Produced by the Bloomsbury Institute London.