Tinder is reinforcing ancient mating habits, study finds
Men favour beauty whilst women look for brains
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Tinder is making us behave like cave people. No, really.
A team of psychologists at the University of Aberdeen have found that the popular dating app is bringing out basic mating urges in men and women.
However, their research highlighted key disparities in how people use the app, with men making their selections based on appearances whilst women favoured intelligence, career prospects and stability.
These discrepancies mimic ancient survival tactics, explains Dr Mirjam Brady-Van den Bos, Psychology lecturer at the University of Aberdeen.
“Our research demonstrates that we haven’t really changed in all those millennia of evolution,” she said.
“Tinder is seen as a sophisticated but artificial way of meeting prospective partners.
“What we’ve shown though is that the way people search for potential dates is in line with what evolutionary theories on human mating choices would predict.”
She explained that the findings might come down to the “McDonaldisation” of dating that Tinder perpetuates, given that we expect speedy and satisfying results like we would at a fast food restaurant.
Sex, French fries… same same, but different.
The study also found that female Tinder users were less trusting and were more conscious of “catfish” users who might be hiding behind fake profiles. The research was compiled through a series of surveys, conducted on male and female Tinder users who the psychologists recruited from Facebook.
All of them were between the ages of 20 to 26 and resided in north-east Scotland, reports The Scotsman.
Brady-Van den Bos will present the findings at the Economic and Social Research Council’s Festival of Social Science, which is happening across the UK throughout November.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments