First Impressions in Online Matchmaking

We report results of a web-based experiment in which we investigated the effects of physical appearance and attribute similarity on first-impression formation in online matchmaking environments. We found that people are attracted to people of the opposite gender who are more physically attractive and who are more similar to them. In contrast with studies of first-impression formation in face-to-face (FtF) settings, our results indicate that attribute similarity is as important as physical appearance as a determinant of impression formed. Replicating earlier research, we also found men placed greater importance on physical attraction and women placed greater importance on social attraction. Lastly, we found that people take different amounts of time to form impressions of others who vary in physical appearance and attribute similarity. KEYWORDS Online Impression formation, Physical appearance, Similarity, Matchmaking

• Type: Conference
• Year: 2003
• Where: IADIS
• Authors: Sameer Bajaj, Lee S. Sproull
• Keywords: Attribute Similarity, First-impression Formation, IADIS 2003, IADIS 2008, Physical Appearance