This Type of Singleton Lives A Happy Life, Psychologists Find (M)

More and more people are living the single life in Western societies than ever before.

More and more people are living the single life in Western societies than ever before.


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Why Sunlight Makes You Feel Romantic Passion (M)

Testosterone levels and romantic passion peaks after people tan for just 25 minutes, the experiment found.

Testosterone levels and romantic passion peaks after people tan for just 25 minutes, the experiment found.


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Key to Relationship Bliss Is Simpler Than You Think (M)

People weigh up all sorts of qualities in potential partners, like intelligence, health, kindness and sexual appeal.

People weigh up all sorts of qualities in potential partners, like intelligence, health, kindness and sexual appeal.


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Sad Music And Movies Soothe Relationship Problems, Study Finds

Break-ups and rejection make people reach for a downbeat aesthetic experience.

Break-ups and rejection make people reach for a downbeat aesthetic experience.

Sad music and gloomy movies help to soothe the pain of relationship problems, research finds.

People having difficulties in their personal relationships are more likely to choose tearjerker dramas and downbeat music.

This is unusual, because sad people usually prefer fun comedies and upbeat music to turn their mood around.

However, there is something about experiencing relationship problems, such as a break-up, that makes people want similar emotional companionship.

The study’s authors write:

“Consumers seek and experience emotional companionship with music, films, novels, and the fine arts as a substitute for lost and troubled relationships.”

In one experiment, people recalled an experience involving a loss.

For some it was a relationship loss, for others it was an impersonal loss, like losing a competition.

Those who thought about losing a competition wanted to be cheered up with happy music.

But, those who thought about losing a relationship wanted sombre music.

The authors write:

“Emotional experiences of aesthetic products are important to our happiness and well-being.

Music, movies, paintings, or novels that are compatible with our current mood and feelings, akin to an empathic friend, are more appreciated when we experience broken or failing relationships.”

Another experiment showed that people preferred angry music when they were frustrated by being interrupted, or someone being late.

In other words, a personal hassle made people want negatively valenced music.

However, people who experienced impersonal hassles, like a loss of internet connection, wanted upbeat music to take their mind off it.

So, sadness caused by other people makes us yearn for similar aesthetic experiences.

Maybe this is because being rejected by others makes us crave emotional companionship, which sad music and movies provide.

The study was published in the Journal of Consumer Research (Lee et al., 2013).

This Emotional Display Makes People More Attractive (M)

Mere ‘virtue signalling’ — saying something morally righteous in order to look good — is not enough to appear more attractive.

Mere 'virtue signalling' -- saying something morally righteous in order to look good -- is not enough to appear more attractive.


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Online Dating: These 2 Factors Make People ‘Swipe Right’

Around one-in-ten American adults report they have had a long-term relationship grow from an online dating app meet-up.

Around one-in-ten American adults report they have had a long-term relationship grow from an online dating app meet-up.

The two most important factors in online dating are attractiveness and race, new research finds.

People ‘swipe right’ to indicate liking of a potential partners when they are more attractive and when they are the same race.

Those who believe themselves more attractive tend to be even more picky, rejecting more potential dates overall.

Online daters took very little notice of people’s personality, the type of relationship they were looking for or much else besides.

All that really mattered was appearance.

Despite this, around one-in-ten American adults report they have had a long-term relationship grow from an online dating app meet-up.

Dr William Chopik, the study’s first author, said:

“Despite online dating becoming an increasingly popular way for people to meet one another, there is little research on how people connect with each other on these platforms.

We wanted to understand what makes someone want to swipe left or swipe right, and the process behind how they make those decisions.”

For the research people viewed profiles of men and women and had to swipe left to reject them and swipe right to like them.

The results showed that men swiped right more often than women, but both sexes made their decision quickly.

Dr Chopik said:

“It’s extremely eye-opening that people are willing to make decisions about whether or not they would like to get to another human being, in less than a second and based almost solely on the other person’s looks.

Also surprising was just how little everything beyond attractiveness and race mattered for swiping behavior—your personality didn’t seem to matter, how open you were to hook-ups didn’t matter, or even your style for how you approach relationships or if you were looking short- or long-term didn’t matter.”

People tended to choose others of the same race, although black people were more likely to be rejected, on average.

Dr Chopik said:

“The disparities were rather shocking.

Profiles of Black users were rejected more often than white users, highlighting another way people of color face bias in everyday life.”

People were significantly more likely to swipe right on someone who has already like them, preliminary data shows.

Dr Chopik said:

“We like people who like us.

It makes sense that we want to connect with others who have shown an interest in us, even if they weren’t initially a top choice.”

The study was published in the Journal of Research in Personality (Chopik & Johnson, 2021).