Psychology News
A research team at the University of California (Davis) explored how romantic first impressions influence the course of a romantic relationship. The study is published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
The Study
The researchers interviewed more than 550 speed-daters in heterosexual and homosexual relationships. The interviewees collectively attended more than 6,600 speed dates during the experiment and rated their romantic interest in the potential partners they met.
The research team later used a statistical model to determine whether first impression matters in love and romantic outcomes. They particularly examined three factors, namely, selectivity, popularity, and compatibility in the romantic equations.
The Findings
The results revealed that first impression matters in relationships, particularly in intimate partner or romantic bonds. It was also found that people are particularly likely to pursue a romantic relationship with those who are popular and those they are compatible with.
One of the lead researchers, Alexander Baxter, remarked: “Although we expected popularity to be an important factor in the study, we were amazed to find that a good first impression is not just a popularity contest, it’s also about compatibility, even when people are still getting to know each other.”
To Know More You May Refer To
Baxter, A., Maxwell, J. A., Bales, K. L., Finkel, E. J., Impett, E. A., & Eastwick, P. W. (2022). Initial impressions of compatibility and mate value predict later dating and romantic interest. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 119(45), e2206925119. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2206925119
