Please use this identifier to cite or link to this item: http://hdl.handle.net/1893/28599
Appears in Collections:Psychology Journal Articles
Peer Review Status: Refereed
Title: Investigating the association between mating-relevant self-concepts and mate preferences through a data-driven analysis of online personal descriptions
Author(s): Lee, Anthony J
Jones, Benedict C
DeBruine, Lisa M
Contact Email: anthony.lee@stir.ac.uk
Keywords: Attraction
Mate Choice
Universal Preferences
Assortative Mating
Online Dating
Latent Dirichlet Allocation
Issue Date: May-2019
Date Deposited: 22-Jan-2019
Citation: Lee AJ, Jones BC & DeBruine LM (2019) Investigating the association between mating-relevant self-concepts and mate preferences through a data-driven analysis of online personal descriptions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40 (3), pp. 325-335. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.01.005
Abstract: Research on mate preference have often taken a theory-driven approach; however, such an approach can constrain the range of possible predictions. As a result, the research community may inadvertently neglect traits that are potentially important for human mate choice if current theoretical models simply do not identify them. Here, we address this limitation by using a data-driven approach to investigate mating-relevant self-concepts (i.e., what individuals believe to be attractive about themselves). Using Latent Dirichlet Allocation (LDA; a clustering method developed in computer science) and a large sample of written descriptions from online personal advertisements (N = 7,973), we identify 25 common topics that individuals use when advertising themselves. Men were more likely to advertise education/status, while women were more likely to discuss being honest/nurturing and caring for pets. We also assessed patterns of universal and compatible mate preferences for these 25 topics by collecting ratings of desirability from a separate group of 100 participants on a subset of these profiles (N = 468). Participants were also asked to write a personal description of themselves as if they were writing for a dating website. Overall, both male and female profiles that discussed outdoor activities, and music/art were rated as more desirable, while women that discussed a healthy lifestyle and friends/family were also rated as more desirable. Both men and women who discussed sex or mentioned being a parent were rated as less desirable. When comparing the topic probabilities between profiles collected online and those written by the raters, we found that raters preferred profiles that were more similar to their own, particularly for topics to do with being outgoing and agreeable.
DOI Link: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.01.005
Rights: This item has been embargoed for a period. During the embargo please use the Request a Copy feature at the foot of the Repository record to request a copy directly from the author. You can only request a copy if you wish to use this work for your own research or private study. Accepted refereed manuscript of: Lee AJ, Jones BC & DeBruine LM (2019) Investigating the association between mating-relevant self-concepts and mate preferences through a data-driven analysis of online personal descriptions. Evolution and Human Behavior, 40 (3), pp. 325-335. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2019.01.005 © 2019, Elsevier. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
Licence URL(s): http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/

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