Wednesday 28 March 2012

Dating deception: Gender, online dating, and exaggerated self-presentation

an article by Bradley M. Okdie (Ohio State University at Newark, USA) and Rosanna E. Guadagno and Sara A. Kruse (The University of Alabama, USA) published in Computers in Human Behavior Volume 28 Issue 2 (March 2012)

Abstract

This study examined how differences in expectations about meeting impacted the degree of deceptive self-presentation individuals displayed within the context of dating. Participants filled out personality measures in one of four anticipated meeting conditions:
  • face-to-face, 
  • email, 
  • no meeting, and 
  • a control condition with no pretence of dating.
Results indicated that, compared to baseline measures, male participants increased the amount they self-presented when anticipating a future interaction with a prospective date. Specifically, male participants emphasized their positive characteristics more if the potential date was less salient (e.g., email meeting) compared to a more salient condition (e.g., face-to-face meeting) or the control conditions.

Implications for self-presentation theory, online social interaction, and online dating research will be discussed.


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