Related Experiment Video
Updated: Nov 19, 2025
09:55
Observation and Quantification of Mating Behavior in the Pinewood Nematode, Bursaphelenchus xylophilus
Published on: December 25, 2016
9.7K
Do young dating app users and non-users differ in mating orientations?
Juan Ramón Barrada1, Ángel Castro1, Elena Fernández Del Río2
1Faculty of Social and Human Sciences, Department of Psychology and Sociology, University of Zaragoza, Teruel, Spain.
Plos One
|February 2, 2021
Summary
Dating app users show a stronger short-term mating orientation than non-users, with no differences found in long-term orientation. These findings suggest dating apps cater more to casual encounters but don't exclude possibilities for long-term relationships.
Area of Science:
- Psychology
- Sociology
- Human Sexuality
Background:
- Dating apps have transformed partner selection, challenging traditional meeting methods.
- A common stereotype suggests dating apps are solely for casual sex, potentially hindering long-term relationship formation.
- Understanding user mating orientations is crucial for evaluating the role of dating apps in modern relationships.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate differences in short-term and long-term mating orientations between dating app users and non-users.
- To assess attitudes, desires, and behaviors related to mating strategies among university students.
- To determine if dating app usage correlates with specific mating orientations.
Main Methods:
- A quantitative study involving 902 single university students (aged 18-26) from Spain.
- Participants completed online questionnaires assessing mating orientations (short-term vs. long-term).
- Data analysis compared mating orientations between dating app users and non-users, considering gender and age.
Main Results:
- Dating app users exhibited a significantly higher short-term mating orientation compared to non-users.
- This higher short-term orientation among users was evident in increased behavior, desire, and positive attitudes towards casual relationships.
- No statistically significant differences were found in long-term mating orientation between users and non-users of dating apps.
Conclusions:
- Dating apps appear to attract individuals with a pronounced inclination towards short-term relationships or casual encounters.
- The findings do not preclude dating apps as a venue for seeking long-term romantic partners.
- Further research could explore the nuances of relationship formation and satisfaction among diverse dating app user groups.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Close Relationships and Culture
119
Culture shapes how people approach attraction, choose partners, and build long-term relationships. While some preferences in mate selection appear consistent across cultures, such as men valuing physical attractiveness and women emphasizing financial resources, cultural contexts influence how these preferences are expressed and prioritized. Marriage extends beyond romantic ideals in many societies and is deeply embedded in social, economic, and religious frameworks.The Role of Culture in Mate...
119
01:06Natural Selection and Mating Preferences
295
The principle of natural selection posits that organisms better adapted to their environment are more likely to survive and reproduce. This principle is closely intertwined with mating preferences, a key aspect of sexual selection, which evolutionary psychologists believe is driven by instincts to propagate one's genes. Such instincts significantly influence mating behaviors and preferences between genders.
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
Females, due to their biological roles in conception, pregnancy, and nursing,...
295
01:20Mate Choice
11.2K
Mate choice—the decision about whom to mate with—is a type of natural selection, since animals must reproduce to pass down their genes. Mate choice is also called intersexual selection because the behavior occurs between the sexes.
11.2K
02:12Relationship Formation
44.0K
What do you think is the single most influential factor in determining with whom you become friends and whom you form romantic relationships? You might be surprised to learn that the answer is simple: the people with whom you have the most contact. This most important factor is proximity. You are more likely to be friends with people you have regular contact with. For example, there are decades of research that shows that you are more likely to become friends with people who live in your dorm,...
44.0K
01:26Desirable Characteristics in Others
56
Various factors, including the type of relationship, gender, and duration of the relationship, influence the perception of desirable characteristics in others. While certain traits such as trustworthiness, cooperativeness, agreeableness, and extraversion are universally valued across all relationships, other characteristics are context-dependent and gain prominence based on specific relational dynamics.Universal and Context-Dependent TraitsTrustworthiness and cooperativeness are fundamental...
56
01:23Criticisms of the Evolutionary Perspective
214
In a study where individuals posing as strangers offered compliments and proposed casual sex to students, the responses differed significantly based on gender. Not a single woman accepted the proposal, while 70% of the men agreed. This outcome provides a useful scenario to explore through the lens of evolutionary psychology and social learning theory, highlighting the diverse perspectives on human sexual behaviors.
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
Evolutionary psychology provides one explanation for these findings, suggesting...
214