Importance of physical attractiveness in dating behavior.

TLDR

Dating partners are typically expected to match an individual's own social desirability. The study aimed to test level‑of‑aspiration theory in selecting dating partners. Participants were randomly paired at a Computer Dance event to observe dating choices. The study found that level‑of‑aspiration hypotheses were unsupported, and that a partner's physical attractiveness was the sole significant predictor of liking, repeat dating desire, and actual dating attempts, while personality and intellectual measures had no predictive value.

Abstract

It was proposed that an individual would most often expect to date, would try to date, and would like a partner of approximately his own social desirability. In brief, we attempted to apply level of aspiration theory to choice of social goals. A field study was conducted in which individuals were randomly paired with one another at a Computer Dance. Level of aspiration hypotheses were not confirmed. Regardless of S's own attractiveness, by far the largest determinant of how much his partner was liked, how much he wanted to date the partner again, and how often he actually asked the partner out was simply how attractive the partner was. Personality measures such as the MMPI, the Minnesota Counseling Inventory, and Berger's Scale of SelfAcceptance and intellectual measures such as the Minnesota Scholastic Aptitude Test, and high school percentile rank did not predict couple compatability. The only important determinant of S's liking for his date was the date's physical attractiveness.