Impression formation on online dating sites: Effects of language errors in profile texts on perceptions of profile owners’ attractiveness

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    24 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    This article presents two experimental studies investigating the impact of language errors in online dating profiles on impression formation. A first study examined whether language errors have a negative effect on perceptions of attraction and dating intention and whether this effect is moderated by the presence of visual information, that is, the profile picture. This 2 (Language Errors/No Language Errors) x 2 (Visible/Blurred Picture) experiment revealed that language errors negatively affect perceptions of social and romantic attraction and that a visible picture on a profile positively affects perceptions of physical attraction. Study 2 focused on mechanical, rule-based, and informal language errors, which can each be attributed to different personality traits. Mechanical and rule-based errors lead to lower scores on, respectively, perceived attentiveness and intelligence, which in turn lead to lower attraction and dating intention scores. These results highlight the importance of error-free language use as a cue for attractiveness.
    Original languageEnglish
    Article number0265407519878787
    Pages (from-to)758-778
    Number of pages21
    JournalJournal of Social and Personal Relationships
    Volume37
    Issue number3
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 1 Mar 2020

    Keywords

    • dating profiles
    • impression formation
    • language errors
    • language use
    • online dating
    • profile picture
    • SELF-DISCLOSURE
    • REAL ME
    • STRATEGIES
    • IMPACTS

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