Improving online dating with virtual dates
By: Jeana H. Frost, Michael I. Norton, Dan Ariely
Contributors: Norton, Michael I., 1975-; Ariely, Dan; Harvard Business School. Division of Research
Series: Working paper / Division of Research, Harvard Business School -- 06-058; Working paper (Harvard Business School. Division of Research) -- 06-058
Publisher: Division of Research, Harvard Business School
Published: 2006
Place of publication: Boston]
Language: eng
Number of pages: 27
Description: Online dating, a practice where singles visit a website to locate other singles, frequently fails to meet users' expectations. We suggest that this disappointment is due in part to online dating websites' failure to simulate face-to-face interactions, an essential component of the acquaintanceship process. We document users' general disappointment with online dating (Study 1) and their disappointment with specific dates arranged through an online dating website (Study 2). In Study 3 we introduce the Virtual Date, on which potential dating partners explore a virtual environment in an interaction analogous to a real first date (such as going to a museum), a pre-meeting intervention that led to greater liking after meetings had occurred (during speed-dates) than standard online dating.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.