Key points

• Photos inform fast initial impressions of attraction.
• Profile text communicates personality, values, and dating intentions.
• Fast intuition and slower reflection are integrated to shape dating decisions.

Swiping through online dating profiles can feel intuitive – effortlessly deciding whether to like or reject each profile in turn. Online daters tend to spend only 11 seconds deciding whether to swipe right or left on a profile1,2. How can we make such quick decisions when a match may change our lives?

The way we engage with information presented on dating profiles may influence our overall decisions. Physical attractiveness is a highly important factor in dating decisions3; therefore, dating apps present profile pictures prominently4. But online daters may seek further information from written text—for example, a bio or short answers to prompts about lifestyle choices, hobbies, or dating intentions.

Decisions based on photos may be fast and intuitive, whereas text may allow us to make slower, more reflective considerations. Together, these impressions allow us to make an overall decision on whether to like or dismiss each profile we see.

2 Ways Our Brains Make Decisions

Dual-process theory describes two systems that are employed when making decisions5:

• System 1: fast, automatic, and intuitive decisions
• System 2: slow, effortful, and conscious decisions

Deciding whether someone is attractive from their profile picture may align with System 1 as people form impressions of physical attractiveness quickly6. In contrast, making decisions from profile text may be slower and more conscious, aligning with System 2.

However, it is important to note that people may make slower, conscious decisions from photos and faster, automatic decisions from text, for example, based on typos.

Profile Pictures Make an Impactful First Impression

Dating app designers appear to be aware of the importance of physical attractiveness. Profile pictures are displayed prominently4, and users tend to look at profile pictures before reading any accompanying text1. Profiles without photos are less likely to receive interest from others7.

These behaviours reflect how quickly people form impressions about others from photos. Facial attractiveness impressions are formed automatically, unintentionally, and quickly—in just a fraction of a second6,8. Although people have individual preferences, there is high agreement about what is considered physically attractive9,10.

Evolutionary theory suggests an explanation for why we form fast, apparently intuitive impressions of others’ attractiveness. Physical attractiveness signals good health and genetic fitness, which makes it an important factor in mate selection11. In modern dating contexts, other factors may be equally or more important than physical attractiveness, yet these rapid first impressions continue to shape our dating decisions.

Text Adds What Photos Can’t

Profile pictures dominate first impressions of attractiveness, but text can provide additional information photos alone cannot convey7. Profile text allows users to communicate their personality, values, and relationship goals (casual vs serious relationship seeking), which are highly important for dating intentions.

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Unlike impressions of physical attractiveness which are formed quickly from photos, evaluating profile text tends to require more time and attention1. Reading text may be more reflective as users decide whether the information aligns with what they are seeking from a partner. In this way, profile text can allow for more mindful consideration of partner compatibility.

Piecing Together Attraction

Eye-tracking research has found that people first look at photos, then read bios, then look back at photos to integrate their judgments1. Overall, this result suggests that both profile photos and text are important in attractiveness impression formation. Although profile photos initially attract attention, cues from text are also considered and may be reflected upon when forming overall impressions.

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Conclusion

Overall dating profile attractiveness is shaped by both intuition and reflection. Photos often trigger fast, automatic first impressions, while text allows users to think more carefully about compatibility. Understanding how we form these impressions may help us use dating apps more intentionally. Physical attraction is important, but taking a few moments to consider what a user says about themselves could lead to more successful dating choices.

References

1. van der Zanden, T., Mos, M. B. J., Schouten, A. P., & Krahmer, E. J. (2022). What people look at in multimodal online dating profiles: How pictorial and textual cues affect impression formation. Communication Research, 49(6), 863-890. https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-79731-005

2. Levy, J., Markell, D., & Cerf, M. (2019). Polar similars: Using massive mobile dating data to predict synchronization and similarity in dating preferences. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 441718. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02010

3. McGloin, R., & Denes, A. (2018). Too hot to trust: Examining the relationship between attractiveness, trustworthiness, and desire to date in online dating. New media & society, 20(3), 919-936. https://doi.org/10.1177/1461444816675440

4. Yeo, T. E. D., & Fung, T. H. (2018). “Mr Right Now”: Temporality of relationship formation on gay mobile dating apps. Mobile Media & Communication, 6(1), 3-18. https://doi.org/10.1177/2050157917718601

5. Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. New York: Farrar, Strauss, Giroux.

6. Oosterhof, N. N., & Todorov, A. (2008). The functional basis of face evaluation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(32), 11087-11092. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805664105

7. Fiore, A. T., Taylor, L. S., Mendelsohn, G. A., & Hearst, M. (2008). Assessing attractiveness in online dating profiles. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems, Florence, Italy.

8. Ritchie, K. L., Palermo, R., & Rhodes, G. (2017). Forming impressions of facial attractiveness is mandatory. Scientific Reports, 7(1), 469. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-017-00526-9

9. Coetzee, V., Greeff, J. M., Stephen, I. D., & Perrett, D. I. (2014). Cross-cultural agreement in facial attractiveness preferences: The role of ethnicity and gender. PloS one, 9(7), e99629. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0099629

10. Langlois, J. H., Kalakanis, L., Rubenstein, A. J., Larson, A., Hallam, M., & Smoot, M. (2000). Maxims or myths of beauty? A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological bulletin, 126(3), 390-423. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10825783/

11. Buss, D. M. (1994). The evolution of desire: Strategies of human mating. Basic Books.