In general, widely considered positive traits, Dan Ariely, an economist who studies online dating, refers to traits where everyone prefers the same thing as examples of “vertical preferences,” as opposed to “horizontal preferences,” when people prefer those who are similar.
He also finds that horizontal preferences are more important in producing the “birds of a feather” effect.
” We can use our genetic data to find men and women who have had a child together These “trios” are often used in genetics to study, among other things, how genes and diseases are passed from parents to children.
We make genetic discoveries by combining DNA from saliva samples with thousands of survey questions, some of which you might find on a dating site — “Have you ever cheated on a long-term relationship partner or spouse?
” — but many you wouldn’t — “Has a doctor ever diagnosed you with Parkinson’s disease?
If we compute “e Harmony status” — how often a user is asked out by their matches — we find it also follows this pattern: Everyone prefers high-status users, but high-status users show a stronger preference for other high-status users.
(It’s possible that they don’t really feel a stronger preference, but merely feel more confident in their ability to win a fellow high-status mate.) On the other hand, traits whose optimal value is more arguable — like whether you have children or what religion you follow — tend to follow the first pattern.
Those with children preferred those with children; those without preferred those without.
And people generally prefer those of their own religion.
To find potential matches, users submit and answer hundreds of questions ranging from, “In a certain light, wouldn’t nuclear war be exciting?
” to, “Would you consider sleeping with someone on the first date?
Women who message significantly older men were calculated to be less attractive than those men, and I could find no evidence that they cared more about income, or less about attractiveness, than women paired with men their own age.