Joel, Samantha
(2018).
Is romantic desire predictable? Machine learning applied to initial romantic attraction.
[Data Collection]. Colchester, Essex:
UK Data Archive.
10.5255/UKDA-SN-852716
Data description (abstract)
We used machine learning to test how well such measures predict people’s overall tendencies to romantically desire others (actor variance) and to be desired by others (partner variance), as well as desire for specific partners above and beyond actor and partner variance (relationship variance). Close relationships theoretical perspectives and matchmaking companies suggest that initial attraction is, to some extent, a product of two people’s self-reported traits and preferences. In two speed-dating studies, romantically unattached individuals completed over one hundred traits and preferences identified by past research as relevant to mate selection. Participants then met one another in a series of four-minute speed-dates. Random forests models predicted 4-18% of actor variance and 7-27% of partner variance, but, crucially, they were unable to predict relationship variance using any combination of traits and preferences reported beforehand. These results suggest that compatibility elements of human mating are challenging to predict before two people meet.
Data creators: |
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Contributors: |
Name |
Affiliation |
ORCID (as URL) |
Eastwick Paul |
University of California, Davis |
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Finkel Eli |
Northwestern University |
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Sponsors: |
N/A
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Topic classification: |
Psychology
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Keywords: |
attraction, dating, speed-dating, romantic desire, romantic relationships, machine learning, statistical learning, random forests, ensemble methods
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Date published: |
19 May 2017 09:43
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Last modified: |
12 Sep 2018 09:01
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Collection period: |
Date from: | Date to: |
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1 January 2005 | 31 December 2007 |
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Geographical area: |
Illinois |
Country: |
United States |
Data collection method: |
Sample A consisted of 163 undergraduate students who attended one of seven speed-dating events in 2005, and Sample B consisted of 187 undergraduate students who attended one of eight events in 2007. All participants were recruited via on-campus flyers and emails to participate in a speed-dating study, with the goal of meeting and potentially matching with opposite-sex participants. Detailed descriptions of the speed-dating research procedures and characteristics of each sample can be found in two previously-published papers (Finkel, Eastwick, & Matthews, 2007; Tidwell et al., 2013). |
Observation unit: |
Individual |
Kind of data: |
Numeric |
Type of data: |
Other surveys |
Resource language: |
English |
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Rights owners: |
Name |
Affiliation |
ORCID (as URL) |
Joel Samantha |
University of Utah |
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Contact: |
Name | Email | Affiliation | ORCID (as URL) |
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Joel, Samantha | samantha.joel@psych.utah.edu | University of Utah | Unspecified |
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Publisher: |
UK Data Archive
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Last modified: |
12 Sep 2018 09:01
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