Online dating has redefined the search for romance in profound ways, reshaping how people meet, interact, and ultimately, select their partners. What began as a niche option has evolved into a mainstream mode of connection, drawing millions to apps like Tinder, Bumble, and Hinge.
Where once proximity and social networks limited choices, online dating opens doors to an almost limitless pool of options. As a result, people are often making decisions based on curated profiles and photos — first impressions formed in seconds.
But how exactly do men and women go about selecting a potential mate in so little time? Well, they judge by looks of course. This much is intuitive and confirmed by previous studies. However, a new study took things a bit further employing eye-tracking technology to see how men and women assess online dating profiles, rather than having to rely on their self-reported activities.
The findings show that men zeroed in on women’s faces, largely ignoring resource information like income and job status — although there was a surprising twist. This focus on physical appearance is consistent with evolutionary theories that suggest men prioritize physical attractiveness when selecting short-term mates.
Meanwhile, women also focused on faces a lot, but their eye movement patterns were more complex — they were more likely to linger on men’s faces when they perceived lower income or status.
What We Think We Want vs. What We Actually Look At
Researchers from Australia used eye-tracking technology to observe how heterosexual men and women evaluate the profiles of possible matches. Eye-tracking allows researchers to bypass self-reporting, which can often be biased or inaccurate. By observing where participants’ eyes naturally lingered, the study provided a more objective measure of what people really prioritize when browsing dating profiles.
“I was interested in this topic because I’ve read a lot about evolutionary psychology and the research that has been done to support its arguments for the differences in how men and women select mates (i.e., what they prioritize in their decision-making processes and their preferences for short- vs. long-term relationships), but almost all of the research I’ve seen published to support these ideas has been self-report,” study author Amy D. Lykins, an associate professor in clinical psychology at the University of New England, told PsyPost.
The team recruited 20 heterosexual men and 20 heterosexual women between the ages of 18 and 27, all university students. They were shown mock dating profiles containing two key elements: a facial image and text-based information about income and occupation. Profiles were carefully designed to vary these attributes, showing combinations of high or low attractiveness with high or low financial status. Participants’ eye movements were recorded to see where they spent the most time looking.
The results align with long-standing theories in evolutionary psychology. According to the sexual strategies theory, men prioritize physical attractiveness, a cue that historically indicates fertility and health, while women are more inclined to consider both physical and financial attributes, reflecting their evolutionary drive for long-term stability and the provisioning of offspring.
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The Nuances of Assessment
So, both men and women were asked to rate each profile on attractiveness and whether they would pursue a short- or long-term relationship with the person. As expected, men were more likely to rate attractive women as suitable for short-term relationships. And women gave higher ratings to men with higher incomes, particularly for long-term relationships.
Yet the eye-tracking data tells a more nuanced story. Firstly, both men and women spent most of their time focusing on the face. 83% of the total gaze time was directed to the face region, regardless of the text information. Also, men were more likely to spend time looking at women who had prestigious jobs or high incomes, even if these women were considered less attractive. This suggests an implicit consideration of resources by men that traditional surveys might miss.
Beyond that, when evaluating men’s profiles, women seemed to compensate for lower income or job status by scrutinizing men’s faces more closely. This pattern aligns with the idea that women seek a balance between physical attractiveness and resource potential in long-term partners.
Real-World Implications for Online Dating
As online dating continues to grow, the implications of studies like this become increasingly relevant. Dating apps are often designed to showcase users’ best physical attributes, but this study suggests that text-based cues, like income and occupation, can also significantly impact how a profile is perceived.
For those designing dating apps, this research may point to a need for more balanced profiles, where information about financial and social status is given equal weight to images.
“Within the first 10 seconds of viewing an online profile of a potential relationship partner, we can see differences in the prioritization of different types of information,” Lykins explained.
“Our broad findings found support for evolutionary theories in sex differences in mate choice preferences in visual attention, which was one of the first times (if not the first) that this has been shown using eye-tracking methodology to capture visual attention (which is harder to manipulate than self-report). The findings have real-world implications for how people may want to create their online dating profiles if using apps such as Tinder.”
In the world of online dating, it seems, a picture may be worth more than a thousand words — but only if it comes with the right salary.
The findings appeared in the Archives of Sexual Behavior.
