Matching Hypothesis Flashcards
Who came up with the matching hypothesis?
Walster et al
When did Walster et al come up with the matching hypothesis?
1966
What does the matching hypothesis state?
that people tend to choose partners who are as attractive as themselves
What is the name of the study Walster et al (1966) does?
The Computer Dance Study
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Method - advertising
the “computer dance” was advertised for new university students and tickets were sold to 376 men and 376 women.
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Method - attractiveness
the people selling the tickets would secretly rate the person on their looks
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Method - partnering
the participants were told a computer was going to match them on shared interests when in reality it was completely random
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Method - Hight
No men were partnered with women taller then them
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Method - collecting data
Participants were contacted four to six months later to find out if they’d tried to go on any further dates with their dance date
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Results - Similarly attractive
participants paired with similarly attractive partners were not significantly more liked by their dates than those paired with a partner who had a different rating
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Results - More Attractive
participants who were rated as more attractive were more liked by their date
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Results - Further Dates
more attractive participants were also more frequently asked out on further dates then less attractive participants
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Results - no correlation
there was no correlation between similarity in attractiveness in a pair
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Conclusions
the matching hypothesis was not supported - the results showed that people prefer attractive partners, regardless of their own attractiveness
Walster et al (1966) - The Computer Dance Study: Evaluation - Usual Dating
it was different from usual dating - the participants didn’t choose one another and they didn’t have to ask each other on a date