The more potential dating partners we are choosing from, the more likely we are to choose someone based on looks.<br /><br />Question: Is it better to have more choices when it comes to <br />love?Sheena Iyengar: What's interesting is that the <br />way we go about finding our marriage partners today is quite different <br />from the way it used to be in this culture. When you look at... I've <br />done a number of studies with speed dating and Match.com and what's <br />interesting is that you know we still walk into a speed dating event, <br />you know, thinking about what it is we're looking for in a mate and so <br />you ask people, like women will say "I'm looking for somebody who is <br />really kind and sincere and smart and funny." And guys will say looks <br />matter, but they'll also say things like "Well, she should be smart and <br />kind." And you know those are... so the typical responses and if you <br />give them just a few options, like five or six, then they will rate them <br /> on the very characteristics that they said were really important to <br />them. You know if they said kindness or funniness was really most <br />important to them then they will be more likely to say yes to the person <br /> that they thought was kind and funny. Now if you expand their choice <br />set--say you give them 20 different speed dates--everything goes out <br />the window. Everybody starts choosing in accordance with looks because <br />that becomes the easiest criteria by which to weed out all the options <br />and decide "So who am I going to say yes to?"<br /><br />Question: Is it better to have more choices when it comes to <br />love?Sheena Iyengar: What's interesting is that the <br />way we go about finding our marriage partners today is quite different <br />from the way it used to be in this culture. When you look at... I've <br />done a number of studies with speed dating and Match.com and what's <br />interesting is that you know we still walk into a speed dating event, <br />you know, thinking about what it is we're looking for in a mate and so <br />you ask people, like women will say "I'm looking for somebody who is <br />really kind and sincere and smart and funny." And guys will say looks <br />matter, but they'll also say things like "Well, she should be smart and <br />kind." And you know those are... so the typical responses and if you <br />give them just a few options, like five or six, then they will rate them <br /> on the very characteristics that they said were really important to <br />them. You know if they said kindness or funniness was really most <br />important to them then they will be more likely to say yes to the person <br /> that they thought was kind and funny. Now if you expand their choice <br />set--say you give them 20 different speed dates--everything goes out <br />the window. Everybody starts choosing in accordance with looks because <br />that becomes the easiest criteria by which to weed out all the options <br />and decide "So who am I going to say yes to?"
