PSYCHOLOGY TODAY — Apr 11 — According to the US Census Bureau 9 in 10 people will marry but one half of first marriages end in divorce. Between 1970 and 1996, the number of women living alone doubled to 14.6 million, and the number nearly tripled for men to 10.3 million. One might guess that there's also a lot of dating going on. Instead, it seems that the older we get, the less we date. In one study, by social psychologist Jerald Bachman, Ph.D., nearly 50% of 18-year-olds were found to go out at least once a week, compared with 25% of 32-year-olds. Singles seeking relationships assess unseen qualities in others based on social price as it is reflected in actions, body language and verbal communication. Those exhibiting self-confident assertions of dating standards are perceived as holding relatively more promise as marriage partners.
The full article was originally published at Psychology Today, but is no longer available.
Mark Brooks: Fascinating. Perhaps it's time OPW broke out a section for discussion of the psych world and online personals. Your comments please.
I agree, Mark. Online dating and matchmaking are the epitome of “applied psychology” and psychologists associated with such sites are in an envious position of being able to conduct large-scale studies of a type typically not seen in academia. We have the tools (large databses, online testing technologies) to begin learning more about flirtng, courtship, and relationship quality arguably to a greater degree than ever before.
In short, we are in a position to apply psychology to help customers find what they are seeking and then teach them how to sustain it. Psychologists like me have the greatest job in the world! And, I think having a section on OPW that highlights these efforts is a great and original idea.
Thanks,
James Houran, Ph.D.
Chief Psychologist, TRUE.com
It is a sad fact that so many marriages do fail. To get to the root of this problem would make a large impact on families nationwide.
I personally believe psychology matching will have a minor impact on how marriages end up. Maybe it will make the road a little less bumpy.
We are a culture raised on “Hey if it doesn’t work take it back to the store and get another one, a better one.” You can’t ignore that.