Pssst! Check this out. www.chemistry.com. Match has 8 patents on this new relationships site. Their answer to TRUE, eHarmony…and Yahoo Personals Premier.
Pssst! Check this out. www.chemistry.com. Match has 8 patents on this new relationships site. Their answer to TRUE, eHarmony…and Yahoo Personals Premier.
Interesting!
At http://www.chemistry.com/help/about.aspx
they say:
“What’s different about Chemistry? It’s our belief that meaningful relationships are built on two equally important foundations: compatibility and chemistry. Other sites may help you find out if you’re compatible, but only Chemistry’s next-generation system, based on years of research into human attraction and successful relationships, is designed to help you find both of these essential elements. ”
“two equally important foundations: compatibility and chemistry”
Which is the difference between “compatibility” and “chemistry”?
“based on years of research into human attraction and successful relationships”
Is there any whitepaper / scientific publication that could substantiate that? How does the method work?
It seems the matching method only works in English for the United States.
Strength:
– If ALL the members are clients (paying members), the reliability/precision could be higher than any site allowing free members.
Kindest Regards,
Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com
Interesting…though it’s not clear how people meet at the end of the process. Is it like a speed dating event, or “table for 6”, or “it’s just lunch”?
Best regards,
Merav Knafo
Co-founder
http://www.LookBetterOnline.com
562.252.3999
“Is your photo a deal-maker or a deal-breaker?”
Sadly, this sounds like more cryptic talk similar to other relationship sites about “years of research” — it would be more meaningful to consumers and credible for this new site if they simply posted the evidence (journal article or white paper that clearly shows this research) for their testing and matching methods. Of course, there is a reason why they don’t — it probably doesn’t exist.
Also, people that start off an explanation of their “scientific” approach with the phrase, “it’s our belief that…” automatically reveals themselves not to be data driven. If you look at the research, there are actually three ingredients for a lasting relationship: Passion (what these folks are probably referring to as “chemistry”), Companionship/Friendship, and a conscious decision for Commitment. It’s called the Triangular Theory of Love and Attachment (credit to R. Sternberg).
Cryptic and unsubstantiated claims related to testing and matching methods will no longer fly. If a site claims to be based in science, they had better prove it up front. Unfortunately, virtually no sites do this. And, when the few actually try, their tests and methods almost always fail to meet professional testing standards as set forth in the Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing (by the APA, AERA, and NCME).
Thanks,
James Houran, Ph.D.
[quote]Cryptic and unsubstantiated claims related to testing and matching methods will no longer fly.[/quote]
Says who? The fraction of 1% of the population that can tell if a sites claims are bogus or not will not effect signups or conversion rates in any meaningful way. In this industry outright lieing is a standard business practice.
I agree with Markus–this is bogus. Even if all the science behind the compatibility test is legit, there are still massive hurdles of participant density and the statistics involved in matching most people’s tastes…
The cynic in me wants to call all this “chemistry” banal advertising.
In reality, I suspect that the dating sites are desperately trying to find a formula that really does start making people lower (or at least rearrange and reprioritize) their standards, in the vain hope that their services will start to work before the public catches on to the sham that is online dating.
Most probably they had understood/realized they CANNOT increase the conversion rate any more at the USA site, so they decided to launch a new/premium site for clients (all-paying-members).
The personality assessment core seems to be an adapted DISC model Dominance, Influence, Steadiness and Compliance.
You could see more info about DISC at
http://www.discprofile.com/whatisdisc.htm
Kindest Regards,
Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com
Dr. Jim,
Are you still with True? You didn’t put your normal title in your signature and your linkback is to an AOL email address.
Your Pal,
Bill Broadbent
CEO
Instinct Marketing
Nice comments from everyone.
Of course, I’m personally appalled that “outright lying is a standard business practice” in this industry. For my part as an academic, I can work hard to ensure that the issue of test validity is in the forefront of the public’s mind and the media. Time will tell if this issue becomes a hot button topic and dramatically affects sign up and conversion rates. I still predict that it will.
Oh, in response to your question, Bill… no, I’m not with True any longer. It was great hearing from you. Drop me an email sometime!
Thx, Dr. Jim
Scott said: “in the vain hope that their services will start to work before the public catches on to the sham that is online dating”
And I say: Online dating is not a sham. It doesn’t work for some people because they don’t put the minimal effort presenting themselves property. If you get the opportunity to “meet” millions of people and you insist of posting a crappy photo and a badly written profile, don’t be surprised that you don’t get any quality dates.
It’s like going to a party with a lot of attractive singles wearing a dirty shirt and smelling like garbage. It won’t work! 🙂
From experience with thousands of people who took professional photos with us, I can tell you – it makes a HUGE difference. As a matter of fact, this Saturday I’m going to a wedding of one of our first customers who met her husband of match.com within a week of posting the new photos she took with us. She is 47 by the way. Like I said before, you don’t have to be young or look like a super-model. You just gotta have a good photo.
Best regards,
Merav Knafo
Co-founder
http://LookBetterOnline.com
562.252.3999
“Is your photo a deal-maker or a deal-breaker?”
Hmmm. Looks like Chemistry.com has taken what has been a big seller for eHarmony (the matching test/instrument), harnessed a great name (chemistry, which everyone says they want), gotten a solid name to add legitimacy (Helen Fisher), and the best part: figured out a way to combine “serious users only” with must-pay members, a la Yahoo! Premier. It’s a smart move to call it something entirely different than Match.com. I have been pushing Yahoo! Premier lately (after years of promoting Match.com solely, since that is where I met my husband) because of the “paid members only” seal that cuts out the huge percentage of non-paying (and non-repsonding) members. But it is hard to get my clients to understand the difference between Yahoo! and Yahoo! Premier. Chemistry will be far easier to pitch. Does anyone know if the entire Match.com membership is available to Chemistry members, with some kind of identifier like the purple P of Yahoo! Premier? So that other Chemistry folks can identify each other? Or will they be limited to only Chemistry subscribers? It’ll be awhile before a good number base is built in Chemistry.com only.
Kathryn Lord
Romance Coach
http://www.Find-a-Sweetheart.com
I had been reading the paper “THE NEURAL MECHANISMS OF MATE CHOICE: A Hypothesis”, written by Helen Fisher et al, which it seems to be one of the papers that substantiates the matching method at Chemistry.com
(can be seen at
http://homepage.mac.com/helenfisher/matechoice.html
AND
http://homepage.mac.com/helenfisher/News.htm)
from (A BIOLOGICAL/ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE)
it says:
“CONCLUSION
……..
Some of the neural circuits associated with the sex drive have been identified. It is hypothesized that the neural system for courtship attraction is distinct from but closely linked to some of these primary circuits associated with the sex drive and that these two neural systems, attraction and the sex drive, operate in tandem in most avian and mammalian species. This courtship attraction circuit must also operate in tandem with neural systems associated with the discrimination of colors, sizes, shapes, vocal tones, odors, postures, gestures and other brain systems associated with sensory perception, memory, reward assessment, planning and motor activities.
Last, it is hypothesized that this attraction circuit varies in duration and intensity according to each species’ reproductive strategy. Yet this neural motivation-emotion system plays a similar role in reproduction across species: It enables both males and females to distinguish among potential mating partners, prefer particular conspecifics, and focus their courtship attention on the pursuit of these favored individuals, thereby conserving mating time and energy by making a mate choice. In humans this motivation-emotion system has evolved into a brain network that has come to be called romantic love.”
Other papers seem to have similar conclusions on THEORIES OF ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS DEVELOPMENT
from A SOCIOLOGICAL/PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE:
– There is a quite interesting thesis at http://www.sims.berkeley.edu/~atf/thesis_mit/
The thesis’ name is “An Analysis of Behavior in Online Dating Systems” but it was only “Analysis of Behavior on ONE Dating System” (page 30) Nonetheless it will be interesting to read it with care. The conclusions were taken from a dating site (date research from June 2002 to February 2003) with 52857 “active members” over a total of 221800 members. The median age was 34 years old (page 38.)
The findings: “Users opted for sameness more often than chance would predict in all the characteristics examined in this section. This concurs with the overwhelming evidence gathered by relationship researchers …… that actual similarity and perceived similarity in demographics, attitudes, values, and attractiveness correlate with attraction (and, later, relationship satisfaction). However, users demonstrate this homophily to differing degrees for different characteristics.” (page 47)
– Extracted from http://www.apa.org/journals/releases/psp882304.pdf
Page #19 of PDF whitepaper Page #322 of magazine
“…………………………..
Couple Similarity and Marital Quality
Our study presents one of the most comprehensive examinations of the similarity–satisfaction link. The observed similarity–satisfaction correlations suggest that similarity on personality related domains was strongly associated with satisfaction, whereas similarity on attitude-related domains was not. …………..
People may be attracted to those who have similar attitudes, values, and beliefs and even marry them (at least in part) on the basis of this similarity. However, once individuals are in a committed relationship, it may be primarily personality similarity that influences marital happiness. ………For example, whereas similarity in attitudes and values appears to be important early on in the relationship and may play an important role in relationship progression, personality similarity becomes more important as the relationship reaches greater commitment.
…………………………….”
– Extracted from http://www.apa.org/journals/features/psp883562.pdf
“Personality, Family History, and Competence in Early Adult Romantic Relationships”
that says on page #574
“……….
the common sense notion that the personality characteristics of a romantic partner are an important factor to contemplate when considering the viability of a long-term romantic union .
………………”
and
on page #575
“Our point is simply that personality and developmental experiences should be components in any comprehensive explanation of relationship success and/or dysfunction. Many questions remain as to how exactly personality and developmental experiences affect relationships, and a complete model including all of the factors that influence relationships is likely to be quite elaborate.
…………..”
What is CHEMISTRY? Perhaps this could help!!!
As TEMPORAL PATTERNS of relationship variables: combination of physique, personality, intelligence, social background, attitudes, habits and leisure preferences may indeed play a significant role between mates / prospective mates, it seems that: “ONLY HIGH LEVEL on PERSONALITY SIMILARITY between mates / couples is the FINAL PATTERN” i.e. THE CHEMISTRY BETWEEN PERSONS/MATES!!!!
It would be interesting to analyze if the matching algorithm at Chemistry.com has enough reliability/precision. WAIT, perhaps 6 months, AND SEE if they have ALSO enough power calculation to manage more than 2,000,000 profiles???
Kindest Regards,
Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com
I love the Onlinepersonalswatch. I look forward to it and devour the information as soon as it hits my mail account. Just wanted to let you know that. Thank you Mark.
Janet J Reiss
Founder
lookingforlove.com
your link to love
I love the Onlinepersonalswatch. I look forward to it and devour the information as soon as it hits my mail account. Just wanted to let you know that. Thank you Mark.
Janet J Reiss
Founder
lookingforlove.com
your link to love
It has been suggested in these posts that attitudes, values and beliefs are not very useful variables for predicting sucessful marital relationships, but personality similarities were valuable. Were any validated measures of personality used to conclude this? If so, what were they? Thanks.
Dear Dr. Cadogan:
Not yet, because …… most advanced researchers only used the Big 5 (or a Big 7 – WeAttract) to assess personality and they also used a simple/multiple_linear_regression_equation or a logistic_regression_equation (for big databases, over 1,000,000 persons logistic_regression_equations will work the same as a linear_regression) to calculate similarity between personality patterns reaching the (wrong) conclusion ‘Personality is irrelevant in predicting relationship quality’.
http://mb.internetdatingconference.com/scientific-papers-t395.html
My effort is directed to prove that temporal patterns of relationship variables may indeed play a significant role between prospective mates -> Last stage of temporal patterns: if only high level on personality* similarity* between mates is the core of relationship stability and satisfaction == Dyadic Success for 26_and_more_years_old_persons interested in serious dating.
personality*: measured with the 16PF5 normative test in different languages (no other actual online dating site is using it!).
similarity*: calculated using quantum math equations with the quantitative method I had invented, named LIFEPROJECT METHOD.
Example for the matching algorithm I had invented
– Ensemble (whole set of different valid possibilities): 1 * E16 with 16PF5
– Precision: better than 0,00000001% with Self-Adjustment
3 most compatible persons in a 100,000 persons database,
12 most compatible persons in a 1,000,000 persons database,
48 most compatible persons in a 10,000,000 persons database,
– Results are displayed with 2 integers + 8 decimals, like 92.55033557% +/- 0,00000001%
– For a 1,000,000 persons Database.
Number of Comparisons == (1,000,000)raisedto2 / 2 == 500,000,000,000 each one to predict relationship satisfaction between persons.
If the computer (or high_speed server arrangement) calculates the value of relationship_satisfaction_between_prospective_mates as fast as 1,000,000 per second.
It will require 500,000 seconds, nearly 139 hours!!!
The World Population (WP) is nearly 6,400 millions persons == 6.4 * E9
16PF5’s Ensemble == 1 * E16
WP / Ensemble == (6.4 * E9) / (1 * E16) == 6.4 * E-7 == 64 * E-6
i.e. All World Population is 64 micro part of the Ensemble!!!
I hope that sooner I could reach an agreement with an actual online dating site or other partner to world launch the method I had invented. I think lot of persons will be interested in meeting persons like them – with nearly the same personality pattern.
Regards,
Fernando Ardenghi.
Buenos Aires.
Argentina.
ardenghifer@gmail.com
Dear Don,
You wrote above, “It has been suggested in these posts that attitudes, values and beliefs are not very useful variables for predicting sucessful marital relationships, but personality similarities were valuable.”
Actually, it is the other way around. The available research suggests that similarity in attitudes, values and beliefs predicts relationship quality, but that similarity in personality triats does not.
Thx,
James Houran, Ph.D.
Online Dating Magazine