Statistics

Did you know that your dating preferences are often determined by strangers? While according to a new research it can be. In a Indiana University study of 80 people with half being women (and obviously the other half being men) it was found that overall if someone is considered attractive by someone else of the same sex, your attraction for that person will most likely increase. This will only happen once you find out about this attraction though. This observation was the same for both men and women.

On the flip side, interest in the person would subside if it was found that other people were not as attracted to the person. The study was conducted in part by allowing the participants to watch 8 speed dating sessions.

For more on the story, read the US News.

7,152 members over 12 hours participated in a poll at Smooch.com which looked at infidelity. On average 35 percent of participants said they had been unfaithful to a partner at some point in their life. When you split the results by gender, men came out much worse at 41 percent while women were at 29 percent.

It was also found that as men age; there is an increased chance of them being unfaithful. Men aged 18-24 averaged 31 percent of who have cheated on their partners, while men over the age of 60 were at 44 percent. Men who are more educated also on average cheat more. Over half the participants, 54 percent, who have a masters degree have been unfaithful. Men with no formal education came in at 30 percent.

As matter fact, the more attractive a man is the more likely he will cheat:

• 47 percent of athletic men
• 65 percent of men with high salaries.
• 43 percent of men over 6 feet.

Drinkers are also more likely to cheat at 49 percent and surprisingly 85 percent of men with full beards admitted to being unfaithful to a partner at some point in their life.

For more on the story read Response Resource.

Ever wonder what makes people compatible? Well, a recent study by eHarmony and the Oxford Internet Institute says that there's no place like home for people seeking true compatibility.

eHarmony considered the results of over 1,000 UK couples in the survey, considering responses to questions about culture and preferences for relationships. The results indicated that certain cultures shared similar beliefs and were thus more likely to result in more successful cross-cultural relationships. Some examples would be striking similarities between UK and U.S. cultures as well as relationships between residents of South American countries such as Argentina and Spain or Mexico and Brazil. Contrarily, people from strikingly different cultures such as Mexico and Japan or China and India are said to have less opportunity for relationship success.

While the final results of the joint study between eHarmony and the Oxford Internet Institute have not been published in their entirety, the initial results offer some food for thought in the world of online dating. Perhaps you never considered dating someone with a different cultural background than yours. Well, now's the time to add those criteria to your search! Here are two things to consider when conducting your online dating search for a mate from a different culture:

Religious Background: Understand your commitment to your personal religious beliefs when you initiate your online dating efforts. This will help you as you choose profiles to review. For example: staunch Christians may not share enough in common with someone from an East Indian background due to the prevalence of Hinduism in that culture.

Cultural Rituals: Do you celebrate Christmas? Is Mardi Gras a huge event for your family? Do you observe the Chinese New Year? Don't be afraid to open up a dialogue with a new date about landmark events that light up their calendar and feel free to share those of you own.

For more on the story read the official eHarmony Blog and to find out more about the dating site mentioned in this article, check out our eHarmony review.

Game Pro Australia had an interesting article which talks about gaming habits and relationships. According to them, 80 percent of women have complained about the amount of time their boyfriend uses the internet or plays video games. 20 percent have actually dumped someone for this reason. The most likely culprit to cause an argument was Infinity Wards Call of Duty games.

In comparison, 72 percent of men said they thought their girlfriend spent too much time online. 6 percent of men saw this as a reason to break up.

I bet you have searched online for your ex-boyfriend or girlfriend. A nationwide survey from PhoneFling found that 62.4 percent of the 275,000 people who took the survey had used the internet to search for someone that they had dated in the past. The 46 years and older age range had the lowest percentage of 47.9 percent.

A few more things found in the survey about dating sites include:

• 86 percent have known someone that used an online dating site.
• 70.4 percent have known someone that took the interaction offline and met their date in person.
• 43.6 percent have even known someone that entered into a long-term relationship with someone after finding them through an online dating site.
• 88.7 percent said that they were more likely to choose a dating service if they could browse people’s profiles on their mobile phone.
• 71.5 percent of respondents said that they flirt more often using social networking sites or online dating than they do when they flirt face-to-face.

In regards to white lies about weight, height, appearance, age, career, or income, only about 10 percent of respondents admitted that online dating and social media sites made them “More Likely” to fib. In comparison 64.1 percent of the people surveyed stated that online dating and social media sites actually made them “Less Likely” to fib about these characteristics.

For more on the story, read Easier Lifestyle.

The eHarmony Blog wrote a piece about how cooperation in the pursuit of love gives singles an edge in dating. The eHarmony post is based on research published in this month's Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (PSPB) which we talked about previously in October (see Story).

As mentioned in our previous post the research that the PSPB published shows women groups tend to cooperate to repel unsuitable mates. Whereas men tend to help each other to gain access to desirable women.

eHarmony did add a few interesting points. Apparently if you are a guy, your best wingman probably are a group of women. Information from a woman about a man is usually better received by another woman. What also is true is, if the guy is surrounded by women, this sends a signal to other women who may be interested in the guy that he is accepted and acceptable.

Further reading reveals that all of these strategies are usually used in the presence of friends, instead of family and strangers.

For more information on the popular dating site mentioned in this post, read our review of eHarmony.