Chapter 20 Quiz
12 questions. Select the best answer for each multiple-choice question. Written responses should be 2–4 sentences.
1. According to research by Tyson and colleagues (2016), approximately what percentage of profiles do male users swipe right on (indicating interest) in heterosexual dating app contexts?
- A) 14%
- B) 28%
- C) 46%
- D) 65%
Correct answer: C
Men swipe right on roughly 46% of profiles they encounter, compared to approximately 14% for women. This selectivity asymmetry is one of the most replicated findings in dating app research and produces structurally different matching experiences for men and women.
2. The "paradox of choice" framework (Schwartz, 2004) predicts that an abundance of romantic options on dating apps will:
- A) Always increase user satisfaction by improving the probability of finding an ideal match
- B) Decrease satisfaction for maximizers more than satisficers, and may increase regret and deferral
- C) Have no effect on satisfaction, since romantic choice is qualitatively different from consumer choice
- D) Decrease satisfaction uniformly for all user types
Correct answer: B
Lenton and Stewart (2008) found that choice overload effects in partner selection were conditional on decision strategy. Maximizers — who seek the best possible option — showed choice overload, while satisficers did not. The simple version of Schwartz's thesis overstates the universality of the effect.
3. Toma and Hancock (2010) studied self-presentation in online dating profiles and found that:
- A) Users typically present perfectly accurate self-descriptions
- B) Users engage in large-scale deception across all profile attributes
- C) Users make small, bounded self-enhancements they believe they can sustain at a first meeting
- D) Women are more likely to deceive about age while men are more likely to deceive about income
Correct answer: C
The key finding was that deception was systematic but bounded — users told plausible lies (e.g., slightly understating weight, slightly overstating height) rather than implausible ones, because they expected to meet their matches in person.
4. Walther's (1996) "hyperpersonal" communication effect refers to:
- A) The tendency for digital messages to be misinterpreted as more hostile than intended
- B) Elevated intimacy and idealization in text-based communication that may exceed what in-person interaction would produce in equivalent time
- C) The inability of text-based communication to develop genuine emotional warmth
- D) The phenomenon in which messaging volume replaces message quality in digital courtship
Correct answer: B
The hyperpersonal effect occurs because digital communication allows message crafting (editing before sending), eliminates distracting sensory stimuli, and invites idealization of the absent other. This can produce powerful emotional connection that may fail to survive contact with the full embodied person.
5. Bruch and Newman's (2018) concept of "desirability hierarchies" in online dating refers to:
- A) Users preferring partners of the same socioeconomic background
- B) A stratified rank ordering of users by perceived attractiveness, in which most messaging flows aspirationally "upward"
- C) The tendency for more desirable profiles to appear higher in search results
- D) Platform algorithms that prioritize attractive profiles for premium users
Correct answer: B
Bruch and Newman analyzed large-scale messaging data from a major dating app and found that users overwhelmingly message those they perceive as slightly more desirable than themselves — creating an "aspirational" messaging pattern across a clear desirability hierarchy.
6. Which of the following best describes the "permanently available alternative" (PAA) problem in app-based dating?
- A) The technical issue of app crashes interrupting conversations at critical moments
- B) The legal problem of profiles remaining visible after users delete their accounts
- C) The psychological phenomenon in which the continued presence of app alternatives reduces commitment to any current romantic prospect
- D) The finding that most users maintain multiple dating app accounts simultaneously
Correct answer: C
The PAA effect holds that, unlike in previous eras of dating, the option pool never closes — the app is always there, full of potentially better options. Research suggests this reduces willingness to invest in any specific connection and may increase relationship dissatisfaction.
7. Research consistently finds that in heterosexual dating app contexts (on platforms without gender-based initiation rules), what percentage of first messages are sent by men?
- A) About 50%, reflecting roughly equal initiation rates
- B) About 60%
- C) About 80–85%
- D) Nearly 100%
Correct answer: C
Fiore and Donath (2005) and subsequent studies have found that men initiate roughly 80–85% of first messages in heterosexual app contexts, reflecting the persistence of traditional gender scripts even in technologically mediated courtship.
8. According to the research discussed in this chapter, approximately what fraction of active dating app users report zero in-person dates from app use in any given month?
- A) Less than 10%
- B) About 20%
- C) About 42%
- D) About 70%
Correct answer: C
Sharabi and Caughlin (2017) and related research suggest that a substantial minority — roughly 40–42% — of active users report no dates from app use in any month, despite ongoing engagement with the platform. Match-to-date conversion is consistently lower than users expect.
9. The "commodification of intimacy" in the context of dating apps refers primarily to:
- A) The practice of paying for premium dating app subscriptions
- B) The infiltration of market logic — browsing, filtering, transacting, discarding — into the domain of romantic and sexual connection
- C) The dominance of large corporations in the dating technology sector
- D) The tendency for economically advantaged users to have better dating app outcomes
Correct answer: B
Commodification refers to the structural transformation of the meaning and practice of romantic search, not just to payment. When people describe their app use in marketplace metaphors (browsing, filtering, returning unwanted goods), this indicates that market logic has penetrated the subjective experience of courtship.
10. Duguay (2017) studied queer women's use of Tinder and found that:
- A) Tinder was particularly effective for queer women because its algorithmic matching was sexuality-neutral
- B) Queer women preferred Tinder to other apps because its photo-centric design allowed gender nonconformity to be expressed visually
- C) The app's interface consistently pressured queer users toward binary self-presentation even when their actual identities were more complex
- D) Queer women had higher match rates than heterosexual women due to lower overall selectivity in the queer female user pool
Correct answer: C
Duguay's qualitative research documented how Tinder's design — built around a binary gender system — created friction for users whose gender identity and sexuality did not conform to that binary, forcing strategic simplification or self-erasure.
11. Short written response (2–4 sentences): Explain why profile completeness might positively predict match rate, and describe one confound that would make this relationship difficult to interpret causally.
Model response: Profile completeness may predict match rate because more complete profiles provide more information, allowing potential matches to find points of connection. Profiles with more photos, more detailed bios, and completed prompts may also signal higher effort and investment, which can be intrinsically attractive. However, a key confound is user motivation: people who are more motivated to find a relationship may both complete their profiles more thoroughly and engage more persistently on the app, meaning profile completeness may be a proxy for motivation rather than independently causing better outcomes.
12. Short written response (2–4 sentences): In one or two sentences each, name two ways that app-based digital courtship differs structurally from meeting a romantic partner through mutual friends, and briefly note one potential advantage of each approach.
Model response: App-based dating vastly expands the potential partner pool beyond one's immediate social network, which is particularly valuable for people in smaller communities or with minority identities. Meeting through mutual friends embeds the interaction in a social accountability network that may constrain harmful behavior and provide shared contextual information about each person's character. Apps lower the social cost of rejection, since a non-response or swipe-left carries less sting than face-to-face rebuff. But mutual-friend introductions may provide richer, more accurate information about compatibility than any profile can convey.
Quiz total: 10 multiple-choice questions (1 point each) + 2 short written responses (5 points each) = 20 points