Online Daters - The Biggest Lies
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According to a Cornell University communication researcher, online daters, men and women, usually lie about either their height or weight, and sometimes their age.
Men systematically overestimate their height, while women more commonly underestimate their weight, says Jeffrey Hancock, an assistant professor of communication and the lead author on this study. “Surprisingly, age-related deception was minimal and did not differ by gender” he also said.
- About 52.6 % of the men in the study lied about their height, as did 39 % of the women.
- Slightly more women lied about their weight (64.1 %) than did men (60.5 %).
- When it came to age, 24.3 % of the men were untruthful, compared with 13.1 % of the women.
Cornell University researchers examined four popular dating sites. Study participants – 80 of them - were recruited in New York City through advertisements. After collecting information about the participants from their online profiles, the researchers measured each person’s height and weight, and obtained their age from drivers’ licenses.
The pattern of lies – frequent but slight – suggest that deception in online dating profiles is strategic. “Participants balanced the tension between appearing as attractive as possible, while also being perceived as honest,” Hancock said.
