To Tinder or not to Tinder PDF

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To tinder or not to tinder essay...

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To Tinder or not to Tinder, that’s the question: An individual differences perspective to Tinder use and motives.

Amanda Godkin

103236536

Submitted as part of Assessment 1 Due date: 10 August Tutor: Martelle Ford Word count: 1055

Online dating refers to an online system which aids in the introduction of individuals in an attempt to grow relationships and connections, Tinder has around 50 million users with 10 million active users daily and more than 100 million downloads in total (C. Smith, 2016). Through mobile dating, the app Tinder has become a “dominant leader in western societies” (Duguay, 2016) within the modern dating world among heterosexuals. Due to the popularity of this dating app it has become important to study and understand the motives and personality is evident in online dating and specifically Tinder. Elisabeth Timmermans and Elien De Caluwè (2017) And to investigate the personality differences between those who use Tinder and those who don’t and never have. Timmermans and Caluwè (2017) also aim to investigate the relationship between a person’s personality characteristics and their motives in using Tinder. This critical review will summarise the aims method and results of this study it will also discuss the strengths and weaknesses involved in this research.

Timmermas and Caluwè hypothesised that users of Tinder maybe more likely to show signs of an extroverted personality than non-tinder uses. To highlight the hypotheses Timmermans and Caluwè created a link between individual personality traits and a person’s motives in using Tinder. To test the hypothesis they conducted an experiment by setting up an online survey which was completed by 500 to Belgium participants age between 18 and 29. These participants were recruited through advertisements in online and off-line newspapers and those who participated with volunteers so they did not receive any incentives for completing the survey. The survey contains questions regarding demographics and individual tender use. Tinder motive scale which is a measurement created for this study and validated from other independent experiments, this scale allows the motive behind individuals using tinder

to be measured (Timmermans & Caluwè, 2017). Also, Timmermans and Caluwè were able to measure personality traits by using the NEO-PI-3FH method, which is a personality inventory that examines individuals big five personality traits, which are openness to experience, conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness and Neuroticism. This study was first created by Gordon Allport who suggests 4,000 personality traits and Hans Eysenck who suggested 3, from this an inclusive list of 5 personality traits were developed (Cherry, 2020) creating the Big Five personality traits and this measurement has been used in many research studies and theories.

During this study Timmermans and Caluwè were able to make determinations due to their findings. The research completed demonstrates that the personality trait agreeableness it’s not significantly related to sexual experience or peer pressure as motivations for using Tinder. For the personality trait of neuroticism there is a scene association with the ex motive and the social approval motive, however this personality trait is less likely to have a connection to the sexual experience of motive. Conscientiousness is demonstrated to be less likely to have a connection to pass time and distraction as emotive using Tinder, but a stronger association is shown with the motive of seeking relationships. On the opposite end of this is shown 19 the users with extroverted personalities demonstrate a higher tendency to use Tinder to pass time or as a distraction rather than seeking a relationship when looking into the motives behind using Tinder. Another strong association between personality traits and the use of Tinder is the travelling motive often demonstrates an openness to experiences however openness to experience is not very likely to be associated with curiosity or socialising as emotive. The research also demonstrates that those who

don’t use Tinder are less likely to be open to experiences and a more introverted and those who ultimately do use Tinder.

Though this study seems concreate weaknesses are found among this study which can affect the legitimacy and overall findings. A significant weakness of this study is the selection process of participants. This study was based and advertised in Belgium and ultimately does not include participants from other countries which can affect the outcome as Tinder is it worldwide accessible dating app. The recruitment process also cuts off certain age groups in their research which can mean that the results found can be in accurate in explaining all Tinder users. It is also seen that there is no an equal amount of single Tinder users and single non-Tinder users, 502 participants were ultimately chosen to be included in this research study however 378 of those participants were singles using Tinder and 124 of those participants are singles not using Tinder, that’s highlighting inconsistencies between the two groups of participants which alters the findings of the study and can been seen as inaccurate

percentages.

Strengths can also be found within this study to support and demonstrate the legitimacy of the findings. By using other resources such as the big five personality traits within their study they were able to create and develop a measurement cold attend emotive scale, which ultimately can aid in future research in regard to these variables. Timmermans and Caluwè used other prepared and completed measurements allowing them to validate their theory and provide resources for future research as not a lot of knowledge is hard on the connection between Tinder, the motives of using Tinder, and the big five personality traits. It is also said that by not

offering incentives for those volunteers who participated in the study those participating are more likely to be honest and genuine and show continued support when

answering

any

completing

the

survey

(Kohn,

1993).

Overall, Timmermans and Caluwè use the study to demonstrate the difference between single, tinder users and single, non tinder users using the big five personality traits. Timmermans and Caluwè also suggested a connection between motives of using Tinder and the big five personality traits by creating a measurement called the Tinder motives scale. So, the research completed is detailed and well informed the beginning selection process does not allow a completely accurate result ultimately affecting the outcome of the study. Finally, more research needs to be completed in this area in order to have definite and improved findings to determine the connection between tinder motives, the big five personality traits, and the difference in tinder uses and non-tinder uses. This study seems to be the first step in understanding these connections and also provides the ability to complete more studies using their findings.

Reference list: Duguay, S. (2016). Dressing up Tinderella: Interrogating authenticity claims on the mobile dating app Tinder. Information, Communication & Society, 1–17. doi: 10.1080/1369118X.2016.1168471

Kohn, A. (2014, August 01). Why Incentive Plans Cannot Work. Retrieved August 7, 2020, from https://hbr.org/1993/09/why-incentive-plans-cannot-work Smith, C. (2016). By the numbers: 41 impressive Tinder statistics. DMR. Retrieved from http://expandedramblings.com/index.php/tinder-statistics/ Google Scholar Timmermans, E. & De Caluwé, E. (2017). To Tinder or not to Tinder, that's the question:

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individual

motives. Personality

and

differences Individual

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Tinder 110,

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doi:

10.1016/j.paid.2017.01.026 Timmermans, E., & De Caluwé, E. (2017). Development of the Tinder Motivations Scale (TMS). Accepted for publication in Computers in Human Behavior. doi: 10.1016/j.chb.2017.01.028...