Cat People, Beware — Posing With Your Pet Could Make You Appear Less Dateable

By Emily Reynolds If you’re looking to find love on a dating app, there’s plenty you need to think about: what to include in your bio, the interests you list, and what you say you’re looking for. And in an age of rapid swiping, you’re probably going to need a knock-out profile picture too. But don’t be too quick to assume that a picture with your pet might boost your chances — at least if you’re a male cat owner, that is. According to Lori Kogan and Shelly Volsche, writing in Animals, men holding cats in photographs are seen as less masculine, more neurotic and ultimately less dateable. To look at the impact of cats on online dating success, the pair asked 1388 participants to complete a survey in which they saw two images of a man. In both pictures, the man was sitting in a chair against a white background, wearing a blue button-down shirt and jeans. In one picture, he was alone; in the other, he was shown with a ginger cat on his lap. The order in which participants saw these images were randomised. There were two different versions of this survey, each depicting a different man. Half of the participants saw pictures of Man 1 (A) and half saw Man 2 (B). Via Kogan and Volsche (2020) After viewing each picture, participants rated the men on several attributes including perceived personality (how extraverted, agreeable, neurotic, conscientious and open participants believed they were), perceived masculinity and femininity, and how dateable they were. Participant...
Source: BPS RESEARCH DIGEST - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Dating Perception Source Type: blogs