Publication date: May 2019
Source: Computers in Human Behavior, Volume 94
Author(s): Rita R. Silva, Marie-Luise Koch, Kyra Rickers, Gabriel Kreuzer, Sascha Topolinski
Abstract
Five studies explored how users of online dating platforms, such as Tinder™ and Parship, are perceived by others. Participants were presented with ostensibly real profiles of Tinder™, Parship, and Facebook users and indicated how trustworthy they perceived each to be. Our hypothesis was that Tinder™ users would be perceived as less trustworthy than both Parship and Facebook users because Tinder™ is generally portrayed according to a “hook-up app” narrative. Additionally, we tested whether the lower trustworthiness attributed to Tinder™ users persists when judgments are made in a context where the association between the individuals and the online platforms in which they were presented is removed. Our hypothesis was generally supported in a preliminary study and Studies 1 to 3. Study 4 tested the limits of the effect and showed that the adverse Tinder-effect on perceived trustworthiness was diluted when several minutes of strong cognitive distraction occurred between the first encounter with the users of each app and the evaluation of their trustworthiness.