These are the personality types most likely to succeed on dating apps
Anyone who has used dating apps knows they are a world unto themselves.
The sheer number of platforms, while great for variety can be perplexing for any newcomer to kick off their already daunting journey, and once inside the dating sphere, there seems to be a whole other language (i.e., one million different colored flags) and technique to doing things that can make the experience more, or less successful depending on how you approach it.
Take your bio for example.
While your profile image and information might be what you think most prospective daters look at, research has shown that there’s another critical element that will be observed and critiqued before giving the green or red light – your personality.
And there are some personality types that get the go-ahead far more than others.
According to research published in Personality And Individual Difference, people who are on dating apps tend to prefer potential partners who have similar levels of three key traits: agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion.
The research was undertaken by looking at a previously proven idea, that couples who have similar personalities tend to report greater relationship satisfaction.
Not only did the study confirm this but found that sharing the three traits of agreeableness, conscientiousness and extraversion was listed as the most important to relationship success.
Relationship counselor, Lauren Bradley says that looking for a partner with similar personality traits, particularly those identified by the study, isn’t unique to dating apps but something evident more broadly.
“When it comes to picking a mate, we predominantly hunt out what we know and gravitate to the familiar. People who rate high in agreeableness often believe that people are inherently good, trust easily and demonstrate strong empathy and connectedness to others,” she explains.
“People rating high in conscientiousness are often organized, thoughtful planners. People who rate low in conscientiousness are often sporadic, spontaneous and disorganized. The planner and the erratic can potentially drive each other mad! Extraversion refers to someone who gains energy in the company of others, while those who rate low in this characteristic often prefer their own company. The social butterfly and the lone wolf come from polar opposite sides of social etiquette,” she says.
Sexologist Alice Child says while couples with similar attitudes values and backgrounds tend to experience more lasting intimacy and connection, that some personality differences can be beneficial to spice things up a bit.
“Some personality differences are often important in an intimate relationship and are often what attracts us to the person in the first place! After all, it would be pretty boring to date ourselves. Differences are also important for great sex and intimacy. Sex therapist Jack Morin says that arousal equals attraction plus obstacles, meaning we need some form of tension, novelty, difference or newness to keep intimacy and arousal alive,” she says.
Bradley agrees and says this can go further than sex.
“There is some merit though to attracting a partner with some difference to you, for example, someone with moderately high extraversion would match well with someone with moderately low extraversion, bringing one out of their shell, and encouraging the other to take social breaks to recharge. We can complement our partners through our differences, as long as those differences aren’t too severe,” she says.
So, what do these personality types look like on a dating app?
Extraversion
A person who is high in extraversion is likely to have photos of others on their profile in social settings and will probably actively engage in free conversation with you.
Agreeableness
A person who is highly agreeable may go with your suggestions and focus on you and your day.
Conscientiousness
A person who is low in conscientiousness may be really bad at replying to messages and slack to organize dates or prefer to ‘wing it’.
Someone high in conscientiousness, on the other hand, may send you daily check-ins and plan a fabulous date night two weeks from now with a booking at a waitlisted restaurant.
And finally, the big question – does sharing these traits equal relationship success? I’m sorry to say that the answer is not a straightforward yes, in fact, it comes down to many components say the experts.
“If Married at First Sight is anything to go by, personality and psychometric matching doesn’t always a happy fairy tale couple make. You won’t really know if it’s a personality match until you meet the person in real life and experience real-world interaction, get exposed to their beliefs and values,” says Bradley.
“Every relationship is different, and what works for one couple will most certainly not work for everyone. There is no ‘one size fits all’ approach to great relationships – they are forged out of mutual commitment, communication, hard work and compromise!” Child adds.
