title: Dominant, open nonverbal displays are attractive at zero-acquaintance.
abstract: Across two field studies of romantic attraction, we demonstrate that postural expansiveness makes humans more romantically appealing. In a field study (n = 144 speed-dates), we coded nonverbal behaviors associated with liking, love, and dominance. Postural expansiveness-expanding the body in physical space-was most predictive of attraction, with each one-unit increase in coded behavior from the video recordings nearly doubling a person's odds of getting a "yes" response from one's speed-dating partner. In a subsequent field experiment (n = 3,000), we tested the causality of postural expansion (vs. contraction) on attraction using a popular Global Positioning System-based online-dating application. Mate-seekers rapidly flipped through photographs of potential sexual/date partners, selecting those they desired to meet for a date. Mate-seekers were significantly more likely to select partners displaying an expansive (vs. contractive) nonverbal posture. Mediation analyses demonstrate one plausible mechanism through which expansiveness is appealing: Expansiveness makes the dating candidate appear more dominant. In a dating world in which success sometimes is determined by a split-second decision rendered after a brief interaction or exposure to a static photograph, single persons have very little time to make a good impression. Our research suggests that a nonverbal dominance display increases a person's chances of being selected as a potential mate.
authors.affiliation: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; tanyav@berkeley.edu dcarney@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Tanya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Vacharkulksemsuk
authors.affiliation: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720;
authors.forename: Emily
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Reit
authors.affiliation: Stanford Graduate School of Business, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305;
authors.forename: Poruz
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Khambatta
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Development and Family Sciences, University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712;
authors.forename: Paul W
authors.initials: PW
authors.lastname: Eastwick
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208; Kellogg School of Management, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, 60208.
authors.forename: Eli J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Finkel
authors.affiliation: Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720; tanyav@berkeley.edu dcarney@berkeley.edu.
authors.forename: Dana R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Carney
mesh_terms: D033062:Friends / Q000523:psychology*; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008149:Love; D009633:Nonverbal Communication; D011187:Posture / Q000502:physiology*; D012725:Sexual Behavior / Q000523:psychology*; D012747:Sexual Partners; D012919:Social Behavior
keywords: attraction; mate selection; nonverbal behavior; postural expansiveness; romantic relationships