• About
  • Advertise
  • Contact us
The Trending Buzz
  • Home
  • News
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Relationships
    • Health and Fitness
  • Entertainment
    • Sports
  • Press Releases
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Relationships
    • Health and Fitness
  • Entertainment
    • Sports
  • Press Releases
No Result
View All Result
The Trending Buzz
No Result
View All Result
Home Lifestyle Entertainment

OK Cupid Proudly Supports Human Experiments

by Rebekah Carter
May 19, 2020
in Entertainment
OK Cupid
7
SHARES
131
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on TwitterShare on Whatsapp

Some of you may remember the outrage that emerged last month after Facebook (finally) came clean about the casual human experiments it had been doing, without users’ permission, or notice. Their emotional manipulation study, which controlled the kind of news an individual saw on their feed (negative or positive) to see whether their mood would be affected, had telling results, but was also slated as unethical and morally wrong by many outraged social-media users.

Since then, the popular dating site, OK Cupid, has announced to its users that they shouldn’t be upset about human experimentation, since the website uses it all of the time. The founder of the website, Christian Rudder, announced that experimentation was part of the reality that came with using the internet, stating that ‘That’s how websites work’. Rudder went on to explain that he and the engineers at OK Cupid sometimes indulged in a bit of fun with random user’s accounts so that they could research the best ways of further building the site. In the past, for example, tweaking has included nonchalantly deleting patches of profile text and informing pairs that may have made a great match that they actually weren’t right for each other.

Isn’t that…the opposite of what these sites are supposed to do?

Some of the Previous Experiments (and what they suggest):

Love is (not) blind:

On January 15th of last year, the site decided to temporarily take down all user photos to see if people would still want to interact without knowing what a person looked like. Since human-beings are inherently shallow, the site traffic dropped significantly, but those that did interact were found to respond and exchange information more quickly…Until photographs were restored. The women who did try out a blind date usually reported having a pretty good time, especially if the date was with a less attractive man, surprisingly. Yet, despite this, once photos were restored onto the site, the women went right back to judging people according to their looks.

ExperimentsIt’s (not) important to have a good personality:

The second experiment, once again based on looks – because human-beings are nothing if not aesthetically minded – attempted to determine whether a correlation existed between how people were scored for their personality, and looks. Basically, the website wanted to know whether someone could get a good rating for their personality, even if their appearance was rated negatively. Sadly, once again the results made us look bad, by finding that how a person looked seemed more important than any other factor. People would positively rate a person’s profile if they were attractive, even if they had no idea what their personality was like whatsoever. According to the site’s founder, Rudder, where a picture is worth a thousand words, actual, real words are worth ‘almost nothing’.

good personality

Who needs words when you have a pretty face?

People will do what they’re told is right for them (even if it isn’t):

The final experiment that has been revealed by OK Cupid looked into just how powerful suggestion could be in the matchmaking progress. The engineers deliberately altered the match algorithm that is typically used to tell users who they were compatible with, so that instead they got results directing to people they were completely incompatible with. The study found that, even though these people were likely not to get along, because the site told them they were, they were much more likely to interact and send messages to one another. According to Rudder, the suggestion of compatibility is just as effective as the real thing.

matchmaking progress“The myth of compatibility works as well as the truth.”

Surprisingly, despite the negative response that Facebook got for doing (pretty much) the same thing, the comments that emerged on OK cupid’s blog suggested that people weren’t as weirded-out as you might have expected by the human experimentation. In fact, rather than being upset after finding out what had actually been going on with their profiles, users said they found the data to be either funny, or pretty ‘depressing’.

 

Share your views in the comment box

Tags: DatingHuman ExperimentOK Cupid
Share3Tweet2Send
Rebekah Carter

Rebekah Carter

A passionate writer and devotee to the written word in all of its forms, Rebekah loves any excuse to be creative and share her dedication with the world. Eager to bring you the latest news, entertainment and her personal opinions on the many facets of information that catch her eye, Rebekah is a devout author and editor of The Trending Buzz.

Related Posts

robert pattinson - the batman movie

Six Reasons Why You Should Be Excited About The New Batman Movie

by Rahul Sharma
September 16, 2020
0

So, the official trailer for the new Batman movie is out. In case you haven’t watched it yet, I suggest...

Joaquin Phoenix Joker

Three Reasons Why Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker Pales in Comparison with Heath Ledger’s Joker

by Rahul Sharma
April 13, 2020
0

Joker was undoubtedly one of the most successful movies of 2019 – both in terms of box office performance and...

FRIENDS

Five Fantastic Christmas and New Year Themed FRIENDS Episodes You Must Re-watch This Holiday Season

by Rahul Sharma
December 30, 2019
0

It has been more than 20 years since we (at least most of us millennials) all watched the grand finale...

Load More

Follow us

Tweets by TheTrendingBuzz
  • Trending
  • Comments
  • Latest
Racist Stereotypes

Modern Family Is Not So Modern! It is Filled with Clichés and Racist Stereotypes

July 2, 2018
Haunted by Your Ex

What to Do If You Are Haunted by Your Ex? New Trend in Dating

March 13, 2020
Cloud Storage Services Startups

The 5 Best Cloud Storage Services for Startups in 2019

April 15, 2019
best cryptocurrency investments

The Best Cryptocurrency Investments for 2021

December 21, 2020
Top Secrets of Maximizing Your Website’s Value before Selling It

Top Secrets of Maximizing Your Website’s Value before Selling It

16

How To Make Yourself Smarter With Delicious Food

5
Partnerships

Introducing The Eighth ‘P’ In Marketing: Why Partnerships Are Now A Vital Piece Of The Puzzle

4
The Summer Essentials Your Wardrobe Can’t Do Without

The Summer Essentials Your Wardrobe Can’t Do Without

2
best cryptocurrency investments

The Best Cryptocurrency Investments for 2021

December 21, 2020
thanksgiving marketing ideas

Eight Simple Yet Effective Thanksgiving Marketing Ideas to Boost Your Business

November 18, 2020
small business strategies

Six Must-Try Small Business Strategies for 2021

October 22, 2020
Coronavirus Vaccine

How Soon Can We Expect a Coronavirus Vaccine?

October 19, 2020

The Trending Buzz

At The Trending Buzz, we create and curate premium news content to keep our readers informed about the key happenings around the world.

Contact us: rahul@thetrendingbuzz.com

Categories

  • Home
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
  • Relationships
  • Health and Fitness
  • Sports
  • Entertainment
  • Press Releases
  • Tips & Tricks
  • Uncategorized

Newsletter



  • About
  • Advertise
  • Contact
  • Who is Behind The Trending Buzz
  • Press Releases
  • Privacy Policy

COPYRIGHT © 2020 THE TRENDING BUZZ. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.

No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Marketing
  • Technology
  • Personal Finance
  • Lifestyle
    • Relationships
    • Health and Fitness
  • Entertainment
    • Sports
  • Press Releases

Copyright © 2020 The Treanding Buzz. All Rights Reserved.

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.