Creativity, Expectancy Violations, and Impression Formation: Effects of Novelty and Appropriateness in Online Dating Profile Texts
van der Zanden,Tess Schouten,Alexander
van der Zanden,Tess
Schouten,Alexander
Abstract
This experimental study investigates how novelty and appropriateness–the two criteria of creativity–affect impressions formed of online dating profile owners. More specifically, it examines how both criteria influence perceived romantic attractiveness, and whether expectancy violations and person perceptions (i.e., originality and oddness) mediate these effects. Participants (N = 295) were members of a dating platform who were presented with dating profile texts that met one or both criteria: (a) not novel and appropriate, (b) novel and appropriate, or (c) novel and inappropriate. In line with the expectations, results show that novel texts are less expected, and that their writers are perceived as more original and, in turn, as more romantically attractive. Writers of novel and non-novel texts are evaluated as equally attractive though, suggesting that appropriateness is a stronger determinant of romantic attractiveness. That is, novel texts that are inappropriate violate expectations more negatively than those that are appropriate, increasing oddness and, accordingly, decreasing romantic attractiveness. Findings suggest that novelty and appropriateness are two important creativity dimensions that explain effects of dating profile texts on impression formation. Moreover, we show that the expectancy violations theory is a useful framework to study creativity and impression formation in online dating.
Description
Publisher Copyright: © 2023 The Author(s). Published with license by Taylor & Francis Group, LLC.
Date
2024
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Research Projects
Organizational Units
Journal Issue
Keywords
Definition, Judgments, Originality, Perception, Personality, Preferences, Self-disclosure
Citation
van der Zanden, T & Schouten, A 2024, 'Creativity, Expectancy Violations, and Impression Formation : Effects of Novelty and Appropriateness in Online Dating Profile Texts', Media Psychology, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 842-868. https://doi.org/10.1080/15213269.2023.2295526