Editing Speed dating (section)

== Scientific research ==
There have been several studies of the round-robin dating systems themselves, as well as studies of [[interpersonal attraction]] that are relevant to these events.  Other studies found speed-dating data useful as a way to observe individual choices among random participants.

=== First impressions ===
A 2005 study at the [[University of Pennsylvania]] of multiple HurryDate speed dating events found that most people made their choices within the first three seconds of meeting. Furthermore, issues such as religion, previous marriages, and smoking habits were found to play much less of a role than expected.<ref name="upenn">{{cite journal|first1=Robert|last1=Kurzban|first2=Jason|last2=Weeden|journal=J. Evol. Hum. Behav.|volume=26|issue=3|pages=227–244|date=2005-05-01|url=http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/PLEEP/pdfs/2005%20Kurzban%20%26%20Weeden%20EHB.pdf|title=HurryDate: Mate preferences in action|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304052439/http://www.sas.upenn.edu/psych/PLEEP/pdfs/2005%20Kurzban%20%26%20Weeden%20EHB.pdf|archive-date=4 March 2016|doi=10.1016/J.EVOLHUMBEHAV.2004.08.012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=U. Penn.|url=http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=747|title=Just in Time for Valentine's Day: Falling in Love in Three Minutes or Less|date=2005-02-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090830002135/http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=747|archive-date=30 August 2009 }}—press release</ref>

A 2006 study in [[Edinburgh]], Scotland showed that 45% of the women participants in a speed-dating event and 22% of the men had come to a decision within the first 30 seconds. It also found that dialogue concerning travel resulted in more matches than dialogue about films.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20070702025413/http://news.scotsman.com/scitech.cfm?id=567952006 "Men, you have 30 seconds to impress women"]—''The Scotsman'' 14 April 2006</ref>

In a 2012 study, researchers found that activation of specific brain regions while viewing images of opposite-sex speed dating participants was predictive of whether or not a participant would later pursue or reject the viewed participants at an actual speed dating event. Men and women made decisions in a similar manner which incorporated the physical attractiveness and likability of the viewed participants in their evaluation.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Cooper |first1=Jeffrey C. |last2=Dunne |first2=Simon |last3=Furey |first3=Teresa |last4=O'Doherty |first4=John P. |year=2012 |title=Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Mediates Rapid Evaluations Predicting the Outcome of Romantic Interactions |journal=The Journal of Neuroscience |volume=32 |issue=45 |pages=15647–15656 |publisher=Society for Neuroscience |doi=10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2558-12.2012 |url= |pmid=23136406 |pmc=3513285}}</ref>

=== Subconscious preferences ===
[[Malcolm Gladwell]]'s book on split-second decision making, ''[[Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|Blink]],'' introduces two professors at [[Columbia University]] who run speed-dating events.  Drs. [[Sheena Iyengar]] and Raymond Fisman found, from having the participants fill out questionnaires, that what people said they wanted in an ideal mate did not match their [[subconscious]] preferences.<ref>{{cite book|title=Blink: The Power of Thinking Without Thinking|first=Malcolm|last=Gladwell|year=2005|publisher=Little, Brown|isbn=0-316-17232-4|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/blinkpowerofthin00glad}}  pp. 61-66</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nerve.com/screeningroom/books/thestorytellingproblem |title=The Storytelling Problem (excerpt from ''Blink'') |publisher=Nerve.com |date=26 January 2005 |access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref>

=== Olfaction and the MHC ===
A 1995 study at the [[University of Bern]] showed that women appear to be attracted to the smell of men who have different [[Major histocompatibility complex|MHC]] profiles from their own, and that oral contraceptives reversed this effect.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-1174.html |title=Psychology Today Mar/Apr 1996: The Smell of Love |publisher=Psychologytoday.com |access-date=12 July 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130201051621/http://www.psychologytoday.com/articles/pto-1174.html |archive-date=1 February 2013 }}</ref>

The MHC is a region of the [[human genome]] involved with immune function. Because parents with more diverse MHC profiles would be expected to produce offspring with stronger [[immune system]]s, dissimilar MHC may play a role in sexual selection.

A speed date lasting several minutes may be long enough for the MHC hypothesis to come into play, provided the participants are seated close enough together.{{Citation needed|date=February 2014}}

=== Olfaction and pheromones ===
The TV [[news magazine]] ''[[20/20 (US television show)|20/20]]'' once sent both a male and a female set of twins to a speed dating event.  One of each set was wearing [[pheromone]]s, and the ones wearing pheromones received more matches.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/2020/Health/story?id=1386825 |title=Are Pheromones a Secret Weapon for Dating? |publisher=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |date=9 December 2005 |access-date=12 July 2011}}</ref>

=== Age and height preference ===
A 2006 study by Michèle Belot and Marco Francesconi into the relative effects of preference versus opportunity in mate selection showed that a woman's age is the single most important factor determining demand by men.<ref>[http://ftp.iza.org/dp2377.pdf Can anyone be the One? Evidence on Mate Selection from Speed Dating] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305002612/http://ftp.iza.org/dp2377.pdf |date=5 March 2016 }} IZA Discussion paper October 2006</ref> Although less important than it is to men, age is still a highly significant factor determining demand by women.

The same study found that a man's height had a significant impact upon his desirability, with a reduction in height causing a decrease in desirability at the rate of 5% per inch.

=== Selectivity ===
Studies of speed dating events generally show more selectivity among women than among men. For instance, the Penn study<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pennmedicine.org/news/news-releases/2017/november/penn-study-finds-men-are-more-likely-to-receive-cpr-in-public-than-women|title=Penn Study Finds Men Are More Likely To Receive CPR in Public than Women|last=Anderson|first=Abbey|date=11 November 2017|website=www.pennmedicine.org|access-date=28 November 2017}}</ref> reported that the average man was chosen by 34% of the women and the average woman was chosen by 49% of the men.<ref name="upenn" /> New studies suggest that the selectivity is based on which gender is seated and which is rotating. It was shown that when men were seated and the women rotated, the men were more selective.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.livescience.com/culture/090929-women-dating.html|title=Study Questions Whether Women Are More Selective at Dating|work=LiveScience.com|date=29 September 2009 }}</ref>