Are some first dates easier to read than others? Although it may be more difficult to form accurate impressions on first dates, targets higher in well-being may make the task easier

Are some first dates easier to read than others? The role of target well-being in distinctively accurate first impressions. Lauren Gazzard Kerra, James Borenstein-Laurie, Lauren J. Human. Journal of Research in Personality, September 8 2020, 104017. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jrp.2020.104017

Highlights
• People can form accurate first impressions of personality on speed dates.
• Accuracy on speed dates tends to be lower than in platonic first impressions.
• Dates vary substantially in how accurately they are perceived.
• Dates higher in well-being are generally easier to read.

Abstract: Some people are open books, with their distinctive personalities being accurately perceived after a brief interaction, whereas others are harder to read. Such open books have in turn been found to have greater well-being, at least within lower-stakes, platonic getting-acquainted interactions. Do individual differences in expressive accuracy emerge in higher-stakes settings, such as first dates, and are people higher in well-being still easier to read? Using a speed-dating paradigm (N = 372; Ndyads = 4723), accuracy on average was significant but relatively low. Nevertheless, strong individual differences in expressive accuracy emerged and were associated with well-being. In sum, although it may be more difficult to form accurate impressions on first dates, targets higher in well-being may make the task easier.

Keywords: Accuracyfirst impressionswell-beingspeed datinginterpersonal perception