This engaging XPRT talk by Newristics’ Lisa Baer and Samantha Burstein, shines the spotlight on
all the heuristics at play in the irrational decision-making processes that are a part of
modern-day dating. Gone are the days of serendipitous meetings with potential suitors in coffee
shops or
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even deliberate ones at local bars; today is all about swipe-based apps, where an
online dating profile is the lens through which people are scrutinized. Some of the heuristics
that one can hope to sample in this talk brimming in examples and experiences, are:
Customization Bias - This heuristic explains the human tendency to want to customize their
options even when there is no need for customization.
Choice Overload - The pool of options for the modern dater has exponentially grown. So,
shouldn't that make finding the right person a slam dunk? Not necessarily. What ends up
happening in reality is that the seemingly endless supply of possible choices can lead to a
state of inaction often referred to as Choice Overload.
Open Option Bias - It is human to want to keep options open whenever possible to avoid feeling
locked down, even if it doesn't make any sense to do that. Why invest in an individual if there
could possibly be someone significantly better just a few swipes away?
Distinction Bias - This is the tendency to view two options as being more distinctive when
evaluating them simultaneously than when evaluating them separately.
Interview Illusion - This heuristic describes the tendency of people who are interviewing an
individual to overrate their ability to choose the best candidate by wrongly assuming that they
can pick people based on a single interaction.
Fundamental attribution error - This heuristic is defined as the tendency to overestimate the
effect of personality and underestimate the effect of a situation when explaining the behavior
of a person.
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