Dating online? Bare chest and moody the way to go (for men at least)
An Internet dating site has studied the success rates of its members and found the choice of photograph really does have a striking effects. It turns out that rippled six-packs really do attract interest, while there are distinct differences between the sexes.
Staff at okcupid.com analyzed the profile photographs and measured the success rates for 7,000 members. To take account of the fact that men make more approaches on the site they used different measures. For women they simply measured the number of members who contacted them, while for men they took into account both the unsolicited approaches they received and the proportion of approaches they made which received a reply.
The staff also threw out the results from the 15 percent of members they judged least attractive and the 15 percent most attractive so the results better reflected the pose rather than being skewed by natural looks.
And the conclusion? Men should take their shirts off (but only if their abdomen deserves such billing), not smile and avoid eye contact with the camera. There are diminishing returns however: by the time you hit 31, the sight of your pecs barely makes much difference.
Women, however, should either smile or even flirt directly into the camera, preferably taking the shot by holding the camera at arms length pointing down (the so-called MySpace shot). And we know what you are thinking, but it turns out that for such a pose, whether or not cleavage is visible makes little difference. The best explanation appears to be that this type of shot creates a more intimate impression.
And ladies, if you think holding your pet in the picture is cute, forget it. Pictures with animals are the least successful, followed closely by those where the woman is drinking alcohol.
Perhaps the most surprising revelation of the study was that if your picture is unusual or interesting, the advice that it is vital to show a face becomes irrelevant.
There is one major flaw in the way the research was conducted, however. It only measures the number of people contacting you. Whether flashing the flesh or making eyes at the camera attracts the right type of admirer is another matter altogether.
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