Hot or Not? Personality and attraction on the dance floor

Abstract

Previous research has shown that personality plays a significant role in interpersonal attraction. We took this issue to the dance floor, and investigated how personality characteristics of both observers and dancers affect the former’s attractiveness ratings of the latter. Sixty-two heterosexual adult participants watched 48 short audio-visual point-light animations of eight male and eight female adults dancing to Techno, Pop, and Latin music. Participants rated perceived skill of each dancer, and the likelihood with which they would go on a date with them. Both dancers’ and observers’ personality characteristics were assessed using the Big Five Inventory. Multivariate analyses of variance (MANOVAs) revealed some fascinating insights into the ways in which personality shapes interpersonal attraction on the dance floor. Both men and women perceived more Neurotic and less Agreeable opposite sex individuals to be more skilled dancers, and more Neurotic opposite sex individuals to be more datable, with women additionally preferring men who were more agreeable. Men preferred more Extraverted female dancers, while women preferred less Extraverted, but more Open and Conscientious male dancers. Higher ratings of opposite sex dance skill were given by men scoring low, but women scoring high, on Openness and Neuroticism. Finally, men preferred more Extravert but less Agreeable female dancers, while women preferred less Extravert, more Open, and more Conscientious male dancers.