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The Signaling Function of Vaccine Status and Masking in Evaluations of Online Dating Profiles

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Abstract

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, various social norms emerged from which individuals began to glean relevant social information about others. Such information included the extent to which individuals adhered to protocols that sought to limit disease spread (e.g., masking, vaccination) and public displays that could communicate one’s coalitional status. Two experiments examined how this signaling informed perceptions of prospective mates in an online dating setting. In Study 1, participants evaluated prospective mates on a hypothetical dating app reporting themselves as having or not having gotten vaccinated and wearing or not wearing medical masks in their profile. Despite vaccination conveying limited social information to perceivers, masking fostered perceptions of likability during the pandemic. Study 2 employed a similar evaluation procedure but did so following an experimental induction of social exclusion. Exclusion fostered preferences for unmasked targets during a later stage of the pandemic. This research explores the dual signaling functions of masks, revealing their role in conveying both coalitional and interpersonal affiliations. Findings indicate heightened sensitivity to coalitional values, such as political affiliations, in Study 1. In contrast, Study 2 highlights the evaluation of masked and unmasked individuals based on their effectiveness in meeting interpersonal goals, particularly as the pandemic waned.

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Data Availability

All data and materials will be provided on the Open Science Framework.

Notes

  1. The small number of male participants led us not to have the statistical power to include Participant Sex in reported omnibus statistical models. However, analyses conducted without men mirrored those reported for the full sample, suggesting a relatively small influence of Participant Sex in these findings.

  2. Like Study 1, we did not have the statistical power to include Participant Sex in reported omnibus models. Again, we conducted analyses without men; the results mirrored those reported for the full sample.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology, University of Southern Mississippi, Hattiesburg, MS, USA

    Zach Buckner, August Namuth & Donald F. Sacco

  2. Department of Psychological Science, University of Arkansas, Fayetteville, AR, USA

    Mitch Brown

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  1. Zach Buckner
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  2. Mitch Brown
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  3. August Namuth
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  4. Donald F. Sacco
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Contributions

Zach Buckner, August Namuth, and Donald Sacco contributed to the study conception and design. Material preparation was performed by Zach Buckner and Mitch Brown. Data collection was performed by Zach Buckner and August Namuth. Analysis was performed by all authors. The first draft of the manuscript was written by Zach Buckner and all authors commented on previous versions of the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Zach Buckner.

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These studies were performed in accordance with APA standards. Approval was granted by the Institutional Review Board (IRB), record number 22–135, at the University of Southern Mississippi.

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Buckner, Z., Brown, M., Namuth, A. et al. The Signaling Function of Vaccine Status and Masking in Evaluations of Online Dating Profiles. Evolutionary Psychological Science 10, 40–51 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40806-024-00386-3

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