Online dating is one of the gateways to make a friend or find a potential steady partner. However, online dating is also filled with many cases that involve behavioral concerns.
One of the recurring problems that people tend to associate with online dating is cyber abuse. In almost every online dating platform, abuse is reported by a few parties. But why does the negative exploit repeats itself in cyber dating?
An investigation was conducted to solve the puzzling presence of this dangerous engagement practiced online. It was found that the nature of online dating abuse is linked with evolutionary theory.
Online Dating Abuse in Mate Value Discrepancy and Intrasexual Competition
Online dating abuse is connected with some of the evolutionary hypotheses in humans that were already recorded and observed way back in ancient times. The recent study describes that the evolutionary phenomena which are great factors to online dating abuse are mate value discrepancy and intrasexual competition, both of which means that the resource value polarity of each individual involved in a relationship and the competition in a cluster over a potential mate.
University of Wolverhampton psychology expert and lead author of the study, Manpal Singh Bhogal, said that online dating abuse is considered a new category of intimate partner violence. Bhogal added that previous studies revolving around online dating abuse had been focused merely on the effects of cyber dating violence rather than where it originates.
Online dating abuse and its correlation with mate value discrepancy and intrasexual competition were investigated through the help of 177 heterosexual adult participants. Throughout the experiment, Forbes reported that the subjects were required to fill out a test that includes 17 questions regarding online romantic relationships.
Most of the questions are simple ones that pertain to the basic appearance and immediate assets of a person, such as "is your partner financially secure?" and "does your partner have an attractive face?" The questionnaires were answered by the participants and their partners.
The Digital Dating Abuse scale, after the 17-item phase, was then utilized for the experiment. In this scale, the participants were required to gauge themselves about online dating abuse towards their partners.
One of the questions relayed in the Digital Dating Abuse Scale asked if they gathered private information from their partners online through any device without permission.
Read also: Psychology of Revenge: More People Prefer Immediate Retribution Than Waiting To Get More Vengeance
Mate-Retention vs. Abuse
The findings of the study show that the male and female individuals recorded with high mate value discrepancy between themselves and their partners are most likely to initiate abuse in digital dating, provided that their partners were of a higher mate value.
Through evolutionary history, humans could perceive partner poaching differently, thus developing a partner-retention strategy to keep their intimate partners in their circle. According to the study, these mate-retention methods often act as a gateway for unnecessary control, irrational reactions, behavioral agitation, and manipulation.
But even if these types of abuses occur, the authors said that beneficial mate-retention behaviors are still existent and can be utilized for positive relationship maintenance.
The investigation regarding the link between evolutionary theory and online dating abuse is published in the Journal of Interpersonal Violence, titled "The Role of Mating-Relevant Factors in the Perpetration of Digital Dating Abuse."
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