Dating brain

Innovation vs Dating: Episode #6 – Functional fixedness: Is our brain working against us?

A couple of years ago a friend of mine broke up with her long-term partner and started dating someone else soon afterwards; I remember it being literally within weeks. New guy was very different to the ex. He was sporty, he had a swagger about him and he loved playing footy. Previous guy was career focused, and outside of that, mainly interested in sitting down. Very different. Unfortunately for Rebound Guy, this perception really stuck. Now, of course I would never want to objectify anyone, but if Rebound Guy was an object, we would all have a serious case of functional fixedness. Functional fixedness is a cognitive bias that limits us to thinking about using an object only in the way it is in our perception traditionally used.

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The word framing is everywhere. With the election , we hear how candidates need to "frame the issue better. By changing your outlook, the mind softens. I turned to Helen Fisher, Ph. She found that the nucleus accumbens and the ventral tegmental, or the brain's "rewards centers," lit up and unleashed dopamine. It is visual proof that when we're infatuated, we're literally drunk on love.

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Anastasia Hronis does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment. A class-action lawsuit filed in the United States against Match Group — the parent company of dating apps Tinder, Hinge and The League — is making headlines around the world. So, can dating apps really be addictive? Are we swiping right into a trap? Dating apps, like many apps these days, are designed to keep users engaged.

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How to Train Your Brain to Date Better

In this series we publish blog posts written by our first year undergraduate students for the PB Foundations of Psychological Science course. Here, Cherry Liu considers how dating app algorithms take advantage of our brain chemistry to keep us hooked on swiping. But is it really or are we actively chasing it instead? We all know how rewarding real-life relationships can be.

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