Speed Dating

Have you ever wondered how you can tell whether the person you’re dating is interested in you or not? Can body movement reveal romantic interest as early as a first date? Luckily, the perfect experiment already exists in the real world – speed dating!

To answer this question, we traded the LIVELab’s concert seats for café tables. Volunteers went on a series of short dates with other singles while we recorded their body sway with motion capture. After each date, each participant confidentially recorded their level of romantic interest in their partner.

Body sway coupling, which reflects the dependence between each couple’s movements during the date, predicted dating partners’ long-term (but not short-term!) romantic interest. Moreover, the presence of groovy background music increased their interest in seeing their partner again!

The results of this study build on LIVELab research investigating musician body sway during performances. Measuring interpersonal movement in real-world situations might reveal important aspects of human interaction in other settings, such as nonverbal infants or those with verbal communication disorders. It’s a great example of the type of research made possible by the LIVELab’s unique capabilities.