Deadline for the Winter UREAP competition is Feb. 29, 2016 at 4 p.m.

When there’s an endless buffet of partners to choose from, why do we swipe right (yes, please!) in some instances, and left (heck, no!) in others?

When fourth-year psychology major Daniela Corno set out to create her own independent research project, she thought back to a recent Buzzfeed article examining online dating and why and how we determine who is attractive and who isn’t. She decided to devise her own experiment using the article as a template.

Corno’s Undergraduate Research Experience Award Program (UREAP)-funded project, “The Effects of Personality Traits and Physical Attractiveness on Dating Preferences in an Online Setting,” set out to determine if the same theories of attractiveness that exist when people meet face to face hold true in an online platform, like Tinder, for example.

“We wanted to test this in a more experimental setting to determine attractiveness based on intelligence, income level and devotion,” said Corno, who was supervised by Assistant Professor Dr. Michael Woloszyn. To do this first required a literature review, and Corno noted that there is still limited research in the field of online dating.

Then came the experiment.

“We had to create our own profiles using a photo bank that people had used for previous studies, and then we tested them on first-year psychology students, having them rate how interested they would be in the person for either a short- or long-term relationship,” Corno explained.

Her findings were very similar to what other courtship studies have found, in that “attractiveness is really important, regardless of whether it’s a long- or short-term relationship.” Perceived income is also vital, she said.

While the study didn’t uncover anything revolutionary, Corno said she gained a lot from the experience.

“Completing a UREAP was so helpful for me in terms of applying for graduate programs. It was very nice to find your own topic, and really focus on a project.”