When men say they dating women without makeup, do they really mean it? I https://passive-income.info/how-far-back-does-carbon-dating-go.php to investigate. As product managers and market researchers, we often turn to surveys to get answers. Those product designers will ask about user goals, customer preferences and the barriers they face to implementing behavior.

Go run a survey. The problem?

We're trying to make a significant decision with too little information

On top of that? This conundrum describes everyone from the users on an exercise app to customers trying a new chip flavor. I was pretty sure it also applied to the guys who advised women to lay off the lipstick.

Instead of just asking, I designed experiment experiment that would measure behavior. In a company context, product managers would assume that experiment revealed a clear preference. Done deal. Behavioral science shows us that this is definitely not the case. The best way to understand behavior is to test it, not to ask about it.

Pushing my discomfort aside, I made two profiles for myself on the online dating website OKCupid. Click one profile photo, I wore makeup, and for the other, I wore none. Everything else—the demographics, the outfit, the bio—was exactly the same. Two profile images of Evelyn Gosnell with makeup right and without makeup dating. Photo credit Paula Majid Photography.

Drumroll for the results? The self-reported survey suggested the exact opposite of what their behavior did. Side note: 10 of the men messaged both profiles. And of these 10, 7 sent the same message to both. Not that I blame them. I wrote about his other findings before, but in case you missed it, find it here.

Lessons from an Online Dating Experiment

Why does it matter? It also confronts our troubling tendency for Appearance Biasa preference for attractiveness that online our perception of the world, with serious consequences. For our purposes, this also exemplifies why you should run experiments instead of surveys!

When these results inform a major business decision—designing a new product, reorienting an advertising campaign, reallocating a budget—the right data matters. Inspired by these insights into behavioral design and want to learn more?

Sign up for the Irrational Labs newsletter and never miss a blog post, podcast episode, or behavioral experiment insight. This is a modified post that originally appeared on behaviorly. From concept to code, explore how we get our hands dirty with research, product, and marketing challenges. Learn how we are link change behaviors across the domains of health, education, finance, and more.

Back to Blog. June 7, By: Evelyn Gosnell. Where Surveys Fail The problem? Previous Post Next Post. Our Services From online to code, explore how we get our hands dirty with research, product, and marketing learn more here. Online Areas of Expertise Learn how we are helping change behaviors across the domains of health, education, finance, and dating. What's your most irrational behavior?

Hitting the snooze. I'm completely rational. Sign up for our highly entertaining and not super frequent newsletters:. Email Required.