I wonder if this can be applied to a startup, not just romance. The first few things that comes to mind are Apple's "just another day that you will never forget" and Google's Cr48 pilot program. Both have an element of uncertainty. In Apple's case it was the nature of the announcement, and in Google's case it is whether or not you will get one of the pilot laptops.
In both case people's attraction seems to have been peaked more than it otherwise would have. So uncertainty can be a powerful tool if used properly.
Of course, I'm thinking about applications towards startups because I'm not a really socially adept person, and am therefore not too sure how one could go about deliberately creating uncertainty in a social relationship to attract a female.
Why do you think so many startups have a private beta? You don't know whether you get in and that makes you want to try it out.
Glitch also does this fantastically well with their playtest weekends. They don't tell you in advance when they are, so if you want to participate you need keep an eye on them via twitter or the site itself at all time.
Absolutely. I signed up for one and I was excited at possibly getting a free laptop. I then told my friend about it and in the process of explaining to her what this laptop was about (why she couldn't install anything on it) I realized I didn't actually want the thing.
I am also quite mystified about the downvotes. It would be nice to see an explanation...
Edit: The comment score has gone positive again, but I am still interested in who voted my comment down to negative three and why. I'm not complaining, just curious.
I can't speak for everyone, but I feel a little knee-jerk at posts that try to relate anything and everything back to startups. Startups are a recurring theme here and some people are very passionate about them, but it really gets old after a while. Sound like a plausible explanation?
Too bad that we need to sign-in to checkout the complete text.
[Edit: I was planning to check the size of sample data i.e. number of women who participated in the research, but chucked the idea after the bothersome process.]
Uncertain things are the most interesting. I think that's another possible explanation. People are attracted to other people whom they find interesting.
I'm glad the government is contributing to pickup artist literature.
Indeed, I think uncertainty is a major part of attraction. It creates insecurity and a desire to settle the uncertainty in ones own favor which manifests itself in attraction.
This is interesting, because it certainly has a deal in attractiveness of public figures: they often on the screen, we talk about them, we think about their actions.
So we can increase likeness by being nice and by being worth to think about.
I'm not sure if that was mikeknoops's point, but the study does not support that "[uncertainty] creates insecurity and a desire to settle the uncertainty in ones own favor". They merely say that the participants thought more about the men, heightening the attraction. This may or may not be explained by your theory.
In both case people's attraction seems to have been peaked more than it otherwise would have. So uncertainty can be a powerful tool if used properly.
Of course, I'm thinking about applications towards startups because I'm not a really socially adept person, and am therefore not too sure how one could go about deliberately creating uncertainty in a social relationship to attract a female.