A new study using virtual reality has found that physiological arousal from a non-romantic activity can lift men’s ratings of online dating profiles, while women appear largely unaffected. Researchers at Leuphana University Lüneburg conducted the experiment with 130 participants and used two distinct VR experiences—Beat Saber, a fast-paced rhythm game, and a calm forest scene—to induce high or low arousal before participants evaluated mock dating profiles.
At the core of the research is the arousal misattribution hypothesis, the idea that people can confuse bodily signs of excitement with romantic attraction. The team explains that a racing heart or sweaty palms from an unrelated source can be misread as attraction to someone seen afterwards.
The study’s rationale draws on a tradition of misattribution experiments, including a classic 1974 scenario in which men crossing a scary bridge later showed greater interest in a female researcher. The researchers note that the arousal created by an intense experience might be processed by the brain as chemistry with a date, even when it is not.
In online dating, first impressions are formed rapidly from scarce visual and textual cues, and physical attractiveness often dominates initial judgments. The authors reference earlier findings – including a 2025 PsyPost report and a 2008 study – that physical appearance strongly influences perceived appeal on dating platforms, sometimes outweighing other traits.
The experiment randomised participants to two three-minute VR conditions on campus. Half engaged in a low-arousal, tranquil forest environment; the other half played Beat Saber, a high-arousal VR rhythm game. After the VR session, they viewed eight mock dating profiles tailored to their reported sexual orientation and answered questions about attractiveness, perceived sexual warmth, and compatibility.
Participants also rated how similar they felt to each profile and how likely they would be to go on a date with the person. They then made a binary choice to approve or reject each profile, mirroring the swiping decision on contemporary dating apps.
Overall, the high-arousal group showed a consistent uptick in interest. They rated profiles as more attractive and as possessing greater sexual warmth, and they perceived more similarity and compatibility with the profile owners. The researchers found that the arousal boost did not translate into a statistically significant increase in the self-reported likelihood of actually dating someone, though the direction of the effect was positive.
Quantitatively, the study found that approval rates rose from 17.4% in the low-arousal condition to 24.9% in the high-arousal condition. When the data were split by gender, men showed a pronounced effect: 11.3% approval in the calm group rose to 31.4% in the high-arousal group, meaning arousal made men nearly three times as likely to approve a potential partner. Women, by contrast, showed little to no change, approving 20.5% of profiles in the high-arousal group versus 23.3% in the low-arousal group.
The gender divergence prompted a discussion of potential underpinning theories. The researchers note that men may rely more on bodily signals when judging initial attraction, whereas women may depend more on contextual cues. A prominent commentary from Rui Miguel Costa, an assistant professor at Universidade Europeia in Lisbon, emphasised that the findings align with prior observations. Costa, who was not involved in the study, told PsyPost: “Thrilling experiences may enhance many people’s romantic lives.” He also linked the findings to broader patterns in arousal and attractiveness across contexts.
Costa further expressed caution about interpreting the results. He said: “I think there are problems with the interpretation in terms of arousal-misattribution hypothesis, which implies that high attraction results from misinterpretation of partner’s value.” He added that, “In real life, outside of theoretical theorizing, people we look at and the contexts [they] are in are indissociable. In the real world, arousal elicited by other people is inextricably intertwined with the arousal elicited by contextual factors.”
Costa also argued that “Absolute intrinsic attractiveness of a partner is something that only exists in abstractions and theoretical models, not in the real world, and ultimately, none of us can precisely identify all sources of arousal that affect us; the mystery of passion may lie somewhere here.” He suggested future work should probe participants about how aware they are of arousal’s influence, noting: “In next studies, it would be important to ask participants to what extent they think their attraction is being influenced by the previous arousing situation. Probably, many people are actually aware of these enhancing influences. Remarkably, this type of question has not been done.”
The authors clarified that the study remains preliminary. It is a preprint and has not yet undergone peer review, meaning its methods and conclusions have not been formally vetted by independent experts. Participants self-reported their arousal levels rather than being monitored with objective physiological tools, which the authors acknowledge as a limitation.
Other caveats include the nature of the dating profiles themselves. The faces varied in attractiveness but none were rated as highly attractive, and participant ratings were generally modest. The researchers note that the observed effects might differ with more attractive profiles. The laboratory setting also meant no real social consequences from approving or rejecting a profile, a stark contrast to the stakes of real-world dating.
The researchers contrasted their findings with the original 1974 bridge study, observing that the arousal effect size was about half as large in the VR-based experiment. They propose several possible explanations, including the relatively low stakes of swiping on a screen, potential conscious discounting of arousal from the game, and the possibility that the original study overestimated the effect.
Looking ahead, the study’s authors suggest expanding the research to more realistic social environments. They also emphasise the value of asking participants directly about the extent to which prior arousal shapes their attractions, a question they say has not yet been explored in this line of work.
The study, titled High Arousal, High Attraction? A Virtual-Reality Experiment Testing the Arousal-Misattribution-Hypothesis in Online Dating, was authored by Bahar Gürer, Yannik A. Escher, Hannes M. Petrowsky, and David D. Loschelder. The findings add to ongoing discussions about how our bodies and the contexts around us influence romantic judgments in a digital age.
