The influence of biological and personality traits on gratifications obtained through online dating websites Chris Clemens a,⇑ , David Atkin b , Archana Krishnan c a Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communication Arts, San Francisco State University, 1600 Holloway Ave., San Francisco, CA 94132, USA b Department of Communication, University of Connecticut, 337 Mansfield Road, U-1259, Storrs, CT 06269, USA c Section of Infectious Diseases – AIDS Program, Yale University, 135 College Street, Suite 323, New Haven, CT 06510, USA article info Article history: Available online 14 March 2015 Keywords: Online dating websites Uses and gratifications Personality Sexual orientation abstract Online dating sites (ODSs) have become popular with users trying to find partners. The purpose of this study was to determine the role that biological and personality traits play in the use of online dating web- sites. A cross sectional survey with 678 participants—including cohorts from college as well as the general population—provided data for this study. The Five Factor Model personality model (FFM), sexual orienta- tion, and biological sex were utilized as antecedents to the uses of and gratifications from online dating sites. Results uncover sex and sexual orientation differences in both personality traits and gratifications sought from online dating sites. Specifically, women and homosexuals were found to be more neurotic, women were more agreeable, and homosexuals were more open to experiences. Homosexual users sought a wider range of gratifications (relationship, sex partner, distraction, and convenient companion) from online dating sites than their heterosexual counterparts. Women were less likely to use ODSs to find sexual partners, but more likely to use ODSs to be social. Those who were neurotic use dating sites to build an identity, as a convenient companion, and as a distraction. People who are open to experiences were found to use dating sites to be social. Disagreeable people use dating sites because of peer pressure and as a status symbol, and conscientious people were found to use dating sites to find a relationship. Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Online dating refers to a form of interpersonal relationship that is initiated in a computer-mediated communication (CMC) context and may transition to a more intimate communication channel, i.e., telephone and face-to-face interaction (Sprecher, 2009). The use of online dating sites (ODSs) has become a popular trend over the last decade (e.g., Gibbs, 2012; Hein, 2004; Smith & Duggan, 2013); this can be seen from the commercial success of dating web- sites such as eHarmony.com and Match.com, which contributed to over $2 billion in consumer spending in 2014 (IBISWorld.com, 2014). Online Dating Magazine’s (2010) poll of online readers found that eHarmony.com (43%) and Match.com (34%) were the most popular dating websites. Previous research addressing online dating sought to examine personality traits (Anolli, Villani, & Riva, 2005; Kang & Hoffman, 2011; Peter & Valkenburg, 2007), audience uses and gratifications (Lawson & Leck, 2006; Tirado, 2007; Wang & Chang, 2010), or sex differences (Tirado, 2007). Demographic and personality variables have often been studied as antecedents to media choice and behavior, particularly in the social networking literature (Banczyk, Krämer, & Senokozlieva, 2008; Ross et al., 2009; Tan & Yang, 2013). Few studies have addressed sex differences, sexual orientation, personality types, and uses and gratifications. The pur- pose of this study is to explore multiple biological and personality factors that motivate the uses and the gratifications sought by online dating website users. 2. Literature review 2.1. Uses and gratifications of online dating sites Uses and gratifications theory (Katz, Blumler, & Gurevitch, 1974) has been cited extensively in studies of new and expanding technologies, including motives for using the Internet (e.g., Charney & Greenberg, 2002; Papachrissi & Rubin, 2000) and social networking websites (e.g., Bonds-Raacke & Raacke, 2010; Hunt, Atkin, & Krishnan, 2012; Papacharissi & Mendelson, 2011; Quan-Haase & Young, 2010). Qualitative studies in various cultural contexts reveal that ODS use is driven by such motives as compan- ionship, seeking sexual partners, romance, freedom from commit- ment, and ease of meeting new people (Couch & Liamputtong, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.12.058 0747-5632/Ó 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. ⇑ Corresponding author at: Department of Broadcast and Electronic Communica- tion Arts, San Francisco State University, USA. Tel.: +1 415 405 0922. E-mail address: cclemens@sfsu.edu (C. Clemens). Computers in Human Behavior 49 (2015) 120–129 Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Computers in Human Behavior journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/comphumbeh