Are Online Dating Tests Reliable?

Nowadays, more and more people are finding online dating a remarkable way of gaining new friends, companions, or love mates. As it grows at breakneck speed, the online dating industry has devised a new way of services for their members and even non-members. Many online dating sites are offering the so-called online dating tests.

Most of these online dating tests are about personality and compatibility. They range from the simple to most complex questions but all are designed to give people the results that might help them on their online dates.

However, even if it gained tremendous popularity, many experts contend that online dating tests are not that reliable. In fact, many psychologists contend that the reliability and efficiency of online dating tests is less than 50%. This means that, when the results of an online dating test concerning compatibility state that the person who tried the test and the person being paired say they are compatible, chances are, only half of it is true.

Why Were They Created?

Because of the unprecedented growth of online dating and the increasing demand for matchmaking, most of the online dating industry has come up with the concept of online dating tests in order to help with a better match. Hence, different online dating tests have emerged like personality tests and compatibility tests.

Psychologists have asserted that when a person tried to access online dating tests and answered some questions, chances are, his or her answers will be affected by many outside factors such as feelings, attitude, mood, and context. This means that there are possibilities wherein a person may have two different answers on one given question if it will be asked on two different situations.

For example, if an individual is feeling low or is "heartbroken" by the time he or she tried to answer an online dating test and answered them again on a different mood, chances are, the results may vary.

Some psychologists explain that the reason for these discrepancies is that the Internet-based online dating test are only through self-evaluation and are not guided by reliable psychological assessment, which usually are done in clinical conditions.

Therefore, for people who are fond of answering online dating tests, there's no problem on that. The problem arises if it will be the basis of something serious like marriage.

Boiled down, these tests can be amusing but it should never be used by people in making decisions about love and relationship.