Not to be gender biased, but women will usually be more particular when there’s a “friend” request from someone they don’t know. An instinctive measure. Even if they know the person, this from work or they went to school together, they’ll still choose not to friend them for a variety of reasons, this usually from over analyzing the issue.
It’s a simple harmless “friend” request, no harm no foul. Yet, what they’ll do is think about it, or they need to discuss it first. Men are generally, “Hey, I know you, what the heck sure lets be friends.” It doesn’t mean that you need to like each other, or even talk to each other or communicate.
This type of mindset also extends to more applied settings such as the hiring process, or online dating, when looking for possible partner matches. What’s assumed is that physically attractive individuals must also have positive characteristics.
For instance, those who are good looking, are perceived to be more aware, sensitive, sociable, strong, stable, and more sexually inviting. Then it’s projected forward towards they having more prestigious jobs, happier marriages, potentially beautiful babies, and more wealthier lives.
What’s known is that a person’s first name affects the selection process, this especially if it’s a friend request from someone they don’t know. What’s also judged is what their profile picture looks like, how popular they are, what they do.
Why Don’t You Accept My Friend Request
So what’s been studied are the reactions of others, this based on what a person’s name is, what they look like, and how it affected the responses when it came to a Facebook friendship request.
Consistent with human behavior from other environments, what was predicted and proven correct was that there was more likelihood that friendship requests would be accepted quicker, if someone had a positive name, and they were physically attractive.
You So Pretty
A test was conducted by creating a series of fake Facebook profiles, which contained information regarding the targeted person. They were either given a positive or a negative first name, and their profile pic was either attractive or not that attractive.
The names selected were based on statistics where the study participants were asked to rate different first names, and whether they liked the name or not.
The physical attractiveness of the males and females were chosen based on a rating scale on those who were asked to judge photos, this based on whether they found them to be attractive or unattractive.
These Facebook profiles then used a combination of attractive and moderately attractive people with positive and negative names, this for both genders.
The target participants were then sent one friendship request from each of the variations, this to see whether or how quickly the friendship request was accepted, this based on the variances.
I Like You More
The findings weren’t all that surprising, as the study revealed that the name did affect the acceptance of Facebook friendship requests, as most participants were more likely to accept a friend request from those names that sounded positive.
There was a slight variation for male targets than for the female targets. Friendship acceptance was quicker when the request was from a person more attractive, and even quicker if it was the opposite sex. The pattern was the same for both male and female targets.
Why Some Will “Like” You
It was found that there were other preferences when it came to the name, and how attractive the profile image was. If the profile was moderately attractive and the name was positive, it then improved the “friends” acceptance ratio, this because of the positive name.
If the photo of the person was above average attractive, then the rate of friendship acceptance was similar, despite the person having a negative first name.
So what the results proved was that someone being physically attractive, wasn’t a factor if they were accepted as friends or not. The person, regardless of how they looked, were friended just as much, provided they had a positive name.
The Nuances Of Online Interaction
It’s not known if these findings were only applicable for just online interaction, as the researchers concluded that additional research is needed, this to determine whether these same findings are applicable in actual life face to face interactions.
Overall, what the basic results of this study indicated was, that there are different attitudes, when it came to whether the name was negative or positive.
It was found that an unattractive name can be compensated if the person was physically attractive, while similarly, a positive name will garner just as much friendship acceptance, even if the profile photo wasn’t that attractive.
These finding are based on individuals who are randomly unknown to them, and are based strictly on Facebook friendship requests.
It was found that being moderately attractive while having a negative or undesirable first name, had the worst adverse affects, this when it came to Facebook friendship request acceptance.
Physical Attractiveness And Acceptance
What this confirmed, is that the research which profiled the advantages of those who were physically attractive, and also had positive names, were all liked more than any other combination.
However, there are more serious motivational implications when it comes to accepting a Facebook friend request, which can have a positive effect on someone.
This is different when the friendship request was rejected or ignored, resulting in leaving a person feeling disappointed or annoyed, especially if they knew that person.
Additional studies are needed, this to find whether these emotional reactions online, are similar to being accepted or rejected in real life confrontations, as well as the extent of these consequences for a person’s general well being and contentment.