"Whatever happens, happens," students said with a shrug and slight smile before they went inside Dittmar Memorial Gallery in Norris University Center on Monday to meet potential romantic interests.
Meanwhile, 12 women stood in line outside of the gallery, laughing and tapping their heels while they waited. A few male students came back from supplying saliva downstairs. They sat quietly with clasped hands until given further instructions.
This was all part of the preliminary routine for speed dating, a romantic attraction study hosted by psychology professor Eli Finkel and co-sponsored by NU's Residential College Board.
This is the second time NU students had the opportunity to participate in speed dating from Finkel. Finkel and his research assistants received a response from about 400 students for the study, and narrowed the pool down to 96 men and 96 women.
"I think that - and this isn't unique to Northwestern - there is a sense of no dating scene here so it doesn't surprise me that people want to try this," said Paul Eastwick, a fifth-year graduate student who is helping Finkel with the study.
The speed daters are separated into four groups, two made up of freshmen and sophomores and the other two made up of juniors and seniors. There are three sessions each day from Monday through Wednesday.
In each session, about 24 students rotate and talk to members of the opposite sex for four minutes each, with about two minutes to jot down quick notes in between. The whole session takes about two hours.
Finkel and his research assistants are trying to replicate the successful study they conducted in spring 2005. This time, they made a few changes.
"This is the first study we know of to look at biological measures," Finkel said, referring to the saliva samples participants had to donate during the speed dating pre-session events. "We'll be able to draw fascinating conclusions about the biochemistry of desire. For example: Do certain hormone levels make people flirt more assertively?"
Be the first to comment on this story