When it comes to dating, we’re all looking for one thing – the perfect match. Of course, we’re all well aware that saying this is a walk in the park, but finding it is more like a walk in, well, Jurassic Park. Dating has changed a whole lot over the last few years, and now more than ever we have more options to meet new matches than ever before. However, this one’s a little more unique.
French dating app ‘Once‘ has created an emotional profiling test with leading female psychologists and dating experts, with the goal of putting an end to patriarchal matching. I told you – unique right?
The ‘Love Experiment’ steps away from the established matching algorithms which focus only on looks and social status and identifies a person’s ’emotional profile’. In doing so, the test allows singles to establish which profiles they are most compatible with.
When it comes to relationships, it’s clearer than ever that looks aren’t everything. Obviously a physical attraction plays a part but there’s so much more to it than that, all of which is arguably more important than what’s on the outside. Personality compatibility is integral to a successful relationship, but again, finding it can be a case of sieving through the mud to find the gold.
“Dating is a market designed by men for men and is governed in a non-transparent way,”
…explains Once CEO, Clémentine Lalande. “I’m tired of working in a market that reproduces & amplifies patriarchal stereotypes. So I am trying to reinvent the rules of online dating. It’s time to change the status quo, and so I enlisted a team of female relationship experts to help me change the dating space once and for all, with our Love Experiment.”
As psychologist Dannielle Haig explains that “It is well known from scientific research that humans are not very capable of judging ourselves accurately, for example we often think we are portraying ourselves one way when in fact others would say we come across completely differently. We also aren’t hugely adept at separating what we want from life and love, from what society and our family and friends think we should want.”
“Psychological profiling gives you an objective view of yourself without all the noise of preconceptions.”
The Love Experiment is inspired by transactional analysis, analytical psychology and behavioural analysis. It has been designed specifically to assess how independent an individual is in a relationship, their levels of introversion and extroversion, the importance of physical and cerebral connection to them, and how intuitive he or she is. The 28 questions have been designed to be revealing, but also contemporary and fun. Once someone has completed the ‘experiment’ they immediately get told their personal Emotional Profile, which is characterised as one of 16 different archetypes. These archetypes range from a detective, to a pilot, to a rock star.
Once is now enabling singles to benefit from the outcome of the research, by taking the same test themselves, inside the app – in this feature called ‘The Love Experiment’.
Once a single has been told their personal archetype, they are then given the opportunity to select from other singles, based on their emotional compatibility. Singles can select a ‘chemical bond’ – just enough difference to ensure a long-lasting relationship which maintains individuality – ‘magnetic attraction’ – with a single who has the exact same test results, and an ‘explosive reaction’ with someone who is their exact opposite, in order to put Once’s conclusion to the test themselves.
“It’s 2021. We know that not everyone is looking for a 49 year marriage, and some people want something explosive and fun, with someone completely different”
…explains dating expert Charly Lester, “and so we believed it was important to leave singles in the driving seat when it came to their destiny, and give them a guide, rather than restricting them to only one certain type of match. If you take the test, you get three very different outcomes, and then you can decide what the ‘love experiment’ looks like for you.’
Matching on Tinder by swiping right is a piece of cake and sure, you’ll find yourself in conversations with people you’re attracted to, but compatible with? Probably not. It’s high time that we put personality matching on a pedestal to find the perfect match, and it’s clear to see that Once has beat us to it by introducing ‘The Love Experiment’.
So if you’re looking for your perfect match, try ‘The Love Experiment’ for yourself. Download Once app on IOS or Android to have a go and who knows, by trialling a forward-thinking way of matching with prospective partners, you may find that you only have to do it once.
