Communication Research
37(3) 335 –351
© The Author(s) 2010
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DOI: 10.1177/0093650209356437
http://crx.sagepub.com
Looks and Lies: The Role
of Physical Attractiveness
in Online Dating Self-
Presentation and Deception
Catalina L. Toma1 and Jeffrey T. Hancock1
Abstract
This study examines the role of online daters’ physical attractiveness in their profile self-
presentation and, in particular, their use of deception. Sixty-nine online daters identified
the deceptions in their online dating profiles and had their photograph taken in the lab.
Independent judges rated the online daters’ physical attractiveness. Results show that the
lower online daters’ attractiveness, the more likely they were to enhance their profile
photographs and lie about their physical descriptors (height, weight, age). The association
between attractiveness and deception did not extend to profile elements unrelated to
their physical appearance (e.g., income, occupation), suggesting that their deceptions were
limited and strategic. Results are discussed in terms of (a) evolutionary theories about
the importance of physical attractiveness in the dating realm and (b) the technological
affordances that allow online daters to engage in selective self-presentation.
Keywords
self-presentation, deception, physical attractiveness, online dating, computer-mediated
communication
The scope of online self-presentation has changed significantly over the years. In its early
days, the Internet was seen by many as an “identity laboratory,” where users could create
fictitious personae in order to experiment with new selves. This was possible because of
the anonymity provided by most online spaces (McKenna & Bargh, 2000; Turkle, 1995).
Recently, however, the Internet has evolved several highly personalized environments,
where users construct realistic self-presentations in order to accomplish important inter-
personal goals: connect with real-life friends (e.g., Facebook), find love (e.g., Match.com),
CRX356437CRX
1Cornell University, Ithaca, New York
Corresponding Author:
Catalina L. Toma, Department of Communication, Cornell University, 209 Kennedy Hall, Ithaca, NY 14853
Email: clt32@cornell.edu

336 Communication Research 37(3)
and contact employers (e.g., LinkedIn). A far cry from their anonymous predecessors,
these self-presentations must be carefully managed in order to advance real-life agendas.
How do online communicators construct these high-stakes self-presentations? Self-
presentation is a complex communicative process that involves understanding one’s own
strengths and weaknesses, being receptive to the values of the target audience, and using
the medium of communication to one’s advantage (see Goffman, 1959; Jones & Pittman,
1982; Leary & Kowalski, 1990; Schlenker, 2002; Walther, 2007). The present paper exam-
ines how self-presentations are constructed in an online dating environment, where users
have distinct self-presentational goals and where the medium of communication shapes the
expression of these goals. In particular, we focus on online daters’ goals to appear physi-
cally attractive, as physical attractiveness is an important criterion for mate selection. How
do attractive and less attractive daters represent their physical selves in an environment
based solely on photographic and textual cues? How do relational and technological fac-
tors interact to determine the shape of online dating self-presentation?
The study of online self-presentation provides an important opportunity to bridge the
elusive gap between theories of interpersonal communication, which address the motiva-
tional and relational aspects of self-presentation, and theories of mediated communication,
which address the impact of media features on achieving relational goals. This article
describes a theoretical framework for online self-presentation that incorporates both psy-
chological principles regarding interpersonal communication and a discussion of media
affordances: We view self-presentation as a function of both self-presenters’ desired
impressions (i.e., what they want to convey) and of the medium in which self-presentation
is accomplished (i.e., what they can convey given the affordances and constraints of the
medium). We also consider fitness-related evolutionary theories that highlight the impor-
tance of physical attractiveness in mate selection.
A Theoretical Framework for
Online Self-Presentation
Self-presentation is the packaging and editing of the self during social interactions to cre-
ate a desired impression in the audience (Baumeister, 1982; Goffman, 1959; Leary, 1996).
Leary and Kowalski (1990) proposed a two-component model of self-presentation that
involves (a) motivation processes, which refer to the degree to which self-presenters are
motivated to control how others see them, and (b) construction processes, which involve
determining precisely the impression one wants to convey and choosing how to go about
making that impression. Construction processes, which are the focus of this article,
depend largely on the self-presenter’s perception of the values of the target audience and
are based on a set of strategies such as self-descriptions, attitude statements, social asso-
ciations, and deception (for a review, see Leary, 1996). From a communication perspec-
tive, we add to the model the idea that construction processes also depend on the medium
of communication. For instance, online self-presentation is static and involves describing
one’s appearance verbally or using photographs, whereas face-to-face self-presentation is
dynamic and embodied.