{"id":65889,"date":"2026-02-09T09:27:34","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:27:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?p=65889"},"modified":"2026-02-09T09:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T14:27:35","slug":"eastwick-love-evolution","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/","title":{"rendered":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine’s Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By Beth Saulnier<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI spent a long time imagining that I\u2019m talking to somebody who is single and struggling, because they\u2019re not meeting people or not clicking with anybody,\u201d Arts & Sciences alum Paul Eastwick \u201901 says of writing his new book,<\/em> Bonded by Evolution<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

\u201cThere\u2019s this frustration that everybody out there on the apps is terrible, and people don\u2019t want to settle. And I get it: online dating reinforces a hierarchy that suits some people well\u2014and others not at all.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The book, subtitled <\/em>The New Science of Love and Connection, parses psychology research for a general audience, with some self-help lessons woven in. Part of Eastwick\u2019s mission is to challenge decades-old findings in the field of evolutionary psych that cast heterosexual dating and mating in a rather\u2014well\u2014<\/em>Darwinian light: that men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and romance is a zero-sum game.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

\"Paul<\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Such notions aren\u2019t just unproductive, Eastwick argues\u2014they have been hijacked by an incel culture and a \u201cmanosphere\u201d that promotes misogyny and even violence.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt\u2019s tempting to think that dating and relationships are about competition and where you fit within a pecking order\u2014that you\u2019d better hope you\u2019re a nine, and God help you if you\u2019re a six, but at least you\u2019re not a two,\u201d says Eastwick, a psychology professor<\/a> at the University of California, Davis.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBy taking people through the science, I hope I can get them to think about dating in a way that\u2019s a little less mercenary, and a little less personal: if you\u2019ve been rejected, don\u2019t take it as a sign of how good you are.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Let\u2019s talk about some of the misconceptions you challenge. For example, is \u201cmate value\u201d\u2014which person ranks higher on metrics like attractiveness or wealth\u2014really not that important?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The idea is very constraining, because it focuses on: \u201cAre you better than this person? Can you trade up?\u201d And it misses all the glorious parts of attraction that come from compatibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, compatibility is very strange, but it doesn\u2019t rely on hierarchy. You might click especially well with somebody even though they\u2019re actually not that desirable to most people. In initial attraction, compatibility is only a little more important than mate value\u2014but it\u2019s far more important once people get to know each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It\u2019s tempting to think that dating and relationships are about competition and where you fit within a pecking order\u2014that you\u2019d better hope you\u2019re a nine, and God help you if you\u2019re a six, but at least you\u2019re not a two.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

What about the age-old notion that men and women are inherently very different creatures?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Different creatures<\/em> isn\u2019t necessarily so bad; where it gets worse is the idea that they\u2019re competing, and their interests are at odds. That leads to some really grim perspectives on mixed-gender relationships\u2014that you might fall for somebody, but let\u2019s be real: within a year or two, you\u2019ll be trying to trade up on each other.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over 20 years of research, we\u2019ve found that many of these gender differences are, to put it simply, in our heads.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How so?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Take, for example, the belief that women care about earning potential much more than men. We draw this to ridiculous conclusions, like the suggestion that more people are single now due to a drop in men\u2019s earning potential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s no evidence for that. In fact, all the evidence I\u2019ve seen is to the contrary; educated women commonly pair up with less educated men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"The<\/figure>
\n

But we run around with these ideas because we think that there are huge gender differences. It\u2019s not to say that there are none. There are some, but they\u2019re mostly on the casual sex side of things: men are more into it than women are.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Could you define your term \u201cEvoScript\u201d?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

I use this to refer to the popular conceptualization in evolutionary psychology that developed out of the \u201990s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It contains three key components: the importance of mate value; the sheer magnitude of gender differences; and the short-term versus long-term distinction\u2014that some people are good at flings and some are better at relationships.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your book is called Bonded by Evolution<\/em>. What does evolution teach us about relationships?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Going back to species that predate Homo sapiens<\/em>, you see fascinating things in the fossil record. Like, males were getting smaller and we lost our sharp canines as women were selecting less aggressive, less dominant men.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at our closest ape relatives, you don\u2019t want to mess with them\u2014and you certainly don\u2019t want the males around a baby. But males in our lineage were contributing to offspring, parenting, and investing in partners and in their kids; we evolved to be fathers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Part of that evolutionary process was the development of attachment bonds between partners. This is why people feel their romantic partner is irreplaceable; it\u2019s the person you\u2019re most likely to go to for support and to celebrate your successes, somebody who has your back.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You talk about how in early civilization, humans traveled in small-ish groups; what does that tell us about modern-day dating?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you look at how hunter-gatherers live today\u2014and this is the best facsimile we have for what it was like tens of thousands of years ago\u2014it\u2019s in a group of maybe 50 people. There may be 150 you know in the world. Not only do romantic options come from a relatively small pool\u2014unbelievably small compared to today\u2019s standards\u2014but you\u2019re going to get to know these people over a period of time, whether you want to or not.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrast that with the modern environment, where you can meet somebody for a 20-minute coffee date and cut them off forever if it doesn\u2019t go well. It\u2019s so different from the environment in which we evolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

You can meet somebody for a 20-minute coffee date and cut them off forever if it doesn\u2019t go well. It\u2019s so different from the environment in which we evolved.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

So, evolutionarily, dating apps are basically the worst-case scenario?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many of the trappings of the Internet and online dating are designed to capture and keep our attention. \u201cLook at all these people out here! Look how much fun you could be having!\u201d It\u2019s a distraction from the more humanlike experience of spending time with people, often in groups, getting to know them over extended periods of time, and having those relationships flow and change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m trying not to be an old man about this, but it\u2019s no accident that I end up telling a lot of stories in the book about my years at Cornell, because college is one of those environments that push people together over time. I think that\u2019s a real window into what dating used to be like, before it became a marketplace where you could walk away at any moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From what you describe, much of what fosters romantic success is time: giving people a fair shot. Is that accurate?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re dating today, which is mostly through the apps, I highly advise giving people multiple shots, but in different environments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Remember arriving freshman year and there were all these things you could do and join? That isn\u2019t just for 18-year-olds. A lot of this exists when you get older, it\u2019s just harder to find. But if you live in a modern city, there are intramural sports teams and salsa classes\u2014things that encourage repeated interaction in groups and are chances to get to know other people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Imagine that you\u2019re just going to meet new friends. Assume you\u2019re not going to date one of them; you\u2019re going to date a friend of a friend of theirs. And it\u2019s not going to happen overnight. It\u2019s going to take a while\u2014but you\u2019ve got to be out there spending time with people.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

It\u2019s no accident that I end up telling a lot of stories in the book about my years at Cornell, because college is one of those environments that push people together over time.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Another notion you challenge is that some people are \u201cplayers\u201d and others are the marrying kind. Is that really not a thing?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

That binary isn\u2019t a useful way of thinking about it. We have these archetypes: the “nice guy” and the attractive “player” whom you can\u2019t trust. But when you look at the science, it completely falls apart.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Yes, attractive, confident people are more likely to have short-term sex partners, but those traits are irrelevant to their long-term prospects. Similarly, being friendly, warm, and nice is totally unrelated to the number of short-term partners a person has.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s more useful to think about how all relationships exist as arcs. They start from a period of ambiguity; there\u2019s some sexual attraction, and the real question is, how far is a relationship going to go? A lot of times they don\u2019t go anywhere, or people break it off and move on.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There will be some people who have a lot of short-term partners\u2014but many of those \u201cplayers\u201d will eventually hit it off with one of them, and find themselves in a long-term relationship through trial and error.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One striking thing you note is that outside of models and movie stars, we generally can\u2019t agree on who\u2019s attractive. How is that possible?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It surprises people how much subjectivity there is. Just poll your friends; even a hot celebrity will cluster at the top of the scale, but you\u2019re not going to perfectly agree. What ends up being important is, how do you feel about the people around<\/em> you?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n

There will be some people who have a lot of short-term partners\u2014but many of those ‘players’ will eventually hit it off with one of them, and find themselves in a long-term relationship through trial and error.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

All that variability opens up opportunities for \u201cmismatched\u201d pairings\u2014cases where, for example, people on average may think of a woman as an eight, but she\u2019s dating a guy who\u2019s a five.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why is that? Because each of them thinks the other is a nine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That variability allows many people to happily date\u2014because if we lived in a world where attractiveness was perfectly consensual, almost all of us would go around miserable, since there\u2019s always somebody better to trade up to.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Since we\u2019re in the Valentine season, any final words for hopeful daters?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you meet more people in person, I guarantee you\u2019d like some of them. We forget how people can surprise us\u2014and you\u2019re never going to be surprised by scrolling on Tinder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But if you find avenues to meet people in real life\u2014maybe even the ones you\u2019re swiping left on\u2014you might end up liking some of them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019m not saying lower your standards. I\u2019m saying the opposite: your standards can be whatever they are, but as you get to know people, I guarantee that your feelings about them will change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Top: Illustration by Ashley Osburn \/ Cornell University. All other images provided.)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Published February 9, 2026<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine’s Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":68,"featured_media":65886,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"alumni_hub_syml_posts":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[225],"tags":[],"cornell_year_post":[],"post_folder":[],"class_list":["post-65889","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ask-the-expert"],"yoast_head":"\nOnline Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cornellians | Cornell University\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1920\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1080\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@WeCornellians\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Beth Saulnier\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"9 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"headline\":\"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":1921,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/evolution-love.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Ask the Expert\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/\",\"name\":\"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/evolution-love.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\"},\"description\":\"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/evolution-love.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/sites\\\/2\\\/2026\\\/02\\\/evolution-love.jpg\",\"width\":1920,\"height\":1080,\"caption\":\"An illustration on a red background depicting evolution with a person texting and other carrying flowers\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/eastwick-love-evolution\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cornellians | Cornell University\",\"description\":\"Cornell's alumni publication\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100\",\"name\":\"Beth Saulnier\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Beth Saulnier\"},\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/alumni.cornell.edu\\\/cornellians\\\/author\\\/ess8\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University","og_description":"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love","og_url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/","og_site_name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Cornellians","article_published_time":"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1920,"height":1080,"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Beth Saulnier","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@WeCornellians","twitter_site":"@WeCornellians","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Beth Saulnier","Est. reading time":"9 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/"},"author":{"name":"Beth Saulnier","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"headline":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution","datePublished":"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/"},"wordCount":1921,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg","articleSection":["Ask the Expert"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/","name":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution - Cornellians | Cornell University","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg","datePublished":"2026-02-09T14:27:34+00:00","dateModified":"2026-02-09T14:27:35+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100"},"description":"In a new book\u2014released in time for Valentine's Day\u2014a psychologist alum offers hopeful insights for those looking for love","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2026\/02\/evolution-love.jpg","width":1920,"height":1080,"caption":"An illustration on a red background depicting evolution with a person texting and other carrying flowers"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/eastwick-love-evolution\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Online Dating Seem Awful? The Reason May Lie in Evolution"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#website","url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/","name":"Cornellians | Cornell University","description":"Cornell's alumni publication","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/#\/schema\/person\/32fea64e8c64bb984ed5809675634100","name":"Beth Saulnier","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/321760a8edb5153d2c562bbadd61cc5ebb987bda75fb59074266c35cc35beae1?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Beth Saulnier"},"url":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/author\/ess8\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65889","targetHints":{"allow":["GET","POST","PUT","PATCH","DELETE"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/68"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=65889"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65889\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":65930,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/65889\/revisions\/65930"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/65886"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=65889"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=65889"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=65889"},{"taxonomy":"cornell_year_post","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/cornell_year_post?post=65889"},{"taxonomy":"post_folder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/alumni.cornell.edu\/cornellians\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/post_folder?post=65889"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}