First Date (meeting) - First Date Goals, Motives and Expectations

First Date Goals, Motives and Expectations

People on first dates are usually relatively aware of their expectations regarding the outcome of the date. “Evaluation of a date may depend, in part, on the extent to which persons reach their goals.” Goals are fluid, meaning said goals may change over the course of a date. For example, a person may go into a date with the aim of establishing a friendship but at some time during the date decide to pursue a romantic relationship. Goals depend on the individual, but for the most part, goals on the first date, are fairly similar between parties. In her study on first dates, Mary Claire Morr explains that expectations for a date can be formed based on information about the communicator, relationship and context.

Communicator characteristics include all of the features of the individual, such as personality, physical appearance, and communication style. These characteristics can lead the partner to predict how the other will communicate in a “dating” situation. The relationship factor involves characteristics that describe the relationship between the two individuals. These factors include the degree of familiarity, liking, attraction, or similarity. The context feature involves aspects like the environment and the situations the individuals are in such as privacy, formality, and task oriented. These situations either enhance or diminish the interaction on the date and help maintain and structure individual’s goals.