#There’s no such thing as ‘not my type’ in dating, study says

New dating data is making a case for the bemoaned “blind date.”

People who believe they have a “type” are fooling themselves, according to social psychology researchers who say that singles “might as well let a stranger pick their dates.”

This is because most people are looking for more general positive qualities in a love interest, such as “kind” and “intelligent” personalities, the researchers from University of California, Davis, write. These qualities could be present regardless of whether a match falls in line with someone’s type.

“The people in our study could very easily list their top-three attributes in an ideal partner,” said lead author Jehan Sparks, whose study appears in the Journal of Experimental Social Psychology.

But, “we wanted to see whether those top-three attributes really mattered for the person who listed them,” she said in a statement. “As it turns out, they didn’t.”

Their survey of more than 700 men and women asked them to name their top-three favorite traits in a romantic match, such as “funny” or “intelligent.” They were then told to rate the attractiveness of some of their acquaintances based on whether they possessed those traits. Then, they were asked to evaluate whether they were still attracted to those acquaintances on the basis of a total stranger’s desired traits, such as “thoughtful” and “down to earth.”

They found that you were just as interested in the acquaintances that fit someone else’s criteria, too.

“So in the end, we want partners who have positive qualities, but the qualities you specifically list do not actually have special predictive power for you,” said Sparks.

Researchers explained their experiment in everyday terms — from the perspective of ordering food at a restaurant.

“Why do we order off the menu for ourselves?” said study co-author professor Paul Eastwick of UC Davis. “Because it seems obvious that I will like what I get to pick.”

“Our findings suggest that, in the romantic domain, you might as well let a random stranger order for you,” he said. “You’re just as likely to end up liking what you get.”

The research indicates that the complex algorithms that match online dating users may be a waste of time. A scientifically backed alternative to finding love online could be apps that rely on a friend or relative to suggest partners, such as Ship, which asks users’ pals to nominate matches on their behalf.

However, the researchers’ assessment does not apply to exceedingly picky people, who maintain strict standards for physical or mental characteristics.

“It’s really easy to spend time hunting around for someone who seems to match your ideals,” said Sparks, no relation to our writer. “But our research suggests an alternative approach — don’t be too picky ahead of time about whether a partner matches your ideals on paper.”

“Or even better, let your friends pick dates for you,” she said.