The ads last month last October paying research participants $80 for talking for a couple of hours has now revealed its purpose. eHarmony launches eHarmonyLabs today. Here is the excerpt of this morning’s press release.
eHarmony Launches eHarmonyLabs – The Online Relationship Industry’s First Commercial Research Organization Dedicated to the Study of Human Relationships
Team of Five PhDs Lead Research on Dynamics of Marriage and Relationships; Relationship Researchers From Top Universities Join Advisory Board
PASADENA, Calif., Feb. 5 /PRNewswire/ — eHarmony, the Internet’s #1 trusted relationship service, today announced the launch of eHarmonyLabs, becoming the first online relationship service to launch a commercial research organization dedicated to the study of human relationships. eHarmonyLabs will research the initiation, growth and maintenance of life’s most important relationships, and leverage its findings to bring to market new products and services designed to improve the health and longevity of those relationships. The lab, led by a team of five PhDs with expertise in the fields of psychology, sociology and human relations, reflects eHarmony’s academic roots. The company’s patented eHarmony Compatibility Matching System, is based on the first National Study of Marriages conducted in the late 1990s.
C’mon, the “First Commercial Research Organisation for Human Relationships“? Surely you jest. Do you mean marital relationships — How about the American Association of Marriage and Family Therapy, established in 1942? Or do you mean human relationships in general — then how about the American Anthropological Association, established in 1902? You’re embellishing yourself a bit, sweetie. Oh, “The Online Relationship Industry’s” — well, fine then.
It’s so new that search engines haven’t indexed the site yet. The shiny new site has many interactive Cosmo-style quizzes. Go and play! … but don’t forget to come back here after you’re done.
The five doctors are:
- Thomas Bradbury, PhD (UCLA)
- John Cacioppo, PhD (University of Chicago)
- David Kenny, PhD (University of Connecticut)
- Bruce McEwen, PhD (Rockefeller University)
- Linda Waite, PhD (University of Chicago)
A United Press International news item also came out this morning, based on an interview with Galen Buckwalter, PhD, eHarmony’s Vice President for Research & Development, saying:
. . . In order to offer the most accurate analysis possible, Buckwalter said eHarmony opened actual laboratories where relationship scientists conduct “intensive clinical research” on couples who volunteer as test subjects. In the lab, he said, cameras record the body movements and facial reactions of each couple as they go through structured situations so the doctors can accurately assess the dynamics within each relationship scenario.
. . . Unlike eHarmony’s singles and marriage services, (which offer subscriptions at just under $60 and $50 per month, respectively), Buckwalter said the services available on eHarmonyLabs labs are offered free of charge. . . .
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