{"id":87,"date":"2018-03-22T09:07:11","date_gmt":"2018-03-22T09:07:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/?p=87"},"modified":"2018-04-29T11:33:28","modified_gmt":"2018-04-29T10:33:28","slug":"game-theory-matching-apps-as-social-networks","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/2018\/03\/22\/game-theory-matching-apps-as-social-networks\/","title":{"rendered":"Game Theory: Matching Apps as Social Networks"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 will support the \u2018matching\u2019 students to supervisors. Such\u00a0 matching systems are already found in<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theguardian.com\/lifeandstyle\/2014\/feb\/09\/match-eharmony-algorithm-internet-dating\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">dating apps<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> and employment markets. So existing findings on existing \u2018matching\u2019 apps can inform the development of the \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 Social Network.<\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><b>Matching Sites as Social Networks<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Recently it has been found that some dating apps have two different user groups. \u00a0One group is using these sites as traditional dating apps, but the other group are using them as social networks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In the case of \u2018Hater\u2019 (which is focused on mutual dislikes) about 20 percent of their user traffic is in Global Mode, and those people (mainly younger users) are mostly using the app to just chat. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Another survey of 3500 students using Tinder, found that only four percent said they preferred to meet people using dating apps. \u00a0A little over 90 percent of these students said they are using Tinder and other apps for purposes (including chat and entertainment) other than making dates.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In designing \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 we will be mindful of the potential to draw in users who are interested in both \u2018matching\u2019 processes and using the app for other purposes, including as a social network. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>The Problems Associated with Dating Apps<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Although \u00a0dating apps are widely used and many relationships now start through online contact, users are faced with a number of problems. These include:<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/science\/2017\/08\/31\/dating-algorithms-cannot-predict-attraction-study-finds\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Dating apps can\u2019t predict if people will actually like each other<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> when they meet up.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Misrepresentation and lack of honesty. <\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Mismatches between what different parties were looking for in a relationship.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Scamming.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The difficulties of creating long term relationships.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When making a decision using a long list of possible choices, human are more prone to make bad decisions, because they use less cognitively taxing decision making strategies in such cases. \u00a0Presentation of options also has a big impact on choice in this type of situation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Profiles only offer partial information.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">People are influenced by the dynamics of homophily and attracted to people like themselves. \u00a0This means that matching formulas don\u2019t tend to work well in practice, and the best that can be hoped for is to be matched in terms of interests.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Online matching can be very time consuming and anxiety raising, and users often give up or lose interest.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Game Theory and Dating Sites<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The type of matching algorithms using profile information which have historically been used by dating site have been evidenced to ineffective in making \u2018good\u2019 matches, so it is not suggested that such an approach would be used for MeetingofMinds. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">In addition, US data shows that there is a higher percentage of men than women on dating apps, and men are much more active. Bram (2016) identified men were using a strategy of mass messaging in order to improve their chances of making a match. \u00a0This approach potentially reduced the value given to the message for the woman receiving it, and could lead to women abandoning the app. As the male users of the app could not coordinate with each other, there was be no way they could resolve this problem through collective action.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 site could potentially fall foul of a similar dynamic, with many more students than academics signing up. \u00a0Anxious students might end up bombarding academics (particularly those seen to have a high status) through mass messaging. This might lead to \u2018log jams\u2019 and to academics pulling out of the site altogether.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bram (2016) suggests several ways in which this of problem could potentially be tackled, and these approaches could be integrated into the design of \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">When first entering the sites, students could be asked to undertake a e-questionnaire to encourage them to think about what they would want most in a supervisor. For example would they give more weighting to spending more time with a supervisor, over finding a supervisor who has high levels of specific expertise in a particular topic are? \u00a0Rather than using profile information for matching (which dating sites have demonstrated does not work well), the output of a profiling \u2018questionnaire\u2019 could be a visual showing the student what they would value most in a supervisor. This could be a useful first step in helping students target their proposals, and decide their supervisor \u2018preferences\u2019. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It could be left to academics to decide which proposal to accept, with the student required to invest time in creating a strong online profile and PhD proposal. \u00a0This could build on<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/a-nobel-for-the-art-of-matchmaking-1.11607\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Gale-Shapley algorithm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">, which seeks to create a \u2018stable marriage\u2019 and is an example of Nash equilibrium. \u00a0This is further discussed below.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>The Gale Shapley Algorithm.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone wp-image-361 size-full\" src=\"http:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/266\/2018\/03\/Gale-Shapley.gif\" alt=\"\" width=\"861\" height=\"706\" \/><\/p>\n<p><em>Above figure is taken from creative commons image from\u00a0https:\/\/commons.wikimedia.org\/wiki\/File:Gale-Shapley.gif<\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>Applying Gale Shapley to Meeting of Minds<\/strong><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">\u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 could limit the number of messages sent to academics each day, or require some sort of \u2018payment\u2019 in order to demonstrate the \u2018value\u2019 of the message from the students. In the world of the dating app, Bumble has several features that influence users\u2019 behaviour in order to lead more users into real conversations, such as setting deadlines for initial conversations &#8211; after which the message is deleted.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The\u00a0 Gale-Shapley (or deferred acceptance) algorithm, has already been used in America to match students to schools. \u00a0This was adopted because it was found that a disproportionate number of students from low income families were not accepted into a school until very late in the process, and then were not matched to a school on their list of preferences. \u00a0The previous, simple preference system used had also meant that students choose strategically rather than putting forward their true preferences. This resulted in widespread mistrust in the placement process. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">A new system for matching students with schools was then devised which resulted in more student receiving offers from their true preferences, and this has resulted in more honest representation from all parties. \u00a0This system uses the Gale-Shapley algorithm, and a matching is said to be stable<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> if there is not a student and a school who would prefer to be matched with each other more than their current matches. <\/span><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">It has been showed that when the deferred acceptance algorithm is applied, a student can not gain admittance into a more preferred school by strategically misrepresenting his or her preferences.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">If this algorithm is used in \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 it would result in:<\/span><\/p>\n<table>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Step 1:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every student proposing to the first academic on his\/her list of preferences.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every academic conditionally accepting the proposal from the student he\/she most prefers out of those who have proposed. They would reject the other proposals.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>Step k:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every student who is not conditionally matched, proposing to the academic he\/she most prefers, out of those who have not yet rejected them.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Every academic considering any new students who have proposed at this step and any student he\/she had previously accepted and accepting the proposal from the student he\/she most prefers, even if that means rejecting the student he\/she had previously accepted.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td><b>End:<\/b><\/td>\n<td><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">This process continues until every academic has accepted a proposal at which time the conditional acceptances become final.<\/span><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p><b>Conclusion<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Evidence on dating apps, questions the effectiveness of complex algorithms (using substantial profiling information) in establishing stable relationship.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We are not intending to use similar type of complex profile based algorithms for the MeetingofMinds. Instead we could consider using game theory (<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/a-nobel-for-the-art-of-matchmaking-1.11607\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">the Gale-Shapley algorithm<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">) to help people go through a process of expressing preferences, until everyone has found a stable match. \u00a0This could potentially reduce the pressures on actors\/nodes that are seen as the \u2018most attractive\u2019, and the tendency of this group to become disenchanted with the matching system. \u00a0There are also a number of other features that increase the value of \u2018messages\u2019 sent between nodes.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">We also recognise that MeetingofMinds is not just about student to supervisor matches. This might be an initial focus for those signing onto the system and they can use the site to contact other students to discuss their feelings and ideas about finding the right supervisor, But we will also encourage users to engage more widely with the social networking features on the site, and build up a network of contacts at the University. This should improve information flow to young researchers who might otherwise feel isolated, and draw researchers into the site as they start their career, and potentially before they start using other academic social networks.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">By Nina Schuller<\/span><\/p>\n<p><b>References<\/b><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Anderson, R (2016) \u2018The Ugly Truth About Online Dating\u2019. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Psychology Today<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u00a06 September. \u00a0Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/the-mating-game\/201609\/the-ugly-truth-about-online-dating\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/the-mating-game\/201609\/the-ugly-truth-about-online-dating<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on the 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Austin, D (2015) The Stable Marriage Problem and School Choice. \u00a0American Mathematical Society. Available from <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.ams.org\/publicoutreach\/feature-column\/fc-2015-03\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">http:\/\/www.ams.org\/publicoutreach\/feature-column\/fc-2015-03<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Ball, P (2012) \u2018A Nobel for the art of matchmaking\u2019. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Nature<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 16 October. \u00a0Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/a-nobel-for-the-art-of-matchmaking-1.11607\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.nature.com\/news\/a-nobel-for-the-art-of-matchmaking-1.11607<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Bram, U (2016) \u2018How Game Theory Improves Dating Apps\u2019. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">The Economist<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 7 November. \u00a0\u00a0Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.1843magazine.com\/culture\/the-daily\/how-game-theory-improves-dating-apps\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.1843magazine.com\/culture\/the-daily\/how-game-theory-improves-dating-apps<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on 19 March 2018).<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Graff, M (2015) \u20187 Research-Based Reasons Internet Dating Doesn&#8217;t Work\u2019. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Psychology Today<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. 21 April. \u00a0Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/love-digitally\/201504\/7-research-based-reasons-internet-dating-doesnt-work\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/www.psychologytoday.com\/blog\/love-digitally\/201504\/7-research-based-reasons-internet-dating-doesnt-work<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0(Accessed on 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Medium (2016) \u2018How a matchmaking algorithm saved lives\u2019.<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@UofCalifornia?source=post_header_lockup\"> <i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">University of California<\/span><\/i><\/a><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. <\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">10 February. \u00a0Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/medium.com\/@UofCalifornia\/how-a-matchmaking-algorithm-saved-lives-2a65ac448698\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/medium.com\/@UofCalifornia\/how-a-matchmaking-algorithm-saved-lives-2a65ac448698<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> \u00a0(Accessed on 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Murdoch, C (2017) \u2018College kids are taking the &#8216;dating&#8217; out of &#8216;dating apps&#8217;. <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">MashableUK<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">. \u00a028 March. Available at<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/2017\/03\/28\/tinder-college-kids\/#nz7ahx3VPmqF\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/mashable.com\/2017\/03\/28\/tinder-college-kids\/#nz7ahx3VPmqF<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on 19 March 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">Murdoch, C (2017) \u2018Are dating apps the new social networks?\u2019 <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\">MashableUK.<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> 21 July. Available<\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/mashable.com\/2017\/07\/21\/dating-apps-social-media\/#HIBGj1_d4iqk\"> <span style=\"font-weight: 400\">https:\/\/mashable.com\/2017\/07\/21\/dating-apps-social-media\/#HIBGj1_d4iqk<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400\"> (Accessed on 21 July 2018)<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>\u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 will support the \u2018matching\u2019 students to supervisors. Such\u00a0 matching systems are already found in dating apps and employment markets. So existing findings on existing \u2018matching\u2019 apps can inform the development of the \u2018MeetingofMinds\u2019 Social Network.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2968,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[39,37],"class_list":["post-87","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-application-of-key-social-networking-concepts-to-meeting-of-minds","tag-game-theory","tag-social-networking-concepts"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2968"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=87"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":362,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/87\/revisions\/362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=87"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=87"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/generic.wordpress.soton.ac.uk\/meetingofminds\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=87"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}