Diving into the Psychology behind the hit show Love is Blind
This summer I was in my reality tv show era. I watched Too Hot to Handle, The Bachelorette, and all of the Love is Blind seasons. What piqued my interest was how in Love is Blind, the hosts referred to the show as an “experiment”. As a STEM major, I wanted to know more about what is going behind the scenes and what was the basis of science that lead to this experiment. Here is all the research I complied!
According to Helen Fisher, author of Anatomy of Love, the show is based not on whether or not if love is blind, but rather if both individuals are able to overlook physical appearance and instead focus on the emotional connection that was built in the pods. This is to say, that she explains that you need to be physically attracted to your partner to have a fulfilling romantic relationship, but normally you are able to overlook physical appearance and see a person as beautiful if you love them.
This brings us to an interesting concept that is at the center of the show: The power of projection. According to Psychology Today, when a contestant hears another’s voice, they associate an image with the person and positively project qualities onto them. Think of when you are first in love, there is an aura of newness and you are feeling excited about a potential new relationship, that sometimes you project qualities onto the person that they never exhibited. This is exactly what happens in the pods. Because of this, people in the experiment are able to overlook physical appearance. This is why so many people in the show work out in the beginning, but when viewers see the reunion, many couples are spilt.
Diving deep into the psychology, now I am able to understand why so many people on dating shows work out in the beginning and then break up. It’s all about how you see a person. Below are the links to the articles I used to create this summary. Hopefully, next time you are watching a reality TV show you are able to see psychology in action!