RESEARCH PROTOCOL

University of Santo Tomas

Faculty of Arts and Letters
Department of Interdisciplinary Studies
Behavioral Science Program

RESEARCH PROTOCOL

PROPONENT/S Cabalonga, Reign Claudette B.

Narona, Mauren Mae D.
Onate, Crizz Anthony M.
SECTION ( )3BES1 ( * )3BES2 ( )3BES3

RESEARCH TOPIC/TITLE Swipe right, swipe left: The moderating role of SOGIE in the
relationship between personality traits and dating app motivations of
selected Filipino young adults

RESEARCH The participants will be 100 young adults that use or used mobile
PARTICIPANTS/LOCALE dating applications. Each participant will be asked to answer questions
through an online survey.
KEYWORDS Dating, young adulthood, dating apps, sexual orientation, expression
(SOGIE)
RESEARCH APPROACH ( )Qualitative (*)Quantitative ( )Mixed-Methods
RESEARCH DESIGN Correlational Study/Correlation Moderation Analysis
RESEARCH FACTORS EXOGENOUS/PREDICTOR Sexual Orientation, Big Five
VARIABLE (IV) Personality Traits
ENDOGENOUS/OUTCOME Dating App Motivations
VARIABLE (DV)
LAYER OF EXPERIENCE NA
MANIPULATIONS NA
INSTRUMENT/S The instruments to be used in this research are the Big Five Inventory
(BFI) and the Dating App Motivation Scale (DAMS).
INTERDISCIPLINARY RESEARCH INTERESTS OF BEHAVIORAL SCIENCE
Mark with an “X” all the applicable study themes below that relate to the specializations and/or areas of
interests that your foreseen research project aims to pursue. You may mark more than one area based
on the topic that you are proposing.
BES SPECIALTY AREAS/INTERESTS ALLIED TOPICS
( )Issues, Trends, and Innovations in Human Employee behaviors and dispositions in the
Resources Management Practices workplace, HR policy formulations implications,
Employer-employee relationship issues, etc.
( )Multiculturalism / Cultural Studies concerning Corporate culture, organizational politics,
targeted groups or applications in the workplace intercultural competence, cultural differences,
setting diversity and inclusion, etc.
(X)Gender-specific issues in the society Heteronormativity, LGBTQ Psychology, LGBTQ
issues in the workplace, Power struggles across
gender, LGBTQ issues school setting, etc.
( )Social and Community Relations Initiatives Corporate Social Responsibility Efforts, Helping
communities in distressful situations, Poverty,
Violence-related issues, etc.
( )Green Approaches and Initiatives Environmental Psychology, Workplace architecture,
Environmental-related advocacies linked to behavior
changes, Behavior studies linked to animals, etc.
( )Mental Health and Wellness Status of targeted groups related to mental health
indicators, well-being in different areas of human

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functioning, spirituality, etc.
( )Crisis Management Response Feasible initiatives on individual, societal, and global
crisis, Examining people’s situations in crisis,
Pandemic studies, Safety issues and concerns, etc.
( )Translational Psychology and Organizational Studies related to the evaluation and development
Development of treatment, interventions, programs, activities for
certain person, groups, and organization, etc.
( )Leadership Studies Styles and preferences of certain groups, linking
leadership to other applicable factors, evaluation of
leadership practices, transactional and
transformational aspects, etc.
(X)Developmental-related and Generational Studies Studies promoting better understanding of certain
age groups, generational gaps, etc.
( )Technological Applications and Implications in Automations in the HR practices, Human resources
the Workplace information systems, artificial intelligence in the
workplace, etc.
( )Human Exceptionalities, Personality Differences, Studies on people with certain disabilities, PWDs in
and Handicap-Related Issues the workplace, status and experiences of people
with disorders, etc.
( )Organization and Institutional Research Concerns particular to a specific organization that
fall in any related area of BES (e.g.,
communication, safety consciousness, etc.)
( )Communication, Interaction, and Socialization Issues related to intrapersonal communication,
interpersonal communication, relationship issues,
sociability, aggression studies, etc.
( )Globalization and Internationalization of Human Comparison of global HR practices, Overseas
Resources Management Filipino Workers, etc.
( )Emerging Research Topics Digitalization, Virtualization, Changes from
Traditional to Modern Practices, Paradigm shifts,
any other timely issue that can be studied from the
lenses of BES
INDICATIVE ABSTRACT

The development and promotion of dating applications have changed how young adults meet also associated
with expected romantic and sexual accomplices. In this study, we inspect how dating apps utilization and
motivations correlated to sexual orientation and the big five personality traits among young adults. Hence, the
objective of this study had three goals: to decide the prevalence and qualities of dating apps; to know why
young adults use these apps, to dissect the correlation of demographic variables and the personality traits to
the dating app motivations such as self-worth validation, communication skills, casual sex, trend, and
excitement. An extensive percentage of these users are LGBTQIA+ youthful grown-ups between the ages of
18 to 31 because this social phenomenon is somewhat new, thus, this study has been directed to analyze the
impression that online dating has on youth culture. To respond to these questions, the researchers made for
the participants to complete an online survey. The findings of this study will redound to call an incorporating
point of view on why arising SOGIE plays a role among young adults that use dating applications.

INTRODUCTION/RATIONALE/JUSTIFICATION FOR THE RESEARCH

To completely comprehend contemporary romantic relationships, start by momentarily overviewing the
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historical backdrop of intimate relationships and dating. It is by concentrating on this complex, yet liquid,
connection between the advancement of innovation and dating behavior. This exploration might have the
option not to comprehend the social anomaly of future dating applications, yet conceivably reveal what ripples
anticipate right after the fate of current mobile dating. Understanding the latter is the general objective of this
study. These trends and issues in the utilization of mobile phones as sexual and romantic dating stages
prompted the question: “How Filipino LGBTQIA+ young adults present themselves in versatile dating
applications users during their online dating performance?” In the study of Claxton and van Dulmen (2013), in
view of the centrality of sexual relationships among young adults, it is not shocking that a significant extent of
young adults utilizes dating apps. Nonetheless, obviously, not all youth choose mobile dating and the people
who do take part in versatile dating. According to Sales (2015), the ease with which users can associate with
interested people with regards to their area prompted its boundless use and its unique origination as a “hook-
up”app, although latest investigation demonstrates that through processes in using dating apps have changed
and turn out to be more diverse.
PROBLEM STATEMENTS (Moren)

How do Filipino young adults’ sexual orientation and gender identify with the utilization and motivations of
using dating applications?

Do gender and sexual orientation correlate the connections between personality-based predecessors and
Filipino young adults’ decision just as motivations for using dating apps?

STATEMENT OF APPLICABILITY OF CHOSEN RESEARCH DESIGN (Moren)

There are a number of studies about dating app motivations using the qualitative approach. However, in
this study, the researchers will conduct a Quantitative-focused study with application of correlational
study/correlation moderation analysis. This method will offer a possible relationship between the seuxal
orientation and Big 5 Personality Traits to the dating app motivations of Filipino young adults. An online
questionnaire will be best used for data collection to realistically meet the proposed number of
participants.

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY

It is still unclear as to what reasons LGBTQIA+ individuals have for using dating apps. Thus, this study will
scrutinize the dating app motivations of young adults particularly focusing on the LGBTQIA+ individuals and
their personality traits. The study will contribute to the existing body of knowledge by filling the gap of other
related literature regarding dating app motivation by narrowing down to the demographics of gender and
including personality traits as a variable. Theory on gender socialization (Tolman et al., 2003) highlights that
casual sex motivation of men are stronger than of women. Instead of heterosexuals, LGBTQIA+ will be used to
determine their motivations. As there is no study so far has not explored the motivation of Non-binary identities.
Prior literature highlights that depending on the personality trait and levels of self-esteem influences specific
motivations. (Orosz et al., 2018).

Moreover, dating apps have been suggested to have an adverse effect to an individual’s sexual and personal
life. For example, getting scammed or catfished (Mosley et al., 2020), sexual harrassment and negative effect

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to mental health (Echevarria, S. G. 2021) and risk of sexually transmitted diseases (Sawyer et al., 2018).
Knowing the motivation of young adults’ in using these dating apps is crucial in organizing prevention
measures that will combat these adverse effects. This study will not only help the young adult’s safety in terms
of dating online, but can as well help the young adult’s exact match on a committed relationship or a casual
one.

INSTRUMENTS

There are two instruments that the researchers intend to use in this study. First one will be the Big Five
Inventory (BFI) which is a self-report scale that determines the personality trait of a person. This test is
based on the Big Five personality Traits theory. The second one will be the Dating Apps Motivation Scale
(Sumter, S. R., & Vandenbosch, L. 2019) which is based on Tinder Motivation Scale Timmermans, E., & De
Caluwé, E. 2017). This instrument will determine the individual’s motivation for using Tinder..

STUDY PROCEDURES

ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES (Moren)

The researchers will use both descriptive statistics and inferential statistics to analyze the foreseen results
of the study. Measures of central tendency, measures of frequency, measures of dispersion, and measures
of position will be used to identify the patterns of the relationship between the dating app motivations,
and sexual orientation and Big 5 Personality Traits. It would also aid in determining the strength of the
relationship between the aforementioned variables of the study. In addition, Pearson r correlation

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coefficient and regression analysis will also be utilized to analyze the results of the data. It will determine
the relationship between the variables while the regression analysis will be used to determine which
variables does have an impact on the dating app motivations of Filipino young adults.

REFERENCES

Finkel E. J., Eastwick Paul W. et al (2012). Online dating: A critical analysis from the perspective of
psychological science. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Volume 13(1), 3-66.
https://www3.nd.edu/~ghaeffel/OnineDating_Aron.pdf

Claxton, S. E. & van Dulmen M. H. (May, 2013). Casual sexual relationship and experiences in emerging
adulthood. Emerging Adulthood, Volume 1(2), 138-150.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/249314869_Casual_Sexual_Relationships_and_Experiences_in_Em
erging_Adulthood
Echevarria, S. G. (2021). Dating App Facilitated Sexual Violence: The Prevalence and Mental Health Effects
Mosley, M. A., Lancaster, M., Parker, M. L., & Campbell, K. (2020). Adult attachment and online dating
deception: a theory modernized. Sexual and Relationship Therapy, 35(2), 227-243
Orosz, G., Benyó, M., Berkes, B., Nikoletti, E., Gál, É., Tóth-Király, I., & Bőthe, B. (2018). The personality,
motivational, and need-based background of problematic Tinder use. Journal of behavioral addictions, 7(2),
301-316
Sales N. J. (August, 2015). Tinder and the dawn of the “dating apocalypse.” Retrieved from:
https://www.vanityfair.com/culture/2015/08/tinder-hook-up-culture-end-of-dating

Sawyer, A. N., Smith, E. R., & Benotsch, E. G. (2018). Dating application use and sexual risk behavior among
young adults. Sexuality Research and Social Policy, 15(2), 183-191.

Sumter, S. R., & Vandenbosch, L. (2019). Dating gone mobile: Demographic and personality-based correlates
of using smartphone-based dating applications among emerging adults. New Media & Society, 21(3), 655-673

Tolman D. L., Striepe M. I., & Harmon, T. (2003). Gender Matters: Constructing a model of adolescent
sexual health. Journal of sex research, 40(1), 4-12.

Wu, D. Y., & Huang, S. L. Influence of Personality Traits and Online Dating Motivation on Romantic
Relationship Satisfaction: An Example of Tinder

DECISION ON THE TOPIC

Put a check mark to reflect decision on the topic.
( ) APPROVED ( ) REJECTED ( ) REVISED
NOTES AND COMMENTS

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Inputs to help the students improve this topic proposal.

FIRST LEVEL REVIEWER/EVALUATOR:

GIAN CARLO M. LEDESMA, COURSE FACILITATOR/RESEARCH COORDINATOR

OVERALL RATING (10 Points Each)

Content Thought Conventions Scholarly Appeal

Management Organization (Grammar and (Argumentation)
(BREADTH) (Train of Technicalities)
Thoughts/Flow)
Criticality Relevance of Ownership TOTAL SCORE/
(DEPTH) Ideas and (Interest and EQUIVALENT
Contributions to Enthusiasm)
BES

FINAL THESIS ADVISER (to be provided/written by the thesis course facilitator/research coordinator):

NAME: Date of Assignment:

*A formal letter shall be issued to officialize the assignment of the thesis adviser. This will be issued by
the thesis course facilitator/research coordinator signed and approved by the department
chairperson/coordinator.

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