IMPLICATIONS

Dai concluded that the implications of the findings are multifold.

“From a practical perspective, it offers useful tips on how to identify whether we should use the ‘hard to get’ strategy for specific situations. No more guesswork or coin tossing — we can now make better decisions as there is science behind the effectiveness of the strategy.”

The findings also go beyond the domain of romantic attraction to help us understand the interplay between liking and wanting, and the role of commitment.

“It is interesting to have a glimpse of the tension between the emotion and motivation systems in determining preferences, as we can see that people may not choose to like a person even if motivation is sufficient,” Dai said.

“This provides us with deeper insight into the nature of motivation in goal pursuits, especially in the face of failure or negative feedback. By making reward acquisition more challenging (akin to playing hard to get), one’s desire to obtain tempting rewards can be enhanced.”