Do you prefer a pool or a hot tub? Whether you're dating someone new, going out with your steady significant other, or just hanging out with friends, there's no better way to spend an evening than at the local watering hole. But what should you do when your best buddy turns to you and asks: "So, Dave, do you prefer a pool or a hot tub?" Pause for a moment — this is not one of those trick questions. It's actually worth spending some time thinking about before giving him your answer. And as it turns out, research suggests that your choice may say something about who you are as an individual and even predict future relationship success (or failure). Let me explain: according to research published in the Journal of Social and Personal Relationships , people who prefer a dating pool tend to be more neurotic. Those who favor dating hot tubs, on the other hand, are higher in extraversion and psychoticism. In one study from Brigham Young University, over 400 adults were surveyed using dating questionnaires designed to assess dating preference intensity (i.e., hot tub vs. dating pool) along with four other dating-related preferences (e.g., how often they like to date new partners). Results showed that those favoring dating pools tended to be less satisfied in their relationships; they also experienced more anxiety in romantic situations. When it came down to why people preferred dating pools or hot tubs, it appeared related to two fundamental ways of processing social information. To learn more about how dating preferences can predict relationship success, I interviewed Dr. Justin Mogilski , the lead researcher of the dating pool study mentioned earlier. Here's what he had to say about dating pools and hot tubs, where they come from, and what your dating preference might mean for your love life: I'd like to start by getting a better sense of what exactly dating pools are and why you feel that dating pool vs. hot tub preference is correlated with certain personality traits? Most people are familiar with dating pools in its traditional sense–where you're looking around at all available options while trying to make a decision between them (i.e., who do I want to ask out, etc.). Dating pools are typically driven by uncertainty-reduction motivations. In dating pools, people tend to search broadly without a particular target in mind because they're uncertain about their own preferences and desires. Hot tubs, however, involve a very specific target. You've got one person or maybe a few that you feel pretty certain about pursuing romantically/sexually over others–and the goal is usually to find out more information to confirm those feelings. There's often less dating but more pre- dating , where people try to spend as much time as possible with that target/object of desire before actually making a decision (e.g., "Netflix and chill"). The dating pool preference seems like it would be correlated with neuroticism. Is this true? Yes. To be more specific, dating pools were associated with neuroticism and dating hot tubs were associated with extraversion and psychoticism (even after controlling for age). These results make sense in that dating pools are driven by uncertainty-reduction motivations–which often involve rumination and worry about what you don't know or can't predict (e.g., uncertainty about preferences, desires, etc.). The other traits listed should come as no surprise since dating pools tend to target a lot of different people very broadly rather than one person specifically. People who show strong dating pool preferences also show a need for fewer close relationships . Does this mean that they're less interested in commitment? Or is it instead that they just have a harder time finding people they like dating? It's definitely the latter. More dating but less dating only to one person suggests there are fewer close romantic relationships in someone's life, which is often correlated with low commitment/high avoidance motivations. People who show a strong dating pool preference tend to be more interested in casual dating and short-term mating than dating or committing to just one person exclusively. What do you think would happen if someone who preferred dating pools ended up in a long-term relationship? Would this conflicting preference ever cause problems? Maybe–but it depends on the cir[removed]stances. Some people report being attracted to dating pools (e.g., casual sex, dating around) even when they're already committed another person romantically/sexually. Obviously, dating pools aren't the healthiest option for those already in a committed relationship. Sounds like dating pools probably have their time and place–which makes it all the more interesting that dating pool preferences were correlated with lower average relationship length . Relationship length isn't always a great proxy for commitment because shorter relationships can be extremely strong. But dating pools are often about not committing long-term, so this finding does make sense. I've also found dating pool preference to be associated with less satisfaction in longer term relationships . In fact, people who prefer dating pools show a general tendency toward low romantic/sexual satisfaction . Does this mean that someone who prefers dating pools would actually be better off single? Or do you think they'd enjoy dating around more if they had the opportunity? I think dating pools are often appealing because of the promise of variety and excitement–which isn't always fulfilled through dating one person exclusively. That being said, dating pools can be fun at times but tend to have more costs than benefits for those already in relationships. It's hard to maintain a level of stability while dating around, which is why dating pool preferences tend to correlate with less relationship satisfaction . What are some other interesting findings you've found on dating pools versus hot tubs? One thing I haven't mentioned yet is that dating pools are associated with higher casual sex desire relative to dating hot tubs or even people who prefer exclusive dating. This makes sense since someone who prefers dating pools might