Development and validation of the Tinder Motives Scale (TMS)

Recently, Tinder became the most popular mobile dating application. Although it is initially designed as a dating application, not much is known about actual motives for using this new medium. Consequently, this project aimed to develop and evaluate a new scale that assesses Tinder motives by relying on 3262 participants. Four studies were conducted: one qualitative interview study in the USA (Study 1: N = 18) and three quantitative studies in Belgium (Study 2: N = 1728; Study 3: N = 485; and Study 4: N = 1031). The resulting Tinder Motives Scale (TMS) consists of 58 items and shows a replicable factor structure with 13 reliable Tinder motives, which are discussed in light of the Uses and Gratifications Theory. (C) 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.