The Dark Side of Tinder; Study N=271 demonstrates Tinder users had higher levels of the 'dark triad' traits compared to non-users.

I know what the central limit theorem is, but let's make something clear - there are 3 dark triad personality traits, hence the name. There are also a lot of people using Tinder, people of different personalities. There are so many goddamn variables that you simply can't control to, that in order to observe an actual pattern, you'd have to get a sample size where the distribution of participants in other things is equal too - equally attractive, equally tall, similar racial makeup, etc... And this is simply not possible to be taken into account with a sample site this tiny.

Ideally you can see a normal distribution after 10-12 participants. In reality a study with a sample size below 2000 is rarely if ever taken seriously. It's way too easy to include bias in such a small sample size too. For example, if you advertise through newspaper, you're already more likely to interview people who are less tech-savy. If you advertise through internet, the oppositve. If you pay for participation, you will end up with more opportunistic people, and poorer people possibly. These are all things that should be accounted for, which 200ish people simply can't account for, unless you deliberately choose people of specific traits to create a controlled distribution - and even then, it's unlikely you'll get a represetnative sample.

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Just to demonstrate what I mean -

- you need 10 people for a rough estimate of normal distribution for any subgroup.

- you need groups based in height (really short, below average, average, above average, really tall), that's X5

- you need people of difference attractiveness - let's say, again, 5 groups - 2/10, 4/10, 6/10, 8/10 and 10/10. I know this is subjective, but let's say we rank like this -that's X5

- you need people of varying wealth - annual <10K, 10K-20K, 20K-40K, 40K-80K, 80K-200K, >200K, that's X6

- you need to split these groups by intelligence - again, i would propose a 5 grade ranking. That's X5

- you need people of different races - say, European, African, Asian, Indian, Middle-Eastern, South-Asians - just to pick the simples. That's another X5.

- you need males and females - X2

- you need people of different level of Tinder use - never used, has used a few times, has used for an extended period of time, is actively using, and has been for a long time. That's X4.

So we get:

10*5*5*6*5*5*2*4 = 300000

So to even come close to assessing this issue accurately, you'd need 300000 people. I know that's not possible, but this gives you an idea of how small of a number 271 is.