Playing hard to get may make you seem hotter

“Playing hard to get” may increase your desirability, according to a new study.

“Playing hard to get makes it seem as if you are more in demand—we call that having higher mate value,” says coauthor Harry Reis, a professor of psychology at the University Rochester.

“We all want to date people with higher mate value. We’re trying to make the best deal we can.”

“People who are too easy to attract may be perceived as more desperate,” says coauthor Gurit Birnbaum, a social psychologist and associate professor of psychology at the the Israeli-based Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya.

“That makes them seem