The study examines stereotypes of and emotional reactions to singles by choice and singles not by choice. Participants (N = 480) read a scenario describing persons, who were either single by choice or single not by choice and rated their thoughts and feelings about these persons. Singles by choice are perceived as more lonely and miserable, and as less warm and sociable, than singles not by choice. However, they are perceived as more successful and potent. Anger and sympathy mediate the relations between choosing singlehood and stereotyping levels. These findings extend the way in which the Attribution Theory explains activation of stereotypes. In recent years, researchers have increasingly used the term " socially single " , which suggests that what matters most in everyday life is whether a person is in a significant romantic relationship or not, regardless of his or her legal marital status (DePaulo & Morris, 2006). The goal of our study was to examine whether " socially single " people are perceived differently than coupled people, and to determine whether a choice to remain single affected the intensity of stereotypes. In addition, we examined whether the emotions experienced regarding people who are single by choice and people who are single not by choice mediate the activation of stereotypes.