From Courtship Signaling and Adolescents:"Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"?
Monica M. Moore, Ph.D.Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Webster University
A number of different facial and head patterns were seen in the women observed for the formulation of the catalog. In the Type I glance (the room- or group-encompassing glance), the woman moved her head rapidly, orienting her face around the room. This movement was followed by another head movement that reoriented the woman's face to its original position. The total duration of the glance was brief, 5-10 seconds, with the woman not making eye contact with any specific individual.
The glancing behavior called the Type II glance (the short, darting glance) was a courtship behavior that appeared directed at a particular man. The woman directed her gaze at the man, then quickly away (within three seconds). The target axis of the horizontal rotation of the head was approximately 25-45 degrees. This behavior was usually repeated in bouts, with three glances the average number per bout.
In contrast, Type III glance (gaze fixate) consisted of prolonged (more than three seconds) eye contact. The woman looked directly at the man; sometimes her glance was returned. Again, this behavior was seen several times in a period of minutes in some women.
Another movement involving the eye area was an eyebrow flash, which consisted of an exaggerated raising of the eyebrows of both eyes, followed by a rapid lowering to the normal position. The duration of the raised eyebrow portion of the movement was approximately two seconds.
Several behaviors involved the head and neck region. In head tossing, the head was dipped backwards so that the face was tilted upwards briefly (less than five seconds). The head was then lowered to its original position. The head toss was often combined with or seen before the hair flip. The hair flip consisted of the woman raising one hand and pushing her fingers through her hair or running her palm along the surface of her hair. Same women made only one hand movement, whereas in others there were bouts of hair stroking; the woman put her hand to her hair several times within a 30-second interval The head nod was seen when the woman was only a short distance from the man. Usually the head nod was exhibited during conversation; the head was moved forward and backward on the neck, which resulted in the face of the woman moving up and down. Another head pattern was called face to face. In this behavior pattern, the head and face of the woman were brought directly opposite the man's face so that noses almost touched, a distance of approximately five cm. A final behavior involving the head and neck was the neck presentation The woman tilted her head sideways to an angle of approximately 45 degrees. This resulted in the ear almost touching the ipsilateral shoulder, thereby exposing the opposite side of the neck. Occasionally the woman stroked the exposed neck area with her fingers.
A number of signals involved the lips and mouth. Lipstick application was a rare behavior. The woman directed her gaze so that she made eye contact with a particular man. Then slowly she applied lipstick to her lips. She engaged in this behavior for some time (15 seconds), repeatedly circling her lips. In contrast, the lip lick was seen quite often. The woman opened her mouth slightly and drew her tongue over her lips. Some women used a single lip lick, wetting only the upper or lower lip, whereas others ran the tongue around the entire lip area. The lip pout was another behavior involving the mouth. The lips were placed together and protruded. Generally, the lower lip was extended farther than the upper lip, so that it was fuller in appearance.
Smiling consisted of the corners of the mouth being turned upward. This resulted in partial or sometimes full exposure of the teeth. In some women the smile appeared fixed and was maintained for long periods of time. The coy smile differed from the smile in that the woman displaying a coy smile combined a half-smile (the teeth were often not displayed or only partially shown) with a downward gaze or eye contact that was very brief (less than three seconds).
Laughing and giggling were generally responses to another person's comments or behavior. In some women the laugh was preceded by the head toss. Giggling was less intense laughter. The mouth of the woman was often closed, and the sounds were generally softer.
Kissing was rather unusual. The slightly protruded lips were brought into contact with another person's body by a forward head movement.
Finally, the whisper consisted of the woman moving her mouth near another person's ear. Presumably, soft vocalizations were produced. Sometimes body contact was made.
Several nonverbal patterns involved movement of the hands and arms. Arm flexion occurred when the arm was flexed at wrist and elbow and was moved toward the body. It was often repeated two or three times in a bout. This behavior was often followed by the approach of another individual toward whom the woman gazed. If the man was in close physical proximity, the woman sometimes used tapping to get his attention.The elbow or wrist was flexed repeatedly so that the woman's finger was moved vertically.
Women occasionally palmed. Palming occurred when the hand was extended or turned so that the palm faced another person for a brief period of time, less than five seconds. Palming was also recorded when the woman coughed or touched herself with the palm up.
In several women, rapid movements of the hands and arms were seen accompanying speech. This behavior was labeled gesticulation. Arms and hands, while held in front of the woman's torso, were waved or extended upward in an exaggerated, conspicous manner. A hand gesture sometimes initiated by a woman was the hand hold. The woman grasped the man's hand so that her palm was next to the man's palm. Generally, this behavior had a long duration, more than one minute
Several behaviors appeared related to each other because they involved inanimate objects, The first of these was the primp. In this gesture the clothing was patted or smoothed although to the observer it appeared in no need of adjustment. A shirt was tucked in or a skirt was pulled down. On the other hand, the skirt hike was performed by raising the hem of the skirt with a movement of the hand or arm so that more leg was exposed. Instead of patting or smoothing clothing, women sometimes "played with" an object, called object caress. For example, keys or rings were often fondled.
Finally, many women touched other people in a caressing fashion. Each incident of caressing was considered separately in terms of the part of the body that was touched, because the message, in each case, may have been quite different. In a caress (face/hair), the woman moved her hand slowly up and down the man's face and neck area or tangled her hands in his hair. While the couple was seated, women have been observed stroking the man's thigh and inner leg, caress (leg). The buttock pat, however, occurred while the couple was standing, often while dancing. The woman moved her hand, palm side down, up and down the man's buttocks. Other items in this group included caress (arm), caress (torso), and caress (back).
Compared to the two categories just presented, some behaviors involved more of the body in movement. I called these posture patterns. Lean was a common pattern. Generally while seated, the woman moved her torso and upper body forward, which resulted in closer proximity to the man. This movement was sometimes followed by a brush or a breast touch. The brush occurred when brief body contact (less than five seconds) was initiated by the woman against another individual. In the breast touch, the upper torso was moved so the breast made contact with the man's body (usually his arm). Most often the contact was brief (less than five seconds), but sometimes women maintained this position for several minutes.
Four other actions were similar to the brush and breast touch in that the woman made bodily contact with the man. In the knee touch the legs were brought into contact with the man's legs so that the knees touched. Interactants were always facing one another while seated. If the man and woman were sitting side by side, the woman may have initiated a thigh touch. The leg was brought into contact with the man's upper leg. Foot to foot resulted in the woman moving her foot so that it rested on top of the man's foot. Finally, rather than make contact with some part of her body, an observed woman sometimes took the man's hand and placed it an her body. I called this behavior placement.
Another constellation of behaviors appeared related to each other. All these behaviors were variations of some contact made between the woman's upper body and her partner's upper body. These were generally behaviors of long duration, more than one minute. The most common of these behaviors was the shoulder hug. In this signal, the partially flexed arm was draped on and around another person's shoulder. In contrast, the hug occurred when both arms were moved forward from a widespread position and around the man, thereby encircling him. The duration of this behavior, however, was brief (less than 10 seconds). Lateral body contact was similar to a shoulder hug except that the woman moved under the man's arm so that his arm was draped around her shoulders rather than vice versa. Similarly, frontal body contact occurred when the chest and thighs of the woman rested against the chest and thighs of the man. This behavior was like the hug except that there was no squeeze pressure and the arms did not necessarily encircle the other person. Hanging was similar to frontal body contact except that the man was supporting the woman's weight. This behavior was initiated by the woman, who placed her arms around the man's neck. She was then lifted off her feet while her torso and hips rested against the man's chest and hip.
Two behaviors involved whole body movement. These were called parade and approach. Parade consisted of the woman walking across the room. Rather than maintaining a relaxed attitude, the woman exaggerated the swaying motion of her hips. Her stomach was held in and her back was arched so that her breasts were pushed out; her head was held high. The other behavior that involved walking was approach. The woman went up to the man and stood very close, within two feet.
Some women followed an approach with a request dance. This was demonstrated nonverbally by the woman pointing and/or nodding in the direction of the dance floor. Dance (female acceptance) was included because, by accepting a dance with the man, the woman maintained his attention. Another dancing behavior was one of the most frequently seen signals in women. It was called the solitary dance because, while seated or standing, the woman moved her body in time to the music.
Just as a woman, in agreeing to dance with a man, was telling him, nonverbally, that she was interested in him for the moment, she also told him so when she allowed him to sit at her table with her. Thus, point/permission grant was given a place in the catalog. The woman pulled out the chair for the man or pointed or nodded in the direction of the chair.
Aid solicitation consisted of several behaviors that involved the request of help by the woman. For example, the woman handed her jacket to the man and allowed him to help her put it on. Other patterns in this category included indicating that a drink be refilled, waiting to be seated or holding a cigarette for lighting.
The final category of nonverbal courtship behavior was also a variety of posture patterns. Called play, these behaviors consisted of the woman pinching the man, tickling him, sticking out her tongue at him, or approaching him from behind, covering his eyes.
Monica M. Moore, Ph.D.Department of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Webster University
A number of different facial and head patterns were seen in the women observed for the formulation of the catalog. In the Type I glance (the room- or group-encompassing glance), the woman moved her head rapidly, orienting her face around the room. This movement was followed by another head movement that reoriented the woman's face to its original position. The total duration of the glance was brief, 5-10 seconds, with the woman not making eye contact with any specific individual.
The glancing behavior called the Type II glance (the short, darting glance) was a courtship behavior that appeared directed at a particular man. The woman directed her gaze at the man, then quickly away (within three seconds). The target axis of the horizontal rotation of the head was approximately 25-45 degrees. This behavior was usually repeated in bouts, with three glances the average number per bout.
In contrast, Type III glance (gaze fixate) consisted of prolonged (more than three seconds) eye contact. The woman looked directly at the man; sometimes her glance was returned. Again, this behavior was seen several times in a period of minutes in some women.
Another movement involving the eye area was an eyebrow flash, which consisted of an exaggerated raising of the eyebrows of both eyes, followed by a rapid lowering to the normal position. The duration of the raised eyebrow portion of the movement was approximately two seconds.
Several behaviors involved the head and neck region. In head tossing, the head was dipped backwards so that the face was tilted upwards briefly (less than five seconds). The head was then lowered to its original position. The head toss was often combined with or seen before the hair flip. The hair flip consisted of the woman raising one hand and pushing her fingers through her hair or running her palm along the surface of her hair. Same women made only one hand movement, whereas in others there were bouts of hair stroking; the woman put her hand to her hair several times within a 30-second interval The head nod was seen when the woman was only a short distance from the man. Usually the head nod was exhibited during conversation; the head was moved forward and backward on the neck, which resulted in the face of the woman moving up and down. Another head pattern was called face to face. In this behavior pattern, the head and face of the woman were brought directly opposite the man's face so that noses almost touched, a distance of approximately five cm. A final behavior involving the head and neck was the neck presentation The woman tilted her head sideways to an angle of approximately 45 degrees. This resulted in the ear almost touching the ipsilateral shoulder, thereby exposing the opposite side of the neck. Occasionally the woman stroked the exposed neck area with her fingers.
A number of signals involved the lips and mouth. Lipstick application was a rare behavior. The woman directed her gaze so that she made eye contact with a particular man. Then slowly she applied lipstick to her lips. She engaged in this behavior for some time (15 seconds), repeatedly circling her lips. In contrast, the lip lick was seen quite often. The woman opened her mouth slightly and drew her tongue over her lips. Some women used a single lip lick, wetting only the upper or lower lip, whereas others ran the tongue around the entire lip area. The lip pout was another behavior involving the mouth. The lips were placed together and protruded. Generally, the lower lip was extended farther than the upper lip, so that it was fuller in appearance.
Smiling consisted of the corners of the mouth being turned upward. This resulted in partial or sometimes full exposure of the teeth. In some women the smile appeared fixed and was maintained for long periods of time. The coy smile differed from the smile in that the woman displaying a coy smile combined a half-smile (the teeth were often not displayed or only partially shown) with a downward gaze or eye contact that was very brief (less than three seconds).
Laughing and giggling were generally responses to another person's comments or behavior. In some women the laugh was preceded by the head toss. Giggling was less intense laughter. The mouth of the woman was often closed, and the sounds were generally softer.
Kissing was rather unusual. The slightly protruded lips were brought into contact with another person's body by a forward head movement.
Finally, the whisper consisted of the woman moving her mouth near another person's ear. Presumably, soft vocalizations were produced. Sometimes body contact was made.
Several nonverbal patterns involved movement of the hands and arms. Arm flexion occurred when the arm was flexed at wrist and elbow and was moved toward the body. It was often repeated two or three times in a bout. This behavior was often followed by the approach of another individual toward whom the woman gazed. If the man was in close physical proximity, the woman sometimes used tapping to get his attention.The elbow or wrist was flexed repeatedly so that the woman's finger was moved vertically.
Women occasionally palmed. Palming occurred when the hand was extended or turned so that the palm faced another person for a brief period of time, less than five seconds. Palming was also recorded when the woman coughed or touched herself with the palm up.
In several women, rapid movements of the hands and arms were seen accompanying speech. This behavior was labeled gesticulation. Arms and hands, while held in front of the woman's torso, were waved or extended upward in an exaggerated, conspicous manner. A hand gesture sometimes initiated by a woman was the hand hold. The woman grasped the man's hand so that her palm was next to the man's palm. Generally, this behavior had a long duration, more than one minute
Several behaviors appeared related to each other because they involved inanimate objects, The first of these was the primp. In this gesture the clothing was patted or smoothed although to the observer it appeared in no need of adjustment. A shirt was tucked in or a skirt was pulled down. On the other hand, the skirt hike was performed by raising the hem of the skirt with a movement of the hand or arm so that more leg was exposed. Instead of patting or smoothing clothing, women sometimes "played with" an object, called object caress. For example, keys or rings were often fondled.
Finally, many women touched other people in a caressing fashion. Each incident of caressing was considered separately in terms of the part of the body that was touched, because the message, in each case, may have been quite different. In a caress (face/hair), the woman moved her hand slowly up and down the man's face and neck area or tangled her hands in his hair. While the couple was seated, women have been observed stroking the man's thigh and inner leg, caress (leg). The buttock pat, however, occurred while the couple was standing, often while dancing. The woman moved her hand, palm side down, up and down the man's buttocks. Other items in this group included caress (arm), caress (torso), and caress (back).
Compared to the two categories just presented, some behaviors involved more of the body in movement. I called these posture patterns. Lean was a common pattern. Generally while seated, the woman moved her torso and upper body forward, which resulted in closer proximity to the man. This movement was sometimes followed by a brush or a breast touch. The brush occurred when brief body contact (less than five seconds) was initiated by the woman against another individual. In the breast touch, the upper torso was moved so the breast made contact with the man's body (usually his arm). Most often the contact was brief (less than five seconds), but sometimes women maintained this position for several minutes.
Four other actions were similar to the brush and breast touch in that the woman made bodily contact with the man. In the knee touch the legs were brought into contact with the man's legs so that the knees touched. Interactants were always facing one another while seated. If the man and woman were sitting side by side, the woman may have initiated a thigh touch. The leg was brought into contact with the man's upper leg. Foot to foot resulted in the woman moving her foot so that it rested on top of the man's foot. Finally, rather than make contact with some part of her body, an observed woman sometimes took the man's hand and placed it an her body. I called this behavior placement.
Another constellation of behaviors appeared related to each other. All these behaviors were variations of some contact made between the woman's upper body and her partner's upper body. These were generally behaviors of long duration, more than one minute. The most common of these behaviors was the shoulder hug. In this signal, the partially flexed arm was draped on and around another person's shoulder. In contrast, the hug occurred when both arms were moved forward from a widespread position and around the man, thereby encircling him. The duration of this behavior, however, was brief (less than 10 seconds). Lateral body contact was similar to a shoulder hug except that the woman moved under the man's arm so that his arm was draped around her shoulders rather than vice versa. Similarly, frontal body contact occurred when the chest and thighs of the woman rested against the chest and thighs of the man. This behavior was like the hug except that there was no squeeze pressure and the arms did not necessarily encircle the other person. Hanging was similar to frontal body contact except that the man was supporting the woman's weight. This behavior was initiated by the woman, who placed her arms around the man's neck. She was then lifted off her feet while her torso and hips rested against the man's chest and hip.
Two behaviors involved whole body movement. These were called parade and approach. Parade consisted of the woman walking across the room. Rather than maintaining a relaxed attitude, the woman exaggerated the swaying motion of her hips. Her stomach was held in and her back was arched so that her breasts were pushed out; her head was held high. The other behavior that involved walking was approach. The woman went up to the man and stood very close, within two feet.
Some women followed an approach with a request dance. This was demonstrated nonverbally by the woman pointing and/or nodding in the direction of the dance floor. Dance (female acceptance) was included because, by accepting a dance with the man, the woman maintained his attention. Another dancing behavior was one of the most frequently seen signals in women. It was called the solitary dance because, while seated or standing, the woman moved her body in time to the music.
Just as a woman, in agreeing to dance with a man, was telling him, nonverbally, that she was interested in him for the moment, she also told him so when she allowed him to sit at her table with her. Thus, point/permission grant was given a place in the catalog. The woman pulled out the chair for the man or pointed or nodded in the direction of the chair.
Aid solicitation consisted of several behaviors that involved the request of help by the woman. For example, the woman handed her jacket to the man and allowed him to help her put it on. Other patterns in this category included indicating that a drink be refilled, waiting to be seated or holding a cigarette for lighting.
The final category of nonverbal courtship behavior was also a variety of posture patterns. Called play, these behaviors consisted of the woman pinching the man, tickling him, sticking out her tongue at him, or approaching him from behind, covering his eyes.
Comments
Post a Comment