Calling all the single ladies… You may not be spending Valentine’s Day alone after all.
According to a study carried out by the University of Kansas, the ‘science of flirting’ can be figured out in just 12 minutes.
A group of 102 heterosexual men and women were gathered for a social experiment to determine just what people do when they are attracted to one another.
The group, consisting of even numbers of both sexes, all of whom had never met before, were paired off for 10 to 12 minutes and had their conversations recorded.
After this exercise, people were asked to report their level of attractiveness to their partner and the professor of communication studies Dr Jeffrey Hall, who led the research, reviewed the results.
The study was broken down into three-minute intervals…
If someone of the opposite sex compliments you within the first three minutes of an encounter, this is good indicator that they are interested. Many people are known to give ‘a quick flirtatious glance’ at someone they find attractive when initiating a conversation.
If the person is still attracted to you by the five-minute mark, they will begin to communicate with open palm gestures, known as ‘palming’.
According to Dr. Hall, men begin to do-away with compliments 8 or 9 minutes into a conversation and start to gaze longingly instead, while ladies, we tend to let the guard down slightly and reveal some personal details.
In the final three minutes the telltale sign to know if a man is attracted to you is apparently all in his voice.
If your man has lowered his pitch from the earlier part of the interaction, then he’s definitely still interested.
When the spark just isn’t there – body language such as the crossing of legs, was found to be a sure sign that a person was not interested.
Ladies, if you’re not asking many questions of wanting to know more about your potential Romeo and find yourself shrugging a lot, those are also signs the study found to suggest you’re just not that into him!
Top 10 types of flirting noted in the study:
1. Being joyful (smiling and laughing)
2. Affirmation (nodding, saying yes)
3. Keeping the conversation going
4. Opening your arms
5. Disclosing personal details
6. Being expressive
7. Gazing at your partner
8. Being vocally animated
9. Speaking with a higher pitch
10. Self-touching (hair, face, body)
Hat-tip: Daily Mail
