Traditional: People in this category believe men should make the first move. Women who were traditional flirts did a lot of palming, which an earlier study interpreted as "signaling invitation for courtship." Traditional female flirts are also more likely to tease in the beginning of a chat with someone intriguing. Male traditional flirts leaned closer to their partners, and their voices were even higher pitched in the first half of the interaction. They also crossed and uncrossed their legs a lot, which opened up their posture.
Sincere: Those who are sincere flirts try to create an emotional connection by showing interest in the person they've got their eye on. If you're a sincere flirt and you're into a guy, it's highly likely you're sending some coy gazes his way to signal your attraction. Sincere female flirts smile and laugh a ton, and sincere guys lean in like the traditional ones, but they cross both their arms and legs often during conversation.
Playful: Flirts just wanna have fun, right? This is what study authors call a "self-esteem enhancing style of flirting," that people might use "as a means to attain personal, non-relational goals," aka not necessarily for romantic reasons. Playful men and women were both more complimentary than other styles, especially the men. In a move straight out of the animal kingdom, guys puffed out their chests. The women went from coy (lots of shrugging and acting a bit withdrawn) in the beginning to ramping up the flirtatious glances halfway through the interaction.
Polite: "They prize manners, non-sexual communication, and less forward behaviors," says the study. Polite flirts kept a respectful distance from each other, and even increased that distance during the 4-6 minute segment. Polite flirts can come across as distant because because they don't go for obvious flirting behaviors, but it just means they're trying to play by the rules.
__ All of this is undeniably fascinating, and I wish I could have participated in the study to see what kind of flirt I am! Based on the above information, I'd say I'm a mix of physical and playful. What about you? __
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