Overall girls used fewer cues than women, especially overt cues, performed them slower and with more exaggeration but when the cues were performed they attracted similar amounts of attention from boys.
Girls Just Want To Have Fun – The Origins Of Courtship Cues In Girls And Women
Christopher Philip
In 1995 Dr. Monica Moore conducted an observational study. Her targets were adolescent girls. They were recruited in public places such as at malls, parties, softball games, ice skating rinks, and schools. As long as they were judged to be between 13 and 16 years old, they qualified. She was tasked with observing and recording all the instances were girls used nonverbal courtship to solicit attention from nearby boys.
Her original set of courtship tactics was derived from an adult subset (see end of article).
As this was an observational study, one might wonder how she was able to discern the intentions of the girls from their nonverbal as no assessment was possible due to anonymity and privacy concerns.
She used what is called “consequential evidence.” That is, a behaviour was deemed a “courtship cue” if it resulted in male attention. Thus, ‘tossing the hair,’ for example, was a courtship cue if it made the boy pay attention. Simple enough!
Amongst the cues, she focused on facial and head patterns, gestures, and postural patterns.
In her observation she found:
– When male targets were present, the young girls used similar nonverbal displays that are used by adult women.
– The signals were similar to those used to solicit attention to those used by older women.
– Girls used 31 of 52 signals that were used by older women.
– Girls did not use the most overt signals.
– Early in the study, Moore realized that the girls were far less attentive to the boys than were the women in similar observations.
– The girls spend much of their attention on the other girls nearby than to the boys.
– The average display was only 3.8 signals per girl, whereas her previous observations showed that women displayed 44.6 per girl.
– This resulted in far fewer target approaches (17 per 100 for girls, versus 42 approaches for 20 women).
– When the numbers are converted per hour (girls versus women), it shows that girls used 7.6 displays per hour observed and women used 44.6 per hour observed.
– As a result 2.1 approaches usually resulted for women and only 0.17 resulted in girls.
– When the effectiveness of the cues were calculated, it shows similar results for girls and women. Women scored 0.047 and girls 0.045 for their number of displays per approach.
– Women and girls used many similar signals, but when girls used the signals, they tended to be exaggerated. When a woman ran her fingers through her hair, it was done rather discretely, but when a girl did the same gesture, it took longer, and was broader and hence more obvious.
– When one girl in a group used a courtship gesture, it was often mimicked by other girls in the group. Usually the most dominant girl began the gesture and the subordinate girls followed her.
– Adolescent girls used more teasing to flirt including pinching, hitting, stealing an item and so forth. Women used play only 2 out of 20 (10%) whereas girls used it 22 times out of 100 (22%).
Drawing Conclusions
The results suggest that women are more adept at securing and maintaining attention from men than were girls. This was done primarily by using cues more frequently and particularly by using more overt cues. These more overt cues were absent in the girls.
Girls take flirting less seriously, though, as Moore observed, they did not focus any less of their attention upon the boys, as she commonly overheard the girls discussing the boys in conversation.
That girls tend to focus most of their gestures upon the other girls suggests that they primarily tend to compete against their cohort for the attention of boys (my conclusion). The girls are likely programmed to work within their own hierarchy against the dominant girls for the dominant boy which is why they often imitate the dominant girl and work more in-focused against the girls, rather than direct their flirting to the boys specifically. In the end, it would seem that the most dominant girl would attract and be permitted to attract the most dominant boy.
It is possible that the contexts for girls was not as salient as it was for women. When Moore observed the girls she used regular social activity, whereas women were observed in bars. Perhaps, however, if girls really wanted to focus on boys, someone would have invented a teen bar! Overall however, the results with respect to the success of the cues in getting the attention of boys, was predictive. The more cues a girl did, the more boys noticed.
Moore also suggests that girls use more exaggerated cues to make them more obvious as they may wish to perform few of them.
I suggest, that girls are performing slower movements to make them more obvious to boys who are inexperienced at observing and understanding them. She adds that the girls may also suffer from inexperience and are in the process of ‘working out the bugs’ with respect to their sexual cues.
There is likely a little bit of both – the girls are practicing their art, and also giving the boys obvious cues which they are working to read.
Signals Included For Observation
They include:
1) Type I glance (room encompassing glance): The girl moved her head rapidly around the room and then back to its original position without making eye contact.
2) Type II glance: A short darting courtship glance made toward a specific person of interest.
3) Type III glance: This is eye contact, or “eye fixation” lasting more than 3 seconds toward a particular boy.
4) Eyebrow flash: A quick rise of the eyebrows and specific head and neck movements.
5) Head toss: The head is moved back sharply for a few seconds before coming back to it’s original position.
6) Hair flip: Similar to the head toss except the hair was manipulated away from the face or sequentially moved, fixed or groomed.
7) Head nod: The head is moved up and down in close proximity to the man.
8) Face-to-face: The head is moved head-to-head to a man such that the noses almost touch.
9) Neck presentation: The head is titled to the side at 45 degrees to expose the neck. Sometimes the neck is stroked with the hand.
10) Lipstick application: Lipstick is applied while making eye contact to a target male.
11) Lip lick: A women open her mouth and draws her tongue over her lips.
12) Lip pout: Lips are placed together and pushed forward.
13) Smiling: The corners of the lips are turned upward. The teeth may or may not be exposed.
14) Coy smile: A half-smile where the teeth are not shown followed by downward eye gaze.
15) Laughing and giggling: Giggling is a softer laugh where the mouth is not opened.
16) Whisper: Talking quietly at close proximity.
17) Arm flexation: The arm is flexed at the wrist with elbow bend toward the body. May be repeated a few times.
18) Tapping: The finger is used to repeatedly make contact with a target.
19) Palming: The hand is turned toward a target such that it is exposed.
20) Gesticulation: The hands and arms are moved during speech.
21) Hand holding: Grasping the hand of a target.
22) Primping: Clothing is patted, smoothed, or adjusted to make it appear neater and more presentable.
23) Skirt hike: The hand moves the lower portion of the skirt up to expose more thigh.
24) Object caress: Playing with an object such as keys.
25) Stroking: Touching a targets hair, neck or face.
26) Leaning: Leaning the torso in toward a target male.
27) Brushing: Moving the body closer sometimes pushing a breast against a male target.
28) Knee touch: Legs are brought together such that the knees make contact.
29) Thigh touch: While sitting, the thighs are brought so close, that they touch.
30) Foot-to-foot: The feet make contact, such as under a table.
31) Placement: A woman takes the man’s hand and places it on her body.
32) Shoulder hug: The arm is draped over the shoulder of a target.
33) Hug: The arms form an embrace around a target.
34) Lateral body hug: The girl moves close enough that a man is able to shoulder hug.
35) Frontal body hug: The chest and things make contact, but there is no noticeable hug.
36) Hanging: The weight of a girl is supported by a male target.
37) Parade: An exaggerated walk with swaying hips.
38) Approach: The woman comes very close to the target.
39) Request: Such as pointing to the dance floor or inviting him to move to another location.
40) Solitary dance: Moving the body to the tune of the music without actually being partnered.
41) Pointing/permission grant: Pointing or indicating to a chair as a request for accompaniment.
42) Aid solicitation: Asking a target for help on a task.
43) Play: Tickling, pinching, sticking the tongue out, covering eyes, etc.
Resources
Moore, Monica. Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Journal of Sex Research. 1995. 32(4): 319-328.
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