Can you tell when someone is Flirting? Kansas Researchers classify the most effective Facial Cues including slight smiles and head tilts

When it comes to flirting, it is all in a look, according to researchers at the University of Kansas.

The University of Kansas is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Women give specific facial cues when they are flirting. The team used the Facial Action Coding System (FACS) to identify the most recognizable flirtatious facial expressions. The technology, which describes facial movements, showed the most effective flirting cues include a head turned to one side and tilted down slightly, a slight smile, and eyes turned forward toward the target.

Flirting is one of the key components of human sexuality, but it is only just begun to be analyzed by scientists. There are very few scientific articles out there that have systematically studied this well-known phenomenon. None of these studies have identified the flirting facial expression and tested its effects. An analysis of a half-dozen studies found that women’s facial expressions non-verbally convey romantic or sexual interest, and that men were able to recognize those cues as representing flirting.

The looks are different from similar expressions, like smiling, that are not always a part of flirting. It has a unique morphology. In the studies, women were asked either to spontaneously offer what they thought was a flirtatious expression or follow the researchers’ instructions on what look to give.

The participants were a mix of professional actresses and regular volunteers.

Some women were more effective at conveying a flirtatious facial cue, and some men were better at recognizing it, but certain expressions were successfully identified by nearly all men as flirting. After identifying these most recognized expressions of flirting, the researchers used them in experimental studies. The researchers’ findings support the role of flirtatious expression in communication and mating initiation.

For the first time, not only were the researchers able to isolate and identify the expressions that represent flirting, but they were also able to reveal the expressions’ function, to activate associations related with relationships and sex. A study from May 2020 also indicated visual cues played a more important role than pickup lines when it came to flirting. Experts at the University of Nicosia in Cyprus surveyed more than 800 volunteers and found that both men and women said they were more likely to respond to a flirter who was good looking and well-dressed.

Other traits like carrying an air of mystery or appearing determined were important, but ranked lower. In a report published in the journal Personality and Individual Difference, the authors indicated that making good eye contact and having a good smell would make flirting more effective. Women rated non-verbal behaviors and a gentle approach as more effective on them, while men rated good looks as more effective.

Older participants reacted better to a respectful and polite manner from a would-be suitor.

Flirting is an essential aspect of human interaction and key for the formation of intimate relationships.