The Science Behind Mixed Signals Between Men And Women

In the dating world, gauging potential partners’ interest can be a fraught experience. A touch of the arm, an enthusiastic laugh or an extra second of eye contact can so easily be misinterpreted. But a new study suggests that, for straight people, there’s a general pattern to these communication gaps: Men are more likely to perceive women’s friendliness as sexual interest, while women tend to misread men’s efforts to land hookups as attempts to be friends.

To find this out, researchers out of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology surveyed 308 students (181 women and 127 men) between 18 and 30 about their experiences with sexual misperception. They asked participants:

There is a good takeaway for men, though: When a woman smiles or laughs at your jokes or touches your arm, it doesn’t necessarily mean she’s interested in sleeping with you. But you didn’t need a study to tell you that, right?

This study was published in the Evolutionary Psychology journal.

The Huffington Post