The subject of interpersonal flirtation and sexuality has been examined across a variety of situations such as the workplace or at school (Crano & Messe, 1995) and across a variety male/female behaviors (Dworetzky, 1995) in diverse populations such as young people, older people, neurotics and/or psychotics (Papalia & Olds, 1995; Sue, Sue & Sue, 1994). The purpose of this paper is to provide an overview of the most current research in this area.
A good deal of the general research in the area of flirtation has examined it in relation to the communication of sexually-related themes such as communicating that one is sexually available or interested in courtship. In this regard, Moore (1995) states that:
Ethological researchers have demonstrated that during courtship, women exhibit a constellation of subtle facial expressions and gestures commonly labeled flirting. According to the tenets of evolutionary psychology, women are expected to use nondirect tactics to signal interest in a potential partner because their greater investment in the outcome requires the selection of a partner more willing, to invest resources in the relationship. (p. 319)
Noting that flirtation signals may require experience to refine signaling effectiveness, Moore (1995) conducted a field study to uncover evidence for developmental differences in courtship behavior. Methods in the study involved covert observation of adolescent girls in mixed-gender settings in order to document the number and type of facial expressions and gestures used to indicate interest in boys. These data were compared to similar work done with grown women during the construction of a catalog of nonverbal courtship signals.
The results of Moore's (1995) study showed that girls used many of the same signals commonly exhibited by women in earlier studies. There were, however, striking differences, such as adolescent girls' more frequent use of play or teasing behavior an...