Everyone Agrees: Women Are Hard to Read

[Maestro]

Greetings ladies and gentlemen.

I just fell on that article and thought I should share it with you.

A new study backs up what men have said all along: Women are difficult to read. And the women agree.

Researchers at Indiana University showed video clips from 24 different speed dates and asked male and female participants two simple questions: "Do you think the man was interested in this woman?" and "Do you think the woman was interested in this man?" Their answers were then compared with the responses of the speed daters themselves.

The results, published in the January issue of the journal Psychological Science, show that both men and women are able to gauge a man's interest in a woman, but are equally baffled when it comes to figuring out if a woman is interested in a man.

In fact, a flip of a coin would be almost as accurate in predicting a woman's romantic interest on a date.

Skyler S. Place, who headed up the study, says that the biological drive behind dating — finding an optimal mate for gene promotion — gives women reason to be elusive.

"Being coy forces the men to spend more time interacting with the woman, because they are unsure if they have successfully courted her," Place said. "Therefore, the woman has more time to gather information about her date."

Ultimately, women have more at stake while dating because they face higher "sunk costs" — a woman can carry the child of only one man at a time, while a man can impregnate many women.

Video clips taken from the middle and end of dates provided the most accurate assessments, Place said, suggesting that the daters' true feelings became more evident as they collected information throughout their encounter.

The speed dates were conducted in Germany as part of Humboldt University's Berlin Speed Dating Study. None of the Indiana University study participants understood German, and were using only visual cues and tone of voice to determine daters' interest.

The findings might be sound, but what about the old dating adage to just be yourself?

"From an evolutionary perspective, there is nothing wrong with a woman being 'open' and 'honest' about who she is — it is simply in her best interest not to present herself as actually interested immediately," Place said.

Getting to the second date, however, is still a good sign.

Personnal advice... Ladies : tell us what the hell you want. Nothing sucks more for a guy than having to guess what you think. We're no friggin telepath.

 

[evangilder]

I can't believe they needed a study for that. Women are more subtle and men are more direct, which often leads to miscommunication. Trust me, I know this one quite well after almost 12 years of marriage. She tries to be more direct with me now. I suggested a large 2x4 upside the head if she really wants to get my attention

 

[timshatz]

"Never try to impress a woman, she'll expect you to continue it for the rest of your life". W.C. Fields. Still good advice.

I married at 39 and have been for the last 7 years. Pretty good to. Have a kid. My experience is the more elusive they are, the more crap your going to have to put up with. Avoid the ones that play games as they are not worth it.

 

[Amsel]

"Never try to impress a woman, she'll expect you to continue it for the rest of your life". W.C. Fields. Still good advice.

I married at 39 and have been for the last 7 years. Pretty good to. Have a kid. My experience is the more elusive they are, the more crap your going to have to put up with. Avoid the ones that play games as they are not worth it.

And watch for nervous habits. A good sign of emotional instability.

 

[timshatz]

And watch for nervous habits. A good sign of emotional instability.

Yeah, good point. That and narrow eyebrows. Another bad sign.

 

[Maestro]

Yeah, good point. That and narrow eyebrows. Another bad sign.

I can understand for the nervous habits thing, but what's the link between narrow eyebrows and being a bitch ?

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

 

[timshatz]

I can understand for the nervous habits thing, but what's the link between narrow eyebrows and being a bitch ?

I dunno. Read it once and then actually paid attention to it. Damn, they're right (they being the psych types who wrote the article)! It is a weird detail but I guess it has something to do with overplucking eyebrows or something like that showing obsessive/compulsive chracteristics.

Anyway, I wouldn't call it a reason to dump them, but it oughta show up on the radar.

 

[Maestro]

Oh... Thanks for pointing it out.

 

[evangilder]

I once had a female friend tell me that any woman who spends 45 minutes on her eyebrows has something else to hide. I am not sure how that works out but I found it to be right. I dated only one girl with "45 minute eyebrows" and what a basket case. She was pretty to look at, but had more baggage than United Airlines.

 

[Amsel]

She was pretty to look at, but had more baggage than United Airlines.

 

[Thorlifter]

Dont even try to figure a woman out. Just as you get close, she'll change the rules.