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Men tend to view women's behaviors as more sexual than do women in cross-sex interactions (e.g., Abbey, 1982). This difference may result because men view specific behaviors as sexually motivated, whereas women attribute a different motivation to the behaviors. It is proposed that people flirt for a variety of different reasons including the desire to increase sexual interaction. Six flirting motivations derived from the literature are considered in this study: sex, fun, exploring, relational, esteem, and instrumental. The motivations attributed to flirting behaviors by men and women in typical flirting interactions are explored. Gender differences emerge for several flirting motivations (i.e., sex, relational, and fun). Men tend to view flirting as more sexual than women do, and women attribute more relational and fun motivations to flirting interactions than do men. No gender differences emerge for esteem, exploring, or instrumental motivations. The discussion focuses on how miscommunication may occur during flirting interactions.
KEY WORDS: courtship initiation; flirting; miscommunication; quasi-courtship.
There is a growing literature on flirting in human interactions. A great deal of this research has focused on behaviors individuals use to indicate interest and promote contact with a cross-sex target (e.g., deWeerth & Kalma, 1995; Grammer, Honda, Juette, & Schmitt, 1999; Grammer, Kruck, Juette, & Fink, 2000; Moore, 1985, 1995; Moore & Butler, 1989; Muehlenhard, Miller, & Burdick, 1983; Walsh & Hewitt, 1985). Flirting can also be defined as behaviors used to promote a sexual encounter (e.g., Greer & Buss, 1994; Jesser, 1978; Simpson, Gangestad, & Biek, 1993).
Often the concept of flirting is treated as synonymous with courtship initiation; as such, flirting is studied by examining behaviors used to promote a relationship that involves some degree of sexual contact. However, a sexual intent is not necessary for an interaction to involve flirting (Abrahams, 1994). Egland, Spitzberg, and Zormeier (1996), for instance, found similarities in flirting behaviors of individuals in sexual and in platonic cross-sex relationships. Schefien (1965) used the term quasi-courtship to refer to instances where typical courtship initiation behaviors are used when one or both parties are not interested in sexual contact. The distinction between courtship initiation and quasi-courtship appears to lie not in flirting behaviors per se but rather in the motivations that generate those behaviors. Sexually motivated flirting behaviors are...