MOORE, Monica M. Human Nonverbal Courtship Behavior: A Brief Historical Review.

THE
JOURNAL OF SEX RESEARCH. 2010. Disponvel em
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/42807918_Human_Nonverbal_Courtship_BehaviorA_Bri
ef_Historical_Review Acesso: 4 de outubro 2015.
- there is clearly a group of facial expressions and gestures that are commonly labeled flirting
behaviors by scientists and nonscientists alike. As courtship signals these nonverbal behaviors
serve to attract and maintain the attentions of a potential partner. p. 2
- in more recent research () the nature of human courtship as being largely nonverbal has been
confirmed p. 2
- there are such strong parallels between the flirting behaviors of humans and the mating
interactions of nonhumans that one expert (Birdwhistell, 1970) used the term courtship dance to
describe the behaviors of both American teenagers and wild turkeys. p. 3
Research Factors
Theory
- Much of the research on human courtship behavior has been conducted using one of three
theoretical orientations: an evolutionary framework, a social learning approach, or social script
theory p. 4/5
- evolutionary framework - Darwin (1859) natural selection concept sexual selection p. 5
- evolutionary accounts of courtship behavior should be sensitive to the fact that any
evolved mechanism interacts with environmental factors p. 6
- There is considerable evidence that various patterns of behavior, including sexual behavior,
are learned through classical and operant conditioning and through imitation and modeling
p. 6
- learning theorists () have argued that those individuals who find themselves
deficient in dating skills may benefit from learning about the role flirting plays in
attracting potential dating partners. p. 7
- social (sexual) script theory - Simon and Gagnon (1987) developed scripting as a
conceptual tool to examine sexual conduct and were less interested in building an
explanatory mechanism. Basically, theorists maintain that humans use a set of guidelines or
beliefs (i.e., a script) in directing behavior and conceptualizing experience, similar to the
way that an actor uses a script in a play. p. 7
- there are a number of studies that could be considered atheoretical. p. 7
Methodology
- Individuals employing evolutionary theory in their work tended toward observational research,
either in the field or in the laboratory, whereas those researchers who framed their understanding of
courtship behavior in terms of learning or scripting more often used self-report methods. p. 8
- Much of the field research on human courtship has been conducted in dance clubs or singles bars
because those are common meeting places for adults looking for potential dating partners p. 8
- Because most ethologists conducted observations covertly in public settings, it has not been
necessary to obtain the consent of those being observed () The men and women watched by the
ethnographers reviewed later were generally unaware that they were taking part in an investigation
of human courtship behavior. Flirting was recorded as it naturally occurred, without investigators
having to worry that people were altering their behavior because they knew that researchers were
watching them. p. 9
- much of the research in this area has been compiled using what is called focal individual sampling
(Altmann, 1974), data compiled from one person watched by a single observer in a given time
frame. p. 9
- The formats most commonly employed in studying human courtship have been questionnaires,

interviews, and descriptive essays p. 10

Human Nonverbal Courtship Research
Observational Studies
p. 11