Body Language

(WallPaper) #1
If you want to kick-start a romance, arrange to meet your person of choice in
a dimly lit place. Both your and your partner’s pupils dilate because of the
lack of light, creating the impression that you’re interested in one another.
The rest is up to you.

For more information on what messages you can send with a gaze alone, go
to Chapter 5.

Progressing Through the Romance ...........................................................


The courtship procedure is made up of a series of stages, as explained in the
section, ‘Going courting: The five stages’ earlier in this chapter. In the early
stages of courtship a woman may position herself to indicate that she’s inter-
ested and available. A man may stroke a woman’s hand to show he wants
physical intimacy. Depending on how each person reacts to the other’s sig-
nals, the courtship progresses or comes to a screeching halt. If you find your-
self laughing, tickling, and generally engaging in playful behaviour when
you’re with Cute Guy or Gorgeous Gal, you know you’re at least ‘in like’ if not
yet ‘in love’ with one another. Goofing around and acting like puppies in a
basket is harmless, unthreatening behaviour that allows you to show one
another your nurturing and loving sides.

Chapter 13: Dating and Mating 227


Studying pupils


University of Chicago biopsychologist Eckhard
Hess developed pupillometrics to assess the
size of the eye’s pupil as a means of gauging
emotion or interest. Hess discovered that the
pupil enlarges when someone looks at some-
thing that stimulates him or her. When someone
looks at unpleasant or uninteresting things the
pupils contract. In one of Hess’s studies hetero-
sexual men were shown retouched pho-
tographs of women. In half the photographs the
women’s pupils were made to look larger, in the
other half the pupils were made to look smaller.
With few exceptions, the men perceived the
women with the larger pupils as being more

attractive and friendlier than the same women
whose pupils appeared smaller. When asked
why they found one set of women more attrac-
tive than the other the men were unable to give
an answer. None of the men remarked on the
difference in the size of the pupils.
Retouching photographs of male and female
models for print advertisements is common
practice. The pupils are enlarged to make the
models more attractive and alluring. Sales of
manufactured goods measurably increase
where close ups of the face are used to pro-
mote merchandise, especially in the worlds of
fashion, cosmetics, and hair products.
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