What Does Seductive Body Language Look Like?

There has been surprisingly little research on the nonverbal communication of seduction. Which nonverbal cues are interpreted by others as seductive? How good are people at communicating seduction to others? These were some of the questions that Howard Friedman and I addressed in a study of the nonverbal expression of seduction.

We had college students to try to express “complex emotional expressions,” which included sympathy, pride, and seduction, while saying the same standard sentences (e.g., “I hope you don’t mind if I tell you, I really like you a lot.”). We videotaped their faces, and showed these to groups of judges who tried to identify which emotion they were trying to convey.

Overall, our participants, or “senders,” had a hard time looking seductive. There doesn’t seem to be any particular facial cues that are clearly seductive, so we looked only at the very best and very worst senders of seduction. Here are the findings: Clearly, the successful senders of seduction looked more positive in their facial expressions than the poor senders. In fact, when poor senders tried to look seductive, their facial expressions looked more like negative emotions (angry, sad, etc.). We also found that women were better at conveying seduction than men.

We also explored personality differences in ability to look seductive. We found that dominant, emotionally expressive and extraverted participants were better at conveying seduction than were non-expressive and introverted individuals. In addition, we found that persons who were skilled at sending basic emotional expressions (i.e., happiness, surprise, anger) were better at sending complex emotions such as seduction.

What are the implications of this research?

Perhaps the most interesting findings were from the poor senders of seduction. Although they were trying to look seductive, their facial expressions came off as negative (angry, sad, even disgusted) when viewed by judges who had no idea which emotion they were trying to convey. Submissive and introverted persons were also less able to look seductive. The fact that skilled senders were better at it suggests that practicing looking seductive, as actors and actresses do, should lead to improvement.

Although we only focused on facial expressions, there are other known cues of seduction. A light touch of the hand, a gaze that is held a bit longer than usual—these can also be cues of seduction.

Follow me on Twitter.