Gender Comm
Extra Credit Assignment
The Body Language of Love and Attraction by Peter Collett
Oxford based behavioral psychologist Peter Collett came to Texas State to talk about the expert interpretation of nonverbal cues displayed by men and women. He was very interesting and explained the “tells” or giveaways of a person’s true emotions and feelings through these nonverbal cues. He emphasizes the strong relational dependence that love and attraction have on nonverbal communication.
He begins by outlining the sexual characteristics of both sexes in terms of similarities and differences. The primary characteristics are genitals. The secondary characteristics vary. For men, it’s features such as the development of a deep voice, muscles, and testicular descent. Women gain more fat on their thighs and butt and become more voluptuous or curvy- widened hips. In our counterpart, men want a more youthful woman and women look for taller men. Importantly, we are concerned more with appearance and secondary characteristics than primary characteristics such as a generous endowment. Generally, men are much more superficial and appearance-based and when men and women choose their mate, seductive behavior triumphs.
Collett’s research on sexual signals affirmed beliefs that when it comes to nonverbal cues, biological characteristics are accentuated differently depending on the sex. This is interesting and on a large part due to socialization. Even the simulation or “illusion” of these characteristics is portrayed through exercise reps by men or runway models’ gestures. These illusions are dishonest signals meant to lure.
Furthermore, male courtship is dependent on the female’s choice as she gives him clearance to advance. Because of this, men often make the first move to prompt the female’s response and use it as guide for continued action. This has been the case for explaining the evolutionary ‘dance’ of the sexes; Women are selective because their