Believe it or not, your flirting style can determine the outcome of a relationship you enter into, say researchers.
A new study has found that people who use playful and physical styles of flirtation are likely to attract shorter, less serious relationships, whereas polite and sincere flirting could attract a long-term partner.
The researchers have based their findings on an analysis of more than 5,100 people looking at the way they communicate their romantic interest. Lead researcher Jeffrey Hall of University of Kansas, said they found there were five different types of flirting — traditional, physical, sincere, playful and polite.
While everybody exhibited aspects of each style, for most people one dominated over the other and this could have an effect on the type of person and relationship you attract, the Daily Telegraph reported.
Dr Hall said that if you are unhappy with the type of person you were attracting then it might mean you should modify your flirting technique for more success.
“Flirting does tend to reflect personality and we are not saying you can change your style completely but some modification may help you find the right person for a relationship. In some ways, the very early part of developing relationships is important to the success of longterm relationships, including marriages,” he was quoted as saying.