‘Mystery’ and ‘originality’: Scientists identify 47 traits for successful flirting

Researchers used open-ended questionnaires to identify the traits

(Rex Features)

It’s a subject that has confounded single people for millennia: flirting.

Ostensibly, it’s simple: make eye contact, offer compliments, ask questions. But the art of successful flirting is far more complex than you might think, which is why two scientists set out to uncover what it takes to be a good flirt.

In a new study, published in the journal Personality and Individual Differences, researchers Menelaos Apostolou and Christoforos Christoforou conducted open-ended questionnaires with 487 Greek-speaking participants, who were asked to list the traits they believe make flirting effective.

The results led Apostolou and Christoforou to identify 47 key traits, including honesty, respect, mystery, and originality.

In a second part of the study, the two researchers asked 808 Greek-speaking participants to rate how effective each trait would be on them.

The researchers then classified each of the traits into nine broader categories.

“Having a good non-verbal behaviour, being intelligent and having a gentle approach, were rated as the most important factors,” they wrote.

They noted that there were key differences between the sexes, too, in terms of which traits were viewed as most effective.

“For example, women rated a gentle approach as more effective on them, while men rated good looks as more effective,” the researchers added.

You can see the full list of 47 traits below.

Here’s the traits the researchers labelled as successful

1. Humour
2. Intelligence
3. Good looks
4. Politeness
5. Honesty
6. Intense interest in me
7. Good with words
8. Persistence
9. Respect
10. Good character
11. Self-confidence
12. Originality
13. Nice smile
14. Way of approach
15. Easygoingness
16. Common characteristics
17. Courage
18. Discreteness
19. Interesting personality
20. Charm
21. Common interests
22. Education
23. Tenderness
24. Pleasantness
25. Spontaneity
26. Directness
27. Intense gaze
28. Kindness
29. Mystery
30. Comfortable with his/her spending
31. Nice compliments
32. Patience
33. Romance
34. Sweetness
35. Boldness
36. Determination
37. Directness
38. Good dressing
39. Interest to learn things about me
40. Positivity
41. The way he/she looks at me
42. Cheerfulness
43. Maturity
44. Nice smell
45. Seriousness
46. She/he is not moving fast
47. Unusual hobbies

You can see the study here.