Mood News.

Byline: Lois B. Morris

Flirtation Interpretation

Men sometimes misread sexual signals, but one explanation--that evolution drives men to overestimate women's mating interest--may not be all there is to it. When looking at images of women that most people perceive as "friendly," men identified 12 percent of them as indicating sexual interest; women made this mistake for 9 percent of the photos. But contrary to evolutionary theory, men also misclassified 38 percent of sexually interested women as friendly (versus 32 percent for women), says Coreen Farris, a psychologist at Indiana University. That may indicate that on average, men are less adept than women at decoding facial expression and body language, she says.

Success and Femininity

Women who succeed in traditionally male, powerful jobs are often criticized for being unlikable and unfeminine. Now research at New York University suggests some antidotes. Volunteers read a description of a woman in a high-finance position. One version highlighted only her skills and accomplishments; another also noted that she was compassionate and attentive to people. Both men and women considered the successful woman with these additional traits to be more likable. After reading about her, though, women tended to give themselves lower ratings of competence. In another ...