Measuring Blirtatiousness

Blirtatiousness can be measured.  The BLIRT (Brief Loquaciousness and Interpersonal Responsiveness Test) includes items such as "I always say what's on my mind", and "If I have something to say, I don't hesitate to say it.". Those scoring high on the Blirt Scale report higher levels of assertiveness, extraversion, self-esteem, self-liking, self-competence, and positive effect and report lower levels of rumination, shyness, fear of negative evaluation, neuroticism, and negative emotions compared to lower blirt scorers. Interestingly, this research suggests that Larry David might actually have higher levels of self-liking and lower levels of neuroticism and negative emotions than one would expect! It's probably less that he's neurotic and more that he just doesn't care what people think.

The Blirt Scale predicts all sorts of things you would expect. Car salesman and Americans score higher on the Blirt Scale than librarians and Asians. In telephone conversations between strangers, higher blirters respond more frequently, rapidly, and effusively than low blirters. There are also health consequences. In one study, a person chatted incessantly on a cell phone while the participant was trying to complete the experiment. High blirters were more likely to say something to the person but stayed calm whereas low blirters were silent but became more physiologically aroused (as indexed by blood pressure). Low blirters silently fume.The same was found when another person besieged the participant with a series of insults and aggravations as the participant was attempting to draw. High blirters attempted to engage in conversation with the person, or even redefined the provocation as humorous. In these scenarios, high blirters were seen by the other person as more competent, sociable, emotionally reactive, and extraverted than low blirters.

Therefore, Blirtatiousness acts as an amplifier of human traits, and makes one's emotional state and personality more salient. Of course, this means there are tradeoffs to being blirtatious. In one study, high blirters were seen by classmates as more competent and likable early on in a University class. As the semester progressed, however, the high blirters with low grades received a decline in their ratings on these dimensions, whereas low blirters received more favorable impressions as the semester went on. It seems then, that those who are blirtatious are initially perceived better, but open themselves up to having their bad sides exposed more easily, whereas low blirters may start off with less favorable impressions but are better at hiding their deficiencies.

Blirters in Love

Blirtatiousness also has strong implications for romantic relationships. While two blirtatious partners can make for a good match, couples in which the woman is more blirtatious than the man ("precarious couples") are less intimate and satisfied than any other couple pairing.

Precarious couples experience particular discord when the woman is critical and stress levels are high. Under high levels of stress, the woman in a precarious couple becomes more critical, and her inhibited partner withdraws. This withdrawal often backfires though, because it decreases the chances for healthy communication. This sends the relationship on a downward spiral. Indeed, this "women demand-man withdraw" communication pattern is frequent among precarious couples and is a key predictor of divorce.  Another communication problem for those in precarious relationships is the lack of mutual constructive communication, which happens when couples discuss a problem, express their feelings, and negotiate without resorting to blaming or verbal aggression. There's hardly any mutual constructive communication among precarious couples.

Members of precarious couples are also unsuccessful in managing stress. In one study, 67 married women were put under stress. When they were reunited with their husbands, most men had low heart rates. In precarious couples, however, men showed higher levels of physiological arousal. Therefore, in a precarious relationship, a stressed women can cause a stressed man, and the man's reticence causes an even more stressed woman. Not a good scene for a healthy relationship.

Those in precarious relationships are also perceived negatively by others, being seen as less likeable and less competent than those in other kinds of relationships. This perception is shared by both men and women in equal measure. Swann and his colleagues suggest that the gender role expectations of the participant may be causing such perceptions, with "man-more-inhibited" couples causing more dislike since they challenge traditional gender roles. People tend to feel more comfortable with the status quo.