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psychology
understand
It means that he doesn't know what to do.
Taking sex out of the question, there are a myriad number of intentions of why he would so such a thing. But the main reason still remains, that he doesn't know how to vocalise the words that are in his head.
If he is trying to show sympathy or that he cares, he could be one of those men who doesn't know how to vocalise his emotional words into sound.
If he is trying to test the waters, but because he's married he doesn't want to make it bait, then obviously he's not very good at it, so again, he doesn't know what to do.
He could have something possibly outrageous or bad to tell her, and he doesn't know how she'll react to it, so he could be using her reaction to the knee touch, to gauge whether he should say what he has to say or not, and how much of himself he should verbally express next about what's on his mind, and/or what he thinks of her.
Long story short.
It's because he doesn't know what to do.
Sadly I can't give a concrete reason.
All I can say is that women in such situations should encourage men who do so, to not be afraid to say what's on their mind, and get them to talk as much words as possible, and hope for the best.
If I had to guess, 2 out of 3 instances, it means something bad or something that he thinks the woman might not want to know about (eg. I like you -or- i saw someone spit in the cup you're drinking out of).
Most likely: I like you or I care about you
God knows.
He doesn't know what to do.
If I had to use my cynicism for a reason for such a thing would be, I would say he's testing the waters with a girl he likes or flirting because he's bored shitless so it doesn't mean anything and she knows it.
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Disregard everything above that line, if he was trying to make his wife jealous.
I also view it, like Marie said, as some tribal thing.
I also view it, kinda, and probably because I am biased because I cover powerful people, as a type of power play.
In that, I daresay, the woman was more verbally skilled, and the man was more physically imposing. Quite tall and lanky.
So the woman spoke and the man reached across the space between them and placed his hand on her knee and spoke her name.
This leveled the playing field.
The woman would have to stand up from her chair to reach the man's knee because her arms are simply shorter than his.
He had the luxury and the power to, sort of lazily reach out in the space between them and touch her.
Also this action caught her by surprise.
View this, (in my bias) as another power play.
The element of surprise.
What does it mean when a man puts his hand on a woman's knee?
Does it always mean he wants to have sex with her? If so, what is the purpose of it, to lower physical/touching boundaries or what? To make a connection?
If it doesn't necessarily mean he wants to have sex with her, what else can it mean? What is the purpose of it?
If it doesn't necessarily mean he wants to have sex with her, what else can it mean? What is the purpose of it?
psychologyunderstand
tynamite
It means that he doesn't know what to do.
tynamite
Liz
Really? Why do you say that, Adisa? What if the man is married and he does it to a woman in a room full of other people? What do you mean, he doesn't know what to do?
tynamite
Me
Some men are intimidated by women because women are better at spotting when they are lying, and because their reactions are hard to predict. Women are an enigma to them. For the sake of example, let's imagine that the man falls into that category, because let's face it, no women-assured man would ever do such a thing!Taking sex out of the question, there are a myriad number of intentions of why he would so such a thing. But the main reason still remains, that he doesn't know how to vocalise the words that are in his head.
If he is trying to show sympathy or that he cares, he could be one of those men who doesn't know how to vocalise his emotional words into sound.
If he is trying to test the waters, but because he's married he doesn't want to make it bait, then obviously he's not very good at it, so again, he doesn't know what to do.
He could have something possibly outrageous or bad to tell her, and he doesn't know how she'll react to it, so he could be using her reaction to the knee touch, to gauge whether he should say what he has to say or not, and how much of himself he should verbally express next about what's on his mind, and/or what he thinks of her.
Long story short.
It's because he doesn't know what to do.
Sadly I can't give a concrete reason.
All I can say is that women in such situations should encourage men who do so, to not be afraid to say what's on their mind, and get them to talk as much words as possible, and hope for the best.
If I had to guess, 2 out of 3 instances, it means something bad or something that he thinks the woman might not want to know about (eg. I like you -or- i saw someone spit in the cup you're drinking out of).
Most likely: I like you or I care about you
God knows.
He doesn't know what to do.
If I had to use my cynicism for a reason for such a thing would be, I would say he's testing the waters with a girl he likes or flirting because he's bored shitless so it doesn't mean anything and she knows it.
---------
Disregard everything above that line, if he was trying to make his wife jealous.
tynamite
Marie
This is interesting; id agree with you on "doesn't know what to say"; or maybe "doesn't know what to do NEXT". I think he knows what he WANTS to do; I think he's just hitting the "pause" button, metaphorically speaking. ;-)
tynamite
Liz
Marie Stein and Adisa Nicholson I like Adisa's comment that he doesn't know how to vocalize what is in his head.I also view it, like Marie said, as some tribal thing.
I also view it, kinda, and probably because I am biased because I cover powerful people, as a type of power play.
In that, I daresay, the woman was more verbally skilled, and the man was more physically imposing. Quite tall and lanky.
So the woman spoke and the man reached across the space between them and placed his hand on her knee and spoke her name.
This leveled the playing field.
The woman would have to stand up from her chair to reach the man's knee because her arms are simply shorter than his.
He had the luxury and the power to, sort of lazily reach out in the space between them and touch her.
Also this action caught her by surprise.
View this, (in my bias) as another power play.
The element of surprise.
tynamite
Me
Why are the people you hang around, so much about power trips and mind games?
tynamite
Liz
LOL. That is a very good question Adisa.
