solidarity with compliment response strategies. Wolfson found that elaborate responses to compliments among women occur between intimate, status-unequal, and status-equal acquaintances, and that a majority of elaborate responses occurred between status-equal women. There are major differences in how men and women perceive compliments that are given by the other sex. Shotland and Craig (1988) concluded that both sexes can differentiate between friendly behavior and sexually based behavior but that men perceive situations more sexually than women. They hypothesize that this difference in perception is due to the difference between the thresholds of sexual intent of men and women. Therefore, women misjudge interested behavior as friendly behavior because they have a high threshold of sexual intent. Men, on the other hand, misjudge friendly behavior as interested behavior because they have a low threshold for sexual intent. This difference in threshold levels affects the subject matter of compliments given between men and women as well as how they respond to the compliments given. Cross-cultural overview of compliments There is much variation regarding how compliments function and are performed in different societies. Compliments as an expression of approval is just one general description; however, as discussed above, how such politeness strategies are exhibited can vary according to the values of the society in which they are performed. The different notions of gender roles within a given society seems to have a bearing on both the frequency and style of compliments delivered in conversation. American English According to studies carried out by Manes and Wolfson, compliments in American culture are expressed quite frequently in conversation in attempt to achieve and maintain successful social relationships with others. Often for those whose first language is not American English, they find American English speakers rude or overbearing with giving compliments, particularly when coming from a society where humility is highly valued. Across society, men and women compliment each other freely and seemingly often about an array of topics and in various social contexts. Spanish speakers Many studies have looked at the use of piropos carried out by Spanish-speaking men to compliment a woman's physical beauty and attributes. Zena Moore concluded that to many American English speakers these speech acts are seen to be sexist and closely related to machismo. Despite the negative perception among American English speakers, the term and its usage are widely recognized in Hispanic culture. There is no direct translation into English for the