Body Language of Peering Over Glasses or Looking Over Glasses
Cue: Peering Over Glasses.
Synonym(s): Looking Over Glasses.
Description: Happens by looking down and overtop of the glasses at another person. Sometimes the head is lowered and the eyes peer over top of the glasses, other times the glasses are pulled down onto the bridge of the nose coupled with a glare.
In One Sentence: Looking over the glasses signals distain, contempt, haughtiness, aggressiveness, and critical judgment.
How To Use it: Peer over the glasses to show others that you disagree with them or their ideas. The cue is reminiscent of the authoritative library trying to scold misbehaving students. Simply tilting the head without glasses can have the same effect. Research has shown that tilting the head down is a way to make the head appear wider and thus more dominant.
Mothers disapproving of children or wives disapproving of husbands can use the cue to show that actions or ideas are not being well received. Thus the cue signals the desire to keep a person ‘in their place’ and that one is morally superior. Therefore, use the cue when most appropriate.
Context: General.
Verbal Translation: “I’m peering over the top of my eye glasses and tilting my head forward because I’m scrutinizing you.”
Variant: The head might be tiled backwards with relatively the same effect. This is “looking down the nose” at someone. It is particularly powerful. See Head Tilted Back.
Cue In Action: The librarian wasn’t keen on the new group of rowdy students. After verbally berating them and warning of more severe punishment should they get disruptive, she’d occasionally peer over at them with lowered glasses to reinforce her commitment.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Disdain, contempt, haughtiness, aggressiveness, critical, condescending, and judgmental attitudes are all associated with this posture. The bearers of the posture assumes that they have the moral right to be looking down on other people from an elevated position.
Cue Cluster: Peering over the glasses is accompanied by a stern, closed facial expression, hard staring eyes, pursed lips, head forward and challenging, palms down and chin forward.
Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Authoritative body language, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Evaluative body language.
Resources:
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