Author: Chris

Amplifier, Attentive body language, Body size reduction, Courtship display, Indicator of interest (IoI), Indicator Of Sexual Interest (IOsI), Liking, Open body language, Undivided attention (nonverbal)

Body Language of Head Tilted or Head Cocked To The Side

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head Tilted or Head Cocked To The Side

Cue: Head Tilted or Head Cocked To The Side

Synonym(s): Canting The Head, Cocking The Head, Head Tilted At Forty Five Degrees, Head Cocked, Head Canting.

Description: The head tilt happens by tilting the head at forty-five degrees. It is much more commonly held by woman and children, than by men.

In One Sentence: Having the head titled to the side indicates sincere interest and curiosity.

How To Use it: Tilt the head to the side whenever you want to show someone that what they are saying fascinates you. Use this when you want the speaker to see your admiration in a nonverbal way. Men and woman can both use this to encourage each other to share more information.

Women can use the head tilt in a dating context to show men that they are submissive as the head tilt reveals the vulnerable neck. Thus, the posture, is particularly alluring.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: a) “I like what I’m hearing so I’m canting my head to the side in sincere interest and amusement.” b) “I’m trying to gain your sympathy and protectiveness so I’m appearing childlike and vulnerable so you will want to be my protector.”

Variant: Men will normally cant their heads by raising the chin slightly whereas women prefer to lower their chins coupled with the head tilted upward. It is thought that women wish to send a more childlike image with their head cant, in order to elicit a protective response in men. When men tilt their heads it usually signifies interest and recognition of others and their ideas. See Forehead Bow (The), Head On.

Cue In Action: a) The audience was totally engaged after he opened with some interesting and surprising facts about how he overcame bullying. b) She wanted to score a date with a particularly handsome and wealthy man so she really fired on the charm. She tossed her head to the side revealing her neck, cocked her head, look up at him and smiled coyly.

Meaning and/or Motivation: a) People and animals both incline their heads slightly when they are interested, attentive, or curious. You might have seen a dog twist his head to the side when puzzled by something a person has done. The head cant is a universal signal of interest and attentive listening. When women cant their heads, it depicts appeasement and submission and when men cant their heads they demonstrate recognition. Women also display their necks during their head tilt in order to appear more vulnerable and less threatening.

b) This is a submissive gesture and normally performed by women. The head tilt happens by tilting the head at forty-five degrees and delivering eye contact in a come hither type, coy, teasing, type look with plenty of neck exposure. It makes women appear more childlike and helpless, and evokes protective feelings in men. Its primary motive is to expose vulnerable parts of the body, the neck, to show submission and trust in a man’s dominance.

Cue Cluster: The head cant is normally coupled with eye contact toward the person showing interest coupled with relaxed facial expression and smiling gently.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Attentive body language, Body size reduction, Courtship display, Indicator of interest (IoI), Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Liking, Open body language, Undivided attention (nonverbal).

Resources:

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Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Doubt or disbelief body language, Evaluative body language, Expansive movements, Eye Language, Gravity defying body language, Hostile body language

Body Language of The Head Tilted Back

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Tilted Back

Cue: Head Tilted Back

Synonym(s): Looking Down The Nose, Nose up gesture, Tilting The Head Back.

Description: A posture done by tilting the head back and looking down and across the bridge of the nose upon other people as if glaring. Sometimes the head is cocked to the side or the eyes peer over glasses.

In One Sentence: Tiling the head back indicates smugness and pride.

How To Use it: Tilt the head back to demonstrate pride after winning a dominance competition. The stance is appropriate after victory in sports as it is in any other situation where one must overcome great obstacles. Holding the head high will show others that you are winning in the battle of life and that you are worthy of special attention and to be followed. Holding the head high in business will show others that you have leadership qualities.

When one tilts the head back when pride is not earned, it can backfire and be read as smugness, so be prepared for challenges to your stance should you choose to apply them.

When you want to belittle another, simply title the head back and stare down your nose at them. This shows condescension. Think of the stern librarian as she lowers her eye glasses and glares down upon you.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m superior to you in many ways so I tilt my head back and appear haughty and special, demonstrating that you are not worthy of my gaze.”

Variant: See Peering Over Glasses, Chin Jut and Chin Lift.

Cue In Action: Upon entering a coffee shop, she turned the heads of men. When she noticed that she was being watched, she averted her gaze and instead of making eye contact she would “look down her nose at them” by tilting her head backward showing disapproval. It is read by onlookers correctly as an “I’m better than you” glare. They don’t even bother to approach her.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Looking down one’s nose at someone is a dominant, judgment posture and is viewed negatively by others. The opposite cue is the forehead bow, where the head is tilted back and they eyes cast upward. This shows submission.

Looking down the nose at someone can be done without glasses, but their addition makes the posture even more salient. The head back is a domineering teacher or librarian look when a student has done something she does not approve of, so she stares him down. The posture elicits a prey response in others because it puts them in an aggressive relationship with the predator peering down on them.

Tilting the head back is a way to adjust the height levels between people because by doing so it raises the level of the eyes by a few inches. Looking down the nose is indicative of someone that is condescending or pushy, authoritarian, arrogant, but is also a gravity defying body language so shows confidence often bordering on overconfidence.

The phrase “keep your chin up” stems from the power that chin’s held high carries. Holding a high head helps people frame their own views in a more constructive light.

Cue Cluster: Crossing the legs by bringing one foot over the opposite leg (the Figure-Four Leg Cross), hand steepling, or interlocked fingers, leaning back in the chair, and tilting the head back and looking down through the nose at others. This cluster shows arrogance and superiority.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Aggressive body language, Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Dominant body language, Expansive movements, Eye Language, Gravity defying body language, Hostile body language, Evaluative body language.

Resources:

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*No Photo, Automatic gesture, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Escape movements, Microgestures, Rejection body language, Universal gestures

Body Language of Head Shake or Head Negation

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head Shake or Head Negation

Cue: Head Shake or Head Negation

Synonym(s): Shaking The Head.

Description: The head shake is a side-to-side motion of the head.

In One Sentence: Shaking the head is a universal negative thought indicator.

How To Use it: Use the head shake to show other people that you disagree. A small micro-head shake can fly under the conscious radar of others but still deliver a message they will perceive as negative without saddling you with a pessimistic view. To negate a positive view, simply shake your head as you verbalize your thoughts.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m having difficulty with what you are presenting me. My head shakes back and forth like a child would as they reject distasteful food.”

Variant: See Head Nods.

Cue In Action: The librarian shook her head slowly back and forth while peering over her glasses. She wasn’t impressed by the students who were giggling and acting out.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The headshake is sometimes perceived as “maybe,” but in reality this is a negative thought indicator. It is done when a person can’t get past a thought or idea.

Babies use the headshake as an innate gesture to signal to their mother that they’ve had enough milk by turning their head away. The head shake is different from the typical “no type gesture” in that the head is tilted from side-to-side instead of being pivoted back and forth used to signify “no” in various cultures by adults.

We should be skeptical if the head shake is given while voicing specifically agreeable language such as “You make a good point.” or “That sounds like a great idea.” These words, accompanied by the head shake, negates whatever positive words were voiced. It tells us that they were either trying to pull a fast one on us, or just trying to appease us.

Head shakes have two speeds. Fast shaking indicates disagreement and that a listener wants to take over speaking. When head shakes are slow it signifies incredulousness at what’s being heard. Head shaking can also appear as microexpressions as microsignals where the head only slightly turns from side-to-side and only astute observers will notice.

Cue Cluster: Head shaking is coupled with relaxed, but focused eye contact, the head might peer down or head back depending on superiority or judgment, the arms are often crossed to prevent information from coming in and if the speaker continues the toes and torso will begin to shift away.

Body Language Category: Automatic gesture, Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Escape movements, Microgestures, Rejection body language, Universal gestures.

Resources:

Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children’s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.

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Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Hummer, P., Wimmer, H., & Antes, G. (1993). On the origins of denial negation. Journal of Child Language, 20, 607– 618. doi:10.1017/S0305000900008503

Kim, K. J. (1985). Development of the concept of truth-functional negation. Developmental Psychology, 21, 462–472. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.462

Morris, Desmond (1994). Bodytalk: The Meaning of Human Gestures (New York: Crown Publishers).

Tam, C. W., & Stokes, S. F. (2001). Form and function of negation in early developmental Cantonese. Journal of Child Language, 28, 373–391. doi:10.1017/S0305000901004688

Vaidyanathan, R. (1991). Development of forms and functions of negation in the early. tages of language acquisition: A study in Tamil. Journal of
Child Language, 18, 51–66. doi:10.1017/S0305000900013295

Wode, H. (1977). Four early stages in the development of L1 negation. Journal of Child Language, 4, 87–102. doi:10.1017/S0305000900000490

Attentive body language, Open body language

Body Language of Head On

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head On

Cue: Head On.

Synonym(s): Head Level.

Description: When the head is vertically upright. It is neither tilted left, right, back or down.

In One Sentence: Having the head upright, neither tilted left nor right, is a passive listening head orientation.

How To Use it: Use the head on listening position to show others that you are paying attention, but unlike when the head is tilted, you aren’t particularly interested. This head orientation is useful for when you want to show others that you are taking in what is being said, but that what is being said is not exactly peaking your curiosity.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m listening to what you are saying but I’m not particularly interested nor am I particularly disinterested. In fact, I’m just passively listening.”

Variant: See Head Tilted or Head Cocked To The Side.

Cue In Action: The speaker looked out at the crowd and saw a mixture of heads cocked to the side and some head on, so he knew only half of his audience was engaged.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The head straight on and level indicates passive listening.

The cue signals neither active listening such as when tilted at forty five degrees nor submission, contempt or scorn (down), nor dominance, superiority, haughty (up). The cue means that a person is listening to what’s being said, but that they aren’t particularly interested or disinterested.

Cue Cluster: The eyes are sometimes focused, sometimes unfocused. The head might bob up and down if trying to maintain concentration, the body might be slightly slumped but still engaged.

Body Language Category: Attentive, Open body language.

Resources:

Aranguren, Martin. “Nonverbal interaction patterns in the Delhi Metro: interrogative looks and play-faces in the management of interpersonal distance.” Interaction Studies. 2016. 16(1) forthcoming.

Aranguren, Martin and Stephane Tonnelat. Emotional Transactions in the Paris Subway: Combining Naturalistic Videotaping, Objective Facial Coding and Sequential Analysis in the Study of Nonverbal Emotional Behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2014. 38:495–521. DOI 10.1007/s10919-014-0193-1
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/seriously-stop-touching-use-nonverbal-signaling-manage-unwanted-touching-busy-public

Aviezer, Hillel, Yaacov Trope, Alexander Todorov. Body Cues, Not Facial Expressions, Discriminate Between Intense Positive and Negative Emotions. Science 338, 1225 (2012).
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-trumps-facial-expressions-read-my-body-not-my-lips/

Argyle, M., & Dean, I. Eye contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 1965, 28, 289-304.

Boucher, Michael L. Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Effect of seating distance on interpersonal attraction in an interview situation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1972 38(1): 15-19.

Beall, Alec and Jessica L. Tracy. The Puzzling Attractiveness of Male Shame. Manuscript submitted to Evolutionary Psychology. www.epjournal.net – 2014. 12(x): 1-39
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/male-nonverbal-shame-attractive/

Bania, Amanda E. ; Stromberg, Erin E. Call, Joseph (editor). The Effect of Body Orientation on Judgments of Human Visual Attention in Western Lowland Gorillas.
Journal of Comparative Psychology. 2013. 127(1): 82-90.

Belhiah, Hassan. Tutoring as an embodied activity: How speech, gaze and body orientation are coordinated to conduct ESL tutorial business. Journal of Pragmatics. 2009. 41(4): 829-841.

Beaulieu, Catherine. Intercultural Study of Personal Space: A Case Study. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2004 34(4):794-805.

Costa, M., Menzani, M., & Ricci Bitti, P. E. Head canting in paintings: An historical study. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2001. 25: 63–73.

Costa, M., & Ricci Bitti, P. E. Face-ism effect and head canting in one’s own and others’ photographs. European Psychologist. 2000. 5: 293–301.

Chance RMA (1962) An interpretation of some agonistic postures: the role of “cut-off” acts and postures. Symp Zool Soc Lond 8: 71–89.

Cook, M. Experiments on orientation and proxemics. Human Relations, 1970, 23, 61-67.

Clack, B., Dixon, J., & Tredoux, C. (2005). Eating together apart: Patterns of segregation in a multi-ethnic cafeteria. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 15, 1-16. doi:10.1002/casp.787

Castelli, Luigi ; Carraro, Luciana ; Pavan, Giulia ; Murelli, Elisa ; Carraro, Alessia. The Power of the Unsaid: The Influence of Nonverbal Cues on Implicit Attitudes. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2012 42(6): 1376-1393.

Coutts, Larrym. ; Ledden, Maribeth. Nonverbal Compensatory Reactions to Changes in Interpersonal Proximity. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1977 102(2): 283-290.

Dolphin, Carol Zinner. Beyond hall: Variables in the use of personal space in intercultural transactions. Howard Journal of Communications. 1988. 1(1): 23-38.

Eddie Harmon-Jones and Carly K. Peterson. Supine Body Position Reduces
Neural Response to Anger. Association for Psychological Science. 2009; 20 (10): 1209-1210. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/supine-body-posture-reduces-aggression/

Felipe, N. Interpersonal distance and small group interaction. Cornell Journal of Social Relations, 1966, 1, 59-64.

Felipe, N. Connotations of seating arrangements. Cornell Journal of Social Relations, 1967, 2, 37-44.

Gifford, Robert ; O’Connor, Brian. Nonverbal intimacy: Clarifying the role of seating distance and orientation. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986 10(4): 207-214.

Gardin, Hershel ; Kaplan, Kalman J. ; Firestone, Ira J. ; Cowan, Gloria A. Lanzetta, John T. (editor). Proxemic effects on cooperation, attitude, and approach-avoidance in a Prisoner’s Dilemma game. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1973. 27(1): 13-18.

George, N., Driver, J., & Dolan, R. J. (2001). Seen gaze-direction modulates fusiform activity and its coupling with other brain areas during face processing. Neuroimage, 13, 1102–1112.

Greenberg, Carl I. ; Firestone, Ira J. Greenwald, Anthony G. (editor). Compensatory responses to crowding: Effects of personal space intrusion and privacy reduction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1977. 35(9): 637-644.

Graziano, Michael S.A. and Cooke, Dylan F. Parieto-frontal interactions, personal space, and defensive behavior. Neuropsychologia. 2006. 44(6): 845-859.

Hietanen, J. K. (1999). Does your gaze direction and head orientation shift my visual attention? Neuroreport, 10, 3443–3447.

Harrigan J. and Rosenthal R. Physicians’ head and body positions as determinants of perceived rapport. J. appl. Sot. Psychol. 13, 496, 1983.

Hietanen, Jari. Social attention orienting integrates visual information from head and body orientation. Psychological Research.2002 66(3): 174-179.

Horley K, Williams LM, Gonsalvez C, Gordon E (2003) Social phobics do not see eye to eye: a visual scanpath study of emotional expression processing. J Anxiety Disord 17:33–44

Holt, Daphne J ; Cassidy, Brittany S ; Yue, Xiaomin ; Rauch, Scott L ; Boeke, Emily A ; Nasr, Shahin ; Tootell, Roger B H ; Coombs, Garth. Neural correlates of personal space intrusion. The Journal of neuroscience : the official journal of the Society for Neuroscience. 2014. 34(12): 4123-34.

Haase, Richard F. ; Dimattia, Dominic J. Berdie, Ralph F. (editor). Proxemic behavior: Counselor, administrator, and client preference for seating arrangement in dyadic interaction. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 1970 17(4): 319-325.

Jenkins, R., Beaver, J.D., & Calder, A.J. (2006). I thought you were looking at me: Direction-specific aftereffects in gaze perception. Psychological Science, 17, 506–513.

Kaminski, Juliane ; Call, Josep ; Tomasello, Michael. Body orientation and face orientation: two factors controlling apes’ begging behavior from humans
Animal Cognition. 2004. 7(4): 216-223.

Keltner, D. The signs of appeasement: Evidence for the distinct displays of embarrassment, amusement, and shame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. 68: 441–454.

Langton, S. R. H., & Bruce, V. (1999). Reflexive visual orienting in response to the social attention of others. Visual Cognition, 6, 541–567.

Langton, S. R. H., & Bruce, V. (2000). You must see the point: Automatic processing of cues to the direction of social attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26, 747–757.

Montgomery, Derek ; Moran, Christy ; Bach, Leslie. The influence of nonverbal cues associated with looking behavior on young children’s mentalistic attributions.
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1996. 20(4): 229-249.

Matsuda, Yoshi-Taka ; Okanoya, Kazuo ; Myowa-Yamakoshi, Masako. Syness in early infancy: approach-avoidance conflicts in temperament and hypersensitivity to eyes during initial gazes to faces. PloS one. 2013 8(6): pp.e65476

Mcelroy, James C. ; Morrow, Paula C. Personal space, personal appearance, and personal selling. Psychological Reports. 1994 74(2): 425(2).

Mcgurk, Barry J. ; Davis, John D. ; Grehan, John. Assaultive behavior personality and personal space. Aggressive Behavior. 1981. 7(4): 317-324.

Nelson, Nicole L and James A. Russell. Children’s Understanding Of Nonverbal Expressions Of Pride. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2012; 111: 379-385.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-children-read-pride-body-language/
Newman, Robert C. ; Pollack, Donald Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Proxemics in deviant adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1973 40(1): 6-8.

Ponari, Marta ; Trojano, Luigi ; Grossi, Dario ; Conson, Massimiliano. “Avoiding or approaching eyes”? Introversion/extraversion affects the gaze-cueing effect. Cognitive Processing. 2013. 14(3): 293-299.

Robinson, Jeffrey David. Getting Down to Business Talk, Gaze, and Body Orientation During Openings of Doctor-Patient Consultations. Human Communication Research. 1998. 25(1): 97-123.

Schouwstra SJ, Hoogstraten J (1995) Head position and spinal position as determinants of perceived emotional state. Percept Mot Skills 81: 673–674. doi: 10.2466/pms.1995.81.2.673.

Scherer, S. E., & Schiff, M. R. Perceived intimacy, physical distance, and eye contact. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1973, 36, 835-841.

Scott, J. A. Comfort and seating distance in living rooms: The relationship of interactants and topic of conversation. Environment and Behavior, 1984, 16, 35-54.

Sommer, R. Studies in personal space. Sociometry, 1959, 22,247-260.

Sommer, R. The distance for comfortable conversation: A further study. Sociometry, 1962, 25, 111-116.

Sommer, R. Personal space: The behavioral basis of design. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1969.

http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-expression-pride-recognized-cross-culturally/

Underwood, M. K.. Glares of Contempt, Eye Rolls of Disgust and Turning Away to Exclude: Non-Verbal Forms of Social Aggression among Girls. Feminism & Psychology. 2004 14(3): 371-375

Weiss, M., & Keys, C. The influence of proxemic variables on dyadic interaction between peers. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association; Chicago, 1975, August.

Wells, G. L., & Petty, R. E. (1980). The effects of head movement on persuasion: Compatibility and incompatibility of responses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology, 1, 219–230.

Wicker, B., Michel, F., Henaff, M.-A., & Decety, J. (1998). Brain regions involved in the perception of gaze: A PET study. Neuroimage, 8, 221–227.

Werner, Carol ; Brown, Barbara ; Damron, Gary Steiner, Ivan D. (editor). Territorial marking in a game arcade. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1981. 41(6): 1094-1104.

Wirth, James H ; Sacco, Donald F ; Hugenberg, Kurt ; Williams, Kipling D. Eye gaze as relational evaluation: averted eye gaze leads to feelings of ostracism and relational devaluation. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2010 36(7): 869-82.

Zweigenhaft, R. L. 1976. Personal space in the faculty office: Desk placement and the student-faculty interaction. Journal of Applied Psychology 61 (4): 529-532.

*No Photo, Amplifier, Authoritative body language, Dominant body language, Leadership body language

Body Language of Head Of The Table

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head Of The Table

Cue: Head Of The Table.

Synonym(s): Leadership Positions, Sitting At The Head Of The Table.

Description: Sitting at the head of the table.

In One Sentence: Sitting at the head of the table is a sign of dominance.

How To Use it: Research has shown that taking on the head of the table not only is reserved for the most dominant, but also when people are assigned to sit there, attributed to them. Therefore, sitting at the head of the table is important for bosses especially, and also for men who wish to form a patriarchy in their house and be seen as the one in charge.

When one does not wish to be seen as a leader, make decisions, or be responsible for the outcome, one should avoid the head of the table.

Context: a) General b) Business.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in charge so I sit at the head of the table which permits me to address each person without having to turn my head.”

Variant: See Stardust Chairs or Stardust Seating Positions.

Cue In Action: a) At dinner, Dad always sat at the head of the table. When he was away on business, the eldest son usually took over his seat. b) As a joke, the new hire sat in the bosses seat at the head of the table. It didn’t go over well.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Researchers attribute visibility and the ability to easily make eye contact with everyone as important features turning the head of the table into a leadership position. When there is no noticeable leader attributed to anyone, the leadership is normally assigned to the person who is sitting at the head of the table.

Interestingly, the leader will also usually find himself in a position which permits him to face the doorway, presumably so he can protect himself from surprise attack.

Cue Cluster: People who claim or sit at the head of the table also carry themselves more confidently with their heads held high, chest out, upright posture, strong handshakes, maintain eye contact, use gesticulation and touch appropriately and so forth.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Authoritative body language, Dominant body language, Leadership body language.

Resources:

Argyle, M., & Dean, I. Eye contact, distance and affiliation. Sociometry, 1965, 28, 289-304.

Boucher, Michael L. Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Effect of seating distance on interpersonal attraction in an interview situation. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1972 38(1): 15-19.

Cook, M. Experiments on orientation and proxemics. Human Relations, 1970, 23, 61-67.

Coutts, Larrym. ; Ledden, Maribeth. Nonverbal Compensatory Reactions to Changes in Interpersonal Proximity. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1977 102(2): 283-290.

Felipe, N. Interpersonal distance and small group interaction. Cornell Journal of Social Relations, 1966, 1, 59-64.

Felipe, N. Connotations of seating arrangements. Cornell Journal of Social Relations, 1967, 2, 37-44.

Gifford, Robert ; O’Connor, Brian. Nonverbal intimacy: Clarifying the role of seating distance and orientation. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986 10(4): 207-214.

Greenberg, J. 1976. The role of seating position in group interaction: a review, with applications for group trainers. Group & Organization Management 1 (3): 310-327.

Howells, L. T. and S. W. Becker. 1962. Seating arrangement and leadership emergence.
The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology 64(2): 148-150.

Jackson, Danielle; Erika Engstrom and Tara Emmers-Sommer. 2007. Think Leader, Think Male and Female: Sex vs. Seating Arrangement as Leadership Cues. Sex Roles. 57 (9/10): 713-723.

Jackson, Danielle ; Engstrom, Erika ; Hassenzahl, David M. Effects of sex and seating arrangement on selection of leader. Perceptual and motor skills. 2005. 100(3 Pt 1): 815-8

Kenner, Andrew N. ; Katsimaglis, George. Gender differences in proxemics: taxi-seat choice. Psychological Reports. 1993 72(2): 625(2).

Leventhal, G. 1978, Sex and setting effects on seating arrangement. Journal of Psychology. 100: 21-26.

Lott, D. F. and R. Sommer. 1967. Seating arrangements and status. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 7 (1): 90-95.

Michelini, RL, Passalacqua, R., & Cusimano, J. 1976. Effects of seating arrangement on group participation. Journal of Social Psychology. 99: 179-186.

Mackinnon, Sean P. ; Jordan, Christian H. ; Wilson, Anne E. Birds of a feather sit together: Physical similarity predicts seating choice. Personality & Social Psychology Bulletin. 2011 37(7): 879(14).

Norum, G.A., Russo, N.J., and Sommer, R. 1967. Seating patterns and group tasks. Source: Psychology in the schools. 4(3): 276-280.

Porter, Natalie ; Geis, Florence ; Jennings (Walstedt), Joyce. Are women invisible as leaders? Sex Roles. 1983. 9(10): 1035-1049.

Riess, M. and P. Rosenfeld. 1980. Seating preferences as nonverbal communication: a self-presentational analysis. Journal of Applied Communications Research 8(1): 22.

Stephenson, G. M. and B. K. Kniveton. 1978. Interpersonal and interparty exchange: an experimental study of the effect of seating position on the outcome of negotiations between teams representing parties in dispute. Human Relations 31(6): 555-566.

Scherer, S. E., & Schiff, M. R. Perceived intimacy, physical distance, and eye contact. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1973, 36, 835-841.

Scott, J. A. Comfort and seating distance in living rooms: The relationship of interactants and topic of conversation. Environment and Behavior, 1984, 16, 35-54.

Sommer, R. Studies in personal space. Sociometry, 1959, 22,247-260.

Sommer, R. The distance for comfortable conversation: A further study. Sociometry, 1962, 25, 111-116.

Sommer, R. Personal space: The behavioral basis of design. Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall. 1969.

Xu, Y. ; Franconeri, S. L. The Head of the Table: Marking the “Front” of An Object Is Tightly Linked with Selection. Journal of Neuroscience. 2012. 32(4): 1408-1412.

Weiss, M., & Keys, C. The influence of proxemic variables on dyadic interaction between peers. Paper presented at the meeting of the American Psychological Association; Chicago, 1975, August.

Zweigenhaft, R. L. 1976. Personal space in the faculty office: Desk placement and the student-faculty interaction. Journal of Applied Psychology 61 (4): 529-532.

*No Photo, Attentive body language, Indicator of interest (IoI), Microgestures, Undivided attention (nonverbal)

Body Language of Head Nods

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head Nods

Cue: Head Nod

Synonym(s): Fast Head Nod, Slow Head Nod, Quick Nod, Nodding.

Description: A gesture done by moving the head rhythmically up and down along the sagittal plane. In micro-nodding the head dips slightly and is almost unperceivable.

In One Sentence: Head nodding is a positive universal signal.

How To Use it: Use nodding to show agreement and understanding. Nodding is a powerful way to encourage others to continue speaking. If someone stops talking and you want them to continue, just offer them a nod and it’s likely that they will resume.

A quick nod at the end of a sentence can be used to punctuate a point and reinforce it. Likewise, it can be done to challenge your partner whom may wish to, in turn, issue a rebuttal.

By speeding up your nodding, you are nonverbally expressing your desire for the other person to finish up so that you may begin speaking.

Use a slow nod to encourage a speaker to continue and a faster nod to show that what is being said is understood.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in agreement, acceptance, or understanding of what you are saying. My head is moving up and down to show you.”

Variant: See Micro Nodding. The head might sway from side-to-side in a “no” motion showing disagreement. Micro nodding often occurs at the end of a person’s speech and can be attributed to a direct attack as if to say, I’ve made my point and I’m sticking to it, feel free to challenge me, but I’m going to stay firm. The micro nod is quick and usually singular, a quick dip of the chin followed by a slow recovery back to a neutral position.

Cue In Action: a) His boss nodded his head up and down slowly as he delivered his proposal. He indicated that he understood the idea. When it came time for him to provide feedback, he said it needed more work. That stuck him as odd given his head nods. What he didn’t understand was that his head nods showed that he understood what he was saying rather than general agreement.

b) Bill and Linda where talking about the bosses decision to cut the coffee budget. You could tell they agreed because as Linda expressed her position, Bill nodded his head.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Nodding has a widespread meaning used to convey acceptance or agreement but in other cultures it means disagreement.

Slow nodding often encourages a speaker to continue while faster nodding shows that what is being said is understood. A quick nod shows more complete understanding and agreement or a desire to interject and take over the speaking role.

To discern between agreement and desire to speak, watch for eye direction. Nodding with eyes that are cast toward the speaker is used as support, while nods with eyes cast away are done in order to take over the conversation. Other times, nodding occurs due to distraction. This is nodding coupled with a glazed look in the eyes. A firm and decisive head nod shows agreement, whereas a slight nod simply shows understanding.

Research has shown that head nodding breads positive thoughts and is hardwired into the brain. Scientific experiments have shown that as the conscious mind invariably gets tired or distracted, the head nodding stops or changes direction. Head nodding therefore is a gesture that has a powerful influence to those around us and can be used to create positive feelings. Head nodding creates connectivity in people and shows that what is being said, is being understood. Even if agreement is not present, it shows that a person is at least being heard which can be used to sway agreement in the future on a more important issue.

Too much nodding, on the other hand, shows indifference which can be a useful tactic depending on the speaker and their intent. Three nods in quick succession shows that you are ready to speak yourself and has the net effect of increasing their rate of speech to avoid being cut off.

In Japan, the up and down nod of the head or “yes motion” is utilized not to show ‘agreement’ but to show ‘understanding’. Therefore, while pitching a new idea or venture, it would be foolish to think that the continuous head nodding by the Japanese was due to their willingness to invest.

Cue Cluster: Watch for eye contact, torso orientation, leaning in or out to provide cues as to the overall meaning of the head nod as it can be varied. Nodding is accompanied by either eye contact to show interest, or lack thereof to show disinterest and disengagement. The body will also orient toward a speaker of interest, or away. Sometimes nodding is used to speed up speech or in agreement so it is important to watch for accompanying cues to define the meaning.

Body Language Category: Attentive, Indicator of interest (IoI), Microgestures, Undivided attention (nonverbal).

Resources:

Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children’s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.

Akiyama, M. M. (1985). Denials in young children from a cross-linguistic perspective. Child Development, 56, 95–102. doi:10.2307/1130177

Darwin, Charles (1872). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, third edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).

Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenaus (1970). Ethology: The Biology of Behavior (San Francisco: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston).

Fusaro, M., & Harris, P. L. (2013). Dax gets the nod: Toddlers detect and use social cues to evaluate testimony. Developmental Psychology, 49, 514–522. doi:10.1037/a0030580

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Gregersen, Tammy S. Nonverbal Cues: Clues to the Detection of Foreign Language Anxiety. Foreign Language Annals. 2005. 38(3): 388-400
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/what-anxious-learners-can-tell-us-about-anxious-body-language-how-to-read-nonverbal-behavior/

Hummer, P., Wimmer, H., & Antes, G. (1993). On the origins of denial negation. Journal of Child Language, 20, 607– 618. doi:10.1017/S0305000900008503

Kim, K. J. (1985). Development of the concept of truth-functional negation. Developmental Psychology, 21, 462–472. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.462

LaBarre, Weston (1947). “The Cultural Basis of Emotions and Gestures.” In Journal of Personality (Vol. 16), pp. 49-68.

Murphy, Nora A.; Judith A. Hall; Marianne Schmid Mast; Mollie A. Ruben; Denise Frauendorfer; Danielle Blanch-Hartigan; Debra L. Roter and Laurent Nguyen. Reliability and Validity of Nonverbal Thin Slices in Social Interactions. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2015 41(2): 199-213.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/thin-slices-nonverbal-behaviour-enough/

Morris, Desmond (1994). Bodytalk: The Meaning of Human Gestures (New York: Crown Publishers).

Sun Jung, Hyo Sun and Hye Hyun Yoon. The Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Employees in the Family Restaurant Upon Customers’ Emotional Responses and Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2011. 30: 542-550.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/effect-body-languagel-cues-family-restaurant/

Teixeira Fiquer, Juliana; Paulo Sérgio Boggio and Clarice Gorenstein. Talking Bodies: Nonverbal Behavior in the Assessment of Depression Severity. Journal of Affective Disorders. 2013. 150: 1114-1119.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/using-nonverbal-behaviour-to-assess-depression-severity/

Tam, C. W., & Stokes, S. F. (2001). Form and function of negation in early developmental Cantonese. Journal of Child Language, 28, 373–391. doi:10.1017/S0305000901004688

Wode, H. (1977). Four early stages in the development of L1 negation. Journal of Child Language, 4, 87–102. doi:10.1017/S0305000900000490

Wells, Gary, L. and Richard E. Petty. The Effects of Overt Head Movements on Persuasion: Compatibility and Incompatibility of Responses. Basic and Applied Social Psychology. 1980. 1(3): 219-230.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-learning-primes-body-language-on-head-nodding-nonverbals/

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Authoritative body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Evaluative body language, Power play, Suspicious body language, Threat displays

Body Language of The Head Lowered In Judgment

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Lowered In Judgment

Cue: Head Lowered In Judgment.

Synonym(s): Head Down, Lowered Head.

Description: Lowering the head, grimacing, and looking up with an icy glare.

In One Sentence: Lowering the head is a way people show judgment.

How To Use it: Lowering the head makes it appear wider through an optical illusion. A wide head is one that is high in dominance. Therefore, one can use a lowered head to create dominance and also show judgment of others in order to intimidate.

Fathers can use this cue effectively on misbehaving children as can wives on their husbands. When done properly, the cue appears highly aggressive and intimidating especially when coupled with direct eye contact.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I don’t like what I’m seeing so I’m lowering my head in judgment and peering down on you.”

Variant: Lowering the head with up-cast eyes or Forehead Bow (The), can easily be confused with a lowered head in judgment yet means something totally different. A bent head with relaxed up-cast eyes means agreement, confirmation, or even shame, but most importantly, signals submission. Angry eyes, coupled with head lowered, implies judgment. See Head Tilted Back, Peering Over The Glasses, and Bow and Body Bend, Forehead Bow (The).

Cue In Action: The librarian lowered her head, crossed her arms, and cast an icy stare at the boys who were fooling around.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The head down shows judgment or negative internal emotion and disapproval. The head down shows that a person is prepared for a battle. They are daring others to take a punch – instigating.

As with any head motion it is important to examine the adjoining clusters of body language to determine its true origins. For example, head down with eyes up can signal confrontation. The sender of the message wishes to make clear that they are in disagreement, feel anger and contempt. Adding arm crossed to head down would signify more prominently that there was negativity present, especially with arms crossed and an icy stare.

Don’t confuse the Forehead Bow with Lowered Head In Judgment. The two are different in terms of the eye contact and context.

Cue Cluster: My son who is just nine months old, as of this writing, will pull his chin in and put his head down so that I can’t see his eyes when I instruct him not to touch the buttons on my desktop computer tower. He also smirks when he doesn’t want to internalize and obey me. Next, he raises his left arm (usually) to the back of his neck and either (short) grabs his ear or the hair at the side of his head, or reaches all the way and scratches the back of his neck showing restraint. I say short-grab because the real cue is the grab the back of the neck, but his arms, being a baby are short and inflexible. Scratching the back of the neck is like “holding yourself back” by the scruff of the neck. This cue cluster has been important for my wife and I, as we ascertain what level of obedience we should expect based on whether or not he has actually internalized our instructions.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Authoritative body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Evaluative, Power play, Suspicious body language or suspicion, Threat displays.

Resources:

Aviezer, Hillel; Yaacov Trope, Alexander Todorov. Body Cues, Not Facial Expressions, Discriminate Between Intense Positive and Negative Emotions.. Science 338, 1225 (2012). http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-trumps-facial-expressions-read-my-body-not-my-lips/

Beall, Alec and Jessica L. Tracy. The Puzzling Attractiveness of Male Shame. Manuscript submitted to Evolutionary Psychology. www.epjournal.net – 2014. 12(x): 1-39
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/male-nonverbal-shame-attractive/

Briñol, Pablo; Richard E. Petty and Benjamin Wagner. Body Posture Effects on Self-Evaluation: A Self-Validation Approach. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2009. 39(6): 1099-0992. DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.607. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.607
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/fix-posture-fix-confidence/

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Keltner, D. The signs of appeasement: Evidence for the distinct displays of embarrassment, amusement, and shame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. 68: 441–454.

Martina Mara and Markus Appel. Effects of Lateral Head Tilt on User Perceptions of Humanoid and Android Robots. Computers in Human Behavior. 2015. 44: 326-334. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-head-tilt-says-robot/

Pease, Barbara and Allan Pease. 2006. The Definitive Book of Body Language Hardcover. Bantam.

http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-expression-pride-recognized-cross-culturally/

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The prototypical pride expression: Development of a nonverbal behavior coding system. Emotion, 7(4), 789–801.

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Authoritative body language, Courtship display, Dominant body language, Guiding body language

Body Language of The Head Drop or Head Beckoning

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Drop or Head Beckoning

Cue: Head Drop or Head Beckoning.

Synonym(s): Beckoning With The Head.

Description: Occurs by first establishing eye contact, then lowering the head followed by quickly and deliberately snapping it backward as if to say “Hey you, come over here.”

In One Sentence: Head beckoning is a way to call on someone to come closer.

How To Use it: Use this nonverbal expression in order to informally draw someone closer. A quick flick of the head back shows other people that you want to call them toward you without being overt. Often this cue can be delivered inconspicuously such that it goes unnoticed by other people.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: “I’m tossing my head backwards because I want you to come over and chat.”

Variant: The head might be snapped to the left or right as if to say “Let’s get out of here.”

Cue In Action: Dave saw a cute girl. After establishing eye contact and smiling, he tossed his head back inviting her over. She smiled, blushed and lowered her eyes. After chatting with her friend, she decided to come over.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Done as a replacement signal to the finger beckoning and is more subtle especially when the desire is to be secretive, mysterious yet authoritative.

For this reason, the head drop has been adopted by male pick-up artists with limited success. Head beckoning is most suitable when it would be inappropriate to yell such as a busy, crowded area.

Cue Cluster: The head drop is coupled with eye contact and smiling.

Body Language Category: Authoritative body language, Courtship displays, Dominant body language, Guiding body language.

Resources:

Andric, Michael ; Solodkin, Ana ; Buccino, Giovanni ; Goldin-Meadow, Susan ; Rizzolatti, Giacomo ; Small, Steven L. Brain function overlaps when people observe emblems, speech, and grasping. Neuropsychologia, 2013, Vol.51(8), pp.1619-1629

Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children’s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.

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Cassell, J., & Thórisson, K. R. (1999). The power of a nod and a glance: Envelope vs. emotional feedback in animated conversational agents. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 3, 519–538.

Dick, A.S., Goldin-Meadow,S., Hasson,U.,Skipper, J.I., & Small, S.L. (2009). Co- speech gestures influence neural activity in brain regions associated with processing semantic information. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 3509–3526.

Fusaro, M., & Harris, P. L. (2013). Dax gets the nod: Toddlers detect and use social cues to evaluate testimony. Developmental Psychology, 49, 514–522. doi:10.1037/a0030580

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Goldin-Meadow, S. (1999).The role of gesture in communication and thinking. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 419–429.

Goldin-Meadow, S.(2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cam-bridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Hubbard, A.L., Wilson,S.M., Callan,D.E., & Dapretto, M.(2009). Giving speech a hand: Gesture modulates activity in auditory cortex during speech perception. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 1028–1037.

He, Yifei ; Gebhardt, Helge ; Steines, Miriam ; Sammer, Gebhard ; Kircher, Tilo ; Nagels, Arne ; Straube, Benjamin. The EEG and fMRI signatures of neural integration: An investigation of meaningful gestures and corresponding speech. Neuropsychologia.. 2015. 72: 27-42.

Hummer, P., Wimmer, H., & Antes, G. (1993). On the origins of denial negation. Journal of Child Language, 20, 607– 618. doi:10.1017/S0305000900008503

Hansen, Jacqueline. Teaching without talking: teachers need to be aware of more than just the words they speak to children. They also need to monitor the nonverbal messages that they’re sending to students through proximity, eye contact, gestures, and touching. Phi Delta Kappan. 2010. 92(1): 35(6).

Holle, H., & Gunter,T.C. (2007). The role of iconic gestures in speech disambiguation: ERP evidence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 1175–1192.

Holler, J., Shovelton, H.,& Beattie, G.(2009).Do iconic hand gestures really contribute to the communication of semantic information in a face-to-face context? Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33, 73–88.

Hubbard, A.L., Wilson, S. M., Callan, D. E., & Dapretto, M.(2009).Giving speech a hand: Gesture modulates activity in auditory cortex during speech perception. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 1028–1037.

Kim, K. J. (1985). Development of the concept of truth-functional negation. Developmental Psychology, 21, 462–472. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.462

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Tam, C. W., & Stokes, S. F. (2001). Form and function of negation in early developmental Cantonese. Journal of Child Language, 28, 373–391. doi:10.1017/S0305000901004688

Vaidyanathan, R. (1991). Development of forms and functions of negation in the early. tages of language acquisition: A study in Tamil. Journal of Child Language, 18, 51–66. doi:10.1017/S0305000900013295

Villarreal, M., Fridman,E.A., Amengual,A., Falasco,G., Gerscovich,E.R., Ulloa,E.R., et al. (2008). The neural substrate of gesture recognition. Neuropsychologia, 46, 2371–2382.

Vaidyanathan, R. (1991). Development of forms and functions of negation in the early. tages of language acquisition: A study in Tamil. Journal of Child Language, 18, 51–66. doi:10.1017/S0305000900013295

Willems, R.M., Ozyurek,A., & Hagoort,P.(2007).When language meets action:The neural integration of gesture and speech. CerebralCortex, 17, 2322–2333.

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Wang, Lin ; Chu, Mingyuan Neuropsychologia. The role of beat gesture and pitch accent in semantic processing: An ERP study. 2013, Vol.51(13), pp.2847-2855

Xu,J., Gannon,P.J., Emmorey,K., Smith,J.F., & Braun,A.(2009). Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system. Proceedings of the NationalAcademyofSciences, 106, 20664–20669.

*No Photo, Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Blocking or Shielding, Closed body language, Defensive body language, Escape movements, Low confidence body language, Pacifying body language, Protective reflexes

Body Language of Head Clasping or Head Cradling

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Head Clasping or Head Cradling

Cue: Head Clasping or Head Cradling

Synonym(s): Hands Clasping The Head, Head Cradling, Cradling The Head.

Description: Occurs as the hands come up and cup the back of the neck or head. The hand can lightly brush the back of the head. The hands may also come to the back of the neck as if being cradled.

In One Sentence: Clasping the head signals deep despair and high stress.

How To Use it: Clasping the back of the head is a way to manage bad feelings as it reminds us of being cradled by our parents. Use the gesture when you are experiencing high stress and discomfort. Others may see your emotional pain and come to your rescue and help you overcome hardship. While displaying weakness is generally not advised, it can serve a useful purpose in gaining sympathy from others which may come in handy if grief should become overwhelming.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m feeling pain and discomfort either emotional or due to physical pain and so I’m using my hands as a helmet to protect my head from harm.”

Variant: See Hooding or The Catapult, Hand Behind Head or Head Pacifying.

Cue In Action: a) Imagine a sports athlete with his hands clasped behind his head in deep despair after missing an important penalty kick. We see the opposite in people who are happy – they are upright with a bounce in their step. b) His hands came up to the back of his head and stroked his hair due to high stress.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The head cradle provides comfort and security while the head clasp provides a shielding sensation like wearing a metaphorical helmet that protects us from emotional injury. We see head clasping when we have made a big mistake or are contemplating a serious decision.

This is also childhood throwback to where our Mom’s would have cradled or pet the back of our heads during times of distress, discomfort or pain during high stakes moments. The hands on the head in adulthood remind us of the protective feelings we would have received.

Cue Cluster: The chin usually comes down and the body becomes loose, limp and slouches, a sports athlete might drop to his knees clasp his head and look to the heavens praying.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Blocking or Shielding, Closed body language, Defensive, Escape movements, Low confidence body language, Pacifying, Protective reflexes, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Atkinson A, Dittrich W, Gemmell A, Young A. Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays. Perception 2004;33:717–46.

Aviezer H, Trope Y, Todorov A. Body cues, not facial expressions, discriminate between intense positive and negative emotions. Science 2012;338:1225–9.

Bartlett Marian S, Littlewort Gwen C, Frank Mark G, Lee K. Automatic decoding of facial movements reveals deceptive pain expressions. Curr Biol 2014;24:738–43.

Boucher J, Carlson G. Recognition of facial expression in three cultures. J Cross Cult Psychol 1980;11:263–80.

Brin, Pablo and Oli Richard. Body Posture Effects On Self-Evaluation: A self-Validation Approach. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2009; 39: 1053–1064.

Bouhuys, A.L. ; Jansen, C.J. ; van den Hoofdakker, R.H. Analysis of observed behaviors displayed by depressed patients during a clinical interview: relationships between behavioral factors and clinical concepts of activation. Journal of Affective Disorders. 1991. 21(2): 79-88.

Bond, Michael H., and Hiroshi Komai (1976). “Targets of Gazing and Eye Contact During Interviews: Effects on Japanese Nonverbal Behavior.” In Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (Vol. 34), pp. 1276-84.

Blakeslee, Sandra (1995). “In Brain’s Early Growth, Timetable Maybe Crucial.” In New York Times (“Science Times,” August 29), pp. C1, C3.

Cashdan, Elizabeth. Smiles, Speech, and Body Posture: How Women and Men Display Sociometric Status and Power. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1998. 22(4): 209-228.

Cunha, U. ; Leduc, M. ; Nayak, U.S.L. ; Isaacs, B.. Why do old people stoop?
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Coulson M. Attributing emotion to static body postures: recognition accuracy, confusions, and viewpoint dependence. J Nonverbal Behav 2004;28:117–39.

Caplovitz Barrett, Karen. The origins of social emotions and self-regulation in toddlerhood: New evidence. Cognition & Emotion. 2005. 19(7): 953-979.

Ekman P, Friesen W. Head and body cues in judgement of emotion—a reformulation. Percept Mot Skill 1967;24:711–24.

Ekman, Paul, and Wallace V. Friesen (1969). “Nonverbal Leakage and Clues to Deception.” In Psychiatry (Vol. 32), pp. 88-106.

Goodall, Jane (1986). The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University).

Givens, David B. (1976). An Ethological Approach to the Study of Human Nonverbal Communication (University of Washington Ph.D. dissertation in Anthropology, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms).

Grand, Stanley (1977). “On Hand Movements During Speech: Studies of the Role of Self-Stimulation in Communication Under Conditions of Psychopathology, Sensory Deficit, and Bilingualism.” In Norbert Freedman and Stanley Grand, eds., Communicative Structures and Psychic Structures: A Psycholanalytic Interpretation of Communication (New York: Plenum Press), pp. 199-221.

Geisser M, Robinson M, Keefe F, Weiner M. Catastrophizing, depression and the sensory, affective and evaluative aspects of chronic pain. PAIN. 1994;59:79–83.

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*No Photo, Buy signals, Confused body language, Evaluative body language, Metronomic signals, Microgestures, Pensive displays

Body Language of The Head Bobble

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Bobble

Cue: Head Bobble

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A side-to-side motion across an arc.

In One Sentence: The head bobble shows indifference and indecisiveness.

How To Use it: Use the head bobble to show others that you haven’t made up your mind.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “My head is swaying back and forth between options on one side and options on the other, I just can’t decide. My head is shaking in an arc between the two ideas.”

Variant: See Head Shake or Head Negation and Head Nod.

Cue In Action: When deciding between the stainless steal and the plain white dishwasher, she bobbled her head in an arc back and forth.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The head bobble implies indecision and thought processing.

The head bobble also means different things to different cultures. For example, in East Slavic it means disapproval and in India it means “okay”. In Bulgaria, India and Pakistan the head bobble means “yes.” In the West head bobble means maybe, or that a person is contemplating between options. Their head is leaning one way for one option and one way for the other.

Cue Cluster: Watch for the index finger coming up the side of the face or touching the chin, chin stroking, rubbing or slapping the head trying to motivate it and eyes moving as if trying to decide.

Body Language Category: Buy signals, Confused body language, Metronomic signals, Microgestures, Evaluative, Pensive displays.

Resources:

Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children’s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.

Akiyama, M. M. (1985). Denials in young children from a cross-linguistic perspective. Child Development, 56, 95–102. doi:10.2307/1130177

Fusaro, M., & Harris, P. L. (2013). Dax gets the nod: Toddlers detect and use social cues to evaluate testimony. Developmental Psychology, 49, 514–522. doi:10.1037/a0030580

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Goodboy, Alan, K. and Maria Brann. Flirtation Rejection Strategies: Towards an Understanding of Communicative Disinterest in Flirting. The Quantitative Report. 2010. 15(2): 268-278.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-to-reject-flirting-using-nonverbal-and-verbal-tactics/