Body Language of Uneven Shoulder Shrugs
Cue: Uneven Shoulder Shrugs.
Synonym(s): Partial Shoulder Shrug.
Description: The uneven shoulder shrug occurs when only one shoulder comes up by itself rather than both shoulders in unison.
In One Sentence: A partial shoulder shrug or uneven shoulder shrug shows lack of full commitment.
How To Use it: By raising only one shoulder, you can tell other people that you are unsure. Couple this with a down-turned mouth and raised eyebrows for better effect. This works in any context.
Context: General.
Verbal Translation: “I’m dishonest so my shoulders do not act in unison. My shoulders lack full commitment.”
Variant: When the shoulders rise together, they indicate that a person is fully committed to the idea. The amplitude of the shoulder rise also provides hidden meaning. The higher the shoulder rise, the more committed someone is to “not knowing.” See Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise.
Cue In Action: When the boss inquired about the whereabouts of the company stapler, two of the three employees raised their shoulders quickly and in unison, the third only raised her right shoulder slightly. That gave him a clue as to whom to pursue for more information. Clearly she knew more than she was willing to share.
Meaning and/or Motivation: Uneven shoulder shrugs are dishonest. Shoulder shrugs indicate when someone doesn’t know something. It’s the “I don’t know” posture. But if they are being truthful with their lack of knowledge, their shoulders will come up in unison and sharply. However, if just one shoulder comes up, and only slightly, then their body language is indicating a lack of amplitude and commitment to the message. This should then lead the reader to conclude that they are uncertain of their message. In other words, dishonesty shows through when the body language to support an emotion lacks full symmetry and follow-through.
Cue Cluster: Watch for other cues of dishonestly such as palms down or hidden in pockets, eyes averted, expressionless face or stress smile, head ducked or bowed and toes or torso pointed toward the exit as if trying to escape.
Body Language Category: Amplifier, Lying or deceptive body language, Microgestures, Suspicious body language.
Resources:
Brin, Pablo and Oli Richard. Body Posture Effects On Self-Evaluation: A self-Validation Approach. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2009; 39: 1053–1064.
Givens, David B. (1977). “Shoulder Shrugging: A Densely Communicative Expressive Behavior.” In Semiotica (Vol. 19:1/2), pp. 13-28.
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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.
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