Category: Auto contact or self touching

Adaptors, Amplifier, Auto contact or self touching, Boredom body language, Courtship display, Indicator Of Sexual Interest (IOsI), Pacifying body language, Preening body language, Stroking body language, Worry body language

Body Language of Hair Play

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hair Play

Cue: Hair Play

Synonym(s): Playing With The Hair, Twirling The Hair, Hair Tossing, Hair Flick, Sucking On The Hair, Combing The Hair, Brushing The Hair,,Sexual Hair Play, Running Fingers Through The Hair, Wrapping The Hair Around The Neck, Flicking The Hair, Hair Twirl, Hair Sucking.

Description: When hair is playing with, tossed, twirled, flicked, combed, or sucked.

In One Sentence: Playing with the hair is a sign of self grooming, pacifying, or is a way to draw attention to feminine features in a dating context.

How To Use it: Women can play with their hair in order to draw men’s attention to it. When hair is tossed and otherwise displaced, it will draw men’s eyes. Tossing, flicking, and brushing the hair are ways to display youthful qualities of fertility which is mostly unique to women.

Sucking on the hair or stroking the hair is also a way to help sooth nerves although it is not advisable to do so repetitively as it can be read by others as insecurity.

Context: a) Dating, b) General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m drawing attention to my hair by grooming it so that I can show off its luxuriousness and get it ready for other people’s eyes to feast upon its greatness.” “I’m concerned my hair is out of place so I’m fixing it so others don’t think I’m unkempt.” “I’m sucking on my hair to pacify myself as a replacement for a soother.”

Variant: See Head Toss.

Cue In Action: a) When she saw a cute boy she subconsciously twirled her hair around her finger, titled her head to the side and batted her eyes at him. b) During a boring lecture she passed the end of her long blonde hair through her lips to pacify herself. b) His hair was overgrown and it constantly fell into his eyes so he either flicked it away or brush it away with the side of his hand.

Meaning and/or Motivation: a) Hair tossing is done by women to show off their luxurious hair to men. Hair tosses can be done by flicking the hair over the shoulder or away from the face. Hair can be removed from a band and twirled or rolled and placed on top of the head to expose the neck.

Other hair signals include running the fingers through the hair to preen it, wrapping the hair around the neck or curling it around the finger. These types of signals are done by women usually out of their conscious awareness. They may be available and seeking sexual attention, but equally, they can be done to serve an actual function. When they are done to attract attention, they are driven by inner thoughts and desires which manifest as nonverbal cues. It is the desires that prime the motivation to act out sexually. In this case, grooming draws attention to her luscious hair and hence her youth and fertility.

Men will also preen in during courtship and might try to flatten their hair, stroke it, or brush it away from the eyes. In more overt cases, men might remove a comb and fix their hair entirely.

b) Outside of a dating context, the hair might be preened due to either a functional purpose such as when it blocks the vision, or as a means of pacifying. Sucking on the end of the hair is a replacement for a soother as it stimulates the sensitive lips. Running the fingers through the hair can also serve a pacifying purpose as it reminds us of having our hands entwined in someone else’s. Other times the hair is fussed with simply to preen and keep the hair in its place.

Cue Cluster: a) Added sexuality can come with a lip lick or moistening of the lips with lip gloss or adding lip stick to make them appear red and seductive. Having the lips slightly parted as if blowing a small stream of air through them can escalate the cues even more dramatically.

For hair play to be a sexual cue, it will be done in association with eye contact, absent of which might just be a form of soothing auto contact. Eye contact turns a fairly random gesture like touching the hair into one that is directional, meaning the eye contact sends a message to a person of interest.

Other times, women use signals to “fish and lure” where signals happen in a more broad-stroke fashion, absent of eye contact and direction, sent off into the room at large.

When men preen they will often do so secretly and will not use eye contact to draw attention to themselves. In other words, men will preen before an approach rather than during one as women tend to do.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Amplifier, Auto contact or self touching, Boredom, Courtship display, Stroking body language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Pacifying, Preening, Worry body language.

Resources:

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Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Blocking or Shielding, Body cross, Body size reduction, Defensive body language, Low confidence body language, Negative body language, Nervous Body Language, Protective reflexes, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Shy nonverbal

Body Language of The Fetal Position

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Fetal Position

Cue: Fetal Position (The)

Synonym(s): Hugging The Knees, Pulling The Knees In, Balling Up.

Description: The knees are pulled into the body and hugged.

In One Sentence: Pulling the knees into the body is akin to the fetal position and is a protective posture signaling the need for emotional comfort.

How To Use it: Use this cue to signal that you are under distress and wish for others to offer care and support. Balling the body in this way can produce a smaller profile making the body feel like a smaller, less noticeable target. Hugging the knees also simulates the sensation of being hugged, thus activating the embodiment of being comforted. The sensation is not unlike being hugged by parents. Thus, the fetal position is a way we can self-sooth when parents or friends are not nearby.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I need to feel the comfort of being held to remind me of the protection I felt in my mom’s womb or when she snuggled me, as I am suffering extreme discomfort and stress.”

Variant: See Bow and Body Bend, Crouching, Self-Hugging or The Double Arm Hug.

Cue In Action: a) She was alone for the first time at camp and hugged her knees while the other girls read scary books and fooled around. b) When she found out about a death in the family, she balled herself up on the couch and a grief filled expression came across her face.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It is a child-like posture because it reminds us of being protected by our mothers. It signifies grief, fear, timidity, shyness, discomfort and pain. The body shows that it needs to take on a smaller profile and seek comfort at the same time. As adults, we must provide comfort for ourselves so we are forced to use our own arms and legs to self-hug. With age, we learn that taking up the fetal position, like thumb sucking, is not an acceptable way of dealing with our insecurity so we drop the extreme form of the gesture in favour of more subtle cues.

In mild forms, it can be simply a posture one uses for comfort. When it appears in public it signifies that a person has an underlying motivation for pacifying and feels insecure. When done at home, can simply be a way to feel embraced and cared for.

While it might seem far-fetched to expect someone in your company to have this posture, it does occur although in more abbreviated adult acceptable ways. While at an informal party, for example, a woman might find herself hugging her knees at the end of a couch. To her, this feels comfortable, which is why she does it, but it reveals her true emotions.

The abbreviated form of this position, of course, and one that is more acceptable in public is to pull the limbs in closer to the body and across the centerline as in the “self hug”.

Cue Cluster: The fetal position is commonly associated with averted or wandering eyes, head turned away or down, being quiet, reading a book, wearing headphones or other ways to escape coupled with an expressionless, worry or pensive facial expression.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Body cross, Body size reduction, Blocking or Shielding, Defensive, Low confidence body language, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Protective reflexes, Shy nonverbal.

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http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/people-can-read-dominance-split-second

Robinson, Michael D. ; Zabelina, Darya L. ; Ode, Scott ; Moeller, Sara K. The vertical nature of dominance-submission: Individual differences in vertical attention. Journal of Research in Personality. 2008. 42(4): 933-948.

Simon D, Craig K, Gosselin F, Belin P, Rainville P. Recognition and discrimination of prototypical dynamic expressions of pain and emotions. PAIN_ 2008;135:55–64.

Schubert, T. W. (2005). Your highness: Vertical positions as perceptual symbols of power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 89, 1–21.

Schwartz, B., Tesser, A., & Powell, E. (1982). Dominance cues in nonverbal behavior. Social Psychology Quarterly, 45, 114–120.

Stepper, S., & Strack, F. (1993). Proprioceptive determinants of emotional and nonemotional feelings. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 211–220.

Schenkel, Rudolf. Submission: Its Features and Function in the Wolf and Dog. American Zoologist. 1967. 7(2): 319-329.

Tomei, Alexander and Jeremy Grivel. Body Posture and the Feeling of Social Closeness: An Exploratory Study in a Naturalistic Setting. Current Psychology. 2014. 33:35–46
DOI 10.1007/s12144-013-9194-1
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/stand-increase-feelings-closeness-use-body-posture-influence-perception/

Tiedens, Larissa Z ; Fragale, Alison R. Power moves: complementarity in dominant and submissive nonverbal behavior. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2003. 84(3): 558-68.

Tracy, J. L., & Matsumoto, D. (2008). The spontaneous expression of pride and shame: Evidence for biologically innate nonverbal displays. Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences, 105(33), 11655–11660.

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

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2004). Show your pride: Evidence for a discrete emotion expression. Psychological Science, 15, 194–197.

Weisfeld, Glenn E. and Jody M. Beresford. Erectness of Posture as an Indicator of Dominance or Success in Humans. Motivation and Emotion. 1982. 6(2): 113-130.
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Walsh, Joseph ; Eccleston, Christopher ; Keogh, Edmund. Pain communication through body posture: The development and validation of a stimulus set. Pain. 2014. 155(11): pp.2282-2290

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*No Photo, Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Preening body language, Self-motivating gestures, Stroking body language

Body Language of The Face Wash

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Face Wash

Cue: Face Wash (The)

Synonym(s): Face Rub, Face Cleans, Rubbing The Face, Washing The Face With The Hands, Hands Rubbing The Face.

Description: The palms cup and rub the face as if washing it.

In One Sentence: The face wash signals the desire for a fresh start.

How To Use it: Use the face wash when you are tired and need to self-sooth or refresh your perspective. Research has shown that we often perform various ritualized gestures in order to purify ourselves and our minds. “Washing the face” with bare hands is likely rooted in our psyche as a way to refresh the body and mind. When the face is massaged it can help release positive hormones helping to reduce stress and discomfort.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m feeling a little bit off so it’s time to scrub my face and clean up for a fresh start.” b) “Ahhhhh, so much frustration, time for a refresh.” c) “I’m tired and rubbing my face produces self soothing.”

Variant: See Face Palm and Double Face Palm.

Cue In Action: After writing many nonverbal dictionary cues, he rubbed his face with his palms as a way to build the strength to continue.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The face wash is a way to reenergize the body and prepare for action or conversely as the body nears giving up due to low energy. It is a pacifying and self-touching and self-grooming gesture – a sort of self-massage to release positive hormones. The gesture is a throwback to washing the face in the morning or reinvigorating it with cold water from a flowing stream.

Cue Cluster: The Face wash is usually accompanied by a vocal grunt, an “oh-boy,” or “ugh” showing its primitive roots. Commonly, a person will have drooping tired eyes, might be yawning, drifting off and glazing over.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Stroking body language, Preening, Self-motivating gestures.

Resources:

Brown, B. R. (1970). Face-saving following experimentally induced embarrassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 255–271.

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.

Chen-Bo Zhong and Katie Liljenquist. Washing Away Your Sins: Threatened Morality And Physical Cleansing. Science. 2006; 313, 1451.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/hand-washing-as-indication-of-moral-threat/

Dong, Ping ; Huang, Xun (Irene) ; Wyer, Robert S. The Illusion of Saving Face
Psychological Science. 2013. 24(10): pp.2005-2012.

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

Florack, Arnd; Janet Kleber; Romy Busch and David Stöhr. Detaching the ties of ownership: the effects of hand washing on the exchange of endowed products. Journal of Consumer Psychology 24, 2 (2014) 284–289
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/washing-the-hands-for-new-beginning-ownership-and-the-endowment-effect/

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.

Keltner, D., & Buswell, B. N. (1997). Embarrassment: Its distinct form and appeasement functions. Psychological Bulletin. 122: 250–270.

Kenner, Andrew N. (1993). “A Cross-Cultural Study of Body-Focused Hand Movement.” In Journal of Nonverbal Behavior (Vol. 17, No. 4, Winter), pp. 263-79.

Lee, S. W. S., & Schwarz, N. (2010). Dirty hands and dirty mouths: Embodiment of the moral-purity metaphor is specific to the motor modality involved in moral transgression.
Psychological Science, 21, 1423–1425.
Schnall, S., Benton, J., & Harvey, S. (2008). With a clean conscience: Cleanliness reduces the severity of moral judgments. Psychological Science, 19, 1219–1222.

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

Pugh, George E. (1977). The Biological Origin of Human Values (New York: Basic Books).

Rosenfeld, Howard (1973). “Nonverbal Reciprocation of Approval: An Experimental Analysis.” In Argyle *, pp. 163-72.

Sommer, Robert (1969). Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall).

Xu, A. J., Zwick, R., & Schwarz, N. (2012). Washing away your (good or bad) luck: Physical cleansing affects risk-taking behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141, 26–30.

Zhong, C. B., & Liljenquist, K. (2006). Washing away your sins: Threatened morality and physical cleansing. Science, 313, 1451–1452.

Zhong, C. B., Strejcek, B., & Sivanathan, N. (2010). A clean self can render harsh moral judgment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 46, 859–862.

*No Photo, Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Depressive body language, Disengagement body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Escape movements, Eye blocking, Frustration or frustrated body language, Negative body language, Protective reflexes, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Shy nonverbal

Body Language of Face Palm and Double Face Palm

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Face Palm and Double Face Palm

Cue: Face Palm

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A gesture done by placing the hand or hands on the face or forehead cupping or conversely, lowering the face on to the palms rested on a surface such as a desk.

In One Sentence: The face palm signals frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, shock, surprise or even sarcasm.

How To Use it: Use the face palm to demonstrate that you feel embarrassed by what you just heard. It’s a nonverbal “Oh my God!”

You may also use the face palm to show others that you are suffering pain or grief. This can help garner sympathy and is not unlike the reaction children have to emotional discomfort. In this way, covering the face with the palms allows one to shield one’s self from view to escape further shame and embarrassment so can lessen the negative effects.

To appear in control and dominant, however, never cover the face – one should simply own up to their behaviour, shameful, or otherwise.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “The world is ending as I know it, I need to stop people from seeing my face as I stifle tears and also try to block any additional negativity from striking me.” b) “Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that, what shame you have provided yourself.” c) “I feel stupid just being around you, I’m cowering in shame.”

Variant: See Face Wash (The).

Cue In Action: The stockbroker brought his hands up and covered his face. He watched helplessly while the stock market plunged wiping out his client’s equity.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The face palm indicates frustration, disappointment, embarrassment, shock, surprise or even sarcasm.

The face palm has roots in childhood where toddlers would hide and bury their face when crying in blankets or against the chest or lap of parents, so others wouldn’t see their grief or shyness.

Recent Internet usage has applied this gesture where one wishes to show disappointment and shame on forums and in comments following videos and articles. The face is covered to hide frustration through a desire to block and shield external stimuli from entering and hide emotions from the view of others.

Cue Cluster: The face and eyes will wince and scrunch, eyebrows lower, tears may form, and deep frustration will come across the face. The shoulders will slump and the torso will bend at the waist. If standing the torso may bend backwards as if praying.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Depressive,
Disengagement, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Escape movements, Eye blocking, Frustration or frustrated body language, Negative body language, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Protective reflexes, Shy nonverbal.

Resources:

Brown, B. R. (1970). Face-saving following experimentally induced embarrassment. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 6, 255–271.

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

Dong, Ping ; Huang, Xun (Irene) ; Wyer, Robert S. The Illusion of Saving Face
Psychological Science. 2013. 24(10): pp.2005-2012.

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).

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

Keltner, D., & Buswell, B. N. (1997). Embarrassment: Its distinct form and appeasement functions. Psychological Bulletin. 122: 250–270.

Kenner, Andrew N. (1993). “A Cross-Cultural Study of Body-Focused Hand Movement.” In Journal of Nonverbal Behavior (Vol. 17, No. 4, Winter), pp. 263-79.

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

McGrew, W. C. (1972). “Aspects of Social Development in Nursery School Children with Emphasis on Introduction to the Group.” In N. G. Blurton Jones, ed., Ethological Studies of Child Behaviour (Cambridge: University Press), pp. 129-56.
Miller, R. S. (1987). Empathic embarrassment: Situational and personal determinants of reactions to the embarrassment of another. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology,
53, 1061–1069.

Modigliani, A. (1971). Embarrassment, facework, and eye contact: Testing a theory of embarrassment. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 17, 15–24.

Pugh, George E. (1977). The Biological Origin of Human Values (New York: Basic Books).

Rosenfeld, Howard (1973). “Nonverbal Reciprocation of Approval: An Experimental Analysis.” In Argyle *, pp. 163-72.

Sommer, Robert (1969). Personal Space: The Behavioral Basis of Design (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice-Hall).

Xu, A. J., Zwick, R., & Schwarz, N. (2012). Washing away your (good or bad) luck: Physical cleansing affects risk-taking behavior. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 141, 26–30.

Zhong, C. B., & Liljenquist, K. (2006). Washing away your sins: Threatened morality and physical cleansing. Science, 313, 1451–1452.

Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Defensive body language, Displacement behaviour, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Pacifying body language, Shy nonverbal

Body Language of The Ear Grab

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Ear Grab

Cue: Ear Grab

Synonym(s): Ear Rub, Ear Rubbing, Grabbing The Ear, Touching The Ear, Pulling At The Ear, Ear Pull, Ear Touch, Hand To Ear.

Description: The hand reaches up and grabs, scratches, tugs, or lightly touches or partially covers the ear. If an earring is being worn, a person might roll or tug it instead. In more overt ear language, a person might cover their ears completely, which is usual in children who haven’t yet learned to how to minimize the gesture.

In One Sentence: Grabbing the ear is attributed to those experiencing visceral stress but usually simply serves to alleviate an itch.

How To Use it: Touching parts of the face is not advisable as it generally comes across as negative. Do avoid touching the face as much as possible including the ears when trying to appear open and honest.

Context: a), b), c) General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m touching my ear because what I’m hearing is causing me stress and touching my ear helps to relieve it.” b) “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” c) “This is causing me emotional discomfort and which is making my ears flush. To fix the discomfort, I feel like tugging at my ear.”

Variant: See Hand To Nose, Neck Rubbing (back of neck) or Holding The Back Of The Neck.

Cue In Action: a) During court proceedings, a witness began to delve deeper into the case. The defendant didn’t like what she was hearing and she began to flush in the ears causing her to tug at her ears. A used car salesman might talk about the quality of a certain car, then pull on his ear lobe, or more subtly, he might be found rubbing the edge of the ear, indicating that what he has just said is untrue.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The ear grab refers to a subconscious desire to “hear no evil” and is done by reaching up and pulling the ear in response to hearing or saying discomforting things. It also sometimes represents anxiety and nervousness.

Think of the ear grab like rubbing sore muscles or massaging a stiff back, except in this case the damage done is internal and it’s due to something that has been heard, which “hurts” the ears. Anytime someone shows the desire to touch their ear means that they are thinking about hearing, and it will be up to you to tie them to context and decide what it is they are really saying. Other times, the ear is scratched because it really is itchy and has no meaning at all (an adaptor).

The ear grab can be use not only at the conclusion of the lies of others, but also at the conclusion of our own lies as well. The gesture used at the conclusion of our own lies serves to reduce what is called “cognitive dissonance” which is the uncomfortable feeling that comes from holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously.

Cue Cluster: In order for the ear tug to have any true meaning of discomfort other cues must be present such as blushing, touching the face or neck, submissive cues, eye aversion or eyes shifting, head lowered, feet turning away, hands and feet freezing, rubbing the hands on the thighs, rubbing the back of the head or neck, massaging the throat or covering the neck dimple and so forth.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Defensive, Displacement behaviour, Doubt or disbelief body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Pacifying, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Shy nonverbal.

Resources:

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Caso, L., A. Gnisci, A. Vrij, and S. Mann. 2005. Processes underlying deception: an empirical analysis of truth and lies when manipulating the stakes. Journal of Investigative Psychology and Offender Profiling 2 (3): 195-202.

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Charles v. Ford, Lies! Lies! Lies!: The Psychology of Deceit (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1996), 200.

Dimond, Stuart ; Harries, Rashida. Face touching in monkeys, apes and man: Evolutionary origins and cerebral asymmetry. Neuropsychologia. 1984. 22(2): 227-233.

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Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Body cross, Closed body language, Defensive body language, Emotional body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Pacifying body language, Protective reflexes

Body Language of Covering The Neck Dimple or Hand To Lower Neck

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Covering The Neck Dimple or Hand To Lower Neck

Cue: Covering The Neck Dimple or Hand to Lower Neck

Synonym(s): Covering The Suprasternal Notch, Hand To Lower Neck, Playing With A Necklace, Neck Dimple Cover, Adjusting The Tie, Tie Adjustment.

Description: A primarily female body language cue where the hand will come up to the upper chest or lower neck and cover the suprasternal notch or neck dimple. Men will substitute this gesture for adjusting the tie or massaging the throat.

In One Sentence: Covering the neck dimple or suprasternal notch is a sign that a person is feeling nervous, distressed, threatened, insecure, fearful, or uncomfortable.

How To Use it: Use this cue to show other people that you are not comfortable with the situation. You might assume the posture when receiving worrisome news. Appearing uncomfortable when the situation warrants it will have others offer sympathetic words, gestures or even offer to rectify the situation on your behalf. The posture also creates a soothing affect which can help mitigate nervousness or anxiety. Stroking the upper chest can release positive stress reducing hormones.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m performing a partial arm cross by bringing my hand up to the “suprasternal notch” which is the dimple just below the neck between the Adam’s apple and the breast bone because I’m nervous, distressed, threatened, insecure, fearful or uncomfortable.”

Variant: See Partial Arm Cross or Incomplete Arm Cross, Blading Body Language, Body Angling or Ventral Displays, Arm Crossing, Neck Scratching or Neck Massaging.

Cue In Action: Imagine a tense negotiation between a couple who are making plans for their honeymoon vacation. The wife might be cupping her arm under her elbow while covering her suprasternal notch while the husband clasps the back of his neck in a restraint posture. As he concedes she might drop one or even both arms. With no concession from her, he might remain negatively locked or might place his arms crossed on his chest. Sensing his negative body language, she might agree to a compromise.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Women are particularly prone to bringing their hand up to the “suprasternal notch” which is the dimple just below the neck between the Adam’s apple and the breast bone when nervous, distressed, threatened, insecure, fearful or uncomfortable. Covering the suprasternal notch is one of the nonverbal signals that is unmistakable and also reliable in predicting emotional distress. It is significant and reliable enough that it shouldn’t be ignored.

While touching the neck and nose can be the result of fear or nervousness, they can also be meant as pacifying behaviours. Pacifying behaviours happen automatically. Our brains send a message to our bodies that we need to be pacified and out go our hands to serve the purpose.

Cue Cluster: Watch for the neck to be massaged, playing with a necklace, stroking the face, playing with the hair, stroking hands against the thighs, sucking on a pen, biting the fingernails, picking or pulling at the skin, etc.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Barriers, Body cross, Closed body language, Defensive, Emotional body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Pacifying, Protective reflexes.

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