Category: Closed facial gestures

Amplifier, Anger body language, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Negative body language, Stressful body language, Suppressed facial expression

Body Language of Eyebrows Knit or Oblique Eyebrows Of Grief

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eyebrows Knit or Oblique Eyebrows Of Grief

Cue: Eyebrows Knit or Oblique Eyebrows Of Grief

Synonym(s): Grief Muscle Flex, Worry Facial Expression, Eyebrow Scrunch, Oblique Eyebrows Of Grief.

Description: The eyebrows are raised simultaneously and drawn inward toward each other producing both horizontal creases in the forehead and vertical creases between the eyebrows. In the oblique eyebrows of grief cue, the eyebrows are pulled upward more so than the other ends.

In One Sentence: Knitting the eyebrows together signals grief or physical pain.

How To Use it: Knit the eyebrows by flexing the muscles between the brows. This is most effective when upset or angry and you want someone else to know it. Parents can use this on children, or partners on each other, to show that they disapprove.

Research has shown that children are able to read the facial expressions of adults, and that the messages they carry are more salient to them, than are verbal expressions. In other words, an angry voice is less detectable to children than an angry face so the latter is more effective than the former.

Avoid knitting the eyebrows in airports near security as officers are specially trained to catch grief in high risk situations.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in deep pain due to emotional or physical pain and I’m showing you this by pulling my eyebrows together.”

Variant: See Eyebrow Cock, Eyebrow Hold, Eyebrow Lowering, Eyebrow Flash, Eyebrow Raise.

Cue In Action: At the boarder crossing, he was asked if he carried any drugs with him. He said no, but his eyebrows immediately came together. Spotting his grief, he was detained and questioned. His micro-expression showed that he was probably lying.

Meaning and/or Motivation: When the eyebrows pinch together it is a universal signal of pain, even if it flashes for a split second. Personnel who analyze high-risk events such as boarder crossings, airport security, police officers and detectives are trained to spot momentary expresses of grief. The muscle between the brows can flex at anytime when negative thoughts are held.

The French call the area between the eyebrows, the “grief muscle.” It is active when expressing both pain, as well as when you wish to inflict it. The fearful face carries a momentary raise in the upper eyelids and a grimace comes across the mouth. Anger appears with a lowering of the eyebrows, flaring of the eyes and a tightening of the mouth or jaw.

Fear, grief and surprise in addition to other facial expressions can quickly flash across the face in the form of micro expressions.

Cue Cluster: Eyebrows of grief are combined with other close facial expressions such as lip pursing, squinted eyes, grimacing, as well as nervous cues such as touching the face or ears, scratching the neck, smoothing and adjusting clothing, eye avoidance and even tears in extreme cases.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Anger, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Negative body language, Stressful body language, Suppressed facial expression.

Resources:

Bonanno, George A. ; Keltner, Dacher Strauss, Milton E. (editor). Facial Expressions of Emotion and the Course of Conjugal Bereavement. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1997. 106(1): 126-137.

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 D. Facial displays of fear, sadness and pain. Perceptual and motor skills 1969. 28(1): 239-42.

Craig, Kenneth D. ; Patrick, Christopher J. Hogan, Robert (editor). Facial Expression During Induced Pain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1985 48(4): 1080-109.

Cannon, W. B. (1929). Bodily changes in pain, hunger, fear and rage (2nd ed.). New York: Appleton, Century, Crofts.

Daniele Marzoli, Mariagrazia Custodero, Alessandra Pagliara, and Luca Tommasi. Sun-Induced Frowning Fosters Aggressive Feelings. Cognition And Emotion. 2013; 27 (8): 1513-1521.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-sun-can-produce-feelings-of-anger-and-aggression-it-makes-us-frown/

Frijda, Nico H.. What is pain facial expression for? Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 460-460.

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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Han, Changsu ; Park, Geun-Young ; Wang, Sheng-Min ; Lee, Seung-Yeop ; Lee, Soo-Jung ; Bahk, Won-Myong ; Pae, Chi-Un. Can botulinum toxin improve mood in depressed patients? Expert review of neurotherapeutics. 2012 12(9): 1049-51.

Keogh E. Gender differences in the nonverbal communication of pain: A new direction for sex, gender, and pain research? PAIN_ 2014;155:1927–31.

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Kunz, Miriam ; Peter, Jessica ; Huster, Sonja ; Lautenbacher, Stefan Gray, Marcus (Editor). Pain and Disgust: The Facial Signaling of Two Aversive Bodily Experiences (Comparing Facial Expressions of Pain and Disgust). 2013. 8(12): p.e83277

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McGrath P, Johnson G, Goodman J, Schillinger J, Dunn J, Chapman J. CHEOPS—a behavioral-scale for rating postoperative pain in children. Adv Pain Res Ther 1985;9:395–402.

Pantic, Maja; Rothkrantz, Leon J. M. Machine understanding of facial expression of pain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 469-470.

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.

Vlaeyen, Johan W.S. ; Hanssen, Marjolein ; Goubert, Liesbet ; Vervoort, Tine ; Peters, Madelon ; van Breukelen, Gerard ; Sullivan, Michael J.L. ; Morley, Stephen. Threat of pain influences social context effects on verbal pain report and facial expression. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2009 47(9): 774-782.

Walsh, Joseph ; Eccleston, Christopher ; Keogh, Edmund. Pain communication through body posture: The development and validation of a stimulus set. Pain. 2014. 155(11): 2282-2290.

*No Photo, Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Emotional body language, Eye Language, Fearful body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Negative body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Eyebrow Lowering

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eyebrow Lowering

Cue: Eyebrow Lowering

Synonym(s): Lowering The Eyebrows, Anger Eyebrows.

Description: Eyebrows that are lowered.

In One Sentence: Lowering the eyebrows signals anger, aggression, or fear.

How To Use it: Lower the eyebrows to tell others that you disapprove of their conduct and wish for them to correct it. Likewise you may lower your brows to show that you are experiencing an internal struggle. Overall, the cue can be useful when trying to manipulate other people into changing their behaviour.

The anger expression has been shown to be a signal of strength and helps reinforce dominance so it is useful in creating the impression of authority. Even if one lacks the physical power to back up aggression, the anger expression can still be used to create the illusion of force. Lowering the eyebrows should be used whenever you wish to be taken seriously and want that seriousness to be backed up by visible threat.

Avoid keeping the eyebrows lowered for too long, however, as this will be perceived as being weakness and dejection.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m angry and my face is squishing all up including my eyebrows.”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: When she saw the girl who posted rude remarks on her online profile, she lowered her eyebrows to show her anger.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Eyebrows can squint just like eyes can and have many different meanings. Eyebrows can be lowered to indicate confrontation due to anger or aggression, fear from threats, when we feel displeasure or are annoyed.

If eyebrows are dropped low enough and kept there it indicates weakness and insecurity. This is true universally and so can even appear in children especially those who are abused. Lowered eyebrows is submissive, cowering, facial expression. Lowered eyebrows is a sign of being defeated and weak. It shows that one is unlikely to put up a fight. Bullies at school will also look for the expression to single out children as prey and so will social predators and psychopaths.

Cue Cluster: Varied depending on context.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger, Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Emotional body language, Eye Language, Fearful body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Negative body language, Threat displays.

Resources:

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Aviezer, Hillel; Ran R. Hassin; Jennifer Ryan; Cheryl Grady; Josh Susskind; Adam Anderson; Morris Moscovitch and Shlomo Bentin. Angry, Disgusted, or Afraid? Studies on the Malleability of Emotion Perception. Psychological Science. 2008. 19(7): 724-732.
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Aaron, Sell; Cosmides, Leda and Tooby, John. The Human Anger Face Evolved to Enhance Cues of Strength. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2014. 35(5): 425-429.
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Blurton Jones, N. G. (1967). “An Ethological Study of Some Aspects of Social Behaviour of Children in Nursery School.” In Desmond Morris (Ed.), Primate Ethology (Chicago: Aldine), pp. 347-68.

Burgoon, Judee K., David B. Buller, and W. Gill Woodall (1989). Nonverbal Communication: The Unspoken Dialogue (New York: Harper & Row).

Carroll E. 1994. Innate and universal facial expressions: Evidence from developmental and cross-cultural research Izard, Psychological Bulletin. 115(2): 288-299.

de Waal, F. B. M. (2003). Darwin’s legacy and the study of primate visual communication. In P. Ekman, J. Campos, R. J. Davidson & F. B. M. De Waal (Eds.), Emotions inside out: 130 years after Darwin’s The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals (pp. 7-31). New York: New York Academy of Sciences.

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

Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenaus (1973). “The Expressive Behaviour of the Deaf-and-Blind-Born.” In Mario von Cranach and Ian Vine (Eds.), Social Communication and Movement (European Monographs in Social Psychology 4, New York: Academic Press), pp. 163-94.

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Ekman, P., Friesen, W. V., O’Sullivan, M., Chan, A., Diacoyanni-Tarlatzis, I., Heider, K., et al. (1987). Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 53(4), 712-717.

Ekman, P., Levenson, R. W., & Friesen, W. V. (1983). Autonomic nervous system activity distinguishes among emotions. Science, 221(4616), 1208-1210.

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Ekman, Paul. 1986. A new pan-cultural facial expression of emotion. Source: Motivation and Emotion Ekman. 10(2): 159-168.

Ekman, Paul and Friesen, W. V. 1987. Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 53(4): 712-717.

Ekman, Paul; Friesen, Wallace V. 1971. Constants across cultures in the face and emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 17(2): 124-129.

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Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Attentive body language, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Confused body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye blocking, Eye Language, Microexpression, Micromessaging, Pensive displays, Protective reflexes, Suppressed facial expression, Suspicious body language

Body Language of Eye Squinting or Narrowing Eyes

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eye Squinting or Narrowing Eyes

Cue: Eye Squinting or Narrowing Eyes

Synonym(s): Narrowing Eyes, Furrowing Eyes, Compressed Eyelids, Wincing Eyes, Eye Constriction, Eye Blocking, Eye Shield, Shielding The Eyes, Squinting.

Description: Eye squinting happens when the eyelids are compressed together serving to constrict the eyes. It can sometimes occur in just a fraction of a second before disappearing.

In One Sentence: Narrowing the eyes is due to physical or emotional pain.

How To Use it: When you do not like what is being said or seen, simply narrow your eyes. This tells others that you do not like what you are seeing or hearing. You may perform this eye language in brief within just fractions of a seconds. While people may not consciously perceive the signal, it will likely still register subconsciously. If the person for whom the cue is intended, notices, they may revisit their proposal and add additional incentives to ease your negative judgment.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “What I’m seeing is causing me emotional or physical pain and to prevent all that negativity from coming into my body I’m going to squint and block to resist.”

Variant: See Anger Facial Expression, Hand To Eye Gesture.

Cue In Action: a) A person will wince when reading objectionable portions of a contract. b) She winced when the student missed the correct note on the piano. It caused her visceral pain.

Meaning and/or Motivation: An eye blocking form of body language designed to prohibit distasteful images or even thoughts from being received at full view. Narrowing eyes indicates contempt, distaste and anger. A person will not only squint from seeing objectionable sights, but also negative thoughts or sounds.

Wincing falls into the category of microexpressions since it can happen in only fractions of a second before disappearing, yet it remains full of meaning.

Wincing can also be due to the sudden approach of projectiles toward the eyes or body as well as the sun’s glare. Eyes can also be squinted in order to help a person see print that is too small. Thus, at times, squinting forms a functional purpose not exclusively driven by emotion.

A delayed opening or prolonged eye closure can be due to negative emotions or displeasure. A full wince with the eyes closed tightly signifies the desire to totally block out information.

Cue Cluster: General tightening of the face will occur such as mouth pursing. We may also see lip biting, hand clenching, shoulders and feet turned away, arms pulled in to protect and arms crossed.

Body Language Category: Attentive, Aggressive body language, Anger, Confused, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye blocking, Eye Language, Microexpressions, Micromessaging, Negative body language, Pensive displays, Protective reflexes, Suppressed facial expression, Suspicious body language.

Resources:

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Greene 1979. Title: Need-Fulfillment and Consistency Theory: Relationships Between Self-Esteem and Eye Contact. Source: Western journal of speech communication. 43(2): 123 -133.

Galin, D. and Ornstein, R., 1974. Individual Differences in Cognitive Style – Reflective Eye Movements; Neuropsychologia, 12: 376-397.

Craig, Kenneth D. ; Patrick, Christopher J. Hogan, Robert (editor). Facial Expression During Induced Pain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1985 48(4): 1080-109.

Frijda, Nico H.. What is pain facial expression for? Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 460-460.

Hermann, Christiane; Flor, Herta. Facial expression of pain more than a fuzzy expression of distress? Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 462-463.

Kunz, Miriam ; Mylius, Veit ; Schepelmann, Karsten ; Lautenbacher, Stefan. Impact of age on the facial expression of pain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2008. 64(3): 311-318.

Keogh, Edmund; Holdcroft, Anita. Sex differences in pain: Evolutionary links to facial pain expression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 465-465.

Konopacki 1987. Eye Movement Betrays a Prospect’s Inner Feelings Source: Marketing news 21(10): 4.

Langer, Julia and Rodebaugh, Thomas. Social Anxiety and Gaze Avoidance: Averting Gaze but not Anxiety. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 2013, Vol.37(6): 1110-1120.

LeResche, Linda ; Dworkin, Samuel F. Facial expression accompanying pain
Social Science & Medicine. 1984. 19(12): 1325-1330.

Mobbs, N.A. 1968. Eye-contact in Relation to Social Introversion-Extraversion. British Journal of Social Clinical Psychology 7: 305-306.

Navarro, Joe. 2008. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Pantic, Maja; Rothkrantz, Leon J. M. Machine understanding of facial expression of pain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 469-470.

Rutter, D.C; D. C. Pennington, M. E. Dewey and J. Swain. 1984. Eye-contact as a chance product of individual looking: Implications for the intimacy model of Argyle and Dean. Source: Journal of nonverbal behavior. 8(4): 250-258.

Richard Tessler and Lisa Sushelsky. 1978. Effects of eye contact and social status on the perception of a job applicant in an employment interviewing situation. Journal of Vocational Behavior 13(3): 338-347.

Sitton, Sarah C; Griffin, Susan T. 1981. Detection of deception from clients’ eye contact patterns. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 28(3): 269-271.

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.

Closed facial gestures, Disinterest body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Escape movements, Eye Language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Micromessaging, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Stubborn body language

Body Language of Eye Rolling or Eye Shrug

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eye Rolling or Eye Shrug

Cue: Eye Rolling or Eye Shrug

Synonym(s): Eye Shrug, Shrugging The Eyes, Rolling The Eyes.

Description: This cue is done by rolling the eyes around in a semi-circle from bottom to top, or looking straight up.

In One Sentence: Rolling the eyes says disbelief, contempt, sarcasm and lack of respect.

How To Use it: Use eye rolling when you want to show others that you think that they are fools. When someone says something ridiculous, you can tell them your think their idea is weak or unconstructive or not very funny simply by rolling your eyes. When done between friends, eye rolling can be a shared joke, but when done when someone is trying to make a serious point, can be used to show contempt.

Often, eye rolling is directional, meaning that you can use it to offend someone in particular. When done out of their sight, others can pick up on the insult and you can build a case against them without using words. As such, use eye rolling to ridicule and make fun of others.

As a micro-expression, the gesture can be used to signal to others that you simply do not agree with what is being said and therefore, nonverbally express your disapproval.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I can’t believe you just said that, you are a fool.”

Variant: See other Eye Language (category) for ways the eyes convey meaning.

Cue In Action: Dave suggested that instead of taking a romantic vacation in the sun, they hire a lodge and take a 5-day fishing expedition. Mary rolled her eyes.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It says disbelief, contempt, sarcasm, and a lack of respect. Sometimes eye rolls appear as micromessages and are barely visible. They exist, however, and are cues to underlying contempt, especially in a business or dating context.

Cue Cluster: Can be coupled with an audible sigh, followed by a look of contempt or eye avoidance. Eyes might also wander to the eyes of others seeking approval and verifying their views on what was suggested.

Body Language Category: Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Disinterest, Doubt or disbelief body language, Escape movements, Eye Language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Micromessaging, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Stubborn or stubbornness.

Resources:

Bjorkqvist, K., Osterrnan, K. and Lagerspetz, K.M.I. (1994) ‘Sex Differences in Covert
Aggression among Adults’, Aggressive Behaviour 20: 27–33.

Goodwin, Marjorie Harness ; Alim, H. Samy. “Whatever (Neck Roll, Eye Roll, Teeth Suck)”: The Situated Coproduction of Social Categories and Identities through Stancetaking and Transmodal Stylization. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology. 2010. 20(1): 179-194.

Hines, N.J. and Fry, D.P. (1994) ‘Indirect Modes of Aggression among Women of Buenos Aires, Argentina’, Sex Roles 30: 213–24.

LaFrance, M. (2002) ‘Smile Boycotts and other Body Politics’, Feminism & Psychology
12: 319–23.

Latvala, Charlotte. Stopping the back talk: if your child is dishing out the eye rolling and “what-evers,” here’s how to respond–for both your sakes.(good family: FROM KIDS TO MONEY, WHAT TO KNOW NOW). Good Housekeeping. 2009. 248(4): 99(3).

Lagerspetz, K.M.J., Bjorkqvist, K. and Peltonen, T. (1988) ‘Is Indirect Aggression Typical of Females? Gender Differences in Aggressiveness in 11- to 12-year-old Children’, Aggressive Behavior 14: 403–14.

Merten, D. E. (1997) ‘The Meaning of Meanness: Popularity, Competition, and Conflict
among Junior High School Girls’, Sociology of Education 40: 175–91.

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.

Navarro, Joe. 2008. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. William Morrow Paperbacks.

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.

*No Photo, Amplifier, Anger body language, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye Language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Negative body language, Rejection body language

Body Language of The Extended Eye Blink or Double Wink

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Extended Eye Blink or Double Wink

Cue: Extended Blink or Double Wink

Synonym(s): Extended Eye Closure, Double Wink, Lengthy Eye Closure, Eyes Super-Blink, Super Blinking Eyes, Eye Blink Hold, Blink Hold, Prolonged Blinking.

Description: The extended wink is done by blinking both eyes at the same time and holding them closed for a slightly longer period of time than that which is found in a natural blink. An exaggerated closing of the eyelids that is slow in speed but high in amplitude. The eyes will seem to close tightly together and spring open.

In One Sentence: The extended eye blink is a signal of disbelief.

How To Use it: Use the extended blink to show others that you can’t believe what you just heard. Reacting nonverbally is a great way to show others how you really feel without having to put it into words. When someone says something shocking, hold your eyes closed for a long second, then open them brightly. This says “I can’t believe what I just heard!”

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I seriously can’t believe what I’m seeing and I’m showing my displeasure by shutting my eyes for longer then normal in hopes that when I re-open them, the offensive stimuli will have disappeared.”

Variant: Eyes can be closed cheekily in a more playful way to show less severe disbelief or even flirtation – a double wink. Also see Wink.

Cue In Action: a) It was time for 3-year-old Charlie to change out of his pajamas and into his shirt and pants. He hated doing this more than anything because the shirt would always catch on his ears and cause him pain. When his Mom approached, he ran away, but she quickly cornered him and calmed him down. She told him it was time to change and he closed his eyes and held them closed for a second before reopening them. He didn’t like what he was seeing. b) It was yet another superfluous TPS report meeting, she closed her eyes, held them closed for a second and popped them open. Her colleagues laughed.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It signifies negative emotions, displeasure, disbelief or feigned surprise. Imagine the eyes as if they are trying to change the channel (or the scene) by forcing them close and popping them open quickly.

The extended blink is a form of eye blocking which protects a person from distasteful images and ideas.

If the extended eye blink is performed routinely, then we can assume that the person is arrogant as they seek to repeatedly shut off the outside world due to their belief of their superior thought process. They are sending a message to others that they feel they are irrelevant, boring and a waste of time.

Cue Cluster: The extended blink is usually a stand-alone cue and needs no other cues in cluster to have a negative disbelief meaning.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Anger, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye Language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Negative body language, Rejection body language.

Resources:

Brooks, C. I., Church, M. A., & Fraser, L. 1986. Effects of duration of eye contact on judgments of personality characteristics. Journal of Social Psychology. 126: 71–78

Barbato, Giuseppe ; De Padova, Vittoria ; Paolillo, Antonella Raffaella ; Arpaia, Laura ; Russo, Eleonora ; Ficca, Gianluca. Increased spontaneous eye blink rate following prolonged wakefulness. Physiology & Behavior. 2007. 90(1): 151-154.

Dawson, Michael E. ; Hazlett, Erin A. ; Filion, Diane L. ; Nuechterlein, Keith H. ; Schell, Anne M. Mineka, Susan (editor). Attention and Schizophrenia: Impaired Modulation of the Startle Reflex. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1993. 102(4): 633-641.

Drew, G. C. (1951). Variations in reflex blink-rate during visual motor tasks. Quaterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 73–88.

Davis 1978. Camera Eye-Contact by the Candidates in the Presidential Debates of 1976 Source: The journalism quarterly. 55 (3): 431 -437.

Ellsworth, Phoebe; Carlsmith, J Merrill. 1973. Eye contact and gaze aversion in an aggressive encounter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 28(2): 280-292.

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/

Gordon, A. K. and A. G. Miller. 2000. Perspective differences in the construal of lies: is deception in the eye of the beholder? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (1): 46-55.

Gilliam, Harold V. B.; Van Den Berg, Sjef. 1980. Different Levels of Eye Contact: Effects on Black and White College Students. Urban Education. 15 (1): 83-92.

Goldman. 1980. Effect of Eye Contact and Distance on the Verbal Reinforcement of Attitude. The Journal of social psychology 111(1): 73 -78.

Greene 1979. Title: Need-Fulfillment and Consistency Theory: Relationships Between Self-Esteem and Eye Contact. Source: Western journal of speech communication. 43(2): 123 -133.

Galin, D. and Ornstein, R., 1974. Individual Differences in Cognitive Style – Reflective Eye Movements; Neuropsychologia, 12: 376-397.

Goldstein, R., Bauer, L. O., & Stern, J. A. (1992). Effect of task difficulty and interstimulus interval on blink parameters. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 13, 111–118.

Holland, M. K., & Tarlow, G. (1972). Blinking and mental load. Psychological Reports, 31, 119–127.

Holland, M. K., & Tarlow, G. (1975). Blinking and thinking. Psychological Reports, 41, 403–406. READ

Huang, Zhinjin ; Stanford, Matthew S. ; Barratt, Ernest S.. Blink rate related to impulsiveness and task demands during performance of event-related potential tasks.
Personality and Individual Differences. 1994. 16(4): 645-648.

Hocking. 1985. Eye contact contrast effects in the employment interview. Communication research reports 2(1): 5-10.

Kinsbourne, M., 1972. Eye and Head Turning Indicates Cerebral Lateralization; Science, 179: 539-541.

Kocel, K., et al.,1972. Lateral Eye Movement and Cognitive Mode; Psychon Sci. 27: 223-224.

Knackstedt, G., & Kleinke, C. L. (1991). Eye contact, gender, and personality judgments. Journal of Social Psychology, 131: 303-304.

Konopacki 1987. Eye Movement Betrays a Prospect’s Inner Feelings Source: Marketing news 21(10): 4.

Karson, Craig N. ; Berman, Karen Faith ; Donnelly, Edward F. ; Mendelson, Wallace B. ; Kleinman, Joel E. ; Wyatt, Richard Jed. Speaking, thinking, and blinking Psychiatry Research. 1981. 5(3): 243-246.

Leal, Sharon ; Vrij, Aldert. Blinking During and After Lying. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2008. 32(4): 187-194.

Mobbs, N.A. 1968. Eye-contact in Relation to Social Introversion-Extraversion. British Journal of Social Clinical Psychology 7: 305-306.

Navarro, Joe. 2008. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Sitton, Sarah C; Griffin, Susan T. 1981. Detection of deception from clients’ eye contact patterns. Journal of Counseling Psychology. 28(3): 269-271.

Siegle, Greg J ; Ichikawa, Naho ; Steinhauer, Stuart. Blink before and after you think: blinks occur prior to and following cognitive load indexed by pupillary responses. Psychophysiology. 2008. 45(5): 679-87.

Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Microexpression, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Universal facial expressions

Body Language of The Disgusted Facial Expressions

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Disgusted Facial Expressions

Cue: Disgust Facial Expression

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: One of the six main universal facial expressions characterized by eyebrows that are turned inward, raised upper lip, winkled nose and a rise in cheek muscles.
Here, the lower eyelids rise and lines appear in the skin below them.

In One Sentence: Raising the upper lip in disgust signals a negative visceral reaction to a person, idea, or situation.

How To Use it: The disgust expression can be done quickly as a microexpression in order to convey detest for an idea or person. Disgust usually registers just below the conscious radar of the people seeing it. While brief, however, disgust can send a strong negative nonverbal message.

Conversely, the disgust expression can be held for a longer period of time to send a highly potent message that one is not on board with an idea, policy or even a person. One might use this in a negotiation to influence the offers presented. When viewed, others will see the need to ratify the offer to make it more palatable.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so turned off by what I’m seeing and hearing that my face is tightening and contracting due to a sickening discomfort.”

Variant: See Contempt Facial Expression, Scorn, Sneering.

Cue In Action: During an office meeting, Debbie, a long time employee would frequently sneer in disdain when the new girl would make particularly intelligent additions to the dialogue. Her jealousy was obvious.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Disgust is one of the six main universal facial expressions: happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger and disgust.

Disgust is a throwback expression to the visceral reaction to eating food that is particularly unpalatable. This is why we see the nose sneer. To replicate this facial expression, just imagine taking a deep breath of rotted flesh that has been plated for a meal!

When disgust is directed to a person with eye contact, its motivation is raw and rooted in deep anger. This person feels repulsed by the situation.

Cue Cluster: Usually coupled with a downward gaze to strengthen the cue and in extreme cases the head comes up making the disgust expression very powerful. If eye contact is added to the disgusted facial expression, it is a salient message that others will find difficult to ignore.

Body Language Category: Closed facial gestures, Dislike (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Microexpressions, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Universal facial expressions.

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.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/seriously-stop-touching-use-nonverbal-signaling-manage-unwanted-touching-busy-public-areas/

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

Carroll E. 1994. Innate and universal facial expressions: Evidence from developmental and cross-cultural research Izard, Psychological Bulletin. 115(2): 288-299.

Curtis, V., & Biran, A. (2001). Dirt, disgust, and disease: Is hygiene in our genes? Perspectives in biology and medicine, 44(1), 17–31.

Curtis V, Aunger R, Rabie T (2004) Evidence that disgust evolved to protect from risk of disease. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, Series B 271: S131–S133. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2003.0144. PubMed: 15252963.

Carroll JM, Russell JA (1996) Do facial expressions signal specific emotions? Judging emotion from the face in context. J Pers Soc Psychol 70: 205–218. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.70.2.205. PubMed: 8636880.

Daniel H. Lee, Reza Mirza, John G. Flanagan and Adam K. Anderson. Optical Origins of Opposing Facial Expression Actions. Psychological Science published online 24 January 2014 DOI: 10.1177/0956797613514451
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/eyes-and-facial-expressions-may-be-biologically-controlled-serve-a-real-non-emotional-purpose-says-research/

Ekman, P. & O’Sullivan, M. (1991). Who can catch a liar? American Psychologist. 46, 913-920.

Ekman, Paul. 1994. Strong evidence for universals in facial expressions: A reply to Russell’s mistaken critique Psychological Bulletin. 115(2): 268-287.

Ekman, Paul. 1986. A new pan-cultural facial expression of emotion. Source: Motivation and Emotion Ekman. 10(2): 159-168.

Ekman, Paul and Friesen, W. V. 1987. Universals and cultural differences in the judgments of facial expressions of emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 53(4): 712-717.

Ekman, Paul; Friesen, Wallace V. 1971. Constants across cultures in the face and emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 17(2): 124-129.

Ekman, Paul. 1972. Universals and cultural differences in facial expressions of emotion. In J. Cole (Ed.), Nebraska Symposium on Motivation, 1971. 19: 207-282. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press.

Fulcher, J. S. “Voluntary” facial expression in blind and seeing children. Archives of Psychology, 1942. 38: 272.

Gagnon, Mathieu ; Gosselin, Pierre ; Hudon-ven der Buhs, Isabelle ; Larocque, Karine ; Milliard, Karine. Children’s Recognition and Discrimination of Fear and Disgust Facial Expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2010. 34(1): 27-42.

Inbar, Y., & Pizarro, D. Disgust, politics, and responses to threat [commentary]. The Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2014. 37: 315-316.

Inbar, Y., Pizarro, D.A., Iyer, R., and Haidt, J. (2012). Disgust sensitivity, political conservatism, and voting. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2012. 3: 537-544.

Inbar, Y., Pizarro, D.A., and Bloom Disgusting smells cause decreased liking of gay men. Emotion. 2012. 12: 23-27.

Inbar, Y., Pizarro, D.A., & Bloom, P. Conservatives are more easily disgusted than liberals. Cognition and Emotion. 2009. 23, 714-725.

James A. Russell, Naoto Suzuki and Noriko Ishida. 1993. Canadian, Greek, and Japanese freely produced emotion labels for facial expressions. Motivation and Emotion. 17(4): 337 -351

McClure, Erin B 2000. A meta-analytic review of sex differences in facial expression processing and their development in infants, children, and adolescents
Psychological Bulletin. 126(3): 424-453.

Mead, M. 1975. Review of “Darwin and facial expression.” Journal of Communication, 25: 209-213.

Pizarro, D.A., Inbar, Y., and Helion, C.. On disgust and moral judgment. Emotion Revie2. 2011. 3: 267–268.

David Pizarro (video) talk about the possible evolution of the disgust facial expression: http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/evolution-politics-disgust-ted-talk-david-pizarro/

Russell, James A. 1995. Facial Expressions of Emotion: What Lies Beyond Minimal Universality? Psychological bulletin. 118(3): 379-391.

Russell, James A. 1994. Is There Universal Recognition of Emotion From Facial Expression? A Review of the Cross-Cultural Studies. Psychological Bulletin. 115(1): 102-141.

Schnall, S., Haidt, J., Clore, G. L., & Jordan, A. H. (2008). Disgust as embodied moral judgment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1096–1109. doi:10.1177/0146167208317771.

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

Wolf K, Mass R, Ingenbleek T, Kiefer F, Naber D et al. (2005) The facial pattern of disgust, appetence, excited joy and relaxed joy: an improved facial EMG study. Scand J Psychol 46: 403-409. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9450.2005.00471.x. PubMed: 16179022.

Zeinstra, Gertrude G.; M.A. Koelen; D. Colindres ; F.J. Kok; C de Graaf. Facial Expressions in School-Aged Children are a Good Indicator of ‘Dislikes’, but not of ‘Likes.’ Food Quality and Preference. 2009. 20: 620-624.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/read-kids-dislike-food-facial-expressions-accurate-detecting-dislike-not-like-children/

Anger body language, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Honest body language, Leaked or involuntary body language, Masked body language, Negative body language

Body Language of Compressed Lips or Stiff Upper Lip

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Compressed Lips or Stiff Upper Lip

Cue: Compressed Lips

Synonym(s): Tight Lips, Lip Compression, Disappearing Lips, Stiff Upper Lip, Inward Lip Roll, Lip Pursing, Lip Puckering, Pursed Lips, Puckering, Prune Lips.

Description: Done by pressing the lips together to the point where they begin to disappear.

In One Sentence: Lip compression is a negative thought indicator.

How To Use it: Compress the lips when you want others to know that you disapprove of them or their ideas but do not wish to speak out and say so verbally. Compressing the lips also shows others that you are anxious or stressed. By demonstrating this “honest cue” one can show others that you wish for them to change their tactic to better suit your stance.

Context: General

Verbal Translation: “I’m having a hard time with this and so I’m going to suck my lip in and consume it while I deal with negative thought or while I am in deep concentration.” “I’m biting back my words.” “I’m holding something back with my mouth by pressing my lips together so no negative thoughts escape which may get me into trouble.”

Variant: The jaw is often tensed coupled with compressed lips showing additional negative thoughts. Note that Compressed Lips (lips flattened) is related, but not the same as a Lip Pucker (lips pushed out).

Cue In Action: a) She really wanted to speak out about the eighteen year old would-be-wife but she maintained a stiff upper lip and kept quiet. b) He was really contemplating a thought, and wanted to speak-up, you could tell from his compressed lips, but instead he kept steady and quiet. c) She rarely held full, relaxed lips, she carried many negative thoughts around with her throughout the day.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A universal trait done to signify stress, anxiety, anger, frustration and an overall negative thought indicator. The lips are tightened to contain and stifle emotion or signal deep concentration and internal turmoil. It is opposite to full expressive lips that show contentment. The subconscious mind is essentially telling the body to close down and not let anything out – to bottle it up and withhold information or feelings.

Tight compressed lips happen honestly and immediately so reflect true stress sentiments revealing a troubled mind.

Alternatively, a tight lip indicates thought process when someone is indecisive. This can be particularly useful in business. Picture someone reading a document or contract aloud. Lip pursing will happen in real time as judgment arises. Other times, lip pursing is done to show outright disagreement. Usually the eyebrows will frown in unison with pursed lips. Lip pursing is a very reliable indicator of different thought processing, and it would be foolish to ignore it. Watch the lips for these quick flashes will tell you a lot about what is going on inside someone’s head. Tight lips can also form due to sexual arousal and sexual tension, but this comes across more as pursing with accompanying sexual clues.

Cue Cluster: Compressed lips are accompanied by other restraint postures such as hand to the back of the neck, hand clenching, eye contact avoidance, head turned away and ventral denial and jaw clenching.

Body Language Category: Anger, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Honest body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Leaked or involuntary body language, Masked body language, Negative body language.

Resources:

Arsenio, W. F., Cooperman, S., & Lover, A. Affective Predictors of Preschooler’s Aggression and Peer Acceptance: Direct and Indirect Effects. Developmental Psychology. 2000. 36: 438-448.

Berkowitz, L., & Harmon-Jones, E. (2004). Toward an understanding of the determinants of anger. Emotion, 4, 107-130.

Calvo, Manuel ; Fernández-Martín, Andrés. Can the eyes reveal a person’s emotions? Biasing role of the mouth expression. Motivation and Emotion. 2013. 37(1): 202-211.

Carvajal, Fernando ; Rubio, Sandra ; Serrano, Juan ; Ríos-Lago, Marcos ; Alvarez-Linera, Juan ; Pacheco, Lara ; Martín, Pilar. Is a neutral expression also a neutral stimulus? A study with functional magnetic resonance. Experimental Brain Research, 2013. 228(4): 467-479.

Chevalier-Skolnikoff, Suzanne (1973). “Facial Expression of Emotion in Nonhuman Primates.” In Paul Ekman, ed., Darwin and Facial Expression (New York: Academic Press), pp. 11-89.

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

Drummond, P. D. (1994). The effect of anger and pleasure on facial blood flow. Australian Journal of Psychology, 46, 95–99.

Ekman, P. & O’Sullivan, M. (1991). Who can catch a liar? American Psychologist. 46, 913-920.

Feldman, Robert S. ; Devin-Sheehan, Linda ; Allen, Vernon L. Nonverbal Cues as Indicators of Verbal Dissembling. American Educational Research Journal. 1978. 15(2): 217-231.

Guéguen, Nicolas. Does Red Lipstick Really Attract Men? An Evaluation in a Bar. International Journal of Psychological Studies. 2012. 4(2)

Giuseppe Blasi; Ahmad R. Hariri; Guilna Alce; Paolo Taurisano; Fabio Sambataro; Saumitra Das; Alessandro Bertolino; Daniel R. Weinberger and Venkata S. Mattay. Preferential Amygdala Reactivity to the Negative Assessment of Neutral Faces. 2009. 6(9): 847-853.

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

Kraft, Tara L ; Pressman, Sarah D. Grin and Bear It. Psychological Science. 2012. 23(11): 1372-1378.

Liu, Chao ; Ge, Yue ; Luo, Wen-bo ; Luo, Yue-jia. Show your teeth or not: The role of the mouth and eyes in smiles and its cross-cultural variations. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2010. 33(6): 450-452.

Matsumoto, David ; Hwang, Hyisung C. Desteno, David (editor). Judgments of Subtle Facial Expressions of Emotion. Emotion. 2014. 14(2): 349-357.

Navarro, Joe. 2008. What Every BODY is Saying: An Ex-FBI Agent’s Guide to Speed-Reading People. William Morrow Paperbacks.

Pell, Philip J. ; Richards, Anne. Cross-emotion facial expression aftereffects. Vision Research. 2011. 51(17): 1889-1896.

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/

Shah, Rebecca ; Lewis, Michael. Locating the neutral expression in the facial-emotion space. Visual Cognition. 2003. 10(5): 549-566.

Schnall, S., Haidt, J., Clore, G. L., & Jordan, A. H. (2008). Disgust as embodied moral judgment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34, 1096–1109. doi:10.1177/0146167208317771.

Tipples, Jason. Wide eyes and an open mouth enhance facial threat. Cognition & Emotion. 2007. 21(3): 535-557.

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*No Photo, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Greeting gesture, Hostile body language, Negative body language, Power play, Threat displays, Up nonverbals

Body Language of The Chin Jut and Chin Lift

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Chin Jut and Chin Lift

Cue: Chin Jut

Synonym(s): Chin Lift, Jutting The Chin, Lifting The Chin, Pushing The Chin Out.

Description: Pushing the chin out and up by slightly tilting the head backwards.

In One Sentence: Jutting the chin out and away from the body tells others that one is ready to confront rather than conform.

How To Use it: Use the signal to show your dominance and to intimidate others. In competition you can use the chin to taunt your opponent and tempt them into submission by demonstrating your pride and smugness. The cue can also be done during normal conversation to issue a challenge of another person’s authority. As the cue is subtle, it is often registered under conscious awareness, but the message will be received as an insult against another person and their position.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m sticking my chin out to say hello there, I see and acknowledge you.” b) “I’m sticking my chin out to tempt you into punching me and fighting me. It is a challenge as I’m not going to back down.”

Variant: See Chin Stroking, Chin Tuck, Head Lowered.

Cue In Action: a) When passing each other on their bikes, the two riders tilted their chins upward as an acknowledgement. b) It almost came to blows; he stuck his chin out, balled up his first and made threatening remarks.

Meaning and/or Motivation: When the gesture is not done as a greeting or acknowledgement gesture, jutting the chin out means smugness, confidence, pride and confrontation. It is a challenge display, almost like a dare to attack. Lifting the chin exposes the neck to attack but it also puts the chin on full exposure. During physical conflict, a quick jab to the chin often puts people unconscious because it compresses the nerve that runs behind the jaw. Just ask any professional boxer! Keeping the chin tucked, on the other hand, keeps it protected and reduces it as a target making it a submissive posture.

a) A greeting gesture done by quickly forcing the chin outward and returning it to its origin. It is done to acknowledge someone else without having to directly interact with them and done most often by dominant individuals. It signifies superiority, fearlessness and arrogance. b) This is a signal used to display pride, confidence and smugness because it exposes the vulnerable neck to attack. This can be a gesture done subtly as a slight protrusion of the lower jaw.

Cue Cluster: When the chin jut is used in conflict it is accompanied by other threatening language such as balled up fists, arms either lose at the side of the body taunting, or raised and batoning.

Body Language Category: Greeting gesture, Aggressive body language, Anger, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Hostile body language, Negative body language, Power play, Expansive movements, Threat displays, Up nonverbals.

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