Category: Distancing or moving away

*No Photo, Defensive body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Intention movements, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Social touching, Suspicious body language

Body Language of The Undershaker Handshake

by Chris • October 30, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Undershaker Handshake

Cue: Undershaker Handshake (The)

Synonym(s): Shortshaker Handshake (The)

Description: This handshake is so quick, it’s actually offensive. It lasts merely seconds where the hand is quickly grabbed then released or tossed aside. Sometimes it even lacks any pumping action at all.

In One Sentence: The undershaker is person who covets their own personal space and wants to keep their distance as much as possible.

How To Use it: When you dislike someone, you may try to keep physical contact brief to tell them that it makes you uncomfortable. A quick shake followed by moving backwards, eyes averted, says that you are not willing to interact with them or give them the time of day.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I don’t like what you are selling and I feel like you are trying to take advantage of me so I’m going to drop your hand as quickly as possible so I can get on with my own agenda.”

Variant: See Country Handshake (The), Cold Dead Wet Fish Handshake, Double Gripper Politician Handshake or Double Hander (The), Short Grabber/Finger Grabber Handshake, Oddball Handshake, Palm Up, Palm Down and Palm Even Handshakes, Stiff Arm And Thrust Forward Handshake, Death Grip Handshake, Wrench Forward Handshake, Undershaker Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake and Upper Arm Grip Handshake, Limp Fish Handshake, Teacup Handshake, Arm Twister Handshake (The), Firm handshake, Fist Bumping.

Cue In Action: The door-to-door salesman managed to make his way inside the house with a slick sales pitch, but the more the homeowner learned the more he disliked the idea. He didn’t know how to get out of the deal as he had already agreed to a sample. When finalizing, the salesman put his hand out to shake and being polite the homeowner did, but he released after just one pump and tossed the shady salesman’s hand aside abruptly.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Someone who shakes hands like this is showing indifference and suspicion.

It is common when someone feels that you are trying to sell them something they aren’t at all interested in buying, or trying to get them to do something they aren’t willing to do.

Other times they are trying to signal that you are intruding on their ground and that no agreement will be made. It’s probably best to respect their wishes, as their initial impression shows that you have come on far too strong.

Other times the undershaker is demonstrating his high need for personal space or lives in a location where physical contact isn’t normal.

Cue Cluster: Some who uses the undershaker handshake will give clues that he does not want to be there. He will turn his head and torso away, move his feet toward the door, will keep his head nods brief, if he nods at all, will take a step back and will only feign listening. This person wants to leave.

Body Language Category: Defensive, Dislike (nonverbal), Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Intention movements, Negative body language, Rejection body language, Suspicious body language, Social touching.

Resources:

Aström, J ; Thorell, L H ; Holmlund, U ; D’Elia, G. Handshaking, personality, and psychopathology in psychiatric patients, a reliability and correlational study. Perceptual and motor skills 1993, Vol.77(3 Pt 2): 1171-86.

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

Chaplin William F.; Phillips Jeffrey B; Brown Jonathan D.; Clanton Nancy R.; Stein Jennifer L.; 2000. Handshaking, gender, personality, and first impressions Journal of personality and social psychology. 79(1): 110-117.

Dolcos, Sanda ; Sung, Keen ; Argo, Jennifer J ; Flor-Henry, Sophie ; Dolcos, Florin. The power of a handshake: neural correlates of evaluative judgments in observed social interactions. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. 2012 24(12): 2292-305.

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

Fisher, J; Rytting, M and Heslin, R. 1976. Hands touching hands: affective and evaluative effects on interpersonal touch, Sociometry 39: 416–421.

Frumin, Idan; Ofer Perl; Yaara Endevelt-Shapira; Ami Eisen; Neetai Eshel; Iris Heller; Maya Shemesh; Aharon Ravia; Lee Sela; Anat Arzi and Noam Sobel. A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking. eLife 2015. 4:e05154
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05154.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/shake-hands-share-human-scent-curious-case-hand-sniffing-body-language/

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.

Gueguen, Nicolas. Handshaking and Compliance With a Request – A Door-to-door Setting. Social Behavior and Personality. 2013. 41(10): 1585-1588.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshakes-lead-compliance-study/

Greenbaum, Paul ; Rosenfeld, Howard. Varieties of touching in greetings: Sequential structure and sex-related differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1980. 5(1): 13-25.

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.

Hiemstra, Kathleen M. Shake My Hand: Making the Right First Impression in Business With Nonverbal Communications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included). Business Communication Quarterly. 1999. 62(4): 71.

Jeffrey D. Fisher; Marvin Rytting; Richard Heslin. 1976. Hands Touching Hands: Affective and Evaluative Effects of an Interpersonal Touch. Sociometry, 39(4): 416-421.
Okken, Vanessa ; Van Rompay, Thomas ; Pruyn, Ad. Room to Move: On Spatial Constraints and Self-Disclosure During Intimate Conversations. Environment and Behavior. 2013. 45(6): 737-760.

Lipsitz, Rebecca (2000). “A Gripping Start.” In Scientific American (September), p. 32.

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

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

Sanda Dolcos; Keen Sung; Jennifer J. Argo; Sophie Flor-Henry and Florin Dolcos. The Power of a Handshake: Neural Correlates of Evaluative Judgments in Observed Social Interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 24; 12: 2292–2305.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshake-open-body-language-powerful-nonverbal-effect-brain/

Stewart, Greg L. ; Dustin, Susan L. ; Barrick, Murray R. ; Darnold, Todd C. Zedeck, Sheldon (editor). Exploring the Handshake in Employment Interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2008. 93(5): 1139-1146.

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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.

Amplifier, Anger body language, Disapproval cues, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Distancing or moving away, Emotional body language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD)

Body Language of Touch Reduction

by Chris • October 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Touch Reduction

Cue: Touch Reduction.

Synonym(s): Reduced Touching.

Description: Touching between two people is either stopped abruptly or stopped gradually over time.

In One Sentence: Touch reduction indicates a difference of opinion or anxiety.

How To Use it: When you wish to send the signal that you disapprove, create space between you and the person you object to. This can easily be done through touch reduction, especially if it is done suddenly. Reducing touch is especially potent between couples and family members, as touching is usually much more frequent in these close associations. During a disagreement, pulling the hands inward and away from your partner tells them that you want them to change their stance on matters. Reducing or eliminating touching is the nonverbal signal for emotional withdrawal. Therefore, the signal is considered an honest marker for your thoughts and feelings.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: “I’m not in agreement with you. I’m putting up and maintaining space between the both of us serving to demonstrate nonverbally our differences of opinion.”

Variant: See Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal, Touching or Increase In Touching.

Cue In Action: a) Mom wanted her son to stop being so rambunctious, but he wouldn’t listen. Then the inevitable happened – he fell and skinned his knee. Ordinarily she would comfort him immediately, but she refused. She displayed her disapproval nonverbally. b) Instead of sitting tightly together on the same side of the sofa and snuggle as they usually would, the couple sat at opposite ends. They had a tiff and didn’t want to be close to one another.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It should be noted that ‘touch reduction’ is also a sudden change in ‘touch frequency.’ Couples have even been shown to draw away from each other when they are generally unhappy with their relationship.

Touch reduction is usually accompanied with stressful situations therefore signaling anxiety. We may see touch reduction during intense interrogation and may accompany compelling or damning information.

Closeness can also be useful when assessing someone because it will invoke distancing desires. When talking with a spouse or child, sit as close to them as you are accustomed to. Then take up serious matters. If someone is hiding something, they will usually push away or even stand up looking for ways to exit or change the subject. Holding the hand of a child can be particularly useful when discussing matters of dishonesty. If they wish to exit the discussion, they will try to tug their hand away [note: trying to withdraw is not a signal of culpability, but it is a signal of anxiety through a desire for distance].

Liars rarely touch others when they lie to them as this is a natural part of the fight or flight response. During intense interactions the subconscious mind does not respond well to intimacy caused by touching. This can prove helpful in intimate relationships, with family members or children since touching is a normal part of everyday life. Any form of touch reduction can signal that a person is at odds with another and that they might be hiding something.

If touch isn’t normal, for example, between strangers or acquaintances, then measuring touch reduction won’t be possible. In this case, look for distancing behaviours instead such as arm withdrawal or leaning away, especially in the torso, as these are also forms of distancing.

Cue Cluster: Touch reduction is usually accompanied by leaning away, ventral denial, head back or away, eyes averted, reduction in movement or freezing behaviour, reduction in verbal communication and so forth.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Anger body language, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Disapproval cues, Distancing or moving away, Emotional body language, Indicators of disinterest (IOD).

Resources:

Argo, J. J., Dahl, D. W., & Morales, A. C. (2006). Consumer contamination: How consumers react to products touched by others. Journal of Marketing, 70(April), 81–94.

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

Bailenson, J.N. & Yee, N. (in press). Virtual interpersonal touch: Haptic interaction and copresence in collaborative virtual environments. International Journal of Multimedia Tools and Applications.

Bohm. 1997. Effects of interpersonal touch, degree of justification, and sex of participant on compliance with a request. The Journal of social psychology. 137: 460-469.

Crusco, A. and C. Wetzel. 1984. The midas touch: the effects of interpersonal touch on restaurant tipping, Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 10: 512–517.

Dickinson, Amy. Block That Hug: The rules on touching children have changed for parents who volunteer as coaches or tutors.(Personal Time/Your Family)(Brief Article). Time. 2000. 155(14): 142.

Debrot, Anik ; Schoebi, Dominik ; Perrez, Meinrad ; Horn, Andrea B. Touch as an interpersonal emotion regulation process in couples’ daily lives: the mediating role of psychological intimacy. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2013. 9(10): 1373-85.

Derlega, Valerian ; Lewis, Robin ; Harrison, Scott ; Winstead, Barbara ; Costanza, Robert. Gender differences in the initiation and attribution of tactile intimacy. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1989. 13(2): 83-96.

Derlega, Valerian J. ; Catanzaro, Diane ; Lewis, Robin J. Lisak, David (editor). Perceptions About Tactile Intimacy in Same-Sex and Opposite-Sex Pairs Based on Research Participants’ Sexual Orientation. Psychology of Men & Masculinity, 2001, Vol.2(2), pp.124-132

Fisher, J; Rytting, M and Heslin, R. 1976. Hands touching hands: affective and evaluative effects on interpersonal touch, Sociometry 39: 416–421.

Feldman, R., Singer, M.,& Zagoory, O. (2010). Touch attenuates infants’ physiological reactivity to stress. Developmental Science, 13(2), 271–278.

Fromme, Donald ; Jaynes, William ; Taylor, Deborah ; Hanold, Elaine ; Daniell, Jennifer ; Rountree, J. ; Fromme, Marie. Nonverbal behavior and attitudes toward touch. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1989. 13(1): 3-14.

Floyd, Kory. All Touches are not Created Equal: Effects of Form and Duration on Observers’ Interpretations of an Embrace. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1999. 23(4): 283-299.

Guéguen, Nicolas. Nonverbal encouragement of participation in a course: the effect of touching Social Psychology of Education. 2004. 7: 89–98.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/a-touching-way-to-encourage/

Gueguen, Nicolas; Sebastien Meineri and Virginie Charles-Sire. Improving Medication Adherence by Using Practitioner Nonverbal Techniques: A Field Experiment on the Effect of Touch. Journal of Behavioral Medice. 2010. 33:466–473
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http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/touching-boosts-compliance-improving-medical-compliance-using-nonverbal-communication/

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Guéguen, N. (2001b). L’effet d’influence du toucher sur le comportement du consommateur: 2 illustrations expe´rimentales en exte´rieur. Direction et Gestion: La Revue des Sciences de Gestion. 2001(b). 190–191, 123–132.

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http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/touching-leads-compliance-study/

Guéguen, N. (2007). Courtship compliance: The effect of touch on women’s behavior. Social Influence, 2, 81-97.

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Body pointing, Disapproval cues, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Indicator of interest (IoI), Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Intention movements, Orienting reflex or orienting response, Ready posture, Rejection body language

Body Language of Toe Pointing or Pointed Toe

by Chris • October 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Toe Pointing or Pointed Toe

Cue: Toe Pointing or Pointed Toe.

Synonym(s): Pointed Toe, Foot Pointing, Feet Indicating, Feet Toward, Feet Away, Goodbye Feet, Honest Feet, Foot Pointing Language.

Description: When the feet point toward the direction they wish to travel.

In One Sentence: Toes are believed to subconsciously signal the direction in which people wish to travel, or in the direction in which they are thinking.

How To Use it: Foot pointing usually goes unnoticed, however, to show intimacy and focus, orient the entire body toward the person who you wish to express your undivided attention. This works well in business, dating, as well as other relationships. Showing others that they have your nonverbal attention is much more powerful than simply lending an ear or an eye. Despite the cue being out of usual awareness, it is quite likely that others will pick up on your cue and ascribe to you positive attributes. See Meaning and/or Motivation for more ideas about constructive uses for foot pointing.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: “My feet are honest and point in the direction I wish to travel.”

Variant: See Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal.

Cue In Action: a) In his excitement, he failed to realize that his buddy really needed to get going. His buddy’s head began to drag backwards, his torso faced away, and his feet were aimed away from him and toward his car. His body language really said that he needed to get going. b) He wasn’t interested and wanted to leave – his feet slowly inched toward the doorway rather than toward her. On the other hand, her feet were directly facing, and extended, in his direction. The affection was not mutual.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Feet are intension cues because they are the earliest indicators of where the mind wishes to go. Feet point to doorways when someone wants to leave and away from people they do not agree with. If feet are pointed away from you, it’s a strong indicator that a person wishes to be elsewhere.

It has been said that the feet are the most honest part of the body as it applies to the language they emit. Millions of years ago, we gave up quadrupedalism to walk upright, leaving our feet to the dirt. While our hands busied themselves with other complex tasks like fire building, making clothing, shelters and throwing spears, our legs were relegated to more primitive activities like locomotion.

The feet have always carried out more traditional tasks like escaping predators, avoiding hot sand or coals from a fire, leaping from slithering snakes or poisonous spiders, or navigating rough rocking river bottoms. The feet were therefore connected more to the reptilian brain that reacts to stimuli directly. The feet don’t contemplate higher order tasks that require planning.

Feet, therefore, make great predictors of behaviour. For example, we know that children are interested in play rather then eating when their legs bounce at the dinner table. Their feet bounce up and down as they quickly gobble their food so they don’t miss the action. Even if feet don’t fidget they will still point, or inch toward the door in effort to prepare for escape. Therefore, the feet of adults reveal true emotions by pointing away from boring conversations and towards things they find attractive or stimulating.

Cue Cluster: Usually the torso also tends to aim in the direction of desired travel, along with the head. Conversations will begin to dry up, agreement indicators either speed up to quicken the conversation or slow down if there is little more to say. Barriers like arm crossing or partial arm crossing will accompany the foot indication.

Body Language Category: Body pointing, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Disapproval cues, Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Indicator of interest (IoI), Intention movements, Orienting reflex or orienting response (a), Rejection body language, Ready language.

Resources:

Astrom, Jan. Introductory greeting behavior: a laboratory investigation of approaching and closing salutation phases. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1994. 79(2): 863(35).

Aiello, J. 1977. A further look at equilibrium theory. Visual interaction as a function of
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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.

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*No Photo, Defensive body language, Disengagement body language, Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Low confidence body language, Low confidence hand displays, Nonthreatening body language, Readiness to submit postures, Shy nonverbal, Social touching, Space invasion

Body Language of The Teacup Handshake

by Chris • October 29, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Teacup Handshake

Cue: Teacup Handshake (The)

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: In the teacup handshake, the palm is cupped such that it makes no contact with the other palm.

In One Sentence: The teacup handshake is an indication that one wants to preserve their distance.

How To Use it: This handshake is not advised as it is perceived in a negative light.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m not ready to fully bond with you which is why my palm isn’t going to touch yours fully. This is my way of protecting my intimacy from other people.”

Cue In Action: Dave noticed an attractive women was about to miss the elevator so he used his foot to keep the door open for her. She thanked him quietly. Dave commented about the weather and then put his hand out and introduced himself. She barely looked up at his eyes and shook his hand palm cupped. She was shy, but Dave was intrigued.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Someone that shakes hands like this is either shy or insecure, doesn’t want to fully bond or is trying to hide something.

These people might take more time to open up and fully reveal their true selves to others. Someone that uses the teacup handshake likely doesn’t want to shake hands at all, but is complying because it’s customary to do so. Take your time with them and give them lots space to open up and instead of bantering on endlessly give them an open platform to express themselves.

Cue Cluster: Expect someone to keep their distance, keep their bodies hunched up, be off to the side in quiet areas, use a soft voice and make infrequent eye contact.

Body Language Category: Defensive body language, Disengagement body language, Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Low confidence body language, Low confidence hand displays, Nonthreatening body language, Readiness to submit postures, Shy nonverbal, Space invasion, Social touching.

Resources:

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

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

Frumin, Idan; Ofer Perl; Yaara Endevelt-Shapira; Ami Eisen; Neetai Eshel; Iris Heller; Maya Shemesh; Aharon Ravia; Lee Sela; Anat Arzi and Noam Sobel. A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking. eLife 2015. 4:e05154
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/shake-hands-share-human-scent-curious-case-hand-sniffing-body-language/