Category: Fearful body language

Body Language of Sweating or Hyperhidrosis

Body Language of Sweating or Hyperhidrosis

No picCue: Sweating or Hyperhidrosis.

Synonym(s): Hyperhidrosis, Perspiration.

Description: The release of water from the body onto the skin through specialized glands located in the skin.

In One Sentence: Sweating is a universal signal of stress or of the body’s attempt to regulate a high temperature.

How To Use it: Sweating is not generally regarded as a positive cue – though it can be reflective of positive action and accepted, such as when exercising. In business and other general situations where exercise is not taking place, sweating is seen as a highly off-putting signal. In these cases, it should be carefully controlled through antiperspirants. In extreme cases, where a medical condition is experienced, one may consider treatment to eliminate sweat at its source.

In a dating context, sweating has been likened to a primitive animal condition and so it can, at times, create a positive impression. Late night infomercials and even photoshoots characterize the sweaty condition in both men and women to create arousal. In this condition, it shows a ‘hot and heavy’ disposition and likened to the passion and heat created through sex. A light glow on the skin and face with a water spray bottle or, in overt cases, baby oil, can make the skin glisten and shin and therefore create more sex appeal. When this is coupled with erotic body movements, it can produce additional moisture in more erogenous locations. Men and women can both use the allure of a glistening body to arouse.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m emotional and my body is releasing sweat due to the increase in stress.” b) “I’m suffering from a medical condition which forces my body to sweat independent of context or stress” c) “I’m lying which is causing my body to increase it’s metabolism resulting in a higher body temperature inducing sweating.” d) “I’m hot, so my body is producing sweat to cool me off.”

Variant: N/A.

Cue In Action: a) It was just about time to present and she was nervous. Her palms, armpits and lower back began to perspire profusely. b) He would sweat regardless of the outside temperature or his activity levels. His doctor diagnosed him with a condition known as hyperhidrosis c) The polygraph measured his skin conductivity which helped the specialist read him for honesty or lack thereof. d) The hockey player was drenched in sweat after playing an intense game.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Sweating is a limbic response due to high stress or anxiety. It usually occurs in the armpits, lower back, hands and often the forehead.

Humans sweat in response to external temperature increases but also due to emotional stress. In the case of emotional sweating, it is mostly restricted to the palms, soles of the feet and forehead. However, when we become emotionally aroused our metabolic rate revs-up and we burn more calories. This creates not just local sweating, but sweating throughout the body.

When people are under high social pressure they can be seen sweating voraciously under the armpits and down their backs. It can get so bad that it leaves visible stains.

An Indicator of light perspiration from stress includes scratching. As sweat builds, it causes clothing to chaff. It also produces a tingling sensation. This causes discomfort and forces people to deal with it. This produces more frequent scratching of the neck and palms.

While some experts purport that sweating can indicate lying, it’s actually a signal of frustration and heightened emotion in response to pressure, and that this pressure can stem from anything, not just lying. In fact, being “put on the spot” is often enough to create the conditions where sweating will take place. Sweating is an excellent cue indicating anxiety.

Sometimes the hands simply sweat continuously and uncontrollably from a medical condition called hyperhidrosis, which affects about five percent of the population.

Cue Cluster: To determine the meaning of sweating watch for associated cues. When someone sweats independent of outside cues you should assume it’s due to a medical condition. During a presentation, the context warrants a conclusion of emotional stress and discomfort. If there is a sudden change coupled with discomfort body language such as touching the neck, scratching the palms, shifting the torso away, pointing the toes away, eye avoidance, and so forth, one could rightfully assume that a person is suffering emotionally.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arousal, Autonomic signal, Emotional body language, Fearful body language, Nervous body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Allen, J.A., Armstrong, J.E. and Roddie, I.C. The regional distribution of emotional
sweating in man. J. Physiol. 235, 749–759 (1973).

Altman, R.S. and Schwartz, R.A. Emotionally induced hyperhidrosis. Cutis 69, 336–338
(2002).

Chalmers, T.M. and Keele, C.A. The nervous and chemical control of sweating. Br. J. Dermatol. 64, 43–54 (1952).

Drummond PD, Lance JW (1987) Facial flushing and sweating mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. Brain 110 (Pt 3): 793–803.

Eisenach, J.H., Atkinson, J.L. and Fealey, R.D. Hyperhidrosis: evolving therapies for a well-established phenomenon. Mayo Clin. Proc. 80, 657–666 (2005).

Early, Charles E. ; Kleinknecht, Ronald A. Maher, Brendan A. (editor). The Palmar Sweat Index as a function of repression–sensitization and fear of dentistry. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1978. 46(1): 184-185.

Gregson, Kim D ; Tu, Kelly M ; Erath, Stephen A. Sweating under pressure: skin conductance level reactivity moderates the association between peer victimization and externalizing behavior. Journal of child psychology and psychiatry, and allied disciplines. 2014 55(1): 22-30.

Gross, Katharina M ; Schote, Andrea B ; Schneider, Katja Kerstin ; Schulz, André. Elevated social stress levels and depressive symptoms in primary hyperhidrosis
Meyer, Jobst. PloS one. 2014 9(3): e92412

Harrison, J. The behaviour of the palmar sweat glands in stress Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 1964. 8(3): 187-191.

Köhler, Thomas ; Troester, Ulrich. Changes in the palmar sweat index during mental arithmetic. Biological Psychology. 1991. 32(2): 143-154.

Köhler, Thomas ; Schuschel, Irena. Changes in the number of active sweat glands (palmar sweat index, PSI) during a distressing film. Biological Psychology. 1994. 37(2):.133-145.

Krogstad, A. L. ; Mork, C. ; Piechnik, S. K. Daily pattern of sweating and response to stress and exercise in patients with palmar hyperhidrosis. British Journal of Dermatology. 2006. 154(6): 1118-1122.

Machado-Moreira, C.A. and Taylor, N.A. Psychological sweating from glabrous and
nonglabrous skin surfaces under thermoneutral conditions. Psychophysiology 49, 369–374 (2012).

Machado-Moreira, C.A. and Taylor, N.A. Sudomotor responses from glabrous and non-glabrous skin during cognitive and painful stimulations following passive heating. Acta Physiol. (Oxf) 204, 571–581 (2012).

MacKinnon, P.C.B. Hormonal control of the reaction of the palmar sweat index to emotional stress. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 1964. 8(3): 193-195.

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

Ogawa T (1975) Thermal influence on palmar sweating and mental influence on generalized sweating in man. Jpn. J. Physiol. 25(4): 525–536.

Ruchinskas RA, Narayan RK, Meagher RJ, Furukawa S (2002) The relationship of psychopathology and hyperhidrosis. Br. J. Dermatol. 147(4): 733–735.

Ruchinskas R (2007) Hyperhidrosis and anxiety: chicken or egg? Dermatology (Basel) 214(3): 195–196.

Schmidt-rose, T. ; Lehmbeck, F. ; Bürger, A. ; Windisch, B. ; Keyhani, R. ; Max, H. Efficient sweat reduction of three different antiperspirant application forms during stress-induced sweating. International Journal of Cosmetic Science. 2013 35(6): 622-631.

Sato, K. The physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry of the eccrine sweat gland. Rev. Physiol. Biochem. Pharmacol. 79, 51–131 (1977).

Wilke K, Martin A, Terstegen L, Biel SS (2007) A short history of sweat gland biology. Int J Cosmet Sci 29(3): 169–179.

Wilson, Thad E. Sweating the details: what really drives eccrine output during exercise-heat stress.(Report). Journal of Physiology. 2013. 591: 2777(1)

Body Language of Stiff Arm and Curved Arm

Body Language of Stiff Arm and Curved Arm

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Stiff Arm and Curved Arm 1Cue: Stiff Arm and Curved Arm

Synonym(s): Arm Out Posture, Arm Blocking

Description: a) happens by thrusting the arm forward and away from the body with the palm face vertical in a “stop” type signal. b) Done by thrusting the elbow outward facing down or horizontally.

In One Sentence: The stiff arm is a body language cue which signals the desire to maintain separation and space through the creation of a barrier.

How To Use it: Use the stiff arm in dating to show men or women that you don’t want to create intimacy. The arm raised is useful when we don’t want others to come any closer. Sports athletes habitually use the stiff arm to protect themselves from collisions. Football players, like any other person whom is being encroached upon, should use the stiff arm in order to avoid unwanted proximity.

Context: a) General b) Dating and General

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m going to show you my palm power by flashing it at you to get you to stop what you are doing right now.” b) “I don’t like you getting close to me so I’m going to preserve my space and stop you from entering my space.”

Variant: See other palm powerful gestures, like Palm Up Display or The Rogatory Posture and Palm Down Displays or Palm Power.

Cue In Action: a) The kids were acting up once again so Mary put her palm up and in a firm voice yelled “Stop it right now.” b) He awkwardly approached a girl in the elevator and she instinctively raised her arm, arm bent and put her forearm to her side to maintain space – the offer was not welcome.

Meaning and/or Motivation: a) A defensive arm distancing posture done in order to indicate to another person that they have overstepped boundaries and it’s time to stop. c) An arm distancing posture defensive in nature meant to reclaim and defend personal space.

Cue Cluster: a) Accompanied by leaning forward, head down and loud voice. b) Accompanied by head leaning back, wide eyes and grimacing or angry facial expression.

Body Language Category: Barriers, Closed body language, Authoritative body language, Defensive body language, Distancing or moving away, Escape movements, Fearful body language, Protective reflexes, Rejection body 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).

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

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

Cacioppo, J. T., Priester, J. R., & Berntson, G. G. (1993). Rudimentary determinants of attitudes: II. Arm flexion and extension have differential effects on attitudes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65, 5–17.

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

Everly, Jr., G. S. & Lating, J. M. (2002). A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

Freedman, Norbert ; Blass, Thomas ; Rifkin, Arthur ; Quitkin, Frederic Lanzetta, John T. (editor). Body movements and the verbal encoding of aggressive affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1973. 26(1): 72-85.

Fo¨rster, J. (2004). How body feedback influences consumer’s evaluation of products. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 14, 415–425.

Friedman, R. S., & Fo¨rster, J. (2000). The effects of approach and avoidance motor actions on the elements of creative insight. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 477–492.

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

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.

Gunderson, Virginia M. ; Lockard, Joan S. Human postural signals as intention movements to depart: African data. Animal Behaviour. 1980 28(3): 966-967.

Harrigan, Jinni ; Oxman, Thomas ; Rosenthal, Robert. Rapport expressed through nonverbal behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1985 9(2): 95-110.

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

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.

Laird, J. D., Wagener, J. J., Halal, M., & Szegda, M. (1982). Remembering what you feel: Effects of emotion on memory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42, 646–657.

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

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

Newman, Robert C. ; Pollack, Donald Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Proxemics in deviant adolescents. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1973 40(1): 6-8.

Neumann, R., & Strack, F. (2000). Approach and avoidance: The influence of proprioceptive and exteroceptive cues on encoding of affective information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79, 39–48.

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

Riskind, J. H., & Gotay, C. C. (1982). Physical posture: Could it have regulatory or feedback effects upon motivation and emotion? Motivation and Emotion, 6, 273–296.

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

Sartori, Luisa ; Becchio, Cristina ; Castiello, Umberto. Cues to Intention: The Role of Movement Information. Cognition. 2011. 119(2): 242-252.

Topel, Eva-Maria ; Lachmann, Frankm. Nonverbal Dialogues: Orienting and Looking Behaviors Between Aggressive and Violent Children and Adolescents and Their Therapist. Journal of Infant, Child, and Adolescent Psychotherapy. 2007. 6(4): 285-307.

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

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.

Body Language of Stealing A Look

Body Language of Stealing A Look

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Stealing A Look 1Cue: Stealing A Look

Synonym(s): Eye Darting, Darting Eyes.

Description: Stealing a look is a quick left or right dart of the eyes so as to avoid detection. The head normally remains motionless to reduce the changes of being noticed.

In One Sentence: Stealing a look indicates the desire to see someone or something, without others noticing.

How To Use it: To steal a look, use sunglass if possible. Keep your head oriented away from the target, and shift your eyes only, in their direction. If your target is a person, and they make eye contact with you, but you are wearing dark sunglasses, rest assured that your eyes are concealed. At this moment, you should avoid shifting the head away suddenly as this give you away.

Eyes can also steal looks without sunglasses in the same way but since the whites of the eyes are highly visible, you will run a greater risk of being discovered. Researchers believe that the whites of the eyes tell others where our eyes are looking because eye orientation is highly important as a signaling device in social contexts. Therefore, whenever you try to steal looks, be conscious of this.

Stealing looks shows others that you are interested in them but are timid about your curiosity. This comes across as suspicious behaviour and is not well received. Therefore, stealing looks is not a cue that should remain covert.

Context: a) Dating b) General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m curious and interested in what’s going on over there so my eyes dart without turning my head so I can evade detection.”

Variant: The eyes can dart when seeking exits when in undesirable circumstances, when nervous, excited, or even when thinking. See Looking Askance for an eye cue that signifies contempt.

Cue In Action: a) He was attracted to the girl in the subway, but didn’t want to make her feel awkward. He kept darting his eyes in her direction without moving his head. b) He kept glancing quickly over his shoulder at the angry girl. When she looked up, he quickly snapped his head back and continued the conversation with his buddy. He didn’t like her and certainly didn’t want her to know that he had noticed she was there, lest she come over and confront him.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Both sexes do it to check out a sexual prospect, a rival while at the same time remain safe from detection. When someone evades detection it is because they are not prepared to pick a battle or are merely collecting information about what is going on. This type of eye pattern is seen as cowardly and an indication of low confidence.

The eyes may also dart looking for ways to exit a particular situation without doing so overtly. This case may arise when someone is in an awkward conversation. Eyes may also dart due to fear. People generally associate darting eyes with lying, but research shows a poor correlation.

Darting eyes are considered be negative body language.

Cue Cluster: Watch for darting eyes that don’t want to be caught looking. The shoulders often remain lowered; there will be no gazing or smiling and no facial expression.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Escape movements, Eye Language, Fearful body language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Intention movements, Low confidence body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Microgestures, Nervous body language, Negative body language, Suspicious body language.

Resources:

Argyle, Michael; Lefebvre, Luc; Cook, Mark 1974. The meaning of five patterns of gaze. European Journal of Social Psychology. 4(2): 125-136.

Argyle, M., and Ingham, R. 1972. Gaze, mutual gaze, and proximity. Semiotica, 1, 32–49.

Argyle, M. and Cook, M. Gaze and Mutual Gaze. London: Cambridge University Press, 1976.

Allan Mazur; Eugene Rosa; Mark Faupel; Joshua Heller; Russell Leen; Blake Thurman. Physiological Aspects of Communication Via Mutual Gaze. The American Journal of Sociology. 1980; 86(1): 50-74.

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.

Breed, G., Christiansen, E., & Larson, D. 1972. Effect of lecturer’s gaze direction upon
teaching effectiveness. Catalog of Selected Documents in Psychology, 2: 115.

Baltazar M; Hazem N; Vilarem E; Beaucousin V; Picq JL, and Conty L. Eye Contact Elicits Bodily Self-Awareness in Human Adults. Cognition. 2014. 133 (1): 120-7 PMID: 25014360.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/eye-contact-makes-us-uncomfortable-curious-case-stare-rape/

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.

Foddy, Margaret 1978. Patterns of Gaze in Cooperative and Competitive Negotiation
Human Relations. 31(11):925-938.

Kellerman. 1989. Looking and loving: The effects of mutual gaze on feelings of romantic love. Journal of Research in Personality. 23(2): 145-161.

Kendon, A. Some Functions of Gaze Direction in Social Interaction. Acta Psychologica. 1967. 32: 1-25.

Kleinke, C. L. 1980. Interaction between gaze and legitimacy of request on compliance in a field setting. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 5(1): 3-12.

Leeb. 2004. Here’s Looking at You, Kid! A Longitudinal Study of Perceived Gender Differences in Mutual Gaze Behavior in Young Infants Source: Sex Roles. 50(1-2): 1-14.

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.

McAndrew. 1986. Arousal seeking and the maintenance of mutual gaze in same and mixed sex dyads Source: Journal of nonverbal behavior. 10(3):168-172.

Mulac, A., Studley, L., Wiemann, J., & Bradac, J. 1987. Male/female gaze in same-sex
and mixed-sex dyads. Human Communication Research. 13: 323-343.

Moore, Monica. Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Journal of Sex Research. 1995. 32(4): 319-328.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/girls-just-want-to-have-fun-the-origins-of-courtship-cues-in-girls-and-women/

Natale, Michael. 1976. A Markovian model of adult gaze behavior. Journal of Psycholinguistic Research. 5(1): 53-63.

Phelps, F., Doherty-Sneddon, G., & Warnock Educational Psychology., 27, 91-107. (2006). Functional benefits of children’s gaze aversion during questioning. British Journal Developmental Psychology. 24: 577-588.

Rosenfeld, H., Breck, B., Smith, S., & Kehoe, S. 1984. Intimacy-mediators of the proximity-gaze compensation effect: Movement, conversational role, acquaintance, and gender. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 8: 235-249.

Strongman, K. T., & Champness, B. G. Dominance hierarchies and conflict in eye contact. Acta Psychologica, 1968, 2& 376-386.

Williams. 1993. Effects of Mutual Gaze and Touch on Attraction, Mood, and Cardiovascular Reactivity Source: Journal of Research in Personality. 27(2): 170-183.

Surviving Secondary: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/secondary-screening/WikiLeaks_CIA_Assessment_on_Surviving_Secondary_Screening.pdf
Infiltrating Schengen: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/infiltrating-schengen/WikiLeaks_CIA_Advice_for_Operatives_Infiltrating_Schengen.pdf

Body Language of Speech Hesitation

Body Language of Speech Hesitation

No picCue: Speech Hesitation.

Synonym(s): Stuttering, Silent Pauses, Filled Pauses, Delayed Responses.

Description: During speech hesitation a person will usually use filler words such as “hmms” and “ahhs” or “like” that do not offer any use besides filling gaps in speech. Other times, no words are uttered, but there is a noticeable gap in dialogue that is often awkward.

In One Sentence: Speech hesitation is a sign of nervousness.

How To Use it: Speech hesitation, aside from purposefully pausing during a speech does not have a positive application. Its use should therefore be avoided.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m stuttering because I have a speech related pathology. I don’t have any issue at all, but my speech hesitation makes me look nervous and awkward.” b) “I’m hesitating in my speech because I’m carefully selecting my words as I fabricate a lie.” c) “I’m nervous and awkward and I can’t think straight which is causing me to lose my words and cloud my thinking.” d) “I’m pausing because I don’t really know what I’m talking about and I need to buy myself some time to think.”

Variant: N/A.

Cue In Action: a) Bill has always stuttered and should really consult with a speech pathologist to get some help – people really think he has low self-confidence. b) Bill was caught in a lie, but rather than trip on his words, he began to “umm” and “aww” – it was clear that he was fabricating a lie. c) Bill was put on the spot and didn’t know what to say. He wasn’t lying, he just felt awkward retelling his story in front of everyone. d) During the oral exam, Bill slowed noticeably when he reached the questions about the essay – it was clear he hadn’t studied for that element.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Speech hesitation is read by others as a lack of self-confidence because it makes the speaker appear to be at a loss for words. It is also often correlated to lying although it only truly makes its appearance under extreme situations. Only when lies get very complicated do we see effects such as stuttering, pauses, speech errors or corrections. At times, speech hesitation is due to stuttering and is a medical and speech related pathology.

Other times speech hesitation is actually due to nervousness that causes a person to lose the ability to think clearly and coherently. We can verify this cue by establishing a baseline. That is, if a person suddenly begins to stutter or show speech hesitation we can rightly attribute it to the context and conclude that new emotions have arisen causing the person to lose their ability to speak smoothly. Pauses can also sometimes indicate that a person doesn’t really know what they are talking about or that they are taking their time to carefully select their words.

Although the cue itself might outline nervousness or lack of confidence in some cases, it’s actually a poor indicator in and of itself. Rather, it is the stigma surrounding speech pauses that creates a negative impression instead of it being an indicator in and of itself. In other words, if one stutters, one is perceived by others to have low confidence. This is what makes the awareness of the speech pauses much more important if we wish to appear confident and competent in front of others.

Cue Cluster: To have a true meaning as a negative cue indicating nervousness or awkwardness, we should look for other cues in cluster. These include higher pitch, faster and louder speech, speech errors, blushing of the face, neck or ears, an increase in blink rate, fidgeting, dilation of the pupils or sweating, fidgeting, appearing unfriendly or tense, facial fidgeting, shaking, postural shifts or uncomfortable/reserved postures, twitches, shrugs, head movements, playing with objects, sneering, scowling, frowning, smiling, biting the lower lip, pressing the lips together, wrinkling of the nose, increase in perspiration, blushing or turning pale, and increases in swallowing.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arousal, Audible signals, Fearful body language, Low confidence body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Regulators, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Alm, Per A.. Stuttering, Emotions, and Heart Rate during Anticipatory Anxiety: A Critical Review. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 2004. 29(2): 123-133.

Ardila, Alfredo ; Bateman, JoséRicardo ; Niño, Carmen Rosa ; Pulido, Elizabeth ; Rivera, Dora Beatriz ; Vanegas, Claudia Janeth. An epidemiologic study of stuttering. Journal of Communication Disorders. 1994. 27(1): 37-48.

Alibali, M.W., Heath, D.C., and Myers,H.J. (2001). Effects of visibility between speaker and listener on gesture production: Some gestures are meant to be seen. Journal of Memory and Language, 44, 169–188.

Butler, Clare. Identity and stammering: negotiating hesitation, side‐stepping repetition, and sometimes avoiding deviation. Sociology of Health & Illness. 2013. 35(7): 1113-1127.

Collard, Philip ; Corley, Martin ; Macgregor, Lucy J. ; Donaldson, David I. Attention Orienting Effects of Hesitations in Speech: Evidence from ERPs. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition. 2008. 34(3): 696-702.

Friedman, Ernest H. Speech hesitation pauses as a measure of neuronal activity. Archives of internal medicine. 2002. 162(19): 2251.

Guntupalli, Vijaya K. ; Kalinowski, Joseph ; Saltuklaroglu, Tim. The need for self-report data in the assessment of stuttering therapy efficacy: repetitions and prolongations of speech. The stuttering syndrome. International Journal of Language & Communication Disorders. 2006. 41(1): 1-18.

Howell, Richardw. ; Vetter, Haroldj. Hesitation in the Production of Speech. The Journal of General Psychology. 1969. 81(2): 261-276.

Koppensteiner, Markus ; Grammer, Karl. Body movements of male and female speakers and their influence on perceptions of personality. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011. 51(6): 743-747.

Lukashevich, I. P. ; Machinskaya, R. I. ; Shklovskii, V. M. ; Venikova, G. P. ; Danilov, A. V. ; Ziborova, E. V. ; Fridman, T. V. Features of Autonomic Regulation and the Character of Convulsions in Stammering Children. Human Physiology. 2004. 30(4): 418(3).

Logan, Kenneth J. ; Mullins, Melody Saunders ; Jones, Kelly M. The Depiction of Stuttering in Contemporary Juvenile Fiction: Implications for Clinical Practice. Psychology in the Schools. 2008. 45(7): 609-626.

Resnick, Heidi S. ; Oltmanns, Thomas F. Buchwald, Alexander M. (editor). Hesitation patterns in the speech of thought-disordered schizophrenic and manic patients. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1984. 93(1): 80-86.

Silverman, Ellen-Marie. Speech—Language clinicians’ and university students’ impressions of women and girls who stutter. Journal of Fluency Disorders. 1982. 7(4): 469-478.

St. Louis, Kenneth O. Male versus female attitudes toward stuttering. Journal of Communication Disorders. 2012. 45(3): 246-253.

Sturman, Edward D. Invluntary Subordination and Its Relation to Personality, Mood,
and Submissive Behavior. Psychological Assessment. 2011. 23(1): 262-276 DOI: 10.1037/a0021499
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-submission-men-women-depression-critical-examination-use-disuse-submission/

Body Language of Smiling

Body Language of Smiling

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Polite Smile (the) 1 BodyLanguageProjectCom - Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile 1 BodyLanguageProjectCom - Friendly Smile 1 Cue: Smiling.

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: The lips are stretched toward the ears and curled upwards in a u-shape.

In One Sentence: Smiling is a sign of submission and happiness.

How To Use it: Various smiles create various impressions in others. A smile should suit the context as well as your desired end goal. See Variant for the types of smiles and their associated use. However, understand that generally speaking, the smile is a universally signal of submission and appeasement.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: “I’m stretching my lips out and upward in a u-shape because I’m happy, fearful, or stressed.”

Variant: See Smiling, Fear Smile, Friendly Smile, Frown (the) or Downturned Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Jaw Drop Smile, Nervous Smile, Polite Smile (the), Uneven Smile Or Lopsided Smile, Upper Lip Smile, Artificial Smile or Fake Smile, Nervous Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Contempt Facial Expression.

Cue In Action: a) Two strangers passed on the street, smile at each other to show that they acknowledge each other, and continued on their way. b) She had a big grin on her face each time she saw her new boyfriend. He made her feel special.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Many biologists think smiles have roots as a fearful gesture, as a sort of “fear grin.” Today though, human smiles are a universally submissive gesture but they can also symbolize pleasure, amusement, aggression, or anxiety (grimace). These other emotions never truly supersede the most common purpose of the smile, which is to show submission.

Smiles are controlled by two sets of muscles: the zygomatic major muscles, that run down the side of the face to connect to the corners of the mouth and the orbicularis oculi muscles that pull the eyes back.

Smiles are our way we to show that we are non-threatening and wish to maintain peace. Those that lack smiles altogether or who smile infrequently are much more dominant and want to be seen as such. Today smiles usually indicate happiness, but they can also be present during fear and stress.

Smiling frequently can sometimes be sexual, but accompanying signals, coupled with the proper context, must be assessed to create certainty. Women will smile for a great variety of reasons and will smile regularly to appease men for no other reason besides habit. Smiling is a natural part of being a woman and while smiling alone is submissive, it doesn’t necessarily indicate sexual interest. Accompanying signals must adjoin smiling for it to be a true sexual signal. However, smiles due tend to appear most from happiness, and as a result of genuine feelings of optimism. They also indicate confidence and hopefulness. Smiling has also even been shown to be infectious.

Cue Cluster: a) Smiling can be a stand-alone signal of appeasement or submission i.e. that a person is no threat which requires no additional cues. b) If smiling is done over a shoulder, with pouting lips and partly closed eyes, as in the sideways glance, it should be taken as a sexual cue, but absent, should be construed only as a regular appeasement gesture and nothing more.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Appease, Courtship displays, Fearful body language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Nonthreatening body language, Readiness to submit postures, Stressful body language, Submissive body language.

Resources:

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Body Language of Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise

Body Language of Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise 3Cue: Shoulder Shrugs or Shoulder Rise.

Synonym(s): Shrugs, Ducking, Hunched Shoulders, Turtling, Head Ducking.

Description: The shoulder shrug posture happens as the head seems to sink inside the shoulders, however, what is really happening is that the shoulders are slowly being raised so the neck disappears taking the head with it. It is as if the head is being swallowed by the shoulders. Shrugs can appear as micro-movements barely perceivable or as full on shrugs where the shoulders nearly touch the ears.

In One Sentence: Shoulder shrugs indicate lack of knowledge and ultimately submission.

How To Use it: Shrug the shoulders when you don’t know the answer to a problem or you wish to show submission. Shoulder shrugs can be used to show others that you accept defeat when it is coupled with a lowered head. Therefore, you may consider using it when pleading for forgiveness.

In dating, women can use the shoulder shrug to take on a smaller profile in order to create the impression of submissiveness and therefore elicit a protective and caring partner. Children and men can also do the same. When submission occurs, it produces a sympathetic response when it is seen by an empathetic viewer.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “My shoulders raise for a nano-second showing that I don’t know the answer.” b) “My head pulls down to my shoulders, palms up as a shield, eyebrows raised with my head tilted shows that I’m drawing inward and don’t want to get involved – so leave me out of this.” c) “I’m sorry I don’t know the answer and I’m shrugging to show others that I’m not a threat and wish not to provoke. In other words, I’m sorry I don’t know, but please go easy on me. I’m not a target, I’m submissive.”

Variant: Shrugs contain key elements such as hunched shoulders where the shoulders are raised and lowered, hands twisted into the palms up position (one or both hands), lowered mouth corners (while hands and head remain still), raised eyebrows (which shows astonishment, indifference, and bewilderment). Each variant, independent of one another, can carry the meaning of the shrug.

See Uneven Shoulder Shrugs and Palm Up Displays or The Rogatory Posture.

Cue In Action: a) The teacher called on Dave but he didn’t know the answer because he hadn’t read the report. His shoulders flinched upward, barely raising, as he froze like a deer in the headlights. b) There was a mess in the staff room and the boss had made a point of rounding up the culprits to get the job done. She invited them to step forward, but in unison the staff raised their shoulders as if they were not to blame and didn’t want to help fix the mess. c) After cussing her out without giving her time to explain, he felt it was his duty to offer a box of treats and flowers. He lowered his head, turned his palms up and shrugged his shoulders. He didn’t need to say anything. She understood he felt sorry for what he had done.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A universal expression of doubt and uncertainty. Shoulder shrugs can signify apology, disbelief, ignorance, indifference (lack of interest), helplessness, resignation, discomfort, low self-confidence, insecurity, weakness or powerlessness and shame. Many negative emotions are expressed through shoulder shrugs.

A shrug can also mean that you don’t know the answer, that you don’t want to get involved, or imply submissive apology.

Shoulder shrugs in a business context are usually found when someone is centered out on their poor performance. The origin of the “head turtle” is to protect it from harm. For example, when people hear a very loud bang, they will quickly pull their heads inward and down, and tuck in their chins. However, when it is done out of shame, it happens more slowly and deliberately so as to draw even less attention.

Shrugging is also done when people want to appear less significant so they go overlooked and are ignored rather than called on. In business, the head duck will occur when subordinates meet with superiors as they try to stand out less and look less significant or when employees wish to be overlooked during status reports at a boardroom meeting. It might also happen in class when the professor is calling on students who don’t have the answers, or when athletes have to walk back in shame to their dressing rooms after losing an important match.

The shoulders hunching up with palms up indicate a desire to hold a more narrow and protective posture hence it is submissive like a turtle going up in its shell.

The shoulder shrug can also appear in a dating situation where women appear meek and submissive. Shrugging is a childlike posture and happens when a woman let’s her guard down. It is often subtle and occurs subconsciously as a small raise of the shoulders and sometimes is accompanied by an eyebrow flash. Other times it is more pronounced and the head lowers or bows in unison. In this case, the shrug may be held for some time.

Cue Cluster: Shrugs often appear coupled with cowering, eyebrows lifted, palms up, head lowered, head bowed, eyes cast upward and widened, frowning or downturned smiles.

Body Language Category: Appease, Courtship displays, Closed body language, Defensive, Disengagement body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Escape movements, Fearful body language, Intention movements, Nonthreatening body language, Palm power, Protective reflexes, Readiness to submit postures, Submissive body language, Universal gestures.

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Rule, Nicholas, O.; Reginald B. Adams Jr.; Nalini Ambady and Jonathan B. Freeman. Perceptions Of Dominance Following Glimpses Of Faces And Bodies. Perception. 2012; 41: 687-706 doi:10.1068/p7023
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Sturman, Edward D. Invluntary Subordination and Its Relation to Personality, Mood,
and Submissive Behavior. Psychological Assessment. 2011. 23(1): 262-276 DOI: 10.1037/a0021499
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-submission-men-women-depression-critical-examination-use-disuse-submission/

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.

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

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/

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

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.

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.

Welker, Keith M. ; Oberleitner, David E. ; Cain, Samantha ; Carré, Justin M. Upright and left out: Posture moderates the effects of social exclusion on mood and threats to basic needs. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2013 43(5): 355-361

Body Language of Rapid Speech

Body Language of Rapid Speech

No picCue: Rapid Speech.

Synonym(s): Fast Talking, Speed Talking.

Description: A voice trait when the rate of speaking occurs at an above average rate. It makes understanding what is being said difficult to follow.

In One Sentence: Rapid speech is a sign of excitement, nervousness, and generally, a heightened emotional state.

How To Use it: Rapid speech is generally not viewed as a positive nonverbal signal. However, it will show others that you are in good spirits when done in the right contexts. Amongst friends for example, rapid speech can show giddiness and therefore a zest for life. In front of a large audience, however, a slower more controlled rate of speech is considered more appropriate.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m talking fast and it might be due to any number of reasons, none of which will be viewed particularly positively. I could be nervous, excited, insecure, anxious, scared, angry or have low self esteem,”

Variant: See Slow Speech or Talking Slowly.

Cue In Action: Her giddiness to present her case made her ramble. Her sentences ran-on and her argument became impossible to decipher. After just a few minutes the audience discounted her completely and sided with the more clam and rational presenter.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Talking fast can be due to lying (fast talking salesman), a reaction to growing up in a house where it was hard to get a word in, a basic insecurity, poor self-esteem, efforts to gain attention, nervousness, impatience, anxiety, insecurity, excitement, fear, drugs or alcohol use, anger, desire to persuade or being caught in a lie.

Visual learners are habitually fast talkers as they race to keep up with the images that they are seeing in their mind.

Cue Cluster: Fast talking is usually accompanied by erratic gesticulation and body movements, pacing and face touching,

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arousal, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Emotional body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited, Fearful body language, Low confidence body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Arduino, P. J., & Gould, J. L. (1984). Is tonic immobility adaptive? Animal Behavior, 32, 921–923.

Bracha, H. S. (2004). Freeze, flight, fight, fright, faint: Adaptionist perspectives on the acute stress response spectrum. CNS Spectrums, 9, 679–685.

Berridge CW,Mitton E, ClarkW, Roth RH. 1999. Engagement in a non-escape (displacement) behavior elicits a selective and lateralized suppression of frontal cortical dopaminergic utilization in stress. Synapse 32:187–197.

Buller, David, B. ; Aune, R. Kelly. The effects of speech rate similarity on compliance: Application of communication accommodation theory. Western Journal of Communication. 1992. 56(1): 37-53.

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

Everly, Jr., G. S. & Lating, J. M. (2002). A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

Fyer, M. R., Uy, J., Martinez, J., & Goetz, R. (1987). CO2 challenge of patients with panic disorder. American Journal of Psychiatry, 144, 1080–1082.

Jacob, Heike ; Kreifelts, Benjamin ; Brück, Carolin ; Erb, Michael ; Hösl, Franziska ; Wildgruber, Dirk. Cerebral integration of verbal and nonverbal emotional cues: Impact of individual nonverbal dominance. NeuroImage. 2012. 61(3): 738-747.

Koppensteiner, Markus ; Grammer, Karl. Body movements of male and female speakers and their influence on perceptions of personality. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011. 51(6): 743-747.

Koppensteiner, Markus ; Stephan, Pia ; Jäschke, Johannes Paul Michael. From body motion to cheers: Speakers’ body movements as predictors of applause. Personality and Individual Differences. 2015. 74: 182-185.

Kalin, N. H., Shelton, S. E., Rickman, M., & Davidson, R. J. (1998). Individual differences in freezing and cortisol in infant and mother rhesus monkeys. Behavioral Neuroscience, 112, 251–254.

Morgan, N. The kinesthetic speaker. Putting action into words. Harvard business review 2001. 79(4): 112-20, 169.

Redwine, Laura ; Jenkins, Frank ; Baum, Andrew. Relation between beta-adrenergic receptor density and lymphocyte proliferation associated with acute stress. International Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1996. 3(4): 337-353.

Porter, S., & ten Brinke, L. (2010). The truth about lies: What works in detecting high-stakes deception? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15(1), 57.

Reiss, S., Peterson, R. A., Gursky, D. M., &McNally, R. J. (1986). Anxiety sensitivity, anxiety frequency, and the prediction of fearfulness. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 24, 1–8.

Schmidt, N. B., Miller, J., Lerew, D. R., Woolaway-Bickel, K., & Fitzpatrick, K. (2002). Imaginal provocation of panic in patients with panic disorder. Behavior Therapy, 33, 149–162.

Simonds, Brentk. ; Meyer, Kevinr. ; Quinlan, Margaretm. ; Hunt, Stephenk. Effects of Instructor Speech Rate on Student Affective Learning, Recall, and Perceptions of Nonverbal Immediacy, Credibility, and Clarity. Communication Research Reports. 2006. 23(3): 187-197.

Takeharuseno ; Takeharuseno ; Takeharuseno ; Keikoihaya ; Yukiyamada. I speak fast when I move fast: The speed of illusory self-motion (vection) modulates the speed of utterance. Frontiers in Psychology. 2013.

Townsend, Howardw. Factors of influence in radio speech. Quarterly Journal of Speech. 1944. 30(2): 187-190.

Vrij, A., Edward, K., Roberts, K., & Bull, R. (2000) Detecting deceit via analysis of verbal and nonverbal behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 24(4).

Vrij, A., Harden, E, Terry, J., Edward, K., & Bull, R. (2000). The influence of personal characteristics, stakes and lie complexity on the accuracy and confidence to detect deceit, in R. Roesch, R.R. Corrado, & R. J. Dempster (Eds.), Psychology in the courts: International advances in knowledge. Amsterdam: Harwood Academic.

Body Language of the Nervous Smile

Body Language of the Nervous Smile

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Nervous Smile 1Cue: Nervous Smile

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A fleeting smile that quickly shows and disappears, the eyes are tensed and darting and the lips may quiver in fear. Other times the smile is long-lasting – more than ordinary.

In One Sentence: A smile that flashes suddenly and then disappears signals nervousness.

How To Use it: It is usually not advised to demonstrate nervousness when one wishes to present as confident and in control. However, a nervously flashes smile can tell others that you are pushing your limits and are struggling emotionally. If a sympathetic viewer catches on to your body language, they may work to help resolve your negative emotions. This is why it’s important to use body language accurately, rather than suppress it. A person seeing a nervous smile, such as before a presentation, in a friend, should be motivated to offer a hug, pat on the back and words of encouragement. Therefore, a nervous smile can be used to attract sympathy, care, and encouragement.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: I’m scared and feel awkward but I’m going to smile and try to put on a good face to mask my unpleasant feelings.

Variant: A nervous smile often appears like a smirk but they are not to be confused. The smirk has accompanying dominant body language such as head back, shoulders back, open postures along with dialogue riddle with exuberant pride. The smirk will happen too when someone is under direct verbal attack. It’s the sort of face that makes you want to say “Wipe that grin off your face”. Sometimes though, the smirk is due to the stress of being put under fire and isn’t always an attempt at questioning authority.

See Smiling, Fear Smile, Friendly Smile, Frown (the) or Downturned Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Jaw Drop Smile, Nervous Smile, Polite Smile (the), Uneven Smile Or Lopsided Smile, Upper Lip Smile, Artificial Smile or Fake Smile, Nervous Smile, Honest Smile or Duchenne Smile, Contempt Facial Expression.

Cue In Action: She was about to give her big presentation, her eyes seemed as though she was a deer in the headlights. The edges of her mouth curled upwards trying to mask her fear.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The nervous smile indicates that a degree of fear or awkward feelings are present, but that a person feels the need to put on a positive face to avoid drawing attention to themselves.

Cue Cluster: A nervous smile is usually accompanied by fidgeting, pale or blushing face, sweating, shortness of breath, voice cracking or inability to speak fluently, tucking the hands in pockets, turning the body away and lowering the head.

Body Language Category: Doubt or disbelief body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Fearful body language, Low confidence body language, Microexpressions, Nervous body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Abel, Ernest L. and Michael L. Kruger. Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity. Psychological Science. 2010. 21(4): 542-544.
Seder, J. Patrick and Shigehiro Oishi. Intensity of Smiling in Facebook Photos Predicts Future Life Satisfaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2012. 3(4): 407-413.
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Colonnesi, Cristina; Susan M. Bogels; Wieke de Vente and Mirjana Majdandzic. What Coy Smiles Say About Positive Shyness in Early Infancy. Infancy. 2013. 18(2): 202–220. ISSN: 1525-0008 print / 1532-7078 online
DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00117.x
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Drummond, P. D., & Lance, J. W. (1987). Facial flushing and sweating mediated by
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Everly, Jr., G. S. & Lating, J. M. (2002). A clinical guide to the treatment of the human stress response (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers

Fairbairn, Catharine E.; Michael A. Sayette; Odd O. Aalen and Arnoldo Frigessi. Alcohol and Emotional Contagion: An Examination of the Spreading of Smiles in Male and Female Drinking Groups. Clinical Psychological Science. 2014. DOI: 2167702614548892
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/alcohol-social-lubricant-male-smiles/

Gosselin, Pierre; Reem Maassarani; Alastair Younger and Mélanie Perron. Children’s Deliberate Control of Facial Action Units Involved in Sad and Happy Expressions. Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour. 2011. 35:225–242. DOI 10.1007/s10919-011-0110-9.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/childrens-control-facial-actions-improve-age-create-accurate-emotional-expressions/

Gunnery, Sarah D.; Judith A. Hall and Mollie A. Ruben. The Deliberate Duchenne Smile: Individual Differences in Expressive Control. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37:29–41. DOI 10.1007/s10919-012-0139-4
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-probably-fake-honest-smile-deliberate-duchenne-smile/

Gueguen, Nicolas. Weather and Smiling Contagion: A Quasi Experiment With the Smiling Sunshine. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37:51–55. DOI 10.1007/s10919-012-0140-y
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/weather-smile-not-contagion-smile-linked-weather-conditions/

Gregersen, Tammy S. Nonverbal Cues: Clues to the Detection of Foreign Language Anxiety. Foreign Language Annals. 2005. 38(3): 388-400
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Golle, Jessika; Fred W.; Mast and Janek S. Lobmaier. Something to Smile About: The Interrelationship Between Attractiveness and Emotional Expression. Cognition and Emotion, 2014. 28:2: 298-310. DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2013.817383.
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Guéguen, N. The Effect Of A Woman’s Smile On Men’s Courtship Behavior. Social Behavior and Personality. 2008. 36(9): 1233-1236.
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Hertenstein, Matthew J.; Carrie A. Hansel; Alissa M. Butts and Sarah N. Hile. Smile Intensity In Photographs Predicts Divorce Later In Life. Motiv Emot. 2009; 33:99-105
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Harker, L., & Keltner, D. (2001). Expressions Of Positive Emotion In Women’s College Yearbook Pictures And Their Relationship To Personality And Life Outcomes Across Adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 112–124. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.112.

Krumhuber, Eva; Antony S. R.; Manstead; and Arvid Kappas. Temporal Aspects of Facial Displays in Person and Expression Perception: The Effects of Smile Dynamics, Head-tilt, and Gender. Journal Nonverbal Behavior. 2007; 31: 39-56.
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Krumhuber, E., Manstead, A., & Kappas, A. Temporal Aspects of Facial Displays in Person and Expression Perception: The Effects of Smile Dynamics, Head-tilt, and Gender. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2007. 31(1), 39-56.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/slow-onset-smile-best/

Krause, Michael W. and Teh-Way David Chen. A Winning Smile? Smile Intensity, Physical Dominance, and Fighter Performance. Emotion. 2013. 13 (2): 270–279. DOI: 10.1037/a0030745
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Krumhuber, Eva G.; Manstead and Antony S. R. Can Duchenne smiles be feigned? New evidence on felt and false smiles. Emotion. 2009. 9 (6): 807-820.
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Labroo, Aparna A.; Anirban Mukhopadhyay; Ping Dong. Not Always the Best Medicine: Why Frequent Smiling Can Reduce Wellbeing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2014. 53:156-162.
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Body Language of Leg Cleansing or Leg Pacifying Behaviour

Body Language of Leg Cleansing or Leg Pacifying Behaviour

No picCue: Leg Cleansing or Leg Pacifying Behaviour

Synonym(s): Wiping The Hands On The Thigh, Rubbing the Thighs, Hand Rubbing Thigh, Thigh Stroke, Palm Cleansing.

Description: The hands are wiped or rubbed up and down against the thighs palm down.

In One Sentence: Rubbing the hands on the legs is a pacifying behaviour which is the result of nervousness.

How To Use it: Rubbing the hands on the lap can help sooth nerves as it stimulate the release of positive hormones. Use the gesture to remove perspiration from the hands, but do many sure it is done out the sight from viewers, as others will clue into your discomfort and stress and may capitalize on it. This is especially so in a business context.

Generally, however, due to its negative origins, the cue should be avoided unless absolutely necessary.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m stressed, nervous or anxious and I’m wiping my hands on my thighs to sooth and calm my nerves by burning some calories and wipe the sweat from my hands.”

Variant: Hands can be rubbed against the chest or the sleeves of the arms.

Cue In Action: a) Just before shaking hands he wiped his hands on his thighs so his hands didn’t appear clammy. b) It was a big purchase and he was stressed. Below the table, he was rubbing his hands anxiously against his thighs over and over again.

Meaning and/or Motivation: In response to stress and sweating, the hands are rubbed against the thigh. It serves three purposes. One, it wipes sweat off the palms; two, it burns off nervous energy; and three, it pacifies. The friction between the hands helps to produce comforting feelings, a tactic soothing to help calm a person down. When someone is caught doing the leg cleanse, we know that they are nervous or anxious.

Cue Cluster: The hands might touch the back of the neck, pull at the skin under the throat or cover the neck dimple, massage the temples, the fingers might interlock to try to appear calm and collected, the eyes might wince or grimace, and the lips might purse or stretch across the face. A general uneasiness will accompany leg pacifying behaviour.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Displacement behaviour, Energy Displacement, Stroking body language, Fearful body language, Low confidence body language, Nervous body language, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

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Berridge CW,Mitton E, ClarkW, Roth RH. 1999. Engagement in a non-escape (displacement) behavior elicits a selective and lateralized suppression of frontal cortical dopaminergic utilization in stress. Synapse 32:187–197.

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

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

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How To Beat Airport Security With Body Language Thanks To Leaked CIA WikiLeaks:

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Surviving Secondary: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/secondary-screening/WikiLeaks_CIA_Assessment_on_Surviving_Secondary_Screening.pdf

Infiltrating Schengen: https://wikileaks.org/cia-travel/infiltrating-schengen/WikiLeaks_CIA_Advice_for_Operatives_Infiltrating_Schengen.pdf

Body Language of Laughter

Body Language of Laughter

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Laughter 1 BodyLanguageProjectCom - Laughter 2Cue: Laughter

Synonym(s): Laughing.

Description: Laughs follow a “ha-ha-ha” or “ho-ho-ho” pattern, but never “ha-ho-ha-ho”. We can see other variations though like “cha-ha-ha” or “ha-ha-ho.”

In One Sentence: Laughing is a sign of joy, happiness, and sometimes discomfort or awkwardness.

How To Use it: Laughing is well research. It has proven to be an effective way to keep the body in good spirits and even boost healing and immunity. Laughing is encouraged to build friendships and finds a welcome place in all contexts from dating, to business, and amongst friends. Use laughing to create lasting bonds and break tension.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so happy and surprised by what you said that I’m showing my primitive panting vocalization.”

Resources:

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Dunbar, R I M ; Baron, Rebecca ; Frangou, Anna ; Pearce, Eiluned ; Van Leeuwen, Edwin J C ; Stow, Julie ; Partridge, Giselle ; Macdonald, Ian ; Barra, Vincent ; Van Vugt, Mark. Social laughter is correlated with an elevated pain threshold. Proceedings. Biological sciences / The Royal Society. 2012. 279(1731): 1161-7.

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Grammer, Karl. Strangers meet: Laughter and nonverbal signs of interest in opposite-sex encounters. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1990. 14(4): 209-236.

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Kipper, Silke ; Todt, Dietmar. The Role of Rhythm and Pitch in the Evaluation of Human Laughter. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2003. 27(4): 255-272.

MacDonald, C., 2004. A Chuckle a Day Keeps the Doctor Away: Therapeutic Humor & Laughter. Journal of Psychosocial Nursing and Mental Health Services 42(3):18-25.

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Moore, Monica. Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Journal of Sex Research. 1995. 32(4): 319-328.
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Owren, Michael J.; Bachorowski, Jo-Anne 2003. Reconsidering the evolution of nonlinguistic communication: the case of laughter Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 27(3): 183-200.

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Provine, R. R. 1992. Contagious laughter: Laughter is a sufficient stimulus for laughs and smiles. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society 30: 1- 4.

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Szameitat, Diana P. ; Kreifelts, Benjamin ; Alter, Kai ; Szameitat, André J. ; Sterr, Annette ; Grodd, Wolfgang ; Wildgruber, Dirk. It is not always tickling: Distinct cerebral responses during perception of different laughter types. NeuroImage. 2010. 53(4): 1264-1271.

Szameitat, Diana P. ; Alter, Kai ; Szameitat, André J. ; Darwin, Chris J. ; Wildgruber, Dirk ; Dietrich, Susanne ; Sterr, Annette Phelps, Elizabeth A. (editor). Differentiation of Emotions in Laughter at the Behavioral Level. Emotion. 2009. 9(3): 397-405.

Szameitat, Dianap. ; Darwin, Chrisj. ; Wildgruber, Dirk ; Alter, Kai ; Szameitat, Andréj. Acoustic correlates of emotional dimensions in laughter: Arousal, dominance, and valence. Cognition & Emotion. 2011. 25(4): 599-611.

Sturman, Edward D. Invluntary Subordination and Its Relation to Personality, Mood,
and Submissive Behavior. Psychological Assessment. 2011. 23(1): 262-276 DOI: 10.1037/a0021499
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-submission-men-women-depression-critical-examination-use-disuse-submission/

Vettin, Julia ; Todt, Dietmar. Laughter in Conversation: Features of Occurrence and Acoustic Structure. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2004. 28(2): 93-115.

Variant: Giggling is another form of laughter that is more characteristic of children being silly.

Cue In Action: After a few beers it was all jokes and laughter at the party, most of the time no one really knew what caused the laughing spells.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Some researchers pin laughs as a modification of the fear response or as a warning that danger was near. By that same theory, we laugh because our brains are scared or frightened which is why we don’t laugh when we hear a joke for the second time and have predicted its outcome. Laughter usually comes about due to humour and helps clarify emotional context (by defining amusement) between people. Laughter is a way to heal as it releases positive hormones. It is also a way people can share and therefore bond with one another. Laughter in a nonverbal context shows that people are thinking alike and are in agreement and trying to build trust and friendship.

Subordinate people will laugh simply to appease more dominant people, and dominant people exclude themselves from the laugh so as to maintain their dominance. Controlling laugher therefore, can help control our dominance or submission to others, as well as show our acceptance or rejection of others. For example, a polite laugh shows that we are at least “onboard” with a person even though we might not totally agree that what they have said is in fact funny.

Laughter is a form of mirroring and communicates mutual liking and well-being. It can also be used to reduce the harshness of comments or even to take comments back. Humour is an innate vocalization that fosters a sense of community and can help in learning and in creativity. It helps break down walls between different people and can act like a social lubricant to bind people together. Laughter is thirty times more likely to happen in a social setting rather than alone and studies have shown that people don’t really seem to care if the laugh is fake or real, they still tend to like people more when they laugh. Laughing helps us build bonds. Even fake laughs help because at least it shows that a person is trying to fit in.

Cue Cluster: Laughter might be accompanied by social touching, smiling, loose body that lacks negative tension, plenty of “up” non-verbal cues such as arms up, shoulders and head up, toes pointed up, bodies leaning in with engagement and so forth.

Body Language Category: Appease, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited, Fearful body language, Happiness body language, Indicator of interest (IoI), Masked emotions, Nervous body language, Open body language, Nonthreatening body language, Rapport or rapport building, Stressful body language, Surprised body language, Universal gestures.