Category: Happiness body language

*No Photo, Amplifier, Childlike playfulness, Confident body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited body language, Gravity defying body language, Happiness body language, High confidence body language, Up nonverbals

Body Language of the Prance Gait

by Chris • October 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of the Prance Gait

Cue: Prance Gait (the).

Synonym(s): Prancing, Walking On Air, Walking With A Bounce In The Step, Bound In The Gait.

Description: A playful gait which is peppered with unnecessary leaps and bounces.

In One Sentence: The prance gait signals a high degree of femininity due to happiness and health.

How To Use it: Children can use the prance for best effect to show their good spirits. Women are also permitted by our culture to prance and when men prance, they can use it for comedic effect.

A more muted prance can work in both woman and men, however, and is useful in showing others your good health and good spirits. Rather than an exaggerated prance, a mute prance is simply a youthful gait which produces a slight leap in the steps as if floating on air.

Use the prance in any context in which health and virility will be seen as a positive trait. In dating, a bound in the step will show your partner that you have good character and good genetics. This is especially useful to women whom can show off their youth, and hence fertility, with a bound in their step.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so happy and healthy and want everyone to notice. When I walk, I like to expend more energy than is practical or necessary.”

Variant: A woman may use the parade style of walking which exaggerates the motion of the hips, forcing them to cant from side-to-side. A playful prance intermixed with a parade style of walking shows a person in good spirit who has good childbearing hips. See Gait or Walking Styles.

Cue In Action: a) The girls and boys happily pranced around the playground while the parents ambled after them – barely keeping up. a) He just won the lottery and you could tell. His head was held high, it was as if he was walking on the clouds with a confident stride, buoyant, and youthful. b) Her youth was apparent. When she walked, she had a noticeable bound in her step indicating her health, vigor and good spirit. She advertised her sexuality with her prance.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The prance indicates good spirit and confidence usually associated with youth and thus health.

A bound in the gait indicates a persons ability and desire to fight the effects of gravity. When people win, they celebrate by thrusting their arms up in the air to draw attention to themselves. The same is true about our gait. It is often found in adults who feel that they have control over their lives and those who have enjoyed successes.

Conversely, those who lack confidence or who are depressed will hang their shoulders and saunter about instead. The prance is a type of gait that advertises to the world that a person is happy and content is worthy of our association.

The prancing gait also indicates the virility of a person when carried by those of sexual maturity. Prancing is a sign that they make a good sexual partner partially due to their optimism and good spirit, but also their youthfulness and health. This makes the prance a strong indicator of physical and mental fitness.

Cue Cluster: Watch for head held high with chin up, smiling face and a smooth stride with straight back.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Confident body language, Childlike playfulness, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited body language, Gravity defying body language, Happiness, High confidence body language, Up nonverbals.

Resources:

Angela Book, Kimberly Costello and Joseph A. Camilleri Psychopathy and Victim Selection: The Use of Gait as a Cue to Vulnerability. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2013. 28(11): 2368-2383. DOI: 10.1177/0886260512475315jiv.sagepub.com
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/dont-walk-like-youre-watched-avoid-victimization-nonverbal-behavior/

Atkinson AP, Dittrich WH, Gemmell AJ, Young AW (2004) Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays. Perception 33: 717–746. doi: 10.1068/p5096.

Boone RT, Cunningham JG (1998) Children’s decoding of emotion in expressive body movement: the development of cue attunement. Dev Psychol 34: 1007–1016. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.5.1007.

Brownlow S, Dixon AR, Egbert CA, Radcliffe RD (1997) Perception of movement and dancer characteristics from point-light displays of dance. Psychol Rec 47: 411–421.

Camurri A, Lagerlo¨f I, Volpe G (2003) Recognizing emotion from dance movement: Comparison of spectator recognition and automated techniques. Int J Hum Comput Stud 59: 213–225. doi: 10.1016/S1071-5819(03)00050-8.

Crane, Elizabeth ; Gross, M. Effort-Shape Characteristics of Emotion-Related Body Movement. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37(2): 91-105.

de Meijer M (1989) The contribution of general features of body movement to the attribution of emotions. J Nonverbal Behav 13: 247–268. doi: 10.1007/BF00990296.

Dittrich WH, Troscianko T, Lea SEG, Morgan D (1996) Perception of emotion from dynamic point-light displays represented in dance. Perception 25: 727–738. doi: 10.1068/p250727.

Fink, Bernhard; Nadine Hugill and Benjamin P. Lange. Women’s Body Movements Are a Potential Cue to Ovulation. Personality and Individual Differences. 2012. 53: 759-763.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/women-use-sexier-body-language-indicate-ovulation-fertility-women-dance-walk-sexier/

Godøy R (2010) Gestural affordances of musical sound. In: Godøy R, Leman M, editors. Musical gestures: Sound, movement, and meaning. New York, NY: Routledge. 103–125.

Gunns, Rebekah E; Lucy Johnston; and Stephen M. Hudson. Victim Selection And Kinematics: A Point-Light Investigation Of Vulnerability To Attack. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2002. 26(3): 129-158.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-to-avoid-an-attack-just-by-changing-how-you-walk-study/

Guéguen N. Gait and menstrual cycle: ovulating women use sexier gaits and walk slowly ahead of men. Gait Posture. 2012; 35(4): 621-4.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/gait-as-bait-women-walk-sexy-during-high-sexual-receptivity/

Gross, M Melissa ; Crane, Elizabeth A ; Fredrickson, Barbara L. Effort-Shape and kinematic assessment of bodily expression of emotion during gait. Human movement science. 2012. 31(1): 202-21.

Hasegawa, T. and K. Sakaguchi. 2006. Person perception through gait information and target choice for sexual advances: comparison of likely targets in experiments and real life. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 30(2): 63-85.

Johnson, Kerri L.; Gill, Simone; Reichman, Victoria and Tassinary, Louis G. Swagger, Sway, and Sexuality: Judging Sexual Orientation from Body Motion and Morphology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2007. 93(3): 321-334. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.3.321
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/heterosexual-vs-homosexual-swagger-can-you-spot-the-difference/

Janssen, Daniel ; Schöllhorn, Wolfgang ; Lubienetzki, Jessica ; Fölling, Karina ; Kokenge, Henrike ; Davids, Keith. Recognition of Emotions in Gait Patterns by Means of Artificial Neural Nets. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2008. 32(2): 79-92.

Lagerlo¨f I, Djerf M (2000) Communicating emotions: Expressiveness in modern dance. Int J Psychol 35: 225–225.

Montepare, J. M., Goldstien, S. B., & Clausen, A. (1987). The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11, 33–42.

Miller, G., Tybur, J. M., & Jordan, B. D. Ovulatory cycle effects on tip earning by lap dancers: Economic evidence for human estrus. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2007. 28: 375-381. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2007.06.002.

Michalak, J., Rohde, K., Troje, N. F. How We Walk Affects What We Remember: Gait Modifications Through Biofeedback Change Negative Affective Memory Bias. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2015. 46:121-125.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/walking-happy-leads-actual-happiness-game-emotions-body-language/

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/

Moore, M. M. and D. L. Butler. 1989. Predictive aspects of nonverbal courtship behavior in women. Semiotica 76(3/4): 205-215.

Moore, M. M. 2001. Flirting. In C. G. Waugh (Ed.) Let’s talk: A cognitive skills approach to interpersonal communication. Newark, Kendall-Hunt.

Moore, M. M. 1985. Nonverbal courtship patterns in women: context and consequences. Ethology and Sociobiology 64: 237-247.

Montepare, Joann ; Zebrowitz, Leslie. A cross-cultural comparison of impressions created by age-related variations in gait. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1993. 17(1): 55-68.

Montepare, Joann ; Goldstein, Sabra ; Clausen, Annmarie. The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1987. 11(1): 33-42.

Montepare, J. M., & Zebrowitz-McArthur, L. (1988). Impressions of people created by age-related qualities of their gaits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(4), 547–556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ 0022-3514.55.4.547.

Negriff, Sonya ; Noll, Jennie G ; Shenk, Chad E ; Putnam, Frank W ; Trickett, Penelope K. Associations between nonverbal behaviors and subsequent sexual attitudes and behaviors of sexually abused and comparison girls. Child maltreatment. 2010. 15(2): 180-9.

Prasad, S., & Shiffrar, M. (2009). Viewpoint and the recognition of people from their movements. Journal of Experimental Psychology – Human Perception and Performance, 35(1), 39–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/A0012728.

Roether, C. L., Omlor, L., Christensen, A., & Giese, M. A. (2009). Critical features for the perception of emotion from gait. Journal of Vision, 9(6), 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/9.6.15.

Risner D (2009) What we know about boys who dance: The limitations of contemporary masculinity & dance education. In: Shay A, Fisher J, editors. When men dance: Choreographing masculinities across borders. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.

Sawada, M., Suda, K., & Ishii, M. (2003a). Expression of emotions in dance: Relation between arm movement characteristics and emotion. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 97, 697–708.

Sawada, M., Suda, K., & Ishii, M. (2003b). Relationship between leg movement quality and emotional expression in dance. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, London, England.

Sakaguchi, Kikue and Toshikazu Hasegawa. Person Perception Through Gait Information And Target Choice For Sexual Advances: Comparison Of Likely Targets In Experiments And Real Life. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2006; 30:63-85. DOI 10.1007/s10919-006-0006-2
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/dont-walk-like-youre-asking-targets-sexual-approach-based-walking-style-personality-study/

Schneider, Sabrina ; Christensen, Andrea ; Hau[sz]inger, Florian B. ; Fallgatter, Andreas J. ; Giese, Martin A. ; Ehlis, Ann – Christine. Show me how you walk and I tell you how you feel — A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study on emotion perception based on human gait. Neuroimage. 2014. 85: 380(11).

Thoresen, John C.; Quoc C. Vuong and Anthony P. Atkinson. First Impressions: Gait Cues Drive Reliable Trait Judgements. Cognition. 2012. 261–271 Thoresen, John C.; Quoc C. Vuong and Anthony P. Atkinson. First Impressions: Gait Cues Drive Reliable Trait Judgements. Cognition. 2012. 261–271
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/walk-drives-first-impressions/

van der Zwan, Rick and Natasha Herbert. “I Like The Way You Move”: How Hormonal Changes Across The Menstrual Cycle Affect Female Perceptions of Gait. Research Notes. 2012; 5: 453.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/women-at-peak-fertility-rate-other-female-walkers-less-favorably/

Van Meel J, Verburgh H, de Meijer M (1993) Children’s interpretation of dance
expressions. Empirical Studies of the Arts 11: 117–133. doi: 10.2190/V69NVB0T-
A9Q3-TJ04.

Van Dyck, Edith ; Vansteenkiste, Pieter ; Lenoir, Matthieu ; Lesaffre, Micheline ; Leman, Marc Canal-bruland, Rouwen. Recognizing Induced Emotions of Happiness and Sadness from Dance Movement. PLoS ONE. 2014 9(2): e89773.

Van Dyck E, Maes P-J, Hargreaves J, Lesaffre M, Leman M (2013). Expressing induced emotions through free dance movement. J Nonverbal Behav 37: 175–190. doi: 10.1007/s10919-013-0153-1.

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

Body Language of Laughter

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Laughter

Cue: 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:

Bachorowski, J A ; Owren, M J. Not all laughs are alike: voiced but not unvoiced laughter readily elicits positive affect. Psychological science. 2001. 12(3): 252-7.

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.

Foley, Erin ; Matheis, Robert ; Schaefer, Charles. Effect of forced laughter on mood.(Abstract). Psychological Reports. 2002 90(1): 184(1).

Grammer, K., and Eibl-Eibesfeldt, I. 1990. The ritualisation of laughter. In W. Koch (Ed.), Naturalichkeit der Sprache un der Kultur: Acta colloquii 192–214.

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

Hall, Jeffrey A. and Chong Xing. The Verbal and Nonverbal Correlates of the Five Flirting Styles. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2015. 39:41–68. DOI 10.1007/s10919-014-0199-8
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/first-12-minutes-flirting-using-nonverbal-communication-study-reveals-26-body-language-cues-attraction/

Kawakami, Kiyobumi; Takai-Kawakami, Kiyoko; Tomonaga, Masaki; Suzuki, Juri; Kusaka, Tomiyo; Okai, Takashi. 2006. Origins of smile and laughter: a preliminary study. Early Human Development. 82 (1): 61.

Keltner, Dacher; Bonanno, George A. 1997. A study of laughter and dissociation: Distinct correlates of laughter and smiling during bereavement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 73(4): 687-702.

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.

Martin, Rod A. 2001. Humor, laughter, and physical health: Methodological issues and research findings Psychological Bulletin. 127(4): 504-519.

Neuhoff, Charles C ; Schaefer, Charles. Effects of laughing, smiling, and howling on mood. Psychological reports. 2002 91(3 Pt 2): 1079-80.

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.

Panksepp, J., Burgdorf, J., “Laughing” rats and the evolutionary antecedents of human joy? Physiology & Behavior (2003) 79: 533-547.

Provine, Robert R.. 2000. The laughing species. Natural History. 109(10): 72-76.

Provine, Robert R. 2000. Laugh and the world laughs with you. Scientific American. 283(6): 108-110.

Provine, Robert R. Laughing, grooming, and pub science. Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 2013. 17(1): 9-10.

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

Provine, R. R. 1993. Laughter punctuates speech: Linguistic, social and gender contexts of laughter. Ethology 95: 291-298.

Provine, R. R., and K. R. Fischer. 1989. Laughing, smiling, and talking: Relation to sleeping and social context in humans. Ethology 83: 295-305.

Provine, R. R., and Y. L. Yong. 1991. Laughter: A stereotyped human vocalization. Ethology 89: 115-124.

Provine, R.R. Contagious yawning and laughing: Everyday imitation and mirror-like behavior. Behavioral and Brain Science. 28: 142.

Priest, RF; Thein, MT. 2003. Humor appreciation in marriage: Spousal similarity, assortative mating, and disaffection. Humor-international journal of humor research, 16(1): 63-78.

Ritter, Jan ; Brück, Carolin ; Jacob, Heike ; Wildgruber, Dirk ; Kreifelts, Benjamin. Laughter perception in social anxiety. Journal of Psychiatric Research. 2015. 60: 178-184.

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.

*No Photo, Amplifier, Confident body language, Depressive body language, Emotional body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited body language, Gravity defying body language, Happiness body language, High confidence body language, Low confidence body language

Body Language of Gait or Walking Styles

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Gait or Walking Styles

Cue: Gait or Walking Styles

Synonym(s): Walking Styles.

Description: Refers to the style or mechanics of locomotion in humans and its hidden meaning.

In One Sentence: Gait is highly unique to each person much like a fingerprint and it’s style is connected to various personality traits.

How To Use it: Use your gait to signal desired qualities to others. A bouncy gait signals joy and happiness, a swagger shows sexual energy, hobble shows age, darting shows impatience, prancing shows femininity. Use the type of gait that suits your personality best.

Context: General

Verbal Translation: “How I walk gives clues to my health, emotions, character and accomplishments.”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: He just won the lottery. Not only did he carry a huge grin on his face, but he also walked with an exaggerated bounce in his step. It was as if he had been transported back to his youth.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Scientists have identified thirty six different types of gait in the human species. They include the hobble, the mince, the glide, the bounce, the stride, the wiggle, the dart, the prance and the run. People can shuffle along or drag their feet, bounce up and down, or seem to float on air.

How one walks gives clues to the internal workings of people, their emotions and rhythm, character and even their accomplishments not to mention their health and age.

Those who are positive will tend to walk energetically while those who are down and depressed or elderly will saunter or hobble about. The effect is particularly pronounced between the old and young, but it can easily be seen between those who expect good things to happen and those who do not.

Cue Cluster: Watch for additional cues coupled with gait types to decide the overall mental attitude and disposition people carry.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Confident body language, Depressive body language, Emotional body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited body language, Gravity defying body language, Happiness, High confidence body language, Low confidence body language.

Resources:

Brownlow, S., Dixon, A. R., Egbert, C. A., & Radcliffe, R. D. (1997). Perception of movement and dancer characteristics from point-light displays of dance. The sychological Record, 47(3), 411–421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/p250727.

Crane, Elizabeth ; Gross, M. Effort-Shape Characteristics of Emotion-Related Body Movement. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37(2): 91-105.

Cutting, J. E., & Kozlowski, L. T. (1977). Recognizing friends by their walk: Gait perception without familiarity cues. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 9(5), 353–356.

Cho, S. H., Park, J. M., & Kwon, O. Y. (2004). Gender differences in three dimensional gait analysis data from 98 healthy Korean adults. Clinical Biomechanics, 19, 145–152.

Cutting, J. E., & Kozlowski, L. T. (1977). Recognizing friends by their walk: Gait
perception without familiarity cues. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 9, 353–356.

Eisenberg, Philip ; Reichline, Philipb. Judging Expressive Movement: II. Judgments of Dominance-Feeling from Motion Pictures of Gait. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1939. 10(3): 345-357.

Gross, M Melissa ; Crane, Elizabeth A ; Fredrickson, Barbara L. Effort-Shape and kinematic assessment of bodily expression of emotion during gait. Human movement science. 2012. 31(1): 202-21.

Johnson, Kerri L ; Gill, Simone ; Reichman, Victoria ; Tassinary, Louis G. Swagger, sway, and sexuality: Judging sexual orientation from body motion and morphology. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2007. 93(3): 321-34.

Johnson, Kerri L ; Tassinary, Louis G. Perceiving sex directly and indirectly: meaning in motion and morphology. Psychological science. 2005. 16(11): 890-7.

Kito, Tomonori ; Yoneda, Tsugutake. Dominance of gait cycle duration in casual walking. Human Movement Science. 2006. 25(3): 383-392.

Kozlowski, L. T., & Cutting, J. E. (1977). Recognizing the sex of a walker from a dynamic point-light display. Perception and Psychophysics, 21(6), 575–580.

Montepare, Joann ; Zebrowitz, Leslie. A cross-cultural comparison of impressions created by age-related variations in gait. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1993. 17(1): 55-68.

Montepare, Joann ; Goldstein, Sabra ; Clausen, Annmarie. The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1987. 11(1): 33-42.

Montepare, J. M., Goldstien, S. B., & Clausen, A. (1987). The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11, 33–42.

Opila-Correia, K. A. (1990). Kinematics of high-heeled gait. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, 71, 304–309.

Roether, C. L., Omlor, L., Christensen, A., & Giese, M. A. (2009). Critical features for the perception of emotion from gait. Journal of Vision, 9(6), 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/9.6.15.

Smith, E. O. (1999). High heels and evolution: Natural selection, sexual selection and high heels. Psychology, Evolution and Gender, 30, 245–277. Smith, E. O., & Helms, W. S. (1999). Natural selection and high heels. Foot and Ankle International, 20, 55–57.

Walter, K. D., Brownlow, S., Ervin, S. L., & Williamson, N. (1998). Something in the way she moves: The influence of shoe altered gait on motion and trait impressions of women. PSI CHI Journal of Undergraduate Research, 3, 163–169.

Amplifier, Excited body language, Eye Language, Happiness body language, Open body language

Body Language of Eye Flash, Eye Pop and Flashbulb Eyes

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eye Flash, Eye Pop and Flashbulb Eyes

Cue: Eye Flash, Eye Pop and Flashbulb Eyes

Synonym(s): Flashbulb Eyes, Eye Pop.

Description: The eye flash lasts on average for only 0.75 seconds and is a momentary widening of the eyelids during a conversation. The widening is usually wide enough to reveal the sclera. Sclera is the white area surrounding the iris. The eyebrows usually arch in unison as well to make the eyes appear even larger.

In One Sentence: The eye flash is a signal used to display emotional excitement during expressive conversation.

How To Use it: Pop the eyes whenever you want to add a nonverbal exclamation to spoken words. For example, force your eyes to pop when delivering positive or exciting news to friends or relatives. Women can generally use this expression best as it usually fits in better with women’s overall expressivity. However, men can also add the occasional eye pop to signal sarcasm. When you pop your eyes, think “Oh my God!”

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so excited that my eyes are popping open with emotion and excitement.”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: a) It had been a while since they had seen each other. When they turned the corner, their eyes popped open with excitement as they took each other into full view. b) He opened his first holiday bonus to see a big fat cheque. His eyes popped open with excitement. c) On the first date, she showed her excitement. She told stories while popping her eyes open.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The eyeflash when given by a speaker, emphasizes specific words being spoken and can serve to change the meaning of a given word or phrase. It normally accompanies adjectives rather than any other parts of speech. Women use it more often them men. The eye pop makes the eyes burst with emotion and is usually done to indicate surprise and positive emotions.

Cue Cluster: Open body language such as palms up, smiling, arms animated and excited while moving with speech.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Eye Language, Excited body language, Happiness, Open body language.

Resources:

Ariel, Robert and Castel, Alan. Eyes wide open: enhanced pupil dilation when selectively studying important information. Experimental Brain Research, 2014. 232(1):.337-344.

Bijleveld E, Custers R, Aarts H (2009) The unconscious eye opener: pupil size reveals strategic recruitment of resources upon presentation of subliminal reward cues. Psychol Sci 20:1313–1315

Brannigan, Christopher, and David Humphries (1969). “I See What You Mean.” New Scientist (Vol. 42), pp. 406-08.

Duan, Xujun ; Dai, Qian ; Gong, Qiyong ; Chen, Huafu. Neural mechanism of unconscious perception of surprised facial expression. NeuroImage. 2010. 52(1): 401-407.

e Charlesworth, W. R. (1964). Instigation and maintenance of curiosity behavior as a function of surprise versus novel and familiar stimuli. Child Development, 35, 1169–1186.

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

Ekman, Paul, Wallace V. Friesen, and Sylvan S. Tomkins (1971). “Facial Affect Scoring Technique: A First Validity Study.” In Semiotica (Vol. 3), pp. 37-58.

Kapoor, A. ; Qi, Y. ; Picard, R.W. Fully automatic upper facial action recognition
2003 IEEE International SOI Conference. 2003. 195-202.

Lee, Daniel H ; Susskind, Joshua M ; Anderson, Adam K. Social Transmission of the Sensory Benefits of Eye Widening in Fear Expressions. Psychological Science. 2013. 24(6): 957-965.

Ludden, G. D. S., Schifferstein, H. N. J., & Hekkert, P. (2009). Visual–tactual incongruities in products as sources of surprise. Empirical Studies of the Arts, 27, 63–89.

Mondloch, Catherine J. ; Horner, Matthew ; Mian, Jasmine. Wide Eyes and Drooping Arms: Adult-Like Congruency Effects Emerge Early in the Development of Sensitivity to Emotional Faces and Body Postures. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2013. 114(2): 203-216.

Provine, Robert R., Jessica Nave-Blodgett and Marcello O. Cabrera. The Emotional Eye: Red Sclera as a Uniquely Human Cue of Emotion. Ethology. 2013a. 119: 993–998. doi: 10.1111/eth.12144

Provine, Robert R.; Marcello O. Cabrera and Jessica Nave-Blodgett. Red, Yellow, and Super-White Sclera Uniquely Human Cues for Healthiness, Attractiveness, and Age. Human Nature. 2013. 24:126–136. DOI 10.1007/s12110-013-9168-x

Provine, R. R., Cabrera, M. O. and Nave-Blodgett, J. 2013c: Binocular symmetry / asymmetry of scleral redness as a cue for sadness, healthiness, and attractiveness in
humans. Evol. Psychol. 11, 873-884.

Provine, R. R., Cabrera, M. O., Brocato, N. W. and Krosnowski, K. A. 2011: When the whites of the eyes are red: a uniquely human cue. Ethology 117, 1—5.

Reisenzein, R. (2000). Exploring the strength of association between the components of emotion syndromes: the case of surprise. Cognition and Emotion, 14, 1–38.

Reisenzein, R., Bördgen, S., Holtbernd, T., & Matz, D. (2006). Evidence for strong dissociation between emotion and facial displays: the case of surprise. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 295–315.

Reisenzein, R., & Studtmann, M. (2007). On the expression and experience of surprise: no evidence for facial feedback, but evidence for a reverse self-inference effect. Emotion, 7, 612–627.

Scherer, K. R., Zentner, M. R., & Stern, D. (2004). Beyond surprise: the puzzle of infants’ expressive reactions to expectancy violation. Emotion, 4, 389–402.

Schützwohl, Achim ; Reisenzein, Rainer. Facial expressions in response to a highly surprising event exceeding the field of vision: a test of Darwin’s theory of surprise. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2012. 33(6): 657-664.

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

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

Parzuchowski, Michal ; Szymkow-Sudziarska, Aleksandra. Well, slap my thigh: expression of surprise facilitates memory of surprising material. Emotion. 2008. 8(3): 430-4.

Vrticka, Pascal ; Lordier, Lara ; Bediou, Benoît ; Sander, David Desteno, David (editor). Human Amygdala Response to Dynamic Facial Expressions of Positive and Negative Surprise. Emotion. 2014. 14(1): 161-169.

Vanhamme, J. (2000). The link between surprise and satisfaction: an exploratory research on how to best measure surprise. Journal of Marketing Management, 16, 565–582.

Walker, Michael ; Trimboli, Carmelina. The expressive function of the eye flash
Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1983. 8(1): 3-13.

Walker, M.B. The relative importance of verbal and nonverbal cues in the expression of confidence. Aust. J. Psychol., 1977, 29, 45-57.

Wheldall, Kevin ; Mittler, Peter. Eyebrow-raising, eye widening and visual search nursery school children. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry. 1976. 17(1): 57-62.

Arousal, Emotional body language, Happiness body language, Physiological signals

Body Language Of Crying

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language Of Crying

Cue: Crying

Synonym(s): Damp Eyes, Teary Eyes, Weepy Eyes, Eyes Glistening.

Description: Eyes that weep due to emotional pain.

In One Sentence: Eyes that tear demonstrate high emotion including joy and suffering.

How To Use it: Use crying to show others that you are either really happy or really hurt. Eyes are an honest signal showing others that you are experiencing intense emotions. Demonstrating pain, can help you bond with other people or gain sympathy if experience emotional of physical pain. Crying has been shown to reduce the level of punishment as it creates feelings of sympathy. Thus, when an authority figure is about to dish out their sentence, crying is nearly certain to be of benefit. Women are likely to benefit most from crying and a first reaction to being wronged is this very condition. Crying is therefore quite common from women facing judge and jury.

Crying when being hit, or being scolded, or when facing authority, often improves the outcome of a situation because it elicits sympathy from the more dominant person thereby lessening punishment. Men are not advised to use crying when facing others as this is usually read as weakness and loss of emotional control. Men are usually permitted to cry only when mourning death.

Context: General

Verbal Translation: “I’m overwhelmed with so much emotion it’s welling up and pouring out of my eyes.”

Variant: Eyes can sometimes be overjoyed due to passion, and love. Likewise, anguish, distress, and bereavement produce so much extra moisture that it makes the eyes glisten.

Cue In Action: When she found out the news, she cried with joy, her baby girl was going to be married.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Damp eyes can have many nonverbal meanings. They can indicate tiredness or suppressed weeping, anxiety or sadness. Crying symbolizes an overflowing of emotions such as sadness from emotional hurt, from pain due to physical hurt, or from extreme joy. However, crying is a universal signal of sadness.

Cue Cluster: Crying appears in a cluster that highly depends on the context. When joy is the cause, crying is accompanied by relaxed and open body language. When crying is due to sadness, closed and tight language appears in cluster.

Body Language Category: Arousal, Emotional body language, Happiness, Physiological signals.

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.

Brück, Carolin ; Kreifelts, Benjamin ; Wildgruber, Dirk. Emotional voices in context: A neurobiological model of multimodal affective information processing. Physics of Life Reviews. 2011 8(4): 383-403.

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.

Clark, Margaret S.; Rebecca L. Dyer; John A. Bargh; and Oriana R. Aragón. Dimorphous Expressions of Positive Emotion: Displays of Both Care and Aggression in Response to Cute Stimuli. Psychological Science. 2014.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/cry-joy/

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.

Deacon, Terrence W. (1997). The Symbolic Species: The Co-Evolution of Language and the Brain (New York: W.W. Norton).

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.

Eisenberg, Nancy ; Lennon, Randy Zeaman, David (editor). Sex differences in empathy and related capacities. Psychological Bulletin. 1983 94(1): 100-131.

Eisenberg, Nancy ; Fabes, Richard A. ; Carlo, Gustavo ; Speer, Anna Lee ; Switzer, Galen ; Karbon, Mariss ; Troyer, Debra. The Relations of Empathy-Related Emotions and Maternal Practices to Children′s Comforting Behavior. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 1993. 55(2): 131-150.

Hendriks, Michellec. P. ; Vingerhoets, Adj. J. M.. Social messages of crying faces: Their influence on anticipated person perception, emotions and behavioural responses
Cognition & Emotion. 2006. 20(6): 878-886.

Hackett, Louisa ; Day, Andrew ; Mohr, Philip. Expectancy violation and perceptions of rape victim credibility. Legal and Criminological Psychology. 2008. 13(2):323-334.

Johnson, Richard R. and Jasmine L. Aaron. Adults’ Beliefs Regarding Nonverbal Cues Predictive of Violence. Criminal Justice and Behavior. 2013. 40 (8): 881-894. DOI: 10.1177/0093854813475347.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/wanna-fight-nonverbal-cues-believed-indicate-violence/

Katza, Carmit; Irit Hershkowitz; Lindsay C. Malloya; Michael E. Lamba; Armita Atabakia and Sabine Spindlera. Non-Verbal Behavior of Children Who Disclose or do not Disclose Child Abuse in Investigative Interviews. Child Abuse & Neglect. 2012. 36: 12-20.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/reading-nonverbal-behaviour-child-abuse-cases-encourage-children-divulge-information-truth-telling/

Lackie, Bruce. Nonverbal communication in clinical social work practice. Clinical Social Work Journal. 1977. 5(1): 43-52.

Lin, Hung-Chu ; McFatter, Robert. Empathy and distress: Two distinct but related emotions in response to infant crying. Infant Behavior and Development. 2012. 35(4): 887-897.

Leerkes, Esther M. ; Parade, Stephanie H. ; Burney, Regan V. Origins of Mothers’ and Fathers’ Beliefs about Infant Crying. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 2010. 31(6): 467-474.

McGraw, Myrtle B. (1943). The Neuromuscular Maturation of the Human Infant (New York: Columbia University Press).

Nakayama, Hiroko. Development of infant crying behavior: A longitudinal case study
Infant Behavior and Development. 2010. 33(4): 463-471.

Olson, Loreenn. ; Braithwaite, Dawno. If you hit me again, I’ll hit you back:” Conflict management strategies of individuals experiencing aggression during conflicts.
Communication Studies. 2004 55(2): 271-285.

Petriek, Goranka ; Vrci-Keglevi, Mladenka ; Lazi, Djurdjica ; Murgi, Lucija. How to deal with a crying patient? A study from a primary care setting in Croatia, using the critical incident technique. European Journal of General Practice. 2011. 17(3): 153-159.

Rottenberg, Jonathan ; Bylsma, Lauren M. ; Wolvin, Vanessa ; Vingerhoets, Ad J.J.M.
Tears of sorrow, tears of joy: An individual differences approach to crying in Dutch females. Personality and Individual Differences. 2008. 45(5): 367-372.

Reissland, Nadja; Brian Francis, James Mason, Karen Lincoln. Do Facial Expressions Develop before Birth? August 2011. 6(8): e24081. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0024081.g001
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-cry-and-laugh-face-in-the-human-fetus/

Ten Brinke, Leanne ; Porter, Stephen. Cry me a river: identifying the behavioral consequences of extremely high-stakes interpersonal deception. Law and human behavior. 2012. 36(6): 469-77.

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/

Tilburg, Miranda A. L. ; Unterberg, Marielle L. ; Vingerhoets, Ad J. J. M. Crying during adolescence: The role of gender, menarche, and empathy. British Journal of Developmental Psychology. 2002. 20(1): 77-87.

Wiesenfeld, Alan R. ; Whitman, Patricia B. ; Malatesta, Carol Z. Hogan, Robert (editor)
Individual differences among adult women in sensitivity to infants: Evidence in support of an empathy concept. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1984. 46(1): 118-124.

Zeskind, Philip Sanford ; Marshall, Timothy R. The relation between variations in pitch and maternal perceptions of infant crying. Child Development. 1988 59(1): 193(4).

Energy Displacement, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Expansive movements, Gravity defying body language, Happiness body language, Liking, Relaxed body language

Body Language of Clapping

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Clapping

Cue: Clapping

Synonym(s): Applause

Description: The hands come together quickly and slap each other to make an audible sound.

In One Sentence: When the hands come together to make a clapping sound it shows others that we are excited or approving.

How To Use it: Use clapping to show others your approval. You may also use a slow clap to show the reverse. The slow clap is “sarcastic.”

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m happy and excited so I slap my hands together and make lots of noise.”

Variant: Feet can also be slapped if the other hand is busy, drinks clinked, fingers snapped and hands waved (a silent applause). A slow clap shows that one is sarcastic about approval thus showing the reverse message.

Cue In Action: The audience clapped their hands to show their appreciation for the wonderful song played by the orchestra.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A celebratory nonverbal signal usually done by large audiences untoward a presenter or performer. Clapping can also be done to show general happiness such as when hearing the telling a funny joke.

Cue Cluster: Clapping is accompanied by true smiles, open facial expressions, relaxed body postures and joyful screaming.

Body Language Category: Energy Displacement, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Expansive movements, Gravity defying body language, Happiness, Liking, Relaxed body language.

Resources:

Bull, Peter. Invited and uninvited applause in political speeches. British Journal of Social Psychology, 2006, Vol.45(3), pp.563-578.

Bull, Peter. Six key indicators guaranteed to reduce audience stress and increase your applause. Records Management Quarterly. 1997. 31(3): 18(4).

Bull, Peter. Booing: The Anatomy of a Disaffiliative Response. American Sociological Review. 1993. 58(1): 110-130.

Bavelas, J. B., Black, A., Chovil, N., Lemery, C. R., & Mullett, J. (1988). Form and function in motor mimicry: Topographic evidence that the primary function is communicative. Human Communication Research, 14, 275- 299.

Bavelas, J. B., Black, A., Lemery, C. R., & Mullett, J. (1986). “I show how you feel”: Motor mimicry as a communicative act. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 50, 322-329.

Chartrand, T. L.,& Bargh, J. A. (1999). The chameleon effect: The perception behavior link and social interaction. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76, 893-910.

Fitzpatrick, Paula ; Schmidt, R. C. ; Lockman, Jeffrey J. Dynamical Patterns in the Development of Clapping. Child Development. 1996. 67(6): 2691-2708.

Fletcher, Alison W. Clapping in chimpanzees: evidence of exclusive hand preference in a spontaneous, bimanual gesture. American Journal of Primatology. 2006. 68(11): 1081-1088.

LaFrance, M. (1979). Nonverbal synchrony and rapport: Analysis by the cross-lag panel technique. Social Psychology Quarterly, 42, 66-70.

Mann, Richard P ; Faria, Jolyon ; Sumpter, David J T ; Krause, Jens. The dynamics of audience applause. Journal of the Royal Society, Interface / the Royal Society. 2013. 10(85): 2013046.

Manusov, Valerie. Mimicry or synchrony: The effects of intentionality attributions for nonverbal mirroring behavior. Communication Quarterly. 1992 40(1): 69-83.