Category: Hostile body language

*No Photo, Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Authoritative body language, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Evaluative body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language

Body Language of Peering Over Glasses or Looking Over Glasses

by Chris • October 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Peering Over Glasses or Looking Over Glasses

Cue: Peering Over Glasses.

Synonym(s): Looking Over Glasses.

Description: Happens by looking down and overtop of the glasses at another person. Sometimes the head is lowered and the eyes peer over top of the glasses, other times the glasses are pulled down onto the bridge of the nose coupled with a glare.

In One Sentence: Looking over the glasses signals distain, contempt, haughtiness, aggressiveness, and critical judgment.

How To Use it: Peer over the glasses to show others that you disagree with them or their ideas. The cue is reminiscent of the authoritative library trying to scold misbehaving students. Simply tilting the head without glasses can have the same effect. Research has shown that tilting the head down is a way to make the head appear wider and thus more dominant.

Mothers disapproving of children or wives disapproving of husbands can use the cue to show that actions or ideas are not being well received. Thus the cue signals the desire to keep a person ‘in their place’ and that one is morally superior. Therefore, use the cue when most appropriate.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m peering over the top of my eye glasses and tilting my head forward because I’m scrutinizing you.”

Variant: The head might be tiled backwards with relatively the same effect. This is “looking down the nose” at someone. It is particularly powerful. See Head Tilted Back.

Cue In Action: The librarian wasn’t keen on the new group of rowdy students. After verbally berating them and warning of more severe punishment should they get disruptive, she’d occasionally peer over at them with lowered glasses to reinforce her commitment.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Disdain, contempt, haughtiness, aggressiveness, critical, condescending, and judgmental attitudes are all associated with this posture. The bearers of the posture assumes that they have the moral right to be looking down on other people from an elevated position.

Cue Cluster: Peering over the glasses is accompanied by a stern, closed facial expression, hard staring eyes, pursed lips, head forward and challenging, palms down and chin forward.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Authoritative body language, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Evaluative body language.

Resources:

Beall, Alec and Jessica L. Tracy. The Puzzling Attractiveness of Male Shame. Manuscript submitted to Evolutionary Psychology. www.epjournal.net – 2014. 12(x): 1-39. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/male-nonverbal-shame-attractive/

Briñol, Pablo; Richard E. Petty and Benjamin Wagner. Body Posture Effects on Self-Evaluation: A Self-Validation Approach. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2009. 39(6): 1099-0992. DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.607. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.607
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/fix-posture-fix-confidence/

Costa, M., Menzani, M., and Ricci Bitti, P. E. Head canting in paintings: An historical study. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2001. 25: 63–73.

Costa, M., and Ricci Bitti, P. E. Face-ism effect and head canting in one’s own and others’ photographs. European Psychologist. 2000. 5: 293–301.

Furley, Philip and Geoffrey Schweizer. “I’m Pretty Sure That We Will Win!”: The Influence of Score-Related Nonverbal Behavioral Changes on the Confidence in Winning a Basketball Game Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology. 2013. 35:316-320. http://dx.doi.org/10.1123/jsep.2013-0199
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Hehman, Eric; Jordan B. Leitner and Samuel L. Gaertner. Enhancing Static Facial Features Increases Intimidation. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2013; 49: 747-754.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/tilting-the-head-is-display-of-intimidation-study/

Hwang, Hyisung C. and David Matsumoto. Cultural Differences in Victory Signals of
Triumph Cross-Cultural Research. SAGE Publications 2014. 48(2):177– 191.
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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.
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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.
DOI 10.1007/s10919-006-0019-x
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/head-tilt-and-slow-onset-smile-nonverbals-trust-attraction-dominance-and-flirting-a-brief-report/

Liu, C., Ishi, C. T., Ishiguro, H., & Hagita, N. (2012). Generation of nodding, head
tilting and eye gazing for human–robot dialogue interaction. In Human–Robot
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IEEE Press.

Martens, Jason P.; Jessica L. Tracy and Azim F. Shariff. Status signals: Adaptive
benefits of displaying and observing the nonverbal expressions of pride and shame, Cognition & Emotion. 2012. 26(3): 390-406. DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2011.645281
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/significant-nonverbal-expression-pride-shame-body-language-detailed-examination-origin-function/

Martina Mara and Markus Appel. Effects of Lateral Head Tilt on User Perceptions of Humanoid and Android Robots. Computers in Human Behavior. 2015. 44: 326-334. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-head-tilt-says-robot/

Mignault, Alain and Chaudhuri, Avi. The Many Faces of a Neutral Face: Head Tilt and Perception of Dominance and Emotion. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2003 27(2): 111-132.

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

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Shariff, Azim F. and Jessica L. Tracy. Knowing Who’s Boss: Implicit Perceptions of Status From the Nonverbal Expression of Pride. Emotion. 2009.9(5): 631-639.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-you-tell-whos-boss-by-the-nonverbal-expression-of-pride/

Tracy, Jessica L. and Alec T. Beall. Happy Guys Finish Last: The Impact of Emotion Expressions on Sexual Attraction Emotion. American Psychological Association. 2011; 11(6): 1379–1387
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/happy-guys-finish-last-happy-women-finish-first-says-new-study-on-sexual-attractiveness/

Tracy, Jessica L. and David Matsumoto. The Spontaneous Expression Of Pride And Shame: Evidence For Biologically Innate Nonverbal Displays. 2008; 105 (33) 11655-11660.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/universal-expressions-of-pride-and-shame/

Tracy, Jessica L. and Richard W. Robins. The Nonverbal Expression of Pride: Evidence for Cross-Cultural Recognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2008. 94(3): 516–530. DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.94.3.516

http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-expression-pride-recognized-cross-culturally/

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Welker, Keith M.; Stefan M.M.; Goetz, Shyneth Galicia; Jordan Liphardt and Justin M. Carré. An Examination of the Associations Between Facial Structure, Aggressive Behavior, and Performance in the 2010 World Cup Association Football Players. Adaptive Human Behavior and Physiology (forthcoming in print, online July).
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Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Barriers, Blocking or Shielding, Closed body language, Disapproval cues, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Hostile body language, Palm power, Regulators, Rejection body language, Speech-independent gestures

Body Language of Palm Out or Talk To The Hand.

by Chris • October 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Palm Out or Talk To The Hand.

Cue: Palm Out or Talk To The Hand

Synonym(s): Talk To The Hand, Hand To Others, Palm Stop, Palm In Your Face.

Description: The hand comes up abruptly like a stop signal toward another person as the head and eyes turn away.

In One Sentence: Placing the palm out toward another person is a nonverbal way to tell them to stop talking.

How To Use it: Use the palm out gesture to nonverbally tell someone to ‘shut up.’ Many nonverbal signals are safer than actual words and this is no exception. A palm out can quiet a person without being forced to be overt and actually tell them to do so. Often this saves us from more dramatic confrontation.

The same gesture works on a large crowd when it would be impractical to yell over them. A flash of the palms, or persistently held palm out, tells others to heed to your dominance, as you are prepared to take over.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m using my hand and palm to tell you to stop talking immediately, I don’t want to hear it.” b) “Talk to the hand, because I’m not listening, that’s enough already.”

Variant: See Palm Down Displays or Palm Power, Palm Up Displays or The Rogatory Posture.

Cue In Action: She had enough, the conversation had gone on long enough. The personal insults were going too far. She put her hand up in her face and turned her head away. It was clear she didn’t want to hear another word from her.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Palms carry important power. This palm out, or palm-in-your-face-gesture, is a conversation ender. It is a way for people to say that they do not wish to entertain any more thoughts and have a strong unwillingness to speak. The combination of palms as power and insisting that someone speak to them implies that we wish to offer our disrespect.

Palms carry very significant power and whereas palms up are accepting or offering, palms out or down, signify power and dominance. The intent of palms in someone else’s face is one of high authority and to send message of disagreement and that they are disgraceful and deserve no respect.

Cue Cluster: Watch for the head to quickly turn away and down, eyes averted.

Body Language Category: Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Barriers, Blocking or Shielding, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Disapproval cues, Dominant body language, Hostile body language, Palm power, Regulators, Rejection body language, Speech-independent gestures.

Resources:

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Ferre, Gaelle. 2011. Functions of three open-palm hand gestures. Multimodal Communication, 2011, 1 (1), pp.5-20.
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Aggressive body language, Approach tell, Courtship display, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Indicator Of Sexual Interest (IOsI), Intention movements, Liking, Micromessaging

Body Language of The Once Over

by Chris • October 27, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Once Over

Cue: Once Over (the)

Synonym(s): Eye Assess, Undressing Her With His Eyes, Catty Eyes.

Description: A sexual or competitive eye pattern that follows the body over its entire form from the toes to the top of the head usually done by men on women (sexual interest) or by women on other women (competition – sexual). When men look women over, they will stop at the buttocks, breasts and face.

In One Sentence: The once over indicates a sexual interest or is meant to issue a combative challenge.

How To Use it: Men and women can both use the “once over” to signal to a partner that they find them appealing. Women should look men up and down pausing on the groin area or buttocks, shoulders and face. Eye contact should be made to anchor the message. A subtle lip lick will produce an unmistakable message. Men can also signal interest by making forays to the rest of the body. This should be done either covertly so as to create the impression of respect or, conversely, aggressively and with confidence to show high dominance in an unapologetic fashion. Mixing the two strategies will result in a poor impression – so choose one and use it wisely.

It should be noted that women generally, do not take well to the once over, at least at a conscious level. Subconsciously, women appreciate being desired. However, many times this is context specific. Being in a committed relationships can sometimes be a moral hindrance to being coveted, other times the once over “compliment” must come from a desirable potential suitor.

Women can also challenge other women by gazing them in a “once over” fashion to tell them that they “have problems.” Looking askance and performing the once over tells other women that they are on their hit list.

If men wish to intimidate and assault women, they may use the “once over” to metaphorically “undress them.” No good results will come from an unwelcome eye pattern, so be warned.

Context: a) Dating b) General/Business/Social.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m looking you all over from your head to your toes stopping at your assets to measuring my interest in you.” [men on women and women on men] b) “I’m checking you out to see if you’re hotter than me and are going to be one of my direct competitors in the sexual marketplace.” [normally women on women]

Variant: Look under Eye Language (category) to see many ways the eyes convey hidden meaning.

Cue In Action: a) Dave and Mary carefully checked each other out over the course of the party so as to not appear overt and offensive. b) The new intern had arrived and Mary, the long time staff member knew full well that she would be trouble. Mary did the once-over on Katie and noticed that her skirt was too short and her cleavage was showing. Mary knew right away that they wouldn’t get along and that she needed to make it known that the office wouldn’t tolerate unprofessional attire.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It has been shown that both men and women both check each other out sexually, but women are able to do so more discretely. Women are rarely caught looking men over due to their superior peripheral vision. Men have hunter eyes and focus intently on smaller areas than women making them easier to catch in the act.

When the once-over signals competitiveness it is usually done by women onto other women looking for a “cat fight” or looking to size other women up in the sexual marketplace. This is a little acknowledged fact. Women are usually terribly conscious of the attractiveness of the other women around them whether they admit it or not. New rivals appear as targets ripe for their judgment and assessment which usually occurs behind closed doors as gossip or subtle meanness. A new associate, particularly ones who are much younger and more attractive will be seen as a potential rival whom must be neutralized and brought up to speed with office norms.

Thus, the once over can be a measure of a woman’s desire to maintain her rank in the female social order. When men perform the once over on women, it can be a sign that he is interested or at the very least verifying his interest.

Cue Cluster: This cue is a stand-alone cue and can happen independently of any other.

Body Language Category: Approach tell, Aggressive body language, Courtship display, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Intention movements, Liking, Micromessaging.

Resources:

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Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Arousal, Emotional body language, Hostile body language, Microexpression, Microgestures, Negative body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Nasal Wing Dilation or Nose Flaring

by Chris • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Nasal Wing Dilation or Nose Flaring

Cue: Nasal Wing Dilation or Nose Flaring

Synonym(s): Nose Flaring, Flared Nostrils.

Description: The wings of the nose flexes and flares as if taking in a big breath of air. However, they often remain fixed in place in a more permanent fashion.

In One Sentence: Flared nostrils signals a negative thought pattern and aggression.

How To Use it: Use flared nostrils to show others that you disapprove of them or their ideas. By responding to someone with flared nostrils you can tell them that what they have said is not appropriate or that you disagree. As it is close to disdain, it can be potent. When done at the sight of someone, will tell them that you don’t like them and they are on your bad list.

Flaring the nostrils is a great way to tell others that your aggression is rising. Thus, use the signal to tell others to correct their behaviour before you lash out at them.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “We’ve probably got a problem on our hands, time to load up on oxygen as we might need to fight or take flight!”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: His boss came down hard on him and prodded him until he neared his breaking point. His nose flared and his fist balled up. One wrong step and he was fully prepared to act out his aggression.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Nasal wing dilation is part of the fight and flight response because it tells us that someone is actively oxygenating their bodies in preparation to do something important. Our bodies consume oxygen during work, and we can get our bodies ready by loading up hemoglobin which is the carrier of the oxygen molecule, just in case it’s needed for an intense bout of work. As people get ready to fight, their chests can be seen rapidly expanding and contracting as if panting.

Sometimes though, nasal wing dilation is actually in response to doing something physical, be it to move a heavy sofa or taking to a flight of stairs. Other times, nostrils flare when aroused by a potential mate who is seeking to take up an alluring scent laced with sexual pheromones.

However, as mentioned this cue can be very important in certain context as it may provide clues to potential aggression. School aged children should learn this nonverbal cue early on so as to diffuse aggression by bullies.

Cue Cluster: Aggressive body language can happen by clenching the fists, finger pointing, loose or tense body, jaw clenching, quivering lips, frowning, furrowing, lowered eyebrows, dilated pupils, squinting of the eyes, crotch displays, sneering, hands on hips, leaning in or shrinking the distance, flushing,

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arousal, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Emotional body language, Hostile body language, Microexpressions, Microgestures, Negative body language, Threat displays.

Resources:

Aviezer, Hillel; Ran R. Hassin; Jennifer Ryan; Cheryl Grady; Josh Susskind; Adam Anderson; Morris Moscovitch and Shlomo Bentin. Angry, Disgusted, or Afraid? Studies on the Malleability of Emotion Perception. Psychological Science. 2008. 19(7): 724-732.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/emotions-read-context-study/

Aaron, Sell; Cosmides, Leda and Tooby, John. The Human Anger Face Evolved to Enhance Cues of Strength. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2014. 35(5): 425-429.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-universal-anger-face/

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Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Authoritative body language, Dominant body language, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Loud Voice

by Chris • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Loud Voice

Cue: Loud Voice

Synonym(s): Shrill Voice, Screaming, Yelling, Booming Voice.

Description: A voice that is forceful and overtakes a room or conversation. It can be booming and baritone or a high pitched soprano shrill.

In One Sentence: A loud voice is a sign of dominance and signals a passion to be heard.

How To Use it: Men benefit best by using a booming voice as it comes across as more dominant. Men can use their loud and deep voice to command respect and be heard. A loud voice is best used to show passion, but it can also be used to demand respect and authority. However, while the loudest voice is most likely to be heard, it is not always the one that is most likely to be listened to. Thus, one should use a loud voice with care so as not to appear belligerent. A loud voice, in the right context shows others that you are passionate, but used incorrectly is taken negatively.

Women should use a loud voice to encourage, but when angry should lower their voices to mirror that of men’s voices. A high pitched shrill voice is rarely seen as positive – though will often command temporary obedience.

How a loud voice is used depends largely on the context. One can use a loud voice to be silly and show amusement but also to scold and dish out punishment. In either case, one should use a loud voice with care so that it does not result in a poor result.

Context: a) General b) Business.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in charge, passionate, and want to be heard or the center of everyone’s attention. I use a loud booming, or shrill voice, so people pay me attention.”

Variant: See Becoming Quiet or Whispering for the opposite cue.

Cue In Action: a) She was the life of the party, laughing, talking loudly, carrying on and telling jokes that every enjoyed. b) When he spoke everyone listened. His voice boomed and controlled a room, he was passionate and dominant and he really loved his work. His enthusiasm was overwhelming. c) They both raised their volume to try to drown the other out with all the noise. Neither person made any valid argument – at least ones that could be properly understood.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The aim of the speaker is to avoid being overlooked. The loud voice stems from a person who wishes to gain attention and control others through authority and intimidation.

The overall meaning of a loud voice is highly context specific. Sometimes people misread loud voices as confidence which is rarely the case as usually it comes from people who fear not being heard. Often, loud voices are aimed at speaking over others and show egotism and impatience. Loud voices can also be used to persuade others, but by trying to create submission in them rather than use constructive reasoning. Loud voices can be used to drown out counterpoints.

A loud voice may be used to compensate for a perceived personal flaw, a reaction to hearing loss or inebriation.

When men use a loud voice in business, it often, though not exclusively, implies passion but is often misinterpreted, especially by women, to be negative in nature. However, the cues of a passionate speaker will be directed at the objective – the desired results rather than aimed at a specific person. A loud voice sometimes means confrontation but will be coupled with adjoining cues such as physical encroachment and finger pointing.

Cue Cluster: A loud voice is associated with passionate gesticulation, batoning, fish chopping and the person will usually be standing to gain a height advantage. When passion meets aggression the loud speaker will encroach on another’s personal space, will use piercing eye contact and finger pointing.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Authoritative body language, Dominant body language, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Threat displays.

Resources:

Apicella, Coren L. and David R. Feinberg. Voice Pitch Alters Mate-Choice-Relevant Perception in Hunter–Gatherers. Proc. R. Soc. B. 2009. 276: 1077–1082
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http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/impress-higher-pitched-voice/

Apicella C. L.; D. R. Feinberg and F. W. Marlowe. Voice Pitch Predicts Reproductive Success in Male Hunter-Gatherers. Biology Letters. 2007. 3:682–684. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0410
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Burriss. Intrasexual Competition Among Women: Vocal Femininity Affects Perceptions of Attractiveness And Flirtatiousness. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011; 50: 111-115.
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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.

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Fraccaro, Paul J.; Benedict C. Jones; Jovana Vukovic; Finlay G. Smith; Christopher D. Watkins; David R. Feinberg; Anthony C. Little and Lisa M. Debruine. Experimental Evidence That Women Speak in a Higher Voice Pitch to Men They Find Attractive. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 2011. 9(1): 57-67.
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Susan Hughes, Justin Mogilski, Marissa Harrison. The Perception and Parameters of Intentional Voice Manipulation. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 2014 DOI: 10.1007/s10919-013-0163
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Sei Jin Ko; Melody S. Sadler and Adam D. Galinsky. The Sound of Power Conveying and Detecting Hierarchical Rank Through Voice. Psychological Science. 2014. DOI: 956797614553009
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Singh, L., Morgan, J. L., & Best, C. T. (2002). Infants’ listening preferences: Baby talk or happy talk? Infancy, 3, 365–394.

Scherer, Klaus R. Personality inference from voice quality: The loud voice of extroversion. European Journal of Social Psychology. 1978 8(4): 467-487.

Siegman, Aron Wolfe ; Boyle and Stephen Mineka. Voices of Fear and Anxiety and Sadness and Depression: The Effects of Speech Rate and Loudness on Fear and Anxiety and Sadness and Depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1993. 102(3): 430-437.

Trainor, L. J., Austin, C. M., & Desjardins, R. N. (2000). Is infant-directed speech prosody a result of the vocal expression of emotion? Psychological Science, 11, 188–195.

Walker-Andrews, A., & Grolnick, W. (1983). Discrimination of vocal expressions by young infants. Infant Behavior and Development, 6, 491–498

Zuckerman, M., & Driver, R. (1989). What sounds beautiful is good: the vocal attractiveness stereotype. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 13, 67–82.

*No Photo, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Microgestures, Micromessaging, Threat displays

Body Language of Looking Past People or Looking Through People

by Chris • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Looking Past People or Looking Through People

Cue: Looking Past People or Looking Through People.

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: The deliberate avoidance of eye contact by defocusing the eyes. The eye cue will make is seem as though people are being peering through, gazed upon as an object, or as if are being looked right through, as if not in existence.

In One Sentence: Looking through people is to dehumanize.

How To Use it: Looking through people is a strong nonverbal message. It is useful when you wish to power-play a person. It says that they are not even worth acknowledging. Thus it is extremely powerful and should used with care. To wag a nonverbal war, this is the go-to signal. At social events, you might look in the general direction or even at a person with a dead pan expression without making any verbal acknowledgement. You’ve got them, if they so much as nod or smile in view of this signal. Any acknowledgment, by them, says that they still wish to interact with you, and thus relinquish to you, social power. The signal is especially potent when done to loved ones because it reduces them to the status of an object.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I see you but I look at you as if you don’t exist or only exist as a non-human entity so my eyes glaze over and I lack any sort of facial expression. My eye contact is overt, but piercing and causes discomfort. I’m trying to dehumanize you and project superiority, dominance and dismissal.”

Variant: Staring or The Evil Eye, Eye Aversion, Gaze Avoidance and Wandering Eyes, Downcast Eyes or Eyes Down, Eye Rolling or Eye Shrug, Eye Squinting or Narrowing Eyes.

Cue In Action: She looked at her rival with contempt, casting eye-darts at her. When she tried to apologize, she peered right through her, as if she didn’t exist.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The nonverbal interpretation of such a cue includes dominance, superiority, dismissal, or outright rudeness.

This is an intense form of eye contact avoidance especially when done to quell the desired connectivity of another person especially while participating in a conversation. Looking through someone is often done across the room where distance creates additional separation and meaning.

When looking through others, a person who wishes to show distain will take an active stance at minimizing their interaction and dehumanize through glaring without affect, or facial expressions while peering longer than usual to drive the point.

Cue Cluster: The eyes and face are usually blank, a person will usually maintain a conversation with another person or will carry on with another activity without interruption.

Body Language Category: Arrogance or arrogant body language, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Microgestures, Micromessaging, Threat displays.

Resources:

Aguinis, Herman ; Simonsen, Melissam. ; Pierce, Charlesa. Effects of Nonverbal Behavior on Perceptions of Power Bases. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1998. 138(4): 455-469.

Aguinis, Herman ; Henle, Christinea. Effects of Nonverbal Behavior on Perceptions of a Female Employee’s Power Bases. The Journal of Social Psychology. 2001 141(4): 537-549.

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.

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

Chen, Yi-Chia ; Yeh, Su-Ling. Look into my eyes and I will see you: Unconscious processing of human gaze. Consciousness and Cognition. 2012 21(4): 1703-1710.

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

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.

Heisel, Marnin ; Mongrain, Myriam. Facial Expressions and Ambivalence: Looking for Conflict in All the Right Faces. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2004. 28(1): 35-52.

Jenkins, R., Beaver, J.D., & Calder, A.J. (2006). I thought you were looking at me: Direction-specific aftereffects in gaze perception. Psychological Science, 17, 506–513.

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.

King, Laura A. Ambivalence over emotional expression and reading emotions in situations and faces. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998 74(3): 753(10)

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.

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.

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/

Straube, Thomas ; Langohr, Bernd ; Schmidt, Stephanie ; Mentzel, Hans-Joachim ; Miltner, Wolfgang H.R. Increased amygdala activation to averted versus direct gaze in humans is independent of valence of facial expression. NeuroImage. 2010 49(3): 2680-2686.

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.

Vanderhasselt, Marie – Anne ; Kühn, Simone ; De Raedt, Rudi. Put on your poker face’: neural systems supporting the anticipation for expressive suppression and cognitive reappraisal. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 2013 8(8): 903-910.

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

Weisfeld, Glenn E. and Jody M. Beresford. Erectness of Posture as an Indicator of Dominance or Success in Humans. Motivation and Emotion. 1982. 6(2): 113-130.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-cues-dominance-submission-children/

*No Photo, Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Microgestures, Micromessaging, Threat displays

Body Language of Looking Askance

by Chris • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Looking Askance

Cue: Looking Askance.

Synonym(s): Sideways Glance, Sidelong Glance, Glancing Sideways.

Description: Looking askance is a nonverbal cue that is done with the eyes and head in combination. It is done by tilting the head slightly to the side but stopping short of facing head-on. The eyes are then rolled the rest of the way with the face forming a scowl.

In One Sentence: Looking askance is a signal of disapproval.

How To Use it: Mothers, wives and girlfriends can use the signal to show nonverbal aggression and disapproval. If done with eyes and faces that are stern, it will show aggression. Used effectively, the glare will stop conversation or bad behaviour in its tracks. The cue can also be used by men, but it is much more effectively used by women.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “You didn’t just say that, you better start backpedaling.” “I heard what you said loud and clear, but I’m not buying what you’re selling.”

Variant: See Eye Rolling or Eye Shrug.

Cue In Action: He was about to grab some more candy from the treat shelf in the pantry. Mom stopped, looked askance at her little boy. He frozen-in-plain-sight, hunched up his shoulders and scuttled away. Not one word needed to be said.

Meaning and/or Motivation: This face shows disapproval, distrust and suspicion. It indicates hostility when accompanied by appropriate cues in a cluster such as a harsh stare and hard eyes.

Alternatively it can spell attraction or interest when it is done so as to avoid detection such as when stealing a look.

This cue is commonly associated with a disapproving mother-type, although this is usually in its exaggerated form. When the gesture happens quickly it is usually disapproval, judgment and questioning as if to suggest that something someone said needs to be taken back because it was judged to be unintelligent or rude.

Cue Cluster: Looking askance is a standalone cue as it speaks volumes. It is generally accompanied by a rigid body tone and fixed gaze.

Body Language Category: Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Eye Language, Hostile body language, Microexpressions, Micromessaging, Threat displays.

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.

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

Bania, Amanda E. ; Stromberg, Erin E. Call, Joseph (editor). The Effect of Body Orientation on Judgments of Human Visual Attention in Western Lowland Gorillas.
Journal of Comparative Psychology. 2013. 127(1): 82-90.

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.

Friesen, C.K., & Kingstone, A. (1998). The eyes have it: Reflexive orienting is triggered by nonpredictive gaze. Psychonomic Bulletin and Review, 5, 490–493.

George, N., Driver, J., & Dolan, R. J. (2001). Seen gaze-direction modulates fusiform activity and its coupling with other brain areas during face processing. Neuroimage, 13, 1102–1112.

Hietanen, J. K. (1999). Does your gaze direction and head orientation shift my visual attention? Neuroreport, 10, 3443–3447.

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

Hietanen, Jari. Social attention orienting integrates visual information from head and body orientation. Psychological Research.2002 66(3): 174-179.

Heisel, Marnin ; Mongrain, Myriam. Facial Expressions and Ambivalence: Looking for Conflict in All the Right Faces. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2004. 28(1): 35-52.

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.

Kawashima, R., Sugiura, M., Kato, T., Nakamura, A., Hatano, K., Ito, K., Fukuda, H., Kojima, S., & Nakamura, K. (1999). The human amygdala plays an important role in gaze monitoring: A PET study. Brain, 122, 779–783.

King, Laura A. Ambivalence over emotional expression and reading emotions in situations and faces. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1998 74(3): 753(10)

Langton, S. R. H. (2000). The mutual influence of gaze and head orientation in the analysis of social attention direction. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 53A, 825–845.

Langton, S. R. H., & Bruce, V. (1999). Reflexive visual orienting in response to the social attention of others. Visual Cognition, 6, 541–567.

Langton, S. R. H., & Bruce, V. (2000). You must see the point: Automatic processing of cues to the direction of social attention. Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance, 26, 747–757.

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.

Lance, Brent ; Marsella, Stacy. Glances, glares, and glowering: how should a virtual human express emotion through gaze? Autonomous Agents and Multi-Agent Systems, 2010. 20(1): 50-69

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.

Matsumoto, David. Scalar Ratings Of Contempt Expressions Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2005. 29(2): 91-104.

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

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

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.

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.

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

Wicker, B., Michel, F., Henaff, M.-A., & Decety, J. (1998). Brain regions involved in the perception of gaze: A PET study. Neuroimage, 8, 221–227.

Auto contact or self touching, Emotional body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Low confidence body language, Negative body language, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language

Body Language of Lip Picking

by Chris • October 24, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Lip Picking

Cue: Lip Picking.

Synonym(s): Picking The Lip.

Description: The skin of the lip is picked or plucked with the index and thumb.

In One Sentence: Picking the lips is a way people self harm as a way to retain perceived control over a world they see as working against them.

How To Use it: One should avoid picking the lips as it is universally perceived as a negative cue.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m anxious and can’t do anything about it or control it so instead of acting outwardly, I’ll pick my lip causing me pain, but it is at least pain that I can control.”

Variant: Sometimes the lip is rolled or squished together from corner to corner. See Lip Chewing or Chewing The Lips, Lip Biting or Biting The Lip, Lip Picking, Self Harm.

Cue In Action: Exam time coupled with missing her family was the worst for her nerves. She frequently picked her lips as a result of her discomfort and anxiety.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Picking the lips indicates hidden insecurity, anxiety, embarrassment, vulnerability and a lack of self confidence.

Lip picking is a form of self-harm that a person uses to attempt to regain the loss of control they feel surrounding their anxiety. When done out of habit and in extreme cases, it can produce visible marks on the lips such as cuts, bruising, and even bleeding. In these cases, it can indicate a pathology and even depression brought about by extreme anxiety.

The lips are highly sensitive and when they are manipulated through pain, they are a reflection of an internal battle that is being waged to which a person has no external method of resolving. Biting the lip indicates a reserved demeanor and an inability to speak up, as does lip picking, except this is more to do with negative self-judgment rather than a judgment stemming from others.

Cue Cluster: Lip picking is accompanied by eyes turned downward and glazed over, head down, the shoulders slumped and body turned away.

Body Language Category: Auto contact or self touching, Emotional body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Low confidence body language, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Breau, Lynn M. ; Camfield, Carol S. ; Symons, Frank J. ; Bodfish, James W. ; MacKay, Alison ; Finley, G.Allen ; McGrath, Patrick J. Relation between pain and self-injurious behavior in nonverbal children with severe cognitive impairments. The Journal of Pediatrics. 2003 142(5): 498-503.

Croyle, Kristin L. ; Waltz, Jennifer. Subclinical Self-Harm: Range of Behaviors, Extent, and Associated Characteristics. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2007. 77(2): 332-342.

Christenson, Gary A. ; Mackenzie, Thomas B. ; Mitchell, James E. Characteristics of 60 adult chronic hair pullers. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1991. 148(3): 365(6).

Colville, G A; Mok, Q. Psychological management of two cases of self injury on the paediatric intensive care unit. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2003. 88(4): 335.

Feteih RM: Signs and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders and Oral Parafunctions in Urban Saudi Arabian Adolescents: A Research Report. Head Face Med. 2006. 2: 25.

Ghanizadeh, Ahmad and Hajar Shekoohi. Prevalence of Nail Biting and its Association With Mental Health in a Community Sample of Children. BMC Research Notes. 4 (Apr. 11, 2011): p116. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1756-0500-4-116.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-nail-biting/

Gavish A, Halachmi M, Winocur E, Gazit E: Oral Habits and Their Association With Signs and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders in Adolescent Girls. Journal of Oral Rehabilation. 2000, 27(1): 22-32.

Ghanizadeh A: Association of Nail Biting and Psychiatric Disorders in Children and Their Parents in a Psychiatrically Referred Sample of Children. Child Adolescents
Psychiatry Mental Health. 2008. 2(1):13.

Ghanizadeh, Ahmad. Association of nail biting and psychiatric disorders in children and their parents in a psychiatrically referred sample of children.(Research)(Clinical report). Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Mental Health. 2008. 2(13): 13.

Garnefski N 2004) Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms: differences between males and female. Personal Indiv Diff 36: 267–76.

Harriss, Louise ; Hawton, Keith. Deliberate self-harm in rural and urban regions: A comparative study of prevalence and patient characteristics. Social Science & Medicine. 2011. 73(2): 274-281.

Huflejt-Łukasik M, Czarnota-Bojarska J (2006) Short Communication: Selffocused attention and self-monitoring influence on health and coping with stress. Stress Health 22: 153–59.

Jaquier, Véronique ; Hellmuth, Julianne C. ; Sullivan, Tami P.. Posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms as correlates of deliberate self-harm among community women experiencing intimate partnerviolence. Psychiatry Research. 2013. 206(1): 37-42.

Jacobson, Colleenm. ; Muehlenkamp, Jenniferj. ; Miller, Alecl. ; Turner, J. Blake. Psychiatric Impairment Among Adolescents Engaging in Different Types of Deliberate Self-Harm. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology. 2008. 37(2): 363-375.

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

Kravitz, Harvey. Lip biting in infancy. The Journal of Pediatrics. 1964. 65(1): 136-138.

Lyon, Lionel Sasson. A behavioral treatment of compulsive lip-biting. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 1983. 14(3): 275-276.

Laye – Gindhu, Aviva ; Schonert – Reichl, Kimberly A.. Nonsuicidal Self-Harm among Community Adolescents: Understanding the “Whats” and “Whys” of Self-Harm. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2005. 34(5): 447-457.

Mohiyeddini, C., Bauer, S., & Semple, S. (2013a). Displacement behaviour is associated with reduced stress levels among men but not women. PLoS One, 8, e56355.

Mohiyeddini, C., Bauer, S., & Semple, S. (2013b). Public self-consciousness moderates the link between displacement behaviour and experience of stress in women. Stress, 16, 384–392.

Mohiyeddini, C., & Semple, S. (2013). Displacement behaviour regulates the experience of stress in men. Stress, 16, 163–171.

Nolen-Hoeksema S, Aldao A (2011) Gender and age differences in emotion regulation strategies and their relationship to depressive symptoms. Personal Indiv Diff 51: 704–8.

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

Nock, Matthew K. Actions speak louder than words: An elaborated theoretical model of the social functions of self-injury and other harmful behaviors. Applied and Preventive Psychology. 2008. 12(4): 159-168.

Pelc AW, Jaworek AK: Interdisciplinary Approach to Onychophagia. Przegl Lek. 2003. 60(11): 737-739.

Ross, Shana ; Heath, Nancy. A Study of the Frequency of Self-Mutilation in a Community Sample of Adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence. 2002. 31(1):.67-77.

Seekles, Wike ; van Straten, Annemieke ; Beekman, Aartjan ; van Marwijk, Harm ; Cuijpers, Pim. Effectiveness of guided self-help for depression and anxiety disorders in primary care: A pragmatic randomized controlled trial. Psychiatry Research. 2011. 187(1): 113-120.

Straker, Gillian. Signing with a Scar: Understanding Self-Harm. Psychoanalytic Dialogues. 2006. 16(1): 93-112

Tureck, Kim ; Matson, Johnny L. ; Beighley, Jennifer S. An investigation of self-injurious behaviors in adults with severe intellectual disabilities. Research in Developmental Disabilities. 2013. 34(9): 2469-2474.

Tanaka OM, Vitral RW, Tanaka GY, Guerrero AP, Camargo ES: Nailbiting, or Onychophagia: A Special Habit. American Journal of Orthod Dentofacial Orthop. 2008. 134(2): 305-308.

Tamres L, Janicki D, Helgeson VS (2002) Sex differences in coping behaviour: a meta-analytic review. Personal Soc Psychol Rev 6: 2–30.

Troisi A (2002) Displacement activities as a behavioural measure of stress in nonhuman primates and human subjects. Stress 5: 47–54.

Troisi A (1999) Ethological research in clinical psychiatry: the study of nonverbal behaviour during interviews. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 23: 905–913.

Troisi A, Moles A (1999) Gender differences in depression: an ethological study of nonverbal behaviour during interviews. J Psychiatr Res 33: 243–250.

Tamres L, Janicki D, Helgeson VS (2002) Sex differences in coping behaviour: a meta-analytic review. Personal Soc Psychol Rev 6: 2–30.

von Hippel W, von Hippel C, Conway L, Preacher KJ, Schooler JW, et al. (2005) Coping with stereotype threat: denial as an impression management strategy. J Personal Soc Psychol 89: 22–35.

*No Photo, Anxious body language, Clenching and gripping, Depressive body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Intention movements, Leaked or involuntary body language, Low confidence body language, Masked emotions, Microgestures, Negative body language, Nervous Body Language, Oral displacement activities, Pacifying body language, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Stressful body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Lip Chewing or Chewing The Lips

by Chris • October 23, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Lip Chewing or Chewing The Lips

Cue: Lip Chewing or Chewing The Lips

Synonym(s): Chewing The Lips, Biting The Lip, Lip Nibble, Cheek Biting, Lip-to-Lip Bite, Lip Chewing.

Description: a) The lower or upper lip is bitten. b) The lips are brought tightly together against the teeth as if the lips are biting each other in a lip-to-lip bite. It is visible as the lips come inward slightly. c) The teeth bite the insides of the cheeks or the corner of the mouth visible as the mouth is contorted sideways to bring the cheek toward the teeth. The lips may purse and also bounce up and down as if chewing food.

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

How To Use it: One should avoid chewing on the lips as it tells others that you are suffering from negative internal emotions. Feigning or actual negative emotions, on the other hand, can incentivize others to offer care and support. Therefore, the signal has applications as an honest gesture of suffering.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m pacifying and punishing myself due to the negative thoughts and feelings I carry around with me.”

Variant: When pacifying is necessary, people find comfort in biting other objects such as pencils, their fingernails or the stems of their glasses. They may also pull and pinch at themselves. See Lip Biting or Biting The Lip, Lip Picking.

Cue In Action: She was on antidepressant medication and seeing a shrink but even in benign social situations, she would be found fretting as she chewed the insides of her cheeks.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Sucking, plucking, picking or chewing the lips, rubbing them with a finger or thumb are all forms of auto touching. Confident individuals would never consider using this type of behaviour out of insecurity.

When someone feels anxious they habitually find an outlet via chewing. Usually this is a pencil or pen, fingers or finger nails but when nothing else is available or as a default, the lips or sides of the mouth are chewed.

This is a subconscious return to the mouthing of a breast and reminds adults of the tactile pacifier which it served in infancy. The lips often serve as outlets for anxiety because they are always readily available unlike a pencil or other soother. Lip and cheek biting can also be a form of self-restraint, though usually not if it is done persistently, but rather suddenly in response to a certain message or stimuli. Alternatively, lip chewing can signify the desire to act out aggressively where the pain is turned inward rather than expressed outwardly.

Cue Cluster: When someone is anxious, expect their bodies to reflect a desire to turn inwards such as eyes turned downward and glazed over, head down and the shoulders slump. Emotional downtime, when people escape inward while in public, is characterized by pauses in breathing, subtle chewing of the lips, or very brief eye freezes or glazing over.

Body Language Category: Anxious body language, Clenching and gripping, Depressive body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Intention movements, Leaked or involuntary body language, Low confidence body language, Masked emotions, Microgestures, Negative body language, Nervous body language, Oral displacement activities, Pseudo-infantile gestures, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language, Threat displays.

Resources:

Croyle, Kristin L. ; Waltz, Jennifer. Subclinical Self-Harm: Range of Behaviors, Extent, and Associated Characteristics. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry. 2007. 77(2): 332-342.

Colville, G A; Mok, Q. Psychological management of two cases of self injury on the paediatric intensive care unit. Archives of Disease in Childhood. 2003. 88(4): 335.

Christenson, Gary A. ; Mackenzie, Thomas B. ; Mitchell, James E. Characteristics of 60 adult chronic hair pullers. American Journal of Psychiatry. 1991. 148(3): 365(6).

Feteih RM: Signs and Symptoms of Temporomandibular Disorders and Oral Parafunctions in Urban Saudi Arabian Adolescents: A Research Report. Head Face Med. 2006. 2: 25.

Harriss, Louise ; Hawton, Keith. Deliberate self-harm in rural and urban regions: A comparative study of prevalence and patient characteristics. Social Science & Medicine. 2011. 73(2): 274-281.

Garnefski N 2004) Cognitive emotion regulation strategies and depressive symptoms: differences between males and female. Personal Indiv Diff 36: 267–76.

Huflejt-Łukasik M, Czarnota-Bojarska J (2006) Short Communication: Selffocused attention and self-monitoring influence on health and coping with stress. Stress Health 22: 153–59.
Jaquier, Véronique ; Hellmuth, Julianne C. ; Sullivan, Tami P.. Posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms as correlates of deliberate self-harm among community women experiencing intimate partnerviolence. Psychiatry Research. 2013. 206(1): 37-42.