Category: Hostile body language

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Body pointing, Displacement behaviour, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Hostile body language, Intention movements, Negative body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Jabbing The Finger

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Jabbing The Finger

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Jabbing 2Cue: Jabbing The Finger

Synonym(s): Finger Jabbing, Foot Jabbing

Description: A type of finger pointing but with added emphasis and direction, usually aimed at a person who is being spoken to, and repeated rhythmically. At times, a finger might actually physically make contact with another person to make the cue more salient.

In One Sentence: Finger jabbing is a rude gesture symbolizing being poked by a spear.

How To Use it: Use finger jabbing when you want to use nonverbal aggression to make a point. Jabbing the finger with every point tells others that you should be taken seriously through force and intimidation. In an emotionally charged debate one can use the finger jab to drive your point home.

On the other hand, to appear more rational, drop the finger jab and instead use a calm voice and fluid hand movements to make a proper “point.”

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I trying to make a point that I feel strongly about. I’m jabbing my fingers toward you like I would jab a spear. I really want to drive my idea home.”

Variant: The feet are sometimes jabbed or kicked in the direction of other people or during heated situations. Other times, a finger only points in the direction of another person and lacks a jabbing motion. Also see Baton Gesture.

Cue In Action: It was nearing blows. They both exclaimed their case with extreme enthusiasm. At one point, she was shouting and jabbing at close quarters and encroaching on his personal space.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Finger jabbing is a rude gesture. It is as if the person is being stabbed with a spear, especially if is present in a particularly negative or heated context. The voracity and amplitude of the jab outlines the degree of emotion present.

Other times, a jab can be a playful expression between say an uncle and his nephew to tickle his sides and have him giggle.

Cue Cluster: Expect to see violations of personal space, loud voices and shouting, wide focus intense eyes, erratic arm movements, puffing of the chest, arms akimbo and chin jutting.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Body pointing, Displacement behaviour, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Hostile body language, Intention movements, Negative body language, Threat displays.

Resources:

Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. 1997. Wiley.

Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of
Psychology, 53, 27–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.
135231.

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.
LINK yyyy

App, Betsy; Catherine L. Reed and Daniel N. McIntosh. Relative Contributions Of Face And Body Configurations: Perceiving Emotional State And Motion Intention. Cognition and Emotion. 2012. 26(4): 690-698.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/facial-expressions-versus-bodily-expressions-nonverbal-communication/

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.

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

Anderson, J. (1972). “Attachment Behavior Out of Doors.” In N. G. Blurton Jones (Ed.), Ethological Studies of Child Behaviour (Cambridge: University Press), pp. 199-215.

Bruner, J. (1978). “On Prelinguistic Prerequisites of Speech.” In R. N. Campbell and P. T. Smith, eds., Recent Advances in the Psychology of Language (New York: Plenum Press), pp. 199-214.

Call, B., Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (1998). Chimpanzee gaze following in an object-choice task. Animal Cognition, 1, 89–99.

Behne, T., Carpenter, M., & Tomasello, M. (2005). One-Year-Olds Comprehend The Communicative Intentions Behind Gestures In A Hiding Game. Developmental Science, 8, 492–499.

Broth, Mathias and Lorenza Mondada. Walking Away: The Embodied Achievement of Activity Closings in Mobile Interaction. Journal of Pragmatics. 2013. 47: 41-58.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbally-negotiate-conversation-walking-away/

Ekman, Paul, and Wallace V. Friesen (1969b). “The Repertoire of Nonverbal Behavior: Categories, Origins, Usage, and Coding.” In Semiotica (Vol. 1), pp. 49-98.

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

Gräfenhaina, Maria; Tanya Behnea; Malinda Carpentera; and Michael Tomaselloa. One-Year-Olds’ Understanding Of Nonverbal Gestures Directed To A Third Person. Cognitive Development. 2009. 24: 23-33. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/origins-nonverbal-communication-body-language-infants-study/

Gray, Hilary (1978). “Learning to Take an Object from the Mother.” In Andrew Lock, ed., Action, Gesture and Symbol: The Emergence of Language (New York: Academic Press), pp. 159-82.

Hatz, Jessica L. and Martin J. Bourgeois. Anger as a Cue to Truthfulness. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2010. 46: 680-683.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/anger-nonverbal-cue-truth-telling/

Hubbard, J. A. Emotion expression processes in children’s peer interaction: The role of Peer Rejection, Aggression, and Gender. Child Development. 2001. 72: 1426-1438.

Hubbard, J. A., Smithmyer, C. M., Ramsden, S. R., Parker, E. H., Flanagan, K. D., Dearing, K. F., Relyea, N., & Simons, R. F. Observational, Physiological, and Self-Reported Measures of Children’s Anger: Relations to Reactive Versus Proactive
Aggression. Child Development. 2002. 73, 1101-1118.

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

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

Kret, M. E. and B. de Gelder. When a Smile Becomes a Fist: The Perception of Facial and Bodily Expressions of Emotion in Violent Offenders. Exp Brain Res. 2013. 228: 399-410. DOI 10.1007/s00221-013-3557-6.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/reading-bodily-postures-facial-expressions-incorrectly-can-disastrous-just-ask-violent-offenders/

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

Marsh, Abigail A; Henry H. Yu; Julia C. Schechter and R. J. R. Blair. Larger than Life: Humans’ Nonverbal Status Cues Alter Perceived Size. PLoS ONE. 2009. 4(5): e5707. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005707. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/large-life-nonverbal-dominance-affects-perception-size/

Marsh, Abigail A; Karina S. Blair; Matthew M. Jones; Niveen Soliman, and R. J. R. Blair. Dominance and Submission: The Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Responses to Status Cues Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2009. 21:4, pp. 713–724.

Murphy, Catherine M. (1978). “Pointing in the Context of a Shared Activity.” In Child Development (Vol. 49), pp. 371-80.

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

Núria Esteve-Gibert and Pilar Prieto. Infants Temporally Coordinate Gesture-Speech Combinations Before They Produce Their First Words. Speech Communication. 2014; 57 301-316.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/pointing-is-infants-first-communicative-gesture/

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.

Okken, Vanessa ; Van Rompay, Thomas ; Pruyn, Ad. Room to Move: On Spatial Constraints and Self-Disclosure During Intimate Conversations. Environment and Behavior. 2013. 45(6): 737-760.

Sell, A., Tooby, J., and Cosmides, L. Formidability and the Logic of Human Anger. Proceedings of the National Academy of Science. 2009. 106(35), 15073-78

Sinke, C.B, Sorger, B, Goebel, R, and de Gelder, B. Tease or Threat? Judging Social Interactions From Bodily Expressions. Neuroimage. A Journal of Brain Function. 2009. 49:1717-1727. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/friend-foe-let-body-language-decide

Sun Jung, Hyo Sun and Hye Hyun Yoon. The Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Employees in the Family Restaurant Upon Customers’ Emotional Responses and Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2011. 30: 542-550.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/effect-body-languagel-cues-family-restaurant/

Sell, A., Cosmides, L. and Tooby, J., The Human Anger Face Evolved to Enhance Cues of Strength. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2014, doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.05.008
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/human-anger-face-signal-strength

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.

Trevarthen, Colwyn (1977). “Descriptive Analysis of Infant Communicative Behaviour.” In H. R. Schaffer, ed., Studies in Mother-Infant Interaction (London: Academic Press), pp. 227-70.

van der Goot, Marloes H.; Michael Tomasello and Ulf Liszkowski. Differences in the Nonverbal Requests of Great Apes and Human Infants. Child Development. 2014. 85(2): 444–455.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-pointing-human-infants-point-manipulate-apes-point-reach/

*No Photo, Adaptors, Approach tell, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Crotch display, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Stubborn body language

Body Language of The Head Toss

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Toss

No picCue: Head Toss

Synonym(s): Flicking The Head.

Description: The head is tossed forward or backward.

In One Sentence: Tossing the head shows distain, or conversely, is a way to show off luscious hair (in a dating context).

How To Use it: Toss the head back and shake it to show that you disagree. You can use this in any context to send a strong nonverbal message of disapproval. Simply toss the head backward or from side-to-side to show that you do not approve. When you do so, imagine being “hit in the head” with a bad idea.

In dating, tossing the head is a way women (mostly) can show off their hair. This is especially so if it is long and free-flowing. Putting the hair in motion is a way to draw attention to it and its qualities. Television commercials use the hair toss effectively to show off their shampoo products. You can also produce a like effect. The hair toss is boosted in effectiveness when it is coupled with direct eye contact with whom you wish would notice. When the hair toss is done without eye contact, it is not anchored and therefore is a broadcast signal to anyone to which is visible.

Context: a) General, b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m not happy with you so I’m tossing my head back and shaking it from side to side showing my disdain and haughtiness.” b) “I’m sexually aroused and showing off my luscious hair by flicking and tossing it and hopefully you find that appealing.”

Variant: Sometimes the head is held high and tossed back showing extra verbal charge. See Hair Play.

Cue In Action: a) Eighteen year old Maggie wasn’t happy with her mom and made it known that she had no intension of serving her full punishment. She tossed her head back and shook it at the mere suggestion of being grounded. b) Eighteen year old Maggie tossed her head back while flicking her hair, batted her eyelashes and smiled coyly at the cute boy in her class.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Depending on context can be sexually suggestive or show disdain or haughtiness.

a) Disdain is usually done by women through a combination of a head backward with a small headshake. Sometimes the head is held high and shot forward to deliver a potent message. This shows no interest and no intention of complying, engaging further and certainly no interest in what is being said. b) When the head is meant to remove long hair from the face and coy eye contact is delivered to punctuate it, can mean a sexual invitation. c) Other times, the head is tossed back to remove hair from the eyes and has no other meaning.

Cue Cluster: See Meaning and Motivation for cue cluster.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Approach tell, Courtship display, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Stubborn body language.

Resources:

Abrahams, Matthewf.. Perceiving flirtatious communication: An exploration of the perceptual dimensions underlying judgments of flirtatiousness. Journal of Sex Research. 1994. 31(4): 283-292.

Abbey, A., and Melby, C. (1986). The effects of nonverbal cues on gender differences in perceptions of sexual intent. Sex Roles, 15, 283-298.

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

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

Cari D. Goetz; Judith A. Easton; David M.G. Lewis; David M. Buss. Sexual Exploitability: Observable Cues And Their Link To Sexual Attraction. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2012; 33: 417-426.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/victim-blaming-or-useful-information-in-preventing-rape-and-sexual-exploitation/

Curtis, Yvette ; Eddy, Lisabeth ; Ashdown, Brien K. ; Feder, Holly ; Lower, Timothy. Prelude to a coitus: Sexual initiation cues among heterosexual married couples. Sexual and Relationship Therapy. 2012. 27(4): 322-334.

Cantú, Stephanie M ; Simpson, Jeffry A ; Griskevicius, Vladas ; Weisberg, Yanna J ; Durante, Kristina M ; Beal, Daniel J. Fertile and Selectively Flirty. Psychological Science. 2014. 25(2): 431-438.

Clark, A. Attracting Interest: Dynamic Displays of Proceptivity Increase the Attractiveness of Men and Women. Evolutionary Psychology. 2008., 6(4), 563-574.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/risky-versus-proceptive-nonverbal-sexual-cues/

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/?preview=true

Fletcher, Garth J. O ; Kerr, Patrick S. G ; Li, Norman P ; Valentine, Katherine A. Predicting Romantic Interest and Decisions in the Very Early Stages of Mate Selection. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin. 2014 40(4): 540-550.

Givens D. The nonverbal basis of attraction: Flirtation, courtship, and seduction. Psychiatry. 1978. 41: 346.

Greer, Arlettee. ; Buss, Davidm. Tactics for promoting sexual encounters
Journal of Sex Research. 1994. 31(3): 185-201.

Goetz, Cari D.; Judith A. Easton; David M.G. Lewis; David M. Buss. Sexual Exploitability: Observable Cues And Their Link To Sexual Attraction. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2012; 33: 417-426.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/victim-blaming-or-useful-information-in-preventing-rape-and-sexual-exploitation/

Goetz, Cari D.; Judith A. Easton; Cindy M. Meston. The Allure of Vulnerability: Advertising Cues to Exploitability as a Signal of Sexual Accessibility. Personality and Individual Differences. 2013. 62: 121-125. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2014.02.019
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/allure-sexual-vulnerability-move/

Guéguen, N. The Effect Of A Woman’s Smile On Men’s Courtship Behavior. Social Behavior and Personality. 2008. 36(9): 1233-1236.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-women-can-use-a-simple-smile-to-attract-men/

Guéguen, Nicolas. Hair Color and Courtship: Blond Women Received More Courtship Solicitations and Redhead Men Received More Refusals. Psychol Stud. 2012. 57(4):369–375. DOI 10.1007/s12646-012-0158-6

Goodboy, Alan, K. and Maria Brann. Flirtation Rejection Strategies: Towards an Understanding of Communicative Disinterest in Flirting. The Quantitative Report. 2010. 15(2): 268-278.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-to-reject-flirting-using-nonverbal-and-verbal-tactics/

Givens, D. B. (1978). The non-verbal basis of attraction: Courtshipation, courtship and seduction. Psychiatry, 41, 346-351.

Grammer, Karl; Fink, Bernhard; Mller, Anders P.; Thornhill, Randy. Darwinian aesthetics: sexual selection and the biology of beauty. Biological Reviews. 2003. 78(3): 385-407.

Hugill, Nadine ; Fink, Bernhard ; Neave, Nick. The role of human body movements in mate selection. Evolutionary psychology: an international journal of evolutionary approaches to psychology and behavior. 2010 8(1): 66-89.

Hinsz, V. B., D. C. Matz, and R. A. Patience 2001 Does Women’s Hair Signal Reproductive Potential? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 37:166-172.

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/

Lockard, J.S., Adams, R.M. Courtship behaviors in public: Different age/sex roles. Ethology and Sociobiology l(3): 245-253 (1980).

Mesko, Norbert ; Bereczkei, Tamas. Hairstyle as an adaptive means of displaying phenotypic quality. Human Nature. 2004. 15(3): 251-270.

Moore, Monicam. Human Nonverbal Courtship Behavior—A Brief Historical Review. Journal of Sex Research. 2010 47(2-3): 171-180.

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, Monica. M. Nonverbal Courtship Patterns in Women: Context and consequences. Ethology and Sociobiology. 1985. 6:237- 247.

Moore, M. M. Courtship Communication and Perception. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2002. 94(1): 97-105. doi:10.2466/PMS.94.1.97-105.

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.

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/

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.

Patton, Tracey Owens. Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair. NWSA Journal. 2006. 18(2): 24-51.

Rosette, Ashleigh Shelby ; Dumas, Tracy L. The hair dilemma: conform to mainstream expectations or emphasize racial identity. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy. 2007. 14(1): 407(15).

Swami, Viren ; Barrett, Seishin. British men’s hair color preferences: An assessment of courtship solicitation and stimulus ratings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2011. 52(6): 595-600.

Singh, Devendra. Mating strategies of young women: Role of physical attractiveness. Journal of Sex Research. 2004. 41(1): 43-54.

Sorokowski, Piotr. Attractiveness of blonde women in evolutionary perspective: studies with two Polish samples. Perceptual and motor skills. 2008. 106(3): 737-44.

Synott, Anthony. 1987. Shame and glory: A sociology of hair. British Journal of Sociology. 38: 381-413.

Sturman, Edward D. Involuntary 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/

Thompson, Cheryl. Black Women, Beauty, and Hair as a Matter of Being. Women’s Studies. 2009. 38(8): 831-856.

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.

Walsh, D. G., & Hewitt, J. (1985). Giving Men The Come-On: Effect Of Eye Contact And Smiling In A Bar Environment. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 61, 873-874.

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Dominant body language, Doubt or disbelief body language, Evaluative body language, Expansive movements, Eye Language, Gravity defying body language, Hostile body language

Body Language of The Head Tilted Back

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Head Tilted Back

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Head Tilted Back 2Cue: Head Tilted Back

Synonym(s): Looking Down The Nose, Nose up gesture, Tilting The Head Back.

Description: A posture done by tilting the head back and looking down and across the bridge of the nose upon other people as if glaring. Sometimes the head is cocked to the side or the eyes peer over glasses.

In One Sentence: Tiling the head back indicates smugness and pride.

How To Use it: Tilt the head back to demonstrate pride after winning a dominance competition. The stance is appropriate after victory in sports as it is in any other situation where one must overcome great obstacles. Holding the head high will show others that you are winning in the battle of life and that you are worthy of special attention and to be followed. Holding the head high in business will show others that you have leadership qualities.

When one tilts the head back when pride is not earned, it can backfire and be read as smugness, so be prepared for challenges to your stance should you choose to apply them.

When you want to belittle another, simply title the head back and stare down your nose at them. This shows condescension. Think of the stern librarian as she lowers her eye glasses and glares down upon you.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m superior to you in many ways so I tilt my head back and appear haughty and special, demonstrating that you are not worthy of my gaze.”

Variant: See Peering Over Glasses, Chin Jut and Chin Lift.

Cue In Action: Upon entering a coffee shop, she turned the heads of men. When she noticed that she was being watched, she averted her gaze and instead of making eye contact she would “look down her nose at them” by tilting her head backward showing disapproval. It is read by onlookers correctly as an “I’m better than you” glare. They don’t even bother to approach her.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Looking down one’s nose at someone is a dominant, judgment posture and is viewed negatively by others. The opposite cue is the forehead bow, where the head is tilted back and they eyes cast upward. This shows submission.

Looking down the nose at someone can be done without glasses, but their addition makes the posture even more salient. The head back is a domineering teacher or librarian look when a student has done something she does not approve of, so she stares him down. The posture elicits a prey response in others because it puts them in an aggressive relationship with the predator peering down on them.

Tilting the head back is a way to adjust the height levels between people because by doing so it raises the level of the eyes by a few inches. Looking down the nose is indicative of someone that is condescending or pushy, authoritarian, arrogant, but is also a gravity defying body language so shows confidence often bordering on overconfidence.

The phrase “keep your chin up” stems from the power that chin’s held high carries. Holding a high head helps people frame their own views in a more constructive light.

Cue Cluster: Crossing the legs by bringing one foot over the opposite leg (the Figure-Four Leg Cross), hand steepling, or interlocked fingers, leaning back in the chair, and tilting the head back and looking down through the nose at others. This cluster shows arrogance and superiority.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Aggressive body language, Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Dominant body language, Expansive movements, Eye Language, Gravity defying body language, Hostile body language, Evaluative body language.

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.

Aviezer, Hillel, Yaacov Trope, Alexander Todorov. Body Cues, Not Facial Expressions, Discriminate Between Intense Positive and Negative Emotions Science 338, 1225 (2012).
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-trumps-facial-expressions-read-my-body-not-my-lips/

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/

Costa, M., Menzani, M., & 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.

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

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
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/losers-nonverbal-behavior-boosts-confidence-winners-study/

Gröning, Flora ; Liu, Jia ; Fagan, Michael J ; O’Higgins, Paul. Why do humans have chins? Testing the mechanical significance of modern human symphyseal morphology with finite element analysis. American journal of physical anthropology 2011. 144(4): 593-606.

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.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/culture-nonverbal-triumph/

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/

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

Keltner, D. The signs of appeasement: Evidence for the distinct displays of embarrassment, amusement, and shame. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1995. 68: 441–454.

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

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/

Krumhuber, Eva ; Manstead, Antony ; Kappas, Arvid. Temporal Aspects of Facial Displays in Person and Expression Perception: The Effects of Smile Dynamics, Head-tilt, and Gender. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2007. (1): 39-56

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.

Marshall, Steven D. ; Low, Laura E. ; Holton, Nathan E. ; Franciscus, Robert G. ; Frazier, Mike ; Qian, Fang ; Mann, Kyle ; Schneider, Galen ; Scott, Jill E. ; Southard, Thomas E. Chin development as a result of differential jaw growth American Journal of Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics. 2011 139(4): 456-464.

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/

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/

Mehrabian, Albert Holzberg, Jules D. (editor). Inference of Attitudes From the Posture, Orientation and Distance of a Communicator. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1968. 32(3): 296-308.

Mehrabian, Albert Deese, James (editor). Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships. Psychological Bulletin. 1969. 71(5): 359-372.

Matsumoto, D., & Willingham, B. (2006). The thrill of victory and the agony of defeat: Spontaneous expressions of medal winners of the 2004 Athens Olympic Games. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(3), 568–581.

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

Menzel, Charles R. Head-cocking and visual perception in primates. Animal Behaviour. 1980. 28(1): 151-159.

Mouterde, S. C., Duganzich, D. M., Molles, L. E., Helps, S., Helps, R., & Waas, J. R. (2012). Triumph displays inform eavesdropping little blue penguins of new dominance asymmetries. Animal Behaviour, 83, 605–611.

Nelson, Nicole L and James A. Russell. Children’s Understanding Of Nonverbal Expressions Of Pride. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2012; 111: 379-385.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-children-read-pride-body-language

Schubert, T. W. (2005). Your highness: Vertical positions as perceptual symbols of power. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 89, 1–21.

Schouwstra SJ, Hoogstraten J (1995) Head position and spinal position as determinants of perceived emotional state. Percept Mot Skills 81: 673–674. doi: 10.2466/pms.1995.81.2.673.

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

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/

Nelson, Nicole L and James A. Russell. Children’s Understanding Of Nonverbal Expressions Of Pride. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2012; 111: 379-385.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-children-read-pride-body-language/

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

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/

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 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/

Tracy, J. L., & Matsumoto, D. (2008). The spontaneous expression of pride and shame: Evidence for biologically innate nonverbal displays. Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences, 105(33), 11655–11660.

Tracy, J. L., & Robins, R. W. (2007). The prototypical pride expression: Development of a nonverbal behavior coding system. Emotion, 7(4), 789–801.

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.

Pablo Briñol; 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/

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).
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/facial-width-predicts-strength-soccer-field

Weisbuch, Max ; Slepian, Michael L ; Eccleston, Collette P ; Ambady, Nalini. Nonverbal Expressions of Status and System Legitimacy. Psychological Science. 2013. 24(11): 2315-2321.

Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Low confidence hand displays, Nervous Body Language, Stressful body language, Worry body language

Body Language of Hand Wringing

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand Wringing

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Hand Wringing 2Cue: Hand Wringing

Synonym(s): Wringing The Hands.

Description: The hands are clasp one inside the other and tightly clamped and twisted on each other. The hands may also be tightly cupped and squeezed one inside the other or interlaced and squeezed. It can be done so aggressively that the fingers or knuckles turn white.

In One Sentence: Wringing the hands is a sign that a person is experiencing anxiety, stress or suffering from low confidence.

How To Use it: Wringing the hands is not useful and one should avoid it when possible. While it can provide a tactile release for underlying stress, it is best to do something proactive to actually resolve the issue rather than suppress it.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m so agitated and stressed that I’m inflicting pain on myself as I would like to do to someone else, or due to stress of the situation at large. Since I’ve lost control of the situation and others, the best I can do is control the pain I do onto myself.”

Variant: This cue is similar to self pinching, pulling or even plucking the hair, or pinching one’s self as they are all forms of inflicting pain on the self. This is especially common when external pain can not be controlled.

Cue In Action: She wrung her hands as she waited for the doctor to report back with news about the surgery.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It signifies high anxiety, stress, or low confidence, and is a pacifying behaviour.

The hands are clenched because of the internal turmoil that a person feels that they cannot resolve through external factors. Pain that is inflicted on the self is pain that is controlled by the self. Therefore, self-pain is pain that is used to regain some agency over a person’s outcome – even if it is entirely unproductive.

Clenching is also a replacement for pain that someone might wish to inflict on other people whom they feel are causing their problems, and if not caused by people directly, than to the context in general.

Cue Cluster: Hand wringing is usually accompanied by gritting the teeth or jaw clenching, scratching and plucking behaviours, licking the teeth to sooth, lip biting or cheek chewing, eye squinting, snarling, amongst others.

Body Language Category: Aggressive body language, Anger, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Energy Displacement, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Low confidence hand displays, Nervous body language, Stressful body language, Worry body language.

Resources:

Burd, L. ; Gascon, G. ; Kerbeshian, J. Rett Syndrome: Case reports and management strategies. Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews. 1988. 12(3): 283-287.

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.

Borenstein, Lynn. The development of friendship in childhood: A clinical conversation. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 1996. 13(3): 213-224.

Bodie, Grahamd. ; Villaume, Williama. Men and Women Holding Hands Revisited: Effects of Mutual Engagement and Hand Dominance on Attributions of Cross-Sex Handholding. Communication Research Reports. 2008. 25(4): 243-254.

Barroso, Felix ; Feld, Jason. Self-touching and attentional processes: The role of task difficulty, selection stage, and sex differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986. 10(1): 51-64.

Butzen, Nathan David ; Bissonnette, Victor ; Mcbrayer, Dan. Effects of modeling and topic stimulus on self-referent touching. Perceptual and motor skills. 2005. 101(2): 413-20.

Broome, Marion E.. Helping Parents Support Their Child In Pain. Pediatric Nursing. 2000. 26(3): 315.

Bornstein, Marc H. ; Tamis-Lemonda, Catherine S. Maternal responsiveness and infant mental abilities: Specific predictive relations. Infant Behavior and Development. 1997. 20(3): 283-296.

Buckley, V., & Semple, S. (2012). Evidence that displacement activities facilitate behavioural transitions in ring-tailed lemurs. Behavioural Processes, 90, 433–435.

Bernal, Gilda Rios ; Wortham, Suec. How to Calm Children through Massage. Childhood Education. 1997. 74(1): 9-14.

Bouhuys, A.L. ; Jansen, C.J. ; van den Hoofdakker, R.H. Analysis of observed behaviors displayed by depressed patients during a clinical interview: relationships between behavioral factors and clinical concepts of activation. Journal of Affective Disorders. 1991. 21(2): 79-88.

Bouhuys, A.L. ; Beersma, Domien G.M. ; van den Hoofdakker, Rutger H. Observed behavior as a predictor of the response to sleep deprivation in depressed patients. Psychiatry Research. 1989. 28(1): 47-61.

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

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

Castles, Duncan L. ; Whiten, Andrew ; Aureli, Filippo. Social anxiety, relationships and self-directed behaviour among wild female olive baboons. Animal Behaviour. 1999. 58(6): 1207-1215.

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

D’alessio, M. ; Zazzetta, A. Development of Self-Touching Behavior in Childhood. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1986. 63(1): 243-253.

DeSteno, D.; Breazeal, C.; Frank, R. H.; Pizarro, D.; Baumann, J.; Dickens, L, and Lee, J. Detecting the Trustworthiness of Novel Partners in Economic Exchange. Psychological Science. 2012. 23, 1549-1556.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/use-body-language-cues-create-trust

Flores, Luis E. ; Berenbaum, Howard. Desire for emotional closeness moderates the effectiveness of the social regulation of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences

Gulledge, Andrewk. ; Gulledge, Michelleh. ; Stahmannn, Robertf.. Romantic Physical Affection Types and Relationship Satisfaction. The American Journal of Family Therapy. 2003. 31(4): 233-242.

Gulledge, Andrew K ; Stahmann, Robert F ; Wilson, Colwick M. Seven types of nonsexual romantic physical affection among Brigham young university students. Psychological reports. 2004. 95(2): 609-14.

Goldberg, Shelly ; Rosenthal, Robert. Self-touching behavior in the job interview: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986. 10(1): 65-80.

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.

Hung, Iris W. and Aparna A. Labroo. From Firm Muscles to Firm Willpower: Understanding the Role of Embodied Cognition in Self-Regulation. Journal of Consumer Research. 2011 37(6): 1046-1064. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657240
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/firm-muscles-lead-willpower/

Hernandez-Reif, Maria ; Diego, Miguel ; Field, Tiffany. Preterm infants show reduced stress behaviors and activity after 5 days of massage therapy. Infant Behavior and Development. 2007. 30(4): 557-561.

Harrison, Lynda Law. The use of comforting touch and massage to reduce stress for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews. 2001. 1(4): 235-241.

Hennessy, Michael B ; T. Williams, Michael ; Miller, Deborah D ; Douglas, Chet W ; Voith, Victoria L. Influence of male and female petters on plasma cortisol and behaviour: can human interaction reduce the stress of dogs in a public animal shelter?
Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 1998. 61(1): 63-77.

Harrigan, Jinni A. Self-touching as an indicator of underlying affect and language processes. Social Science & Medicine. 1985. 20(11): 1161-1168.

Harrigan, Jinni A.; Karen S. Lucic; Denise Kay; Anne McLaney and Robert Rosenthal. Effect of Expresser Role and Type of Self-Touching on Observers’ Perceptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 1991. 21(7): 585-609.

Heaven, Laura ; Mcbrayer, Dan ; Prince, Bob. Role of sex in externally motivated self-touching gestures. Perceptual and motor skills. 2002. 95(1): 289-94.

Heaven, L ; Mcbrayer, D. External motivators of self-touching behavior. Perceptual and motor skills. 2000. 90(1): 338-42.

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.

Kirschbaum C, Pirke K-M, Hellhammer DH. 1993. The ‘Trier Social Stress Test’: a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology 28: 76–81.

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

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.

Maestripieri D, Schino G, Aureli F, Troisi A. 1992. A modest proposal: displacement activities as an indicator of emotions in primates. Anim Behav 44:967–979.

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.

Marcus-Newhall A, Pedersen WC, Carlson M, Miller N. 2000. Displaced aggression is alive and well: a meta-analytic review. J Pers Soc Psychol 78:670–689. Ingram GIC. 1960. Displacement activity in human behavior. Am Anthropol. 62:994–1003.

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.

O’sullivan, Lucia F. ; Cheng, Mariah Mantsun ; Harris, Kathleen Mullan ; Brooks-gunn, Jeanne. I Wanna Hold Your Hand: The Progression of Social, Romantic and Sexual Events in Adolescent Relationships. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2007. 39(2): 100-107.

Pecora, Giulia ; Addessi, Elsa ; Schino, Gabriele ; Bellagamba, Francesca. Do displacement activities help preschool children to inhibit a forbidden action? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2014. 126: 80-90.

Pettijohn, Terry F. , Ii ; Ahmed, Shujaat F. ; Dunlap, Audrey V. ; Dickey, Lauren N. Who’s got the upper hand? Hand holding behaviors among romantic couples and families.(Report). Current Psychology. 2013. 32(3): 217(4).

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.

Rosenbloom, Tova ; Ben-Eliyahu, Adar ; Nemrodov, Dan. Children’s crossing behavior with an accompanying adult. Safety Science. 2008. 46(8): 1248-1254.

Rubin, Mark Morrison, Todd G. (editor). Social Affiliation Cues Prime Help-Seeking Intentions. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement. 2011. 43(2): 138-141.

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

Schubert, Thomas W. and Sander L. Koole. The Embodied Self: Making A Fist Enhances Men’s Power-Related Self-Conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2009; 45: 828–834.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-power-of-a-balled-fist-making-a-fist-makes-men-feel-more-powerful/

Schaafsma, Juliette ; Krahmer, Emiel ; Postma, Marie ; Swerts, Marc ; Balsters, Martijn ; Vingerhoets, Ad. Comfortably Numb? Nonverbal Reactions to Social Exclusion. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2015. 39(1): 25-39.

Schino G, Perretta G, Taglioni AM, Monaco V, Troisi A. 1996. Primate displacement activities as an ethopharmacological model of anxiety. Anxiety 2:186–191.

Supplee, Lauren H ; Skuban, Emily Moye ; Shaw, Daniel S ; Prout, Joanna. Emotion regulation strategies and later externalizing behavior among European American and African American children. Development and Psychopathology. 2009. 21(2): 393-415.

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

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

Toronto, Ellen L.K. A clinician’s response to physical touch in the psychoanalytic setting. International Journal of Psychotherapy. 2002 7(1): 69-81.

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.

Vannorsdall, Tracy ; Dahlquist, Lynnda ; Shroff Pendley, Jennifer ; Power, Thomas. The Relation Between Nonessential Touch and Children’s Distress During Lumbar Punctures. Children’s Health Care. 2004. 33(4): 299-315.

Williams, Trish ; Connolly, Jennifer ; Cribbie, Robert. Light and Heavy Heterosexual Activities of Young Canadian Adolescents: Normative Patterns and Differential Predictors.(Author abstract)(Report). Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2008. 18(1): 145(28).

Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Clenching and gripping, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Masked emotions, Negative body language

Body Language of Hand Gripping Upper Arm or Wrist Behind Back

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand Gripping Upper Arm or Wrist Behind Back

Cue: Hand Gripping Upper Arm or Wrist Behind Back.

Synonym(s): Gripping Upper Arm or Wrist Behind The Back, Wrist Gripping Behind Back, Arm Gripping Behind Back, Restraining The Self, Self Restraint.

Description: A posture where the arm is wrapped in behind the back to reach to wrist or upper arm.

In One Sentence: Gripping the upper arm behind the back is a nonverbal demonstration of holding one’s self back.

How To Use it: Use this upper arm grip behind the back cue when you want to show others that you are holding yourself back from acting out. As the cue reminds us of being restrained by a parent, it embodies the kind of self-restrained we might currently require. Therefore, the cue makes holding back easier since it reminds us of parental assistance. So if you feel that you may be spurred into an outburst, or that you need reassurance, reach up and grab your wrist or arm to create a more solid foundation to repress your thoughts or emotions. The cue is most useful when we fear that we may say something we might later regret or we need the security of being around a loved one due to insecurity.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “The reason I am gripping my arm or wrist behind my back is because I’m holding myself back from striking out due to my negative thoughts.”

Variant: See Arm Crossing, Hugging or The Double Arm Hug, Military Man or Regal Stance.

Cue In Action: The cop pulled her aside to speak with her about her conduct. She was so angry she was red in the face. She balled up her left hand behind her back, reached around with her right hand and clasped it rigidly preventing her from speaking or acting out on her displeasure.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The hand gripping the wrist or upper arm in behind the back sends an emotional message of frustration. It is an attempt at self-control and restraint. Therefore, it signals negative thoughts. In this case, the hand is holding the arm back preventing action from taking place due to negative emotions.

Restraint postures are part of the “freeze, flight or fight” response. When imagining this body language try picturing a toddler ready to strike at another. His mother would hold him back by the wrist or arm preventing him from doing so. This believed to the origins of the posture.

However, in adulthood, the posture is self-inflicted. We do the posture to remind us of the strength others have provided us in the past against our emotional outbursts. The posture serves to relieve tension through gripping and energy displacement. This gives us something to do to displace our negative energy.

Gripping, especially intensely, helps us feel more relaxed because the pain releases pleasure hormones and adrenaline. The same could be achieved through more constructive mechanisms like running, exercise, or constructing something useful, but like all forms of body language, the solutions come from an archaic part of the brain through evolution (or accident), so we are not interested in doing constructive work at a time when our minds are dealing with stress.

A more intense hand gripping posture happens when the arm grips higher up near the elbow or upper arm. The higher the grip, the more frustration is present and the more self-control is being expressed.

Cue Cluster: Clenching and gripping can have many other forms as well, including clenching the jaws tightly or even talking through the teeth, cracking knuckles, pulling the hair or even plucking it, pinching one’s self, and clenching the fists by turning them into a ball or wringing the hands out like a wet article of clothing.

Body Language Category: Aggressive body language, Anger, Clenching and gripping, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Masked emotions, Negative body language.

Resources:

Borenstein, Lynn. The development of friendship in childhood: A clinical conversation. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 1996. 13(3): 213-224.

Bodie, Grahamd. ; Villaume, Williama. Men and Women Holding Hands Revisited: Effects of Mutual Engagement and Hand Dominance on Attributions of Cross-Sex Handholding. Communication Research Reports. 2008. 25(4): 243-254.

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.

Borenstein, Lynn. The development of friendship in childhood: A clinical conversation. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 1996. 13(3): 213-224.

Bodie, Grahamd. ; Villaume, Williama. Men and Women Holding Hands Revisited: Effects of Mutual Engagement and Hand Dominance on Attributions of Cross-Sex Handholding. Communication Research Reports. 2008. 25(4): 243-254.

Barroso, Felix ; Feld, Jason. Self-touching and attentional processes: The role of task difficulty, selection stage, and sex differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986. 10(1): 51-64.

Butzen, Nathan David ; Bissonnette, Victor ; Mcbrayer, Dan. Effects of modeling and topic stimulus on self-referent touching. Perceptual and motor skills. 2005. 101(2): 413-20.

Broome, Marion E.. Helping Parents Support Their Child In Pain. Pediatric Nursing. 2000. 26(3): 315.

Bornstein, Marc H. ; Tamis-Lemonda, Catherine S. Maternal responsiveness and infant mental abilities: Specific predictive relations. Infant Behavior and Development. 1997. 20(3): 283-296.

Buckley, V., & Semple, S. (2012). Evidence that displacement activities facilitate behavioural transitions in ring-tailed lemurs. Behavioural Processes, 90, 433–435.

Bernal, Gilda Rios ; Wortham, Suec. How to Calm Children through Massage. Childhood Education. 1997. 74(1): 9-14.

Bouhuys, A.L. ; Jansen, C.J. ; van den Hoofdakker, R.H. Analysis of observed behaviors displayed by depressed patients during a clinical interview: relationships between behavioral factors and clinical concepts of activation. Journal of Affective Disorders. 1991. 21(2): 79-88.

Bouhuys, A.L. ; Beersma, Domien G.M. ; van den Hoofdakker, Rutger H. Observed behavior as a predictor of the response to sleep deprivation in depressed patients. Psychiatry Research. 1989. 28(1): 47-61.

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

Borenstein, Lynn. The development of friendship in childhood: A clinical conversation. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal. 1996. 13(3): 213-224.

Bodie, Grahamd. ; Villaume, Williama. Men and Women Holding Hands Revisited: Effects of Mutual Engagement and Hand Dominance on Attributions of Cross-Sex Handholding. Communication Research Reports. 2008. 25(4): 243-254.

Chapell, M ; Basso, E ; Decola, A ; Hossack, J ; Keebler, J ; Marm, J ; Reed, B ; Webster, E ; Yoggev, D. Men and women holding hands: whose hand is uppermost?
Perceptual and motor skills. 1998. 87(1):127-30

Cowen, Emory L. ; Weissberg, Roger P. ; Lotyczewski, Bohdan S. Garfield, Sol L. (editor). Physical contact in interactions between clinicians and young children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1983. 51(1): 132-138.

Chapell, M ; Basso, E ; Decola, A ; Hossack, J ; Keebler, J ; Marm, J ; Reed, B ; Webster, E ; Yoggev, D. Men and women holding hands: whose hand is uppermost?
Perceptual and motor skills. 1998. 87(1):127-30

Cowen, Emory L. ; Weissberg, Roger P. ; Lotyczewski, Bohdan S. Garfield, Sol L. (editor). Physical contact in interactions between clinicians and young children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1983. 51(1): 132-138.

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

Cowen, Emory L. ; Weissberg, Roger P. ; Lotyczewski, Bohdan S. Garfield, Sol L. (editor). Physical contact in interactions between clinicians and young children. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology. 1983. 51(1): 132-138.

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

Castles, Duncan L. ; Whiten, Andrew ; Aureli, Filippo. Social anxiety, relationships and self-directed behaviour among wild female olive baboons. Animal Behaviour. 1999. 58(6): 1207-1215.

D’alessio, M. ; Zazzetta, A. Development of Self-Touching Behavior in Childhood. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1986. 63(1): 243-253.

Flores, Luis E. ; Berenbaum, Howard. Desire for emotional closeness moderates the effectiveness of the social regulation of emotion. Personality and Individual Differences

Gulledge, Andrewk. ; Gulledge, Michelleh. ; Stahmannn, Robertf.. Romantic Physical Affection Types and Relationship Satisfaction. The American Journal of Family Therapy. 2003. 31(4): 233-242.

Gulledge, Andrew K ; Stahmann, Robert F ; Wilson, Colwick M. Seven types of nonsexual romantic physical affection among Brigham young university students. Psychological reports. 2004. 95(2): 609-14.

Goldberg, Shelly ; Rosenthal, Robert. Self-touching behavior in the job interview: Antecedents and consequences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1986. 10(1): 65-80.

Hernandez-Reif, Maria ; Diego, Miguel ; Field, Tiffany. Preterm infants show reduced stress behaviors and activity after 5 days of massage therapy. Infant Behavior and Development. 2007. 30(4): 557-561.

Harrison, Lynda Law. The use of comforting touch and massage to reduce stress for preterm infants in the neonatal intensive care unit. Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews. 2001. 1(4): 235-241.

Hennessy, Michael B ; T. Williams, Michael ; Miller, Deborah D ; Douglas, Chet W ; Voith, Victoria L. Influence of male and female petters on plasma cortisol and behaviour: can human interaction reduce the stress of dogs in a public animal shelter?
Applied Animal Behaviour Science. 1998. 61(1): 63-77.

Harrigan, Jinni A. Self-touching as an indicator of underlying affect and language processes. Social Science & Medicine. 1985. 20(11): 1161-1168.

Harrigan, Jinni A.; Karen S. Lucic; Denise Kay; Anne McLaney and Robert Rosenthal. Effect of Expresser Role and Type of Self-Touching on Observers’ Perceptions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 1991. 21(7): 585-609.

Heaven, Laura ; Mcbrayer, Dan ; Prince, Bob. Role of sex in externally motivated self-touching gestures. Perceptual and motor skills. 2002. 95(1): 289-94.

Heaven, L ; Mcbrayer, D. External motivators of self-touching behavior. Perceptual and motor skills. 2000. 90(1): 338-42.

Hung, Iris W. and Aparna A. Labroo. From Firm Muscles to Firm Willpower: Understanding the Role of Embodied Cognition in Self-Regulation. Journal of Consumer Research. 2011 37(6): 1046-1064. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657240
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/firm-muscles-lead-willpower/

Johnson, Bret K. ; Kenkel, Mary Beth. Stress, coping, and adjustment in female adolescent incest victims. Child Abuse & Neglect. 1991. 15(3): 293-305.

Kirschbaum C, Pirke K-M, Hellhammer DH. 1993. The ‘Trier Social Stress Test’: a tool for investigating psychobiological stress responses in a laboratory setting. Neuropsychobiology 28: 76–81.

Kochanska, G., Coy, K. C., & Murray, K. T. (2001). The development of self-regulation in the first four years of life. Child Development, 72, 1091–1111.

Kochanska, G., Murray, K. T., & Harlan, E. T. (2000). Effortful control in early childhood: Continuity and change, antecedents, and implications for social development. Developmental Psychology, 36, 220–232.

Kammers, Marjolein P.M. ; de Vignemont, Frédérique ; Haggard, Patrick. Cooling the Thermal Grill Illusion through Self-Touch. Current Biology. 2010. 20(20): 1819-182.

Moszkowski, Robin J. ; Stack, Dale M. ; Chiarella, Sabrina S. Infant touch with gaze and affective behaviors during mother–infant still-face interactions: Co-occurrence and functions of touch. Infant Behavior and Development. 2009. 32(4): 392-403.

Maestripieri D, Schino G, Aureli F, Troisi A. 1992. A modest proposal: displacement activities as an indicator of emotions in primates. Anim Behav 44:967–979.

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.

Marcus-Newhall A, Pedersen WC, Carlson M, Miller N. 2000. Displaced aggression is alive and well: a meta-analytic review. J Pers Soc Psychol 78:670–689. Ingram GIC. 1960. Displacement activity in human behavior. Am Anthropol. 62:994–1003.

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.

O’sullivan, Lucia F. ; Cheng, Mariah Mantsun ; Harris, Kathleen Mullan ; Brooks-gunn, Jeanne. I Wanna Hold Your Hand: The Progression of Social, Romantic and Sexual Events in Adolescent Relationships. Perspectives on Sexual and Reproductive Health. 2007. 39(2): 100-107.

Pettijohn, Terry F. , Ii ; Ahmed, Shujaat F. ; Dunlap, Audrey V. ; Dickey, Lauren N. Who’s got the upper hand? Hand holding behaviors among romantic couples and families.(Report). Current Psychology. 2013. 32(3): 217(4).

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

Pecora, Giulia ; Addessi, Elsa ; Schino, Gabriele ; Bellagamba, Francesca. Do displacement activities help preschool children to inhibit a forbidden action? Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. 2014. 126: 80-90.

Rubin, Mark Morrison, Todd G. (editor). Social Affiliation Cues Prime Help-Seeking Intentions. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement. 2011. 43(2): 138-141.

Rosenbloom, Tova ; Ben-Eliyahu, Adar ; Nemrodov, Dan. Children’s crossing behavior with an accompanying adult. Safety Science. 2008. 46(8): 1248-1254.

Rubin, Mark Morrison, Todd G. (editor). Social Affiliation Cues Prime Help-Seeking Intentions. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science/Revue canadienne des sciences du comportement. 2011. 43(2): 138-141.

Schaafsma, Juliette ; Krahmer, Emiel ; Postma, Marie ; Swerts, Marc ; Balsters, Martijn ; Vingerhoets, Ad. Comfortably Numb? Nonverbal Reactions to Social Exclusion. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2015. 39(1): 25-39.

Schino G, Perretta G, Taglioni AM, Monaco V, Troisi A. 1996. Primate displacement activities as an ethopharmacological model of anxiety. Anxiety 2:186–191.

Supplee, Lauren H ; Skuban, Emily Moye ; Shaw, Daniel S ; Prout, Joanna. Emotion regulation strategies and later externalizing behavior among European American and African American children. Development and Psychopathology. 2009. 21(2): 393-415.

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.

Toronto, Ellen L.K. A clinician’s response to physical touch in the psychoanalytic setting. International Journal of Psychotherapy. 2002 7(1): 69-81.

Williams, Trish ; Connolly, Jennifer ; Cribbie, Robert. Light and Heavy Heterosexual Activities of Young Canadian Adolescents: Normative Patterns and Differential Predictors.(Author abstract)(Report). Journal of Research on Adolescence. 2008. 18(1): 145(28).

Yu, Yawen ; Bardy, Benoit G ; Stoffregen, Thomas A. Influences of head and torso movement before and during affordance perception. Journal of motor behavior. 2011. 43(1): 45-54.

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.

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Intention movements, Masked emotions, Microgestures, Negative body language, Stubborn body language, Threat displays

Body Language of Hand Clenching or Fist Clenched

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand Clenching or Fist Clenched

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Hand Clenching or Fist Clenching 1Cue: Hand Clenching or Fist Clenching

Synonym(s): Clenching and Gripping, Gripping and Clenching, Hand Wringing.

Description: A tightening, gripping, or balling, no matter how subtle or forceful, of the hands. At times the fingers may become interlaced appearing as if in prayer, which might even be the case. Pressure can be so great that the fingers can even blanch as blood flow is impeded.

In One Sentence: Clenching the hands or balling them in a fist is a sign of repressed aggression.

How To Use it: Ball and clench the fist if you wish to show others that you are resisting the urge to strike out. The gesture can be feigned as an anger-bluff in order to receive better treatment. Waving a clenched fist tells others that they should take you seriously lest you lash out with physical force.

Naturally, this nonverbal signal should be used with care as physical aggression, or even threat of physical aggression is strongly frowned upon.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I really want to strike out at you due to my emotional distress which is why my hands are balling up into a fist, but instead I’m going to resist because it’s inappropriate to hit people.”

Variant: Other forms of clenching includes gripping the wrist of the opposite hand in behind the back, or wringing the hands out like a wet article of clothing, clenching the jaws tight or even talking through the teeth, cracking knuckles, pulling the hair or even plucking it, pinching one’s self, and clenching the fists by turning them into a ball are all forms of clenching and gripping.

See Interlaced Fingers, Hand Gripping Upper Arm or Wrist Behind Back.

Cue In Action: a) President Nixon was videotaped intensely balling his fist such that his knuckles turned white during a press conference called to discuss what was supposed to be a temporary incursion into Cambodia. The rest of his body was confident and his voice was smooth, yet his hands gave his restraint and dishonesty away.

b) A deadline was fast approaching when she was interrupted by her boss. She had to be polite so she couldn’t tell him to buzz off. She clenched her fists and rested them on her lap until he had finished.

c) Things didn’t start off well as the teacher rested her fist balled up on her desk knuckles down as she stood over the delinquent student. Immediately, the student showed signs of resistance by clenching her jaw. When the punishment came due, the student mirrored the balled fist of the teacher and brought it to her mouth to stifle an outburst. To show her persistent disagreement, the student rested her forearms against the table and maintained her tightly clenched fist.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Holding the fists clenched shows aggression, defensiveness, frustration, restrain, and sometimes a readiness to attack.

Hand wringing, when the hands are clasp one inside the other and tightly clamped and twisted on each other signifies high anxiety, stress or low confidence and is a pacifying behaviour. It can be done so aggressively that the fingers or knuckles turn white.

Fist clenching happens very naturally and subconsciously; a slip of the hand so to speak. Women can even be seen doing this while being verbally berated by a partner. Of course, holding a tight fist does not necessarily mean they intent to strike out, rather it shows just the opposite – that their minds are dealing with a dilemma, of which social norms prevent physical resolutions.

So very rarely are we allowed to fully express our emotions. In fact, one of the most important lessons we learn early in life is self control and this is exactly what happens when the fist is balled, clenched, but resists striking. We learn very early on that it’s not acceptable to throw fits and tantrums so we do the next best thing – we get very close to striking, but stop at the last second.

The height of the clenched fist is related to the strength of the negative mood. Hands can be clenched low on the lap or high near the face with elbows propped up on a table. If hands are clenched over the mouth, someone is probably holding back from saying something. If hands are clasped on the lap it indicates that someone is being cordial and polite, but would prefer to be doing something else – thus showing careful restraint.

Cue Cluster: Fist clenching body language is coupled with finger pointing or flared nostrils more technically termed “nasal wing dilation”, overall tensing of the body or extreme body loosening to ready for fighting, tightening of the jaw and lips (called “lip occlusion”), quivering in the lips, frowning, furrowing, or lowering the eyebrows, dilated pupils, squinting of the eyes, crotch displays such as legs open, sneering or flared nostrils.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger, Clenching and gripping, Closed body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Frustration or frustrated body language, Hostile body language, Intention movements, Masked emotions, Microgestures, Negative body language, Stubborn or stubbornness, Threat displays.

Resources:

Anderson, C. A., & Bushman, B. J. (2002). Human aggression. Annual Review of
Psychology, 53, 27–51. http://dx.doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.53.100901.
135231.

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

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

Craig, A. D. (2002). How do you feel? Interoception: The sense of the physiological condition of the body. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3, 655-666.

Da Gloria, Jorge ; Duda, Danièle ; Pahlavan, Farzaneh ; Bonnet, Philippe. “Weapons effect” revisited: Motor effects of the reception of aversive stimulation and exposure to pictures of firearms. Aggressive Behavior. 1989 15(4): 265-271.

DeSteno, D.; Breazeal, C.; Frank, R. H.; Pizarro, D.; Baumann, J.; Dickens, L, and Lee, J. Detecting the Trustworthiness of Novel Partners in Economic Exchange. Psychological Science. 2012. 23, 1549-1556.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/use-body-language-cues-create-trust

Enquist, M. (1985). Communication during aggressive interactions with particular
reference to variation in choice of behaviors. Anim. Behav. 33, 1152-1161.

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

Friedman, Ron and Andrew J. Elliot. The Effect Of Arm Crossing On Persistence And Performance. European Journal of Social Psychology. 2008; 38, 449–461 (2008).http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/arm-crossing-effect-on-persistence-and-performance/

Gregersen, Tammy S. Nonverbal Cues: Clues to the Detection of Foreign Language Anxiety. Foreign Language Annals. 2005. 38(3): 388-400
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/what-anxious-learners-can-tell-us-about-anxious-body-language-how-to-read-nonverbal-behavior/

Hung, Iris W. and Aparna A. Labroo. From Firm Muscles to Firm Willpower: Understanding the Role of Embodied Cognition in Self-Regulation. Journal of Consumer Research. 2011 37(6): 1046-1064. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/657240
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/firm-muscles-lead-willpower/

Hohmann, G. and Fruth, B. (2003). Intra- and intersexual aggression by bonobos in
the context of mating. Behavior 140, 1389-1413.

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

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/?preview=true

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

Marcus-Newhall A, Pedersen WC, Carlson M, Miller N. 2000. Displaced aggression is alive and well: a meta-analytic review. J Pers Soc Psychol 78:670–689.

Morgan, M. H. and Carrier, D. R. (2013). Protective buttressing of the human fist and the evolution of hominin hands. J. Exp. Biol. 216, 236-244.

Nickle, David C. and Leda M. Goncharoff. Human Fist Evolution: A Critique. J Exp Biology. 2013. 216: 2359-2360. doi: 10.1242/jeb.084871.

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

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.

Ostrowsky, Michael K. Are violent people more likely to have low self-esteem or high self-esteem? Aggression and Violent Behavior. 2010. 15(1): 69-75.

Pailing, Andrea ; Boon, Julian ; Egan, Vincent. Personality, the Dark Triad and violence Personality and Individual Differences. 2014. 67: 81-86.

Parker, G. A. (1974). Assessment strategy and the evolution of fighting behaviour. J.
Theor. Biol. 47, 223-243.

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

Rizzolatti, G., Fadiga, L., Matelli, M., Bettinardi, V., Paulesu, E., Perani, D., & Fazio, F. (1996). Localization of cortical areas responsive to the observation of grasp presentations in humans by PET: 1. Observation versus execution. Experimental Brain Research, 111, 246-252.

Schubert, Thomas W. The Power In Your Hand: Gender Differences In Bodily Feedback
From Making a Fist. Society for Personality and Social Psychology. 2004. 30(6): 757-769. DOI: 10.1177/0146167204263780
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/men-view-power-body-language-different-women-bodily-feedback-making-fist/

Schubert, Thomas W. and Sander L. Koole. The Embodied Self: Making A Fist Enhances Men’s Power-Related Self-Conceptions. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2009; 45: 828–834.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-power-of-a-balled-fist-making-a-fist-makes-men-feel-more-powerful/

Szalai, F. and Szamado, S. (2009). Honest and cheating strategies in a simple model
of aggressive communication. Anim. Behav. 78, 949-959.

Schiff, B. B., & Lamon, M. (1994). Inducing emotion by unilateral contraction of hand muscles. Cortex, 30, 247-254.

Szamado, S. (2008). How threat displays work: species-specific fighting techniques,
weaponry and proximity risk. Anim. Behav. 76, 1455-1463.

Schubert, Thomas W. and Koole, Sander L. The embodied self: Effects of making a fist on the implicit and explicit self-concept of men and women. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2009. 45: 828-834.

Tops, Mattie ; Jong, Ritske. Posing for success: Clenching a fist facilitates approach
Psychonomic Bulletin & Review. 2006, Vol.13(2): 229-234

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.

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/

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

Young, R. W. (2003). Evolution of the human hand: the role of throwing and clubbing.
J. Anat. 202, 165-174.

Amplifier, Courtship display, Elective nonverbal traits, Hostile body language

Body Language of Hair Length Language

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hair Length Language

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Hair Length Language 1Cue: Hair Length Language

Synonym(s): Long Hair, Short Hair, Shaved Head.

Description: The hidden meaning associated with the relative length of the hair.

In One Sentence: The length of a person’s hair indicates underlying emotions and beliefs.

How To Use it: Use the length of the hair to signal to others your underlying emotions and beliefs. For example, long hair signals youthfulness and is therefore often useful to women whom are trying to portray an image that includes sexual appeal. In young girls, it is useful in signaling femininity generally and helps to separate them from young boys whom are generally restricted to shorter more masculine hair.

All women, but particularly older ones can use hair extensions to create the illusion of youth and sexuality. A high quality weave or hair extensions produces thickness and usually comes from youthful sources so gives the impression of good health.

Men can also use hair length to demonstrate various attitudes. Long hair signals a carefree and easy going attitude, generally, and in highly attractive dominant looking men, long hair, signals a feminine beauty. Men do best with shorter hair which has historically been the default for men since it presents less of a functional hindrance and commands less grooming overall.

Men should drop long hairstyles when they suffer from male pattern baldness and avoid come-overs as they are universally seen in a negative light. A clean shaven head in men can be particularly attractive to women as it is a demonstration of confidence.

Whatever hair style you choose, know that it will help define who you are.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: See Meaning and/or Motivation.

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: a) She broke up with her long-term boyfriend and immediately cut off all her hair. She let her emotions dictate her hair length. She told the world that she was no longer in a dating mood and to prove that, she cut off her sexuality at the root. b) In his youth, he rocked it hard with long hair. It was just part of fitting into the band. As he got a job, a house and kids, his hair style evolved to be much shorter. He grew out of his carefree youth with more conventional hair length.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Men with short hair are often conservative whereas those with long hair are usually carefree, artistic, or radical. A shaved head can mean that he has succumb to male-pattern baldness and has chosen to shave it off or desires to appear tough and masculine.

Women with short hair are seen as artistic, business minded and sometimes harsh, hardheaded, emotional or radical. Long hair on women is associated with youth, sex appeal and good health, but aging women with extremely long hair can harbour insecurities or are trying to maintain their youthful appearance.

Short hair or a shaved head can also be an indicator disease such as cancer.

Cue Cluster: Hair length is only one cue to the hidden meaning of hair length. Be sure to couple this cue with adjoining cues in cluster to determine its true intent. A long-haired woman in her 20’s is probably using her hair to embellish her sex appeal, whereas another with short hair who is an activist is likely telling a story of strength over passivity.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Courtship display, Elective nonverbal traits, Hostile body language.

Resources:

Fink, Bernhard ; Neuser, Frauke ; Deloux, Gwenelle ; Röder, Susanne ; Matts, Paul J.
Visual attention to and perception of undamaged and damaged versions of natural and colored female hair. Journal of Cosmetic Dermatology. 2013. 12(1): 78-84.

Grammer, Karl; Fink, Bernhard; Mller, Anders P.; Thornhill, Randy. Darwinian aesthetics: sexual selection and the biology of beauty. Biological Reviews. 2003. 78(3): 385-407.

Hinsz, V. B., D. C. Matz, and R. A. Patience 2001 Does Women’s Hair Signal Reproductive Potential? Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 37:166-172.

Patton, Tracey Owens. Hey Girl, Am I More than My Hair?: African American Women and Their Struggles with Beauty, Body Image, and Hair. NWSA Journal. 2006. 18(2): 24-51.

Mesko, Norbert ; Bereczkei, Tamas. Hairstyle as an adaptive means of displaying phenotypic quality. Human Nature. 2004. 15(3): 251-270.

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.

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/

Rosette, Ashleigh Shelby ; Dumas, Tracy L. The hair dilemma: conform to mainstream expectations or emphasize racial identity. Duke Journal of Gender Law & Policy. 2007. 14(1): 407(15).

Swami, Viren ; Barrett, Seishin. British men’s hair color preferences: An assessment of courtship solicitation and stimulus ratings. Scandinavian Journal of Psychology. 2011. 52(6): 595-600.

Singh, Devendra. Mating strategies of young women: Role of physical attractiveness. Journal of Sex Research. 2004. 41(1): 43-54.

Sorokowski, Piotr. Attractiveness of blonde women in evolutionary perspective: studies with two Polish samples. Perceptual and motor skills. 2008. 106(3): 737-44.

Thompson, Cheryl. Black Women, Beauty, and Hair as a Matter of Being. Women’s Studies. 2009. 38(8): 831-856.

Rich, Melissa ; Cash, Thomas The American image of beauty: Media representations of hair color for four decades. Sex Roles. 1993. 29(1): 113-124.

Roberts – Grey, Gina. The root of health.(natural hair color offers surprising insights into your mental and physical well-being)(Report). Women’s Health. 2010. 080.

McAlexander, James, H. and John W. Schouten. 1989. Hair style changes as transition markers. Sociology and Social Research. 74: 58-62.

Synott, Anthony. 1987. Shame and glory: A sociology of hair. British Journal of Sociology. 38: 381-413.

Weitz, Rose. Women and Their Hair: Seeking Power through Resistance and Accommodation. Gender and Society. 2001 15(5): 667-686.

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Anger body language, Closed facial gestures, Confused body language, Emotional body language, Fearful body language, Hostile body language, Microexpression, Stressful body language, Universal facial expressions, Universal gestures, Worry body language

Body Language of Furrowed Forehead

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Furrowed Forehead

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Furrowed Forehead 3Cue: Furrowed Forehead

Synonym(s): Forehead Creasing, Wrinkled Forehead, Forehead Furrow.

Description: Frowning done by creasing the forehead and brow.

In One Sentence: A furrowed forehead is a sign of negative thoughts.

How To Use it: Furrow the forehead when you want others to visually see that you are not in a positive mood. This can be effective in showing your disapproval of others which may cause them to change their behaviour in order to better please you. Furrowing the forehead works well on children as it does with any submissive audience. The honest portrayal of disapproval through furrowed forehead works to influence others as people are strongly social and do not cope well with the anger of others. Showing disapproval nonverbally avoids a deeper potentially aggressive verbal confrontation, but at the same time, is obvious to onlookers.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “Muscles in my forehead are scrunching up to show how badly I feel on the inside.”

Variant: Various other forms of contraction can occur in the face such as the lips, nose and eyes to show negative thoughts. See Compressed Lips, Nose Crinkle, Sneering, Eye Squinting or Narrowing Eyes.

Cue In Action: She was worried that he was going to be upset for being so late for their date that her forehead began to wrinkle and her skin flushed red. She was harried and quickly left her house in a panic.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Wrinkled forehead is one of the quickest ways to detect when a person carries negative thoughts. It can signify anything from anxiousness, sadness, concentration, concern, worry, bewilderment or anger. The cluster of cues which accompany the forehead furrow will give clues to its underlying meaning.

Anger is shown through furrowed forehead coupled with finger pointing, overall tensing of the body or tightening of the jaw and lips (called “lip occlusion”), quivering in the lips, frowning, dilated pupils, squinting of the eyes, crotch displays such as legs open, sneering or flared nostrils, or extreme body loosening to ready for fighting.

Surprise is coupled with a straight upward lift of the forehead whereas fear engages the muscles between the brows folding them. Fear is sometimes confused with surprise as in much of the world only subtle differences exist.

During fear, eyebrows rise and are pulled together, and curve although less than in surprise. Wrinkles appear in the forehead, but do not cross the entire forehead like in the surprised expression. The upper eyelids rise, as in the surprise expression, to expose the white of the eyes and the lower eyelids also rise. The lips may be stretched back and the mouth opened.

Sadness is controlled mainly by the mouth where it drops at the corners. The inner eyebrows rise producing a triangular shape between the root of the nose and the eyes. The forehead might show wrinkles and the eyes may appear moist with tears.

Cue Cluster: See Meaning and/or Motivation.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Anger, Confused body language, Closed facial gestures, Emotional body language, Fearful body language, Hostile body language, Microexpression, Stressful body language, Universal gestures, Universal facial expressions, Worry body language.

Resources:

Bard, K. A. (2003). Development of emotional expressions in chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). In P. Ekman, J. Campos, R. J. Davidson & F. B. M. De Waal (Eds.), Emotions inside out: 130 years after Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (Vol. 1000, pp. 88-90). New York: Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences.

Baron, R. M., & Kenny, D. A. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 51(6), 1173-1882.

Biehl, M., Matsumoto, D., Ekman, P., Hearn, V., Heider, K., Kudoh, T., et al. (1997). Matsumoto and Ekman’s Japanese and Caucasian Facial Expressions of Emotion (JACFEE): Reliability Data and Cross-National Differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 21, 3-21.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Ekman, P., O’Sullivan, M., & Matsumoto, D. (1991a). Confusions about context in the judgment of facial expression: A reply to “The contempt expression and the relativity thesis.”. Motivation & Emotion, 15(2), 169-176.

Ekman, P., O’Sullivan, M., & Matsumoto, D. (1991b). Contradictions in the study of contempt: What’s it all about? Reply to Russell. Motivation & Emotion, 15(4), 293-296.

Elfenbein, H. A., & Ambady, N. (2002). On the universality and cultural specificity of emotion recognition: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 128(2), 205-235.

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

Friesen, W. V. 1972. Cultural differences in facial expressions in a social situation: An experimental test of the concept of display rules. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Francisco.

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

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

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

Susskind, Joshua M and Adam K Anderson. Facial Expression Form and Function. Communicative Integrative Biology. 2008. 1(2): 148–149. PMCID: PMC2686004
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/emotional-facial-expressions-evolve/

Levenson, R. W., Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. (1990). Voluntary facial action generates emotion-specific autonomic nervous system activity. Psychophysiology, 27(4), 363-384.

Levenson, R. W., Ekman, P., Heider, K., & Friesen, W. V. (1992). Emotion and autonomic nervous system activity in the Minangkabau of West Sumatra. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 62(6), 972-988.

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.

Mori, K., & Mori, H. (2010) Examination of the passive facial feedback hypothesis using an implicit measure: with a furrowed brow, neutral objects with pleasant primes look less appealing. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 111, 785-789.

Matsumoto, D. (1989). Cultural influences on the perception of emotion. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 20(1), 92-105.

Matsumoto, D. (1992). American-Japanese cultural differences in the recognition of universal facial expressions. Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology, 23(1), 72-84.

Matsumoto, D. (2001). Culture and Emotion. In D. Matsumoto (Ed.), The Handbook of Culture and Psychology (pp. 171-194). New York: Oxford University Press.
Matsumoto, D., & Ekman, P. (1989). American-Japanese cultural differences in intensity ratings of facial expressions of emotion. Motivation & Emotion, 13(2), 143-157.

Matsumoto, D., Keltner, D., Shiota, M. N., Frank, M. G., & O’Sullivan, M. (2008). What’s in a face? Facial expressions as signals of discrete emotions. In M. Lewis, J. M. Haviland & L. Feldman Barrett (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (pp. 211-234). New York: Guilford Press.

Matsumoto, D., & Willingham, B. (2009). Spontaneous Facial Expressions of Emotion of Congenitally and Non-Congenitally Blind Individuals. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 96(1), 1-10.

Mesquita, B., & Frijda, N. H. (1992). Cultural variations in emotions: A review. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 197-204.

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

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

Peleg, G., Katzir, G., Peleg, O., Kamara, M., Brodsky, L., Hel-Or, H., et al. (2006). Heriditary family signature of facial expression. Proceedings from the National Academy of Sciences, 103(43), 15921-15926.

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

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.

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.

Aggressive body language, Amplifier, Authoritative body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Hostile body language, Illustrator, Threat displays

Body Language of Finger Wagging (left and right)

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Finger Wagging (left and right)

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Finger Wagging (left and right) 1Cue: Finger Wagging (left and right)

Synonym(s): Wagging The Finger.

Description: A side-to-side or left to right motion done with the index finger.

In One Sentence: Wagging the finger from side-to-side is a way to show disapproval.

How To Use it: The finger wag is useful to mothers trying to signal nonverbally that their children’s behaviour is not proper. Wagging the finger coupled with a stern look on the face can right a child’s wrong behaviour. It can also function as a first warning before things escalate to a verbal confrontation. Since we normally see our mother’s perform this gesture, it is associated later in life with an authoritative figure and therefore, when delivered in adulthood, it tends to be taken seriously. For this reason, adults can belittle and scold other adults with the finger wag.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m moving my finger left and right to say “no” with the help of my finger.”

Variant: The head is turned left and right to say “no.”

Cue In Action: She scolded the little girl for taking toys away from her friend while wagging her index finger back and forth.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It is done to emphasize when someone should not do something or while illustrating a negative thought in speech. Imagine the finger as a replacement for a primitive spear being waved around, threatening.

Cue Cluster: The finger wag can be accompanied by a loud voice, leaning in, furrowed forehead, squinted eyes and one hand placed on the hips.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Aggressive body language, Authoritative body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Hostile body language, Illustrators, Threat displays.

Resources:

Axtell, Roger E. Gestures: The Do’s and Taboos of Body Language Around the World. 1997. Wiley.

Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children’s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.

Akiyama, M. M. (1985). Denials in young children from a cross-linguistic perspective. Child Development, 56, 95–102. doi:10.2307/1130177

Andric, Michael ; Solodkin, Ana ; Buccino, Giovanni ; Goldin-Meadow, Susan ; Rizzolatti, Giacomo ; Small, Steven L. Brain function overlaps when people observe emblems, speech, and grasping. Neuropsychologia, 2013, Vol.51(8), pp.1619-1629

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

Beattie, G., & Shovelton,H.(1999). Mapping the range of information contained in the iconich and gestures that accompany spontaneous speech. Journal of Language and social Psychology, 18, 438–462.

Biau, E., & Soto-Faraco, S.(2013). Beat gestures modulate auditory integration in speech perception. Brain and Language, 124(2), 143–152.

Bartolo, A.,Cubelli,R.,DellaSala,S.,&Drei,S.(2003).Pantomimes are special gestures which rely on working memory. Brain and Cognition, 53, 483–494.

Bernardis, P.,& Gentilucci,M.(2006).Speech hand gestures are the same communication system. Neuropsychologia, 44, 178–190.

Buccino, G.,Vogt,S., Ritzl, A., Fink, G .R., Zilles, K., Freund, H. J., et al.(2004).Neural circuits underlying imitation learning of hand actions: Anevent-related fMRI study. Neuron, 42, 323–334.

Chandler, Jesse ; Schwarz, Norbert. How extending your middle finger affects your perception of others: Learned movements influence concept accessibility. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2009. 45(1): 123-128.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-extending-the-middle-finger-affects-perception/

Cameron-Faulkner, T., Lieven, E., & Theakston, A. (2007). What part of no do children not understand? A usage-based account of multiword negation. Journal of Child Language, 34, 251–282. doi:10.1016/j.cognition.2010.08.017

Cassell, J., & Thórisson, K. R. (1999). The power of a nod and a glance: Envelope vs. emotional feedback in animated conversational agents. Applied Artificial Intelligence, 13, 519–538.

Dick, A.S., Goldin-Meadow,S., Hasson,U.,Skipper, J.I., & Small, S.L. (2009). Co- speech gestures influence neural activity in brain regions associated with processing semantic information. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 3509–3526.

Fabbri-Destro, M.,& Rizzolatti,G. (2008). Mirror neurons and mirror systems in monkeys and humans. Physiology, 23, 171–179.

Fogassi, L., Gallese,V., Fadiga,L., & Rizzolatti,G. (1998). Neurons responding to the sight of goal directed hand/armactions in the parietal area PF (7b) of the macaque monkey. Society for Neuroscience, 24, 257.5.

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Fusaro, M., & Harris, P. L. (2013). Dax gets the nod: Toddlers detect and use social cues to evaluate testimony. Developmental Psychology, 49, 514–522. doi:10.1037/a0030580

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Fusaro, M., Harris, P. L., & Pan, B. A. (2012). Head nodding and head shaking gestures in children’s early communication. First Language, 32, 439–458. doi:10.1177/0142723711419326

Gräfenhain, M., Behne, T., Carpenter, M., & Tomasello, M. (2009). One-year-olds’ understanding of nonverbal gestures directed to a third person. Cognitive Development, 24, 23–33. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2008.10.001

Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Gentilucci, M., Bernardis, P., Crisi,G., & Dalla Volta, R. (2006). Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation of Broca’s area affects verbal responses to gesture observation. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 18, 1059–1074.

Goldin-Meadow, S. (1999).The role of gesture in communication and thinking. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 3, 419–429.

Goldin-Meadow, S.(2003). Hearing gesture: How our hands help us think. Cam-bridge, MA: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.

Gräfenhain, M., Behne, T., Carpenter, M., & Tomasello, M. (2009). One-year-olds’ understanding of nonverbal gestures directed to a third person. Cognitive Development, 24, 23–33. doi:10.1016/j.cogdev.2008.10.001

Guidetti, M. (2005). Yes or no? How do young children combine gestures and words to agree and refuse. Journal of Child Language, 32, 911–924. doi:10.1017/S0305000905007038

Hummer, P., Wimmer, H., & Antes, G. (1993). On the origins of denial negation. Journal of Child Language, 20, 607– 618. doi:10.1017/S0305000900008503

Hubbard, A.L., Wilson,S.M., Callan,D.E., & Dapretto, M.(2009). Giving speech a hand: Gesture modulates activity in auditory cortex during speech perception. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 1028–1037.

He, Yifei ; Gebhardt, Helge ; Steines, Miriam ; Sammer, Gebhard ; Kircher, Tilo ; Nagels, Arne ; Straube, Benjamin. The EEG and fMRI signatures of neural integration: An investigation of meaningful gestures and corresponding speech. Neuropsychologia. 72: 27-42.

Hansen, Jacqueline. Teaching without talking: teachers need to be aware of more than just the words they speak to children. They also need to monitor the nonverbal messages that they’re sending to students through proximity, eye contact, gestures, and touching. Phi Delta Kappan. 2010. 92(1): 35(6).

Holle, H., & Gunter,T.C. (2007). The role of iconic gestures in speech disambiguation: ERP evidence. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 19, 1175–1192.

Holler, J., Shovelton, H.,& Beattie, G.(2009).Do iconic hand gestures really contribute to the communication of semantic information in a face-to-face context? Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 33, 73–88.

Hubbard, A.L., Wilson, S. M., Callan, D. E., & Dapretto, M.(2009).Giving speech a hand: Gesture modulates activity in auditory cortex during speech perception. Human Brain Mapping, 30, 1028–1037.

Hummer, P., Wimmer, H., & Antes, G. (1993). On the origins of denial negation. Journal of Child Language, 20, 607– 618. doi:10.1017/S0305000900008503

Kim, K. J. (1985). Development of the concept of truth-functional negation. Developmental Psychology, 21, 462–472. doi:10.1037/0012-1649.21.3.462

Kendon,A.(1994).Do gestures communicate? A review. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 27, 175–200.

Knutson, K.M., McClellan,E.M., & Grafman, J.(2008).Observing social gestures: An fMRI study. Experimental Brain Research, 188, 187–198.

Kelly, S. D., Barr, D. J., Church, R. B., & Lynch, K.(1999).Offering a hand topragmatic understanding: The role of speech and gesture in comprehension and memory. Journal of Memory and Language, 40, 577–592.

Kelly, S. D., Creigh, P., & Bartolotti, J.(2009).Integrating speech and iconic gestures in a Stroop-like task: Evidence for automatic processing. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 22, 683–694.

Kelly, S.D., Kravitz, C.,& Hopkins, M.(2004).Neural correlates of bimodal speech and gesture comprehension. Brain and Language, 89(1), 253–260.

Krahmer,E., & Swerts, M.(2007).The effects of visual beats on prosodic prominence: Acoustic analyses, auditory perception and visual perception. Journal of Memory and Language, 57, 396–414.

Krauss, R. M., Dushay, R.A., Chen,Y., & Rauscher, F.(1995).The communicative value of conversational hand gesture. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 31(6), 533–552.

Leonard, T., & Cummins, F.(2010).The temporal relation between beat gestures and speech. Language and Cognitive Processes, 26, 1457–1471.

Lindenberg, R., Uhlig,M., Scherfeld,D., Schlaug,G., & Seitz, R.J.(2012).Commu- nication with emblematic gestures: Shared and distinct neural correlates of expression and reception. Human Brain Mapping, 33, 812–823.

Montgomery, K.J., Isenberg, N., & Haxby,J.V. (2007). Communicative hand gestures and object-directed hand movements activated the mirror neuron system. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 2, 114–122.

Molnar-Szakacs, Istvan ; Wu, Allan D ; Robles, Francisco J ; Iacoboni, Marco Robertson, Edwin (Academic Editor). Do You See What I Mean? Corticospinal Excitability During Observation of Culture-Specific Gestures (Gesture Perception). PLoS ONE. 2007. 2(7): p.e626

Ohgami, Y., Matsuo,K., Uchida,N., & Nakai,T. (2004). An fMRI study of tool-use gestures: Body partas object and pantomime. Neuroreport, 15, 1903–1906.

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

Skipper, J.I., Goldin-Meadow, S., Nusbaum,H.C.,& Small,S.L. (2007).Speech- associated gestures, Broca’s area, and the human mirror system. Brain and Language, 101, 260–277.

Sherzer, Joel The Brazilian Thumbs-Up Gesture. Journal of Linguistic Anthropology, 1991, Vol.1(2), pp.189-197

Straube,B., Green,A., Bromberger,B., & Kircher, T. (2011).The differentiation of iconic and metaphoric gestures: Common and unique integration processes. Human Brain Mapping, 32, 520–533.

Straube, Benjamin ; Green, Antonia ; Jansen, Andreas ; Chatterjee, Anjan ; Kircher, Tilo. Social cues, mentalizing and the neural processing of speech accompanied by gestures. Neuropsychologia. 2010. 48(2): 382-393.

Tam, C. W., & Stokes, S. F. (2001). Form and function of negation in early developmental Cantonese. Journal of Child Language, 28, 373–391. doi:10.1017/S0305000901004688

Villarreal, M., Fridman,E.A., Amengual,A., Falasco,G., Gerscovich,E.R., Ulloa,E.R., et al. (2008). The neural substrate of gesture recognition. Neuropsychologia, 46, 2371–2382.

Vaidyanathan, R. (1991). Development of forms and functions of negation in the early. tages of language acquisition: A study in Tamil. Journal of Child Language, 18, 51–66. doi:10.1017/S0305000900013295

Willems, R.M., Ozyurek,A., & Hagoort,P.(2007).When language meets action:The neural integration of gesture and speech. CerebralCortex, 17, 2322–2333.

Wieser, Matthias J.; Tobias Flaisch and Paul Pauli. Raised Middle-Finger: Electrocortical Correlates of Social Conditioning with Nonverbal Affective Gestures. 2014. PLoS ONE 9(7): e102937. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102937
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/powerful-nonverbal-effect-raised-middle-finger-persistent-brain-consequences-pairing/

Wu, Y. C., & Coulson, S.(2005).Meaningful gestures: Electrophysiological indices of iconic gesture comprehension. Psychophysiology, 42, 654–667.

Wang, Lin ; Chu, Mingyuan Neuropsychologia. The role of beat gesture and pitch accent in semantic processing: An ERP study. 2013, Vol.51(13), pp.2847-2855

Wode, H. (1977). Four early stages in the development of L1 negation. Journal of Child Language, 4, 87–102. doi:10.1017/S0305000900000490

Wieser, Matthias J.; Tobias Flaisch and Paul Pauli. Raised Middle-Finger: Electrocortical Correlates of Social Conditioning with Nonverbal Affective Gestures. 2014. PLoS ONE 9(7): e102937. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0102937
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/powerful-nonverbal-effect-raised-middle-finger-persistent-brain-consequences-pairing

Xu,J., Gannon,P.J., Emmorey,K., Smith,J.F., & Braun,A.(2009). Symbolic gestures and spoken language are processed by a common neural system. Proceedings of the NationalAcademyofSciences, 106, 20664–20669.

Aggressive body language, Anger body language, Arrogance or arrogant body language, Authoritative body language, Body pointing, Dominant body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Expansive movements, Hostile body language, Space invasion, Threat displays

Body Language of Finger Pointing

by  •  • 0 Comments

Body Language of Finger Pointing

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Finger Pointing 3Cue: Finger Pointing

Synonym(s): Pointing, Closed Palm Finger Pointing.

Description: The hand is balled up with the index finger remaining extended ready to jab.

In One Sentence: Finger pointing is a way people distract others from things they are doing by refocusing the attention of others.

How To Use it: Use the index finger like a spear and wave it around when you really want to drive a point. It must be used with caution and with a receptive audience or it will be seen negatively and threatening. The finger is also effective at provoking especially when you wish to arouse confrontation. Use finger pointing when you want someone else to lose their emotional cool as it will incite an aggressive counter reaction. Therefore, prodding with a finger can perform two functions including helping to punctuate important points as well as instigate emotional rebuttals. The index finger, regardless, should be used with care.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I want everyone to look at what I’m pointing at and not at me.” “I’ve sharpened my spear. It is my index finger, and it’s extended and ready to thrust. It will jab at anyone or anything that might be in its path – so watch-out! I’m here to make a point.”

Variant: The middle finger is sometimes used rather than the index which is viewed as offensive by many. The thumb in the hand gesture is a more authoritative and acceptable way to make a point. Also see Finger Wagging (left and right).

Cue In Action: During a confrontation, Jill, pointed over and over, stabbing and prodding her husband with her index finger, each time laying in more and more blame.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The pointer is akin to a spear thrower. Every time they thrust their finger forward or shake it rhythmically it is as if they are jabbing their ideas into their audience and turning them submissive. We see this most often during aggressive verbal fights where the accuser is making strong personal attacks against the other. We also see it during passionate presentations when the speaker wishes to strongly emphasis a point.

Pointing finds its place all over the world to indicate direction or to emphasis a point. However, even the pointing gesture shows variation across culture as some will point with the index finger, others will use the middle finger and yet others still will point with a closed fist and use the thumb to indicate. Most cultures find pointing rude altogether, but others are more tolerant of its use. Where the middle finger is seen as a rude gesture, using it to point can be extremely off-putting and should be avoided.

Pointing fingers is a universal gesture that is negative in nature because it is as if the person is throwing spears. Finger pointing usually appears during aggressive verbal arguments. Finger pointing puts the reflection and responsibility onto the listener, and for this reason, they attach negative connotations to the speaker. It creates defensive feelings in the listener and as it persists, these defensive feelings grow into aggression. Parents will often use the pointing finger to scold children but adults will be far less tolerant of other’s authority especially those of equal status so it is unwise to exercise this gesture with abandon.

Cue Cluster: Finger pointing is usually coupled with a loud voice, enthusiastic gesticulation, leaning inward or encroaching.

Body Language Category: Arrogance or arrogant body language, Aggressive body language, Anger, Authoritative body language, Body pointing, Dominant body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Expansive movements, Hostile body language, Space invasion, Threat displays.

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.

Call, B., Hare, B., & Tomasello, M. (1998). Chimpanzee gaze following in an object-choice task. Animal Cognition, 1, 89–99.

Behne, T., Carpenter, M., & Tomasello, M. (2005). One-Year-Olds Comprehend The Communicative Intentions Behind Gestures In A Hiding Game. Developmental Science, 8, 492–499.

Broth, Mathias and Lorenza Mondada. Walking Away: The Embodied Achievement of Activity Closings in Mobile Interaction. Journal of Pragmatics. 2013. 47: 41-58.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbally-negotiate-conversation-walking-away/

Gräfenhaina, Maria; Tanya Behnea; Malinda Carpentera; and Michael Tomaselloa. One-Year-Olds’ Understanding Of Nonverbal Gestures Directed To A Third Person. Cognitive Development. 2009. 24: 23-33.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/origins-nonverbal-communication-body-language-infants-study/

Marsh, Abigail A; Henry H. Yu; Julia C. Schechter and R. J. R. Blair. Larger than Life: Humans’ Nonverbal Status Cues Alter Perceived Size. PLoS ONE. 2009. 4(5): e5707. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0005707. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/large-life-nonverbal-dominance-affects-perception-size/

Marsh, Abigail A; Karina S. Blair; Matthew M. Jones; Niveen Soliman, and R. J. R. Blair. Dominance and Submission: The Ventrolateral Prefrontal Cortex and Responses to Status Cues Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 2009. 21:4, pp. 713–724.

Moore, Monica. M. Nonverbal Courtship Patterns in Women: Context and consequences. Ethology and Sociobiology. 1985. 6:237- 247.

Moore, M. M. Courtship Communication and Perception. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 2002. 94(1): 97-105. doi:10.2466/PMS.94.1.97-105.

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.

Núria Esteve-Gibert and Pilar Prieto. Infants Temporally Coordinate Gesture-Speech Combinations Before They Produce Their First Words. Speech Communication. 2014; 57 301-316.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/pointing-is-infants-first-communicative-gesture/

Sun Jung, Hyo Sun and Hye Hyun Yoon. The Effects of Nonverbal Communication of Employees in the Family Restaurant Upon Customers’ Emotional Responses and Customer Satisfaction. International Journal of Hospitality Management. 2011. 30: 542-550.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/effect-body-languagel-cues-family-restaurant/

van der Goot, Marloes H.; Michael Tomasello and Ulf Liszkowski. Differences in the Nonverbal Requests of Great Apes and Human Infants. Child Development. 2014. 85(2): 444–455.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-pointing-human-infants-point-manipulate-apes-point-reach/