Category: Lying or deceptive body language

Closed body language, Defensive body language, Low confidence hand displays, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous Body Language

Body Language of Hands In Pockets

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 1 Comment

Body Language of Hands In Pockets

Cue: Hands In Pockets

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: When the hands are placed in the pockets.

In One Sentence: Having the hands in the pockets signals lack of confidence, overexposure, and the need for privacy.

How To Use it: Hiding the hands in the pockets can be used to create additional security when you feel uncomfortable. This is useful in front of large audiences. Jamming the hands in the pockets can provide them a safe place to hide which is especially welcome when feeling awkward.

That being said, it’s generally not advised to hold the hands in the pockets, but rather work on ways to be assertive enough to keep hands exposed despite feeling uncomfortable. The hands in pockets are often read as a negative posture.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m thankful to have pockets because I’m insecure and really need to put my hands someplace lest I feel even more awkward.”

Variant: Hands are sometimes sat on so they are neatly tucked out of the way.

Cue In Action: Before presenting to the audience, the candidate stood left of stage with his hands in his pockets. A more presidential posture would have included hands to his sides.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A comfort and informal position, but also one that reveals insecurity and a lack of confidence and in more extreme cases even secretiveness as if a person has something to hide.

It is a convenient place to put hands that might otherwise need to find purpose when in awkward situations. Hiding the hands generally is seen as dishonest because the hands carry so much information. For example, the palms of the hands are flashed at a distance, a wave, to prove to others that we carry no weapon. At least this is its theorized origin. Hands that are shaking with fear or sweating from nervousness are often stuffed into pockets to be hidden from critical eyes.

Thus, when hands are jammed into pockets we subconsciously fear and worry that they might be carry something that might harm us. One thing is for certain, if we get pulled over by the police, the last place you should put your hands is in the pockets – keep them high where they can be seen!

Cue Cluster: Hands in pockets is not usually coupled by much else because they usually provide enough security that nothing additional is required. If someone is particularly awkward they might blush or bring their hands out of their pockets to pat the back of their head or neck or smooth their pants to dry them of their sweat. A person might also play with their cufflink or sleeve – a masked arm cross. The head may be bowed during extreme discomfort.

Body Language Category: Closed body language, Defensive, Low confidence body language, Low confidence hand displays, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous body language.

Resources:

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Adaptors, Amplifier, Arousal, Auto contact or self touching, Disguised gestures, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Microgestures, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language

Body Language of Hand To Nose

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand To Nose

Cue: Hand To Nose

Synonym(s): Nose Touching

Description: Touching the nose, usually with the index finger or pinching it with the webbing of the thumb and index finger.

In One Sentence: Touching the nose indicates discomfort, or serves to alleviate an itch.

How To Use it: When possible make touches to the nose and other parts of the face brief and directed, as persistent nose touching is often misread as dishonesty. At worst, touching the nose is read as insecurity.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m stressed, and the blood if flowing to my nose, making me want to scratch it.”

Variant: Nose touching can happen as a quick but purposeful touch, the finger might graze the side of the nose, or it can be a persistent rubbing. Sometimes the touch is quick and dirty in an up and down motion, other times it is a brief almost unnoticeable touch to the base of the nose or its side. A person might wipe the nose with the back of their hand or come up and touch it lightly with their index finger. See Hand To Eye Gesture.

Cue In Action: During the Grand Jury testimony over Monica Lewinsky, Bill Clinton touched his nose 26 times when answering highly emotional questions. When he answered questions he found easy, his hands were nowhere near his face.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Touching the nose with the hand is a discomfort gesture linked to anxiety and therefore serves as a pacifier. Other times touching the nose provides clues that a person is lying as it indicates stress.

Face touching can come in two forms, one that serves a real function, to alleviate an itch, and one that is the result of negative feelings such as being uncomfortable and stressed. Face touching that is due to an emotion is meant as a fix behind the sensation, the emotion, and not due to any physical need.

Touching the nose has been linked to lying, but like most lie-detection cues, they aren’t absolute or reliable. We can tell when something is out of the ordinary when someone touches their nose for no reason or touches their nose while delivering critical information. The astute will find it obvious when someone is touching their nose for the purpose of alleviating an itch instead of alleviating a lie (or negative thought). Scratching is directed, specific, deep and vigorous, showing that some amount of waiting was done before the gesture was performed. Thus more relief is present when the itch is real. Itching due to negative emotions is general, shallow or glancing. This type of itch is done by bringing the index finger up, by example, and lightly touching the side of the nose where the nail is not used at all. That is, no real scratching is taking place.

When nose touching is not due to itching, then it’s due to a negative or dishonest thought from either lying, being terrified, pretending to be brave or just feeling self doubt.

Chemical known as catecholamine triggers nasal tissue to swell, but that it only induces the nose to increase in size below the level of perception. This is the real life Pinocchio effect. Even though most people will not be able to detect it, the increase in blood flow and pressure often causes a tingle in the nose, which in most people, triggers an itch response.

Some people touch their nose at the end of every sentence – it’s their idiosyncrasy. Does this mean that every word that comes from their mouth is a lie? It could be, but it is not likely. Once we’ve caught someone in a lie we can backtrack and look at the clues that preceded the lie and those that followed the lie to pick up on cues that might have given him away.

Cue Cluster: Touching the nose coupled with wiping the mouth in a down-stroke, avoiding eye contact, and fidgeting, tells us that something dishonest is probably going on.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Amplifier, Arousal, Auto contact or self touching, Disguised gestures, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked body language, Microgestures, Pacifying, Stressful body language.

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

Mahalski, P. (1983). The incidence of attachment objects and oral habits at bedtime in two longitudinal samples of children aged 1.5–7 years. Journal of Child Psychology and
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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.

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

McGrew, W. C. (1972). “Aspects of Social Development in Nursery School Children with Emphasis on Introduction to the Group.” In N. G. Blurton Jones, ed., Ethological Studies of Child Behaviour (Cambridge: University Press), pp. 129-56.

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.

Park, H. S., T. R. Levine, S. A. McCornack, K. Morrison, and M. Ferrara. How people really detect lies. Communication Monographs. 2002. 69: 144-157.

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.

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

Pugh, George E. (1977). The Biological Origin of Human Values (New York: Basic Books).

Rosenfeld, Howard (1973). “Nonverbal Reciprocation of Approval: An Experimental Analysis.” In Argyle *, pp. 163-72.

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

Stromwell, L. A., P. A. Granhag, and S. Landstrom. 2007. Children’s prepared and unprepared lies: can adults see through their strategies? Applied Cognitive Psychology 21 (4): 457-471.

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

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/

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

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

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

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

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

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Vrij, A. and G. R. Semin. 1996. Lie experts’ beliefs about nonverbal indicators of deception. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 20: 65-80.

Vrij, A. 1997. Individual differences in hand movements during deception. Source: Journal of nonverbal behavior. 21: 87-102.

Vrij, A.. 2004. Why professionals fail to catch liars and how they can improve Source: Legal and Criminological Psychology. 9:159-181.

Vrij, A., S. Mann, and S. Kristen. 2007. Cues to deception and ability to detect lies as a function of police interview styles. Law and Human Behavior 31 (5): 499-518.

Adaptors, Disguised gestures, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Leaked or involuntary body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Surprised body language

Body Language of Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth

Cue: Hand Covering or Cupping The Mouth.

Synonym(s): Cupping The Mouth, Mouth Slap, Slapping The Mouth, Hand Slapping The Mouth.

Description: a) One or both hands quickly come up to the mouth covering with both palms. b) One hand quickly comes to the mouth palm open against the mouth in a slapping motion.

In One Sentence: Hand to the mouth is a signal of disbelief, shock, mischief, or the desire to reclaim misspoken or damning words by jamming them back in.

How To Use it: Bring the hand to the mouth to show shock or surprise. It is useful to show others that you can’t believe what you just heard or saw. When you say something inappropriate, bringing the hand to the mouth shows other people that you wish to take the words back and wish to prevent any other hurtful words from coming out and doing more damage.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m scared or surprised by what I’m seeing so I’m covering up my surprised gaping mouth.” b) “I can’t believe what I said or what I heard you say and am covering my mouth in effort to jam the words back in or prevent any more offensive words from coming out.” “My hand is slapping my mouth to prevent me from saying things I shouldn’t and to jam the things I already said, back in.”

Variant: See Hand To Mouth, Hand To Nose, Hand To Eye Gesture, Hand To Cheek. Other variants to the mouth slap include a closed fist against the mouth, a single finger over the mouth in a shh-ing gesture (self silencing), finger in the mouth (sucking for soothing), or the hand-to-mouth in a fake cough.

Cue In Action: a) A bicyclist darted through the intersection and ran head-on into oncoming traffic smashing into the hood of a car. The bystanders were stunned. One of the women was covering her mouth in horror. b) The six year old accidentally let out a cuss word in front of her parents. She quickly slapped her mouth in shame. c) Wendy was a chatter box, and the worst at keeping secrets. She was talking away at the cafeteria when she blurted out that she had an outfit all set out for the special occasion on Friday night. Realizing what she had done, she slapped her mouth with her hand. The birthday party was to be a surprise and the birthday girl was right there at the table.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Mouth covering is a way to reduce the pain of telling a lie. In this case, it is so as to “speak no evil.”

Small children perform a full cover and even slap their mouths when they say something they shouldn’t. However, the mouth slap usually becomes a vestige to other minimized gesture such as the hand to the chin, or the hand coming to the corner of the mouth, or several fingers seemingly busy playing in front of the mouth.

When in the right context, hands to mouth or mouth slapping is a clue to deception and a desire to prevent being detected or revealing too much information. Grown adults will sometimes cup their hands to their mouths like children in effort to “jam the words back in their mouths” but usually use more subtle gestures such as “talking through their hand” which is a gesture done by placing a finger softly over their lips.

Talking with one’s hand covering the mouth, “talking through the hand,” or resting the hand around the mouth by wrapping the fingers around the top, are significant clues indicating insecurity.

Subconsciously, hand-to-mouth gestures leads people to distrust others, and see them as less honest overall. The gesture can be done with a fist, a finger, or a ‘shushing’ motion with the index finger vertically placed over the lips. Other times the subconscious mind is so powerful that the hand comes up and slaps the mouth, but to cover this ‘tell’ up, a fake cough is added.

What starts off as a quick mouth slap movement to the mouth when lying (or swearing) in children, slowly becomes a touch to the corner of the mouth. Later, restraint forces the finger to the side even further and then instead of touching the mouth it touches the side of the nose instead. As people age, they become much more difficult to read. By logical progression, the hardest to read of all are sixty-year-old politicians!

Cue Cluster: The mouth usually gaps open with eyes widening or the mouth jams shut with the head tilted down or away, depending if shock is experienced or words have accidentally spilled out. Sometimes the hands come to the head rather than the mouth during shock. Usually the facial expression is one of surprise. When someone says something regrettable they might blanche or blush, avert their eyes, slink down in embarrassment, seek exits and become quiet. When the hand comes to the mouth in more abbreviated forms, the eyes will also avert, a person may begin to fidget or squirm, touch the neck or nose as well as additional emotional cues of discomfort.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Disguised gestures, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Leaked or involuntary body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Surprised body language.

Resources:

Charles v. Ford, Lies! Lies! Lies!: The Psychology of Deceit (Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Press, Inc., 1996), 200.

Costa, Marco ; Dinsbach, Wies ; Manstead, Antony ; Bitti, Pio. Social Presence, Embarrassment, and Nonverbal Behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2001. 25(4): 225-240.

Dimond, Stuart ; Harries, Rashida. Face touching in monkeys, apes and man: Evolutionary origins and cerebral asymmetry. Neuropsychologia. 1984. 22(2): 227-233.

Feinberg, Matthew ; Willer, Robb ; Keltner, Dacher Simpson, Jeffrey (editor). Flustered and Faithful: Embarrassment as a Signal of Prosociality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2012. 102(1): 81-97.

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

Juni, Samuel ; Cohen, Phyllis. Partial impulse erogeneity as a function of fixation and object relations. Journal of Sex Research. 1985. 21(3): 275-291.

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

Lee, S. W. S., & Schwarz, N. (2010). Dirty hands and dirty mouths: Embodiment of the moral-purity metaphor is specific to the motor modality involved in moral transgression.
Psychological Science, 21, 1423–1425.

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.

Michel Desmurget; Nathalie Richard; Sylvain Harquel; Pierre Baraduc; Alexandru Szathmari; Carmine Mottolese; and Angela Sirigu. Neural representations of ethologically relevant hand/mouth synergies in the human precentral gyrus. PNAS. 2014. 111 (15).

Neuroscience: Why babies live hand to mouth. Nature. 2014. 508(7494). p.10.

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

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

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.

Appease, Clenching and gripping, Closed facial gestures, Defensive body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Negative body language

Body Language of Grin, Smirk or Closed-Lip Grin

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 4 Comments

Body Language of Grin, Smirk or Closed-Lip Grin

Cue: Grin, Smirk or Closed-Lip Grin

Synonym(s): Smirk, Closed-Lip Grin

Description: This is a smile done by keeping the mouth closed, teeth hidden, and curling up the corners of your lips.

In One Sentence: The grin is a type of smile that is mischievous.

How To Use it: Use the grin to signal that you are “up to no good.” This can work well in intimate relationships as a way to tease. Men can use this to good effect to create a ‘bad-boy’ type impression which can leave women guessing. This can help spark sexual interest.

Children can also use the grin to good effect against parents as it is often seen as playful and cheeky and not particularly troublesome.

One should avoid the grin when dealing with authoritative figures as these people, especially when under stress, may not take well to humour.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m holding back information and not being totally open and honest which is why I’m not doing a full smile and exposing all my teeth.”

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

Cue In Action: Dave set up a prank on his good buddy when he was away picking up lunch. When his buddy realized that his cubicle had been “redecorated,” Dave cracked his lips in a grin.

Meaning and/or Motivation: This smile indicates smugness, arrogance, or hiding of information or feelings.

It is a tight lipped smile with the addition of a degree self satisfaction for good measure.

The close lipped smile is a restraint and concealment smile commonly associated with politicians and those who are up to no good. Children are sometimes seen sporting this smile, as are people who are teasing or being playful. If someone is speaking, but holding a tight grin, you can be assured that they aren’t telling you everything.

Sometimes the smile is done to hide bad or yellow teeth. An honest smile bares the teeth.

Cue Cluster: The smirk has accompanying dominant body language such as head back, shoulders back, open postures along with dialogue riddle with exuberant pride.

Body Language Category: Appease, Clenching and gripping, Closed facial gestures, Defensive, Dislike (nonverbal), Lying or deceptive body language, Masked emotions, Negative body language.

Resources:

Abel, Ernest L. and Michael L. Kruger. Smile Intensity in Photographs Predicts Longevity. Psychological Science. 2010. 21(4): 542-544.
Seder, J. Patrick and Shigehiro Oishi. Intensity of Smiling in Facebook Photos Predicts Future Life Satisfaction. Social Psychological and Personality Science. 2012. 3(4): 407-413.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/facebook-smile-predicts-life-satisfaction/

Colonnesi, Cristina; Susan M. Bogels; Wieke de Vente and Mirjana Majdandzic. What Coy Smiles Say About Positive Shyness in Early Infancy. Infancy. 2013. 18(2): 202–220. ISSN: 1525-0008 print / 1532-7078 online
DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-7078.2012.00117.x
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-meaning-coy-smiles-infants/

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

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

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

Golle, Jessika; Fred W.; Mast and Janek S. Lobmaier. Something to Smile About: The Interrelationship Between Attractiveness and Emotional Expression. Cognition and Emotion, 2014. 28:2: 298-310. DOI: 10.1080/02699931.2013.817383.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/smiles-arent-just-cameras/

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, N., & Fischer-Lokou, J. (2004). Hitchhiker’s Smiles And Receipt Of Help. Psychological Reports. 94: 756-760.

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

Hertenstein, Matthew J.; Carrie A. Hansel; Alissa M. Butts and Sarah N. Hile. Smile Intensity In Photographs Predicts Divorce Later In Life. Motiv Emot. 2009; 33:99-105
DOI 10.1007/s11031-009-9124-6
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/small-smiles-predicts-divorce/

Harker, L., & Keltner, D. (2001). Expressions Of Positive Emotion In Women’s College Yearbook Pictures And Their Relationship To Personality And Life Outcomes Across Adulthood. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80(1), 112–124. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.80.1.112.

Kraft, Tara L ; Pressman, Sarah D. Grin and Bear It. Psychological Science. 2012. 23(11): 1372-1378.

Kalokerinos, Elise K. ; Greenaway, Katharine H. ; Pedder, David J. ; Margetts, Elise A. Desteno, David (editor). Don’t Grin When You Win: The Social Costs of Positive Emotion Expression in Performance Situations. Emotion. 2014. 14(1): 180-186.

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

Krause, Michael W. and Teh-Way David Chen. A Winning Smile? Smile Intensity, Physical Dominance, and Fighter Performance. Emotion. 2013. 13 (2): 270–279. DOI: 10.1037/a0030745
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/smile-lose-smile-intensity-predicts-fighting-ability

Krumhuber, Eva G.; Manstead and Antony S. R. Can Duchenne smiles be feigned? New evidence on felt and false smiles. Emotion. 2009. 9 (6): 807-820.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/can-fake-real-smile-practice/

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/

Labroo, Aparna A.; Anirban Mukhopadhyay; Ping Dong. Not Always the Best Medicine: Why Frequent Smiling Can Reduce Wellbeing. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2014. 53:156-162.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/why-too-much-smiling-can-be-bad-for-you/

Lockard, J. S., McVittie, R. I., & Isaac, L. M. (1977). Functional Significance Of The Affiliative Smile. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 9, 367-370.

Okubo, Matia; Akihiro, Kobayashi and Kenta Ishikawa. A Fake Smile Thwarts Cheater Detection. Journal of Nonverbal Behaviour. 2012. 36:217–225. DOI 10.1007/s10919-012-0134-9
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/fake-till-make-cheaters-fake-smile-make-lies-difficult-detect/

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

Reed, Lawrence Ian; Katharine N. Zeglen and Karen L. Schmidt. Facial Expressions as Honest Signals of Cooperative Intent in a One-Shot Anonymous Prisoner’s Dilemma Game. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2012. 33: 200-209.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/facial-expressions-honest-signals-smiling-contempt-predict-cooperation-defection/

Samuele Centorrino, Elodie Djemai, Astrid Hopfensitz, Manfred Milinski, Paul Seabright. Honest Signaling in Trust Interactions: Smiles Rated as Genuine Induce Trust and Signal Higher Earning Opportunities. Evolution and Human Behavior DOI: dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.08.001.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/smile-great-gain-smiling-key-negotiation/

Tidd, K., & Lockard, J. (1978). Monetary Significance Of The Affiliative Smile: A Case For Reciprocal Altruism. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 11, 344-346.

Vazire, S., Naumann, L.P., Rentfrow, P. J., and Gosling, S. D. (2009). Smiling reflects different emotions in men and women. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32:5, 403–405.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/smiling-reflects-different-emotions-men-women/

Vigil, J. M. (2009). A socio-relational framework of sex differences in the expression of emotion. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 32, 375–428.

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.

*No Photo, Defensive body language, Disengagement body language, Dislike (nonverbal), Inborn behaviours, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous Body Language

Body Language of Frozen Hands or Frozen Feet Called Flash Frozen

by Chris • October 22, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Frozen Hands or Frozen Feet Called Flash Frozen

Cue: Frozen Hands or Frozen Feet

Synonym(s): Freeze, Flight or Fight Response, Hide In Plain Sight, Flash Frozen.

Description: Whenever the hands or feet suddenly cease moving.

In One Sentence: Hands that suddenly freeze indicate negative thoughts due to a fear response.

How To Use it: As frozen hands is a negative thought indicator you can use the signal to show that you are in distress by suddenly locking up. However, as this cue is subtle and requires a person to be conscious of your baseline amount of hand of foot movement, it is usually out of the normal awareness of most people. Thus, the cue is not something that is wildly applicable in signaling ‘honest’ emotions. That being said, if you find that you suddenly freeze and are unsure why, you can remind yourself that it’s likely that you are experiencing a fear response.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m nervous, stressed, fearful or thinking of negative thoughts which is causing me to stop moving and hide in plain-sight.”

Variant: Ankle-Ankle Cross or Scissor Cross.

Cue In Action: a) Bill’s normal baseline was jittery, always kicking and bumping his feet and legs, but when the topic of his adultery came to subject, he stopped kicking and sat with his hands under his thighs, all but freezing stiff. b) Normally quite fluid with his gesticulation, his hands were placed in his pockets when discussing rocket science. Seems he was not such a know-it-all when rockets were involved. c) The negotiation was going well, that was until he found out that the assets he most coveted would not be included. He wrapped his legs around the chair and bit his lip. d) She suddenly locked her feet around the legs of the chair indicating discomfort and anxiety.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A nonverbal cue that usually involves a visceral response from the fright or flight system. This fear causes a person to freeze, either in whole, in extreme cases, or more minutely such as arm or leg freezes. The subconscious mind is telling a person to try to hide in plain sight by not moving. Breath rate can be reduced, eyes may cease looking about the room, and the body may take up a less expansive profile.

The fight or flight response is a bit a misnomer. It’s not actually how humans or other animals respond to stress and danger. Lazy by nature and especially cautious of injury, we have evolved the proclivity to handle situations in more appropriate ways. Most animals, humans included, will naturally sequence freeze, flight and fight in that order. Freezing is important to assess the situation, for how does one know what they are running from, and in what direction, if they don’t first identify the object of their fear?

Sudden cessation of gesticulation can indicate a freeze response due to being caught in a lie especially when the context warrants it. This is part of the flight or fight response as liars are trying to seem less noticeable. Movement attracts attention.

When hands or feet are usually busy according to a baseline, suddenly begin to slow, or become less expressive, it can signal a lack of enthusiasm or confidence for the topic, discomfort, fear, anxiety, or nervousness. While seated, the legs can also be locked behind the legs of a chair with essentially the same message being delivered except in this case it is a restraining-freeze-behaviour. When the legs are wrapped around the chair they can’t move, hence they are locked, and are also there precisely so they don’t move, and are hence frozen.

The ankle or scissor cross also shows reservation and self-restraint, due to withholding of a thought or emotion. When the ankles cross it is due to a subconscious freeze response due to a threat and the legs are entwined so as to restrict and restraint movement.

On the flip side, if feet suddenly freeze from a jitter, it indicates an emotional change has occurred and that a person is experiencing threat. Freezing, in this way, can happen as a result of being confronted with an embarrassing question or situation, or being the subject of a childhood tale that one is not particularly fond about.

Cue Cluster: Couple interlocked legs, which is a freeze response meant to reduce foot movement, with pacifying behaviours such as rubbing the thighs palm down, as if to dry them, and you’ve got a cluster signaling that a secret is being covered. If the feet are pulled under the chair, the message is even more exaggerated. The feet are saying exactly what the person is thinking, that he or she is closed and withdrawn from the conversation.

Body Language Category: Defensive, Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Inborn behaviours, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous body language.

Resources:

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

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

Burgess, A. W., & Holmstrom, L. L. (1976). Coping behavior of the rape victim. American Journal of Psychiatry,
133, 413–418.

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

Estes, Zachary Estes and Michelle Verges. Freeze or flee? Negative stimuli elicit selective responding. Cognition. 2008. 108(2): 557-565.

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

Galliano, G., Noble, L. M., Travis, L. A., & Puechl, C. (1993). Victim reactions during rape/sexual assault: A preliminary study of the immobility response and its correlates. Journal of Interpersonal Violence, 8, 109–114.

Gallup, G. G. (1977). Tonic immobility: The role of fear and predation. Psychological Record, 27, 41–61.

Gillis, M. M., Haaga, D. A., & Ford, G. T. (1995). Normative values for the beck anxiety inventory, fear questionnaire, Penn state worry questionnaire, and social phobia and anxiety inventory. Psychological
Assessment, 7, 450–455.

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/

Heidt, J. M., Marx, B. P., & Forsyth, J. P. (2005). Tonic immobility and childhood sexual abuse: A preliminary report evaluating the sequela of rape-induced paralysis. Behavior Research and Therapy, 43, 1157–1171.

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

Karin Roelofs; Muriel A. Hagenaars; and John Stins. Facing Freeze: Social Threat Induces Bodily Freeze in Humans. Psychological Science. 2010 21(11): 1575-1581.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/angry-faces-elicit-freeze-response-in-people-research/

Liebowitz, M. R., Gorman, J. M., Fyer, A. J., Dillon, D. J., & Klein, D. F. (1984). Effects of naltrexone on patients with panic attacks. American Journal of Psychiatry, 141, 995–997.

Mattick, R. P., & Clarke, J. C. (1998). Development and validation of measures of social phobia scrutiny fear and social interaction anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 36, 455–470.

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

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

Sporer, Siegfried L. ; Schwandt, Barbara Penrod, Steven D. (editor). MODERATORS OF NONVERBAL INDICATORS OF DECEPTION: A Meta-Analytic Synthesis.
Psychology. Public Policy, and Law. 2007. 13(1): 1-34.

Sagliano, Laura ; Cappuccio, Angela ; Trojano, Luigi ; Conson, Massimiliano. Approaching threats elicit a freeze-like response in humans. Neuroscience Letters. 2014. 561: 35-40.

Schmidt, Norman B. ; Richey, J. Anthony ; Zvolensky, Michael J. ; Maner, Jon K. Exploring human freeze responses to a threat stressor. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2008. 39(3): 292-304.

Schmidt, N. B., & Joiner, T., Jr. (2002). Structure of the anxiety sensitivity index: Psychometrics and factor structure in a community sample. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 16, 33–49.

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

Schmidt, N. B., & Telch, M. J. (1994). Role of fear of fear and safety information in moderating the effects of voluntary hyperventilation. Behavior Therapy, 25, 197–208.

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21, 375–400.

*No Photo, Arousal, Autonomic signal, Confused body language, Eye Language, Fearful body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous Body Language, Stressful body language

Body Language of Eye Blink Rate (Rapid)

by Chris • October 21, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of Eye Blink Rate (Rapid)

Cue: Eye Blink Rate (Rapid)

Synonym(s): Rapid Eye, Blink Rate, Eyes Multiblink

Description: An increase in the rate of blinking.

In One Sentence: Rapid eye blinking is a sign of high stress.

How To Use it: Rapid eye blinking is not useful as a signal as it carries mostly negative connotations. However, the actual act should not be avoided should you require quick action as blinking prepares the eyes for taking in important visual information.

Avoid rapid blinking when you think you will be judged on your honesty as many people attribute a high blink rate to stress, and stress, to lying.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m getting ready for action as I have detected some level of stress that requires me to do something or think of something that does not easily come to mind, my eyes are blinking fast to keep them moist and alert.”

Variant: See Eye Flutter or Batting Eyes for a related cue as well as other Eye Language (category). Eyes that blink too slowly (See Eye Blink Rate Less) are usually referred to as Staring or The Evil Eye.

Cue In Action: When asked if she would marry him, her eyes began to blink rapidly – she was stressed and didn’t know how to answer the question since they had only been dating for 3 months.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A high blink rate is often the result of excitement, arousal and stress.

Blinking is the body’s way of preparing us for action as we keep our eyes moist and alert. The normal blink rate is between six and eight times per minute but it can increase by four or five times while under pressure.

Pronounced eye blinking can also happen during sexual arousal and attraction.

A rapid series of eye blinks can also indicate an inner struggle or distress, nervousness and concern.

A high eye blink rate is also associated with lying but it can also be a signal that they are worried about being perceived as liar – so really a high blink rate is only a sign of arousal. One must find the source of the arousal to uncover lying. Eyes that multi-blink where there are a quick succession of rapid eye movement usually signifies high stress and that a person is on the verge of tears. Other times a high eye blink rate means the eyes are dry or that something is stuck in the eye.

Cue Cluster: Watch for a freeze type response, the deer in the headlights where the head freezes in place, the arms and legs seize up, the torso remains still and the face becomes blank or flushes with emotion as a person decides on a course of action.

Body Language Category: Arousal, Autonomic signal, Confused, Eye Language, Fearful body language, Lying or deceptive body language, Nervous body language, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Brefczynski-Lewis, Julie A ; Berrebi, Michael E ; Mcneely, Marie E ; Prostko, Amy L ; Puce, Aina. In the Blink of an Eye: Neural Responses Elicited to Viewing the Eye Blinks of Another Individual. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience. 2011 5.

Brooks, C. I., Church, M. A., & Fraser, L. 1986. Effects of duration of eye contact on judgments of personality characteristics. Journal of Social Psychology. 126: 71–78

Barbato, Giuseppe ; De Padova, Vittoria ; Paolillo, Antonella Raffaella ; Arpaia, Laura ; Russo, Eleonora ; Ficca, Gianluca. Increased spontaneous eye blink rate following prolonged wakefulness. Physiology & Behavior. 2007. 90(1): 151-154.

Condon, William, and W. Ogston (1967). “A Segmentation of Behavior.” In Journal of Psychiatric Research (Vol. 5), pp. 221-35.

Dawson, Michael E. ; Hazlett, Erin A. ; Filion, Diane L. ; Nuechterlein, Keith H. ; Schell, Anne M. Mineka, Susan (editor). Attention and Schizophrenia: Impaired Modulation of the Startle Reflex. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1993. 102(4): 633-641.

Drew, G. C. (1951). Variations in reflex blink-rate during visual motor tasks. Quaterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, 73–88.

Davis 1978. Camera Eye-Contact by the Candidates in the Presidential Debates of 1976 Source: The journalism quarterly. 55 (3): 431 -437.

Ellsworth, Phoebe; Carlsmith, J Merrill. 1973. Eye contact and gaze aversion in an aggressive encounter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 28(2): 280-292.

Kanfer, F. (1960). “Verbal Rate, Eyeblink, and Content in Structured Psychiatric Interviews.” In Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology (Vol. 61, No. 3), pp. 341-47.

Gordon, A. K. and A. G. Miller. 2000. Perspective differences in the construal of lies: is deception in the eye of the beholder? Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin 26 (1): 46-55.

Gilliam, Harold V. B.; Van Den Berg, Sjef. 1980. Different Levels of Eye Contact: Effects on Black and White College Students. Urban Education. 15 (1): 83-92.

Goldman. 1980. Effect of Eye Contact and Distance on the Verbal Reinforcement of Attitude. The Journal of social psychology 111(1): 73 -78.

Greene 1979. Title: Need-Fulfillment and Consistency Theory: Relationships Between Self-Esteem and Eye Contact. Source: Western journal of speech communication. 43(2): 123 -133.

Galin, D. and Ornstein, R., 1974. Individual Differences in Cognitive Style – Reflective Eye Movements; Neuropsychologia, 12: 376-397.

Goldstein, R., Bauer, L. O., & Stern, J. A. (1992). Effect of task difficulty and interstimulus interval on blink parameters. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 13, 111–118.

Holland, M. K., & Tarlow, G. (1972). Blinking and mental load. Psychological Reports, 31, 119–127.

Holland, M. K., & Tarlow, G. (1975). Blinking and thinking. Psychological Reports, 41, 403–406. READ

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Personality and Individual Differences. 1994. 16(4): 645-648.

Hocking. 1985. Eye contact contrast effects in the employment interview. Communication research reports 2(1): 5-10.

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Mann, Samantha ; Ewens, Sarah ; Shaw, Dominic ; Vrij, Aldert ; Leal, Sharon ; Hillman, Jackie. The Lying Chicken and the Gaze Avoidant Egg: Eye Contact, Deception, and Causal Order. Southern Communication Journal. 2006. 71(4): 401-411.

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Psychophysiology. 2008. 45(5): 679-87.

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Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Defensive body language, Displacement behaviour, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Pacifying body language, Shy nonverbal

Body Language of The Ear Grab

by Chris • October 20, 2014 • 0 Comments

Body Language of The Ear Grab

Cue: Ear Grab

Synonym(s): Ear Rub, Ear Rubbing, Grabbing The Ear, Touching The Ear, Pulling At The Ear, Ear Pull, Ear Touch, Hand To Ear.

Description: The hand reaches up and grabs, scratches, tugs, or lightly touches or partially covers the ear. If an earring is being worn, a person might roll or tug it instead. In more overt ear language, a person might cover their ears completely, which is usual in children who haven’t yet learned to how to minimize the gesture.

In One Sentence: Grabbing the ear is attributed to those experiencing visceral stress but usually simply serves to alleviate an itch.

How To Use it: Touching parts of the face is not advisable as it generally comes across as negative. Do avoid touching the face as much as possible including the ears when trying to appear open and honest.

Context: a), b), c) General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m touching my ear because what I’m hearing is causing me stress and touching my ear helps to relieve it.” b) “I can’t believe what I’m hearing.” c) “This is causing me emotional discomfort and which is making my ears flush. To fix the discomfort, I feel like tugging at my ear.”

Variant: See Hand To Nose, Neck Rubbing (back of neck) or Holding The Back Of The Neck.

Cue In Action: a) During court proceedings, a witness began to delve deeper into the case. The defendant didn’t like what she was hearing and she began to flush in the ears causing her to tug at her ears. A used car salesman might talk about the quality of a certain car, then pull on his ear lobe, or more subtly, he might be found rubbing the edge of the ear, indicating that what he has just said is untrue.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The ear grab refers to a subconscious desire to “hear no evil” and is done by reaching up and pulling the ear in response to hearing or saying discomforting things. It also sometimes represents anxiety and nervousness.

Think of the ear grab like rubbing sore muscles or massaging a stiff back, except in this case the damage done is internal and it’s due to something that has been heard, which “hurts” the ears. Anytime someone shows the desire to touch their ear means that they are thinking about hearing, and it will be up to you to tie them to context and decide what it is they are really saying. Other times, the ear is scratched because it really is itchy and has no meaning at all (an adaptor).

The ear grab can be use not only at the conclusion of the lies of others, but also at the conclusion of our own lies as well. The gesture used at the conclusion of our own lies serves to reduce what is called “cognitive dissonance” which is the uncomfortable feeling that comes from holding two contradictory ideas simultaneously.

Cue Cluster: In order for the ear tug to have any true meaning of discomfort other cues must be present such as blushing, touching the face or neck, submissive cues, eye aversion or eyes shifting, head lowered, feet turning away, hands and feet freezing, rubbing the hands on the thighs, rubbing the back of the head or neck, massaging the throat or covering the neck dimple and so forth.

Body Language Category: Adaptors, Auto contact or self touching, Defensive, Displacement behaviour, Doubt or disbelief body language, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Pacifying, Lying or deceptive body language, Negative body language, Shy nonverbal.

Resources:

Akehurst, L., G. Kohnken, A. Vrij, and R. Bull. 1996. Lay persons’ and police officers’
beliefs regarding deceptive behaviour. Applied Cognitive Psychology 10: 461-471.

Appelbaum, P.S. The new lie detectors: Neuroscience, deception, and the courts. Psychiatric Services. 2007. 58: 460-462.

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.

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

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

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