Category: Nervous Body Language

*No Photo, Arousal, Autonomic signal, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Nervous Body Language, Shy nonverbal, Stressful body language

The Body Language Of Blushing

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The Body Language Of Blushing

No picCue: Blushing

Synonym(s): Turning Red, Red Face.

Description: A reddening of the cheeks.

In One Sentence: Blushing is a signal that the body is experiencing emotional distress or is overheating due to exercise.

How To Use it: Blushing is an autonomic process that can not be consciously controlled. However, the use of artificial blush by women can make them appear flush and so more sexually appealing as it signifies that one is excited and youthful. Colouring the cheeks also produces a more healthy appearance. If one is overly flush, make-up can help dull the colouring to appear more normal. A healthy red hew is a sign of youthfulness and can be used to create positive impressions.

Context: General, Stress.

Verbal Translation: “I’m stressed and blood is being pumped all over my body to get ready to do something.” “I’m exercising and blood is rushing to the surface of my face in order to help my body cool off.”

Variant: See Ear Blushing, Blanching.

Cue In Action: It was Stacey’s turn to present next, her heart began to race and her face turned a bright shade of red. She was nervous.”

Meaning and/or Motivation: Blushing is linked to the release of adrenaline and cortisol which courses through the body when people get excited, feel pressure, are nervous, embarrassed or stressed. The hormone also diverts blood flow from the digestive system and shunts it to major muscle groups giving them a burst of energy.

As a side effect, our blood vessels that deliver blood to our faces dilate, meaning they relax or open, allowing more blood to reach the surface causing them to turn red. Blushing usually appears in the cheeks and often the upper chest.

Some people are prone to blushing with relatively low stress levels as a physiological condition. Blushing can also be the result of high activity levels where blood is pumped all over the body including the outer skin as a method for our body to cool itself by dissipating excess heat.

Cue Cluster: We usually see other nervous body language with blushing such as trembling hands, head lowering, shoulder shrugging, body turned away, eye contact avoidance, shaking the head, overall freezing, and lowered voice volume.

Body Language Category: Arousal, Autonomic signal, Embarrassment (nonverbal), Emotional body language, Nervous body language, Shy nonverbal, Stressful body language.

Resources:

Bögels, Susan M. ; Alberts, Maurice ; de Jong, Peter J.. Self-consciousness, self-focused attention, blushing propensity and fear of blushing. Personality and Individual Differences. 1996. 21(4): 573-581.

Beidel, D. C., Turner, S. M., & Dancu, C. V. (1985). Physiological, cognitive and behavioral aspects of social anxiety. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 23, 109–117.

Chaker, S., Hofmann, S. G., & Hoyer, J. (2010). Can a one-weekend group therapy reduce fear of blushing? Results of an open trial. Anxiety, Stress & Coping, 23(3),
303–318.

Dijk, C., Voncken, M. J., & de Jong, P. J. (2009). I blush, therefore I will be judged
negatively: influence of false blush feedback on anticipated others’ judgments
and facial coloration in high and low blushing-fearfuls. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 47(7), 541–547.

Drummond, Peter D and Tahnee Bailey. Eye Contact Evokes Blushing Independently of Negative Affect. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37:207-216. DOI 10.1007/s10919-013-0155-z
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/sit-can-embody-depression-body-language-postures-control-mental-processes/

Drummond, P. D. (1994). The effect of anger and pleasure on facial blood flow. Australian Journal of Psychology, 46, 95–99.

Drummond, P. D. (1999). Facial flushing during provocation in women. Psychophysiology, 36(3), 325–332.

Drummond, P. D. (2001). The effect of true and false feedback on blushing in women. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(8), 1329–1343.

Drummond, P. D., & Lance, J. W. (1987). Facial flushing and sweating mediated by the sympathetic nervous system. Brain, 110(Pt. 3), 793–803.

Drummond, P. D., & Quah, S. H. (2001). The effect of expressing anger on cardiovascular reactivity and facial blood flow in Chinese and Caucasians. Psychophysiology, 38, 190–196.

Drummond, Peterd. ; Su, Daphne. The relationship between blushing propensity, social anxiety and facial blood flow during embarrassment. Cognition & Emotion. 2012. 26(3): 561-567.

Drummond, Peter D. and Lazaroo, Daniel. The effect of facial blood flow on ratings of blushing and negative affect during an embarrassing task: Preliminary findings. Journal of Anxiety Disorders. 2012. 26(2): 305-310.

Drummond, Peter D. ; Back, Kate ; Harrison, Jennifer ; Dogg Helgadottir, Fjola ; Lange, Brooke ; Lee, Chris ; Leavy, Kate ; Novatscou, Caroline ; Orner, Azalia ; Pham, Han ; Prance, Jacquie ; Radford, Danielle ; Wheatley, Lauren. Blushing during social interactions in people with a fear of blushing. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2007. 45(7): 1601-1608.

de Jong, Peter J. ; Peters, Madelon L. Do blushing phobics overestimate the undesirable communicative effects of their blushing? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 2005. 43(6): 747-758.

Dijk, Corine ; De Jong, Peter J. Blushing-fearful individuals overestimate the costs and probability of their blushing. Behaviour research and therapy. 2012. 50(2): 158-62.

Licht, Peter B. ; Pilegaard, Hans K. ; Ladegaard, Lars. Sympathicotomy for Isolated Facial Blushing: A Randomized Clinical Trial. The Annals of Thoracic Surgery. 2012. 94(2): 401-405.

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

Pelissolo, Antoine ; Moukheiber, Albert ; Lobjoie, Corine ; Valla, Jean ; Lambrey, Simon. Is there a place for fear of blushing in social anxiety spectrum? Depression and Anxiety. 2012. 29(1): 62-70.

Smidfelt, K. ; Drott, C.. Late results of endoscopic thoracic sympathectomy for hyperhidrosis and facial blushing. British Journal of Surgery. 2011. 98(12): 1719-1724

Shearn, D., Bergman, E., Hill, K., Abel, A., & Hinds, L. (1990). Facial coloration and temperature responses in blushing. Psychophysiology, 27(6), 687–693.

*No Photo, Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Nervous Body Language, Pacifying body language, Stressful body language

The Body Language of Blowing off Steam or Exhaling

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The Body Language of Blowing off Steam or Exhaling

No picCue: Blowing Off Steam

Synonym(s): Exhaling, Blowing Out Air Through The Lips, Sighs, Deflating.

Description: Deflating is done by forcefully exhaling air through a compressed mouth or lips. It is a rapid expulsion of air accompanied with a low huff or tone. Sighs can be so low as to be barely distinguishable from ordinary exhalation. Sometimes air comes out of a gapped mouth as an “Ugh.”

In One Sentence: Exhaling air suddenly indicates that one is suffering from a particular stressor or has recently overcome a stressor successfully.

How To Use it: One might use the huff of air to show that one is suffering and wish for that to be known nonverbally by others. This may work in poker or bluffing while negotiating a contract or to show anxiety over a matter in a relationship. This “honest signal” will show others that you are suffering. The hope is that someone else can resolve the issue for you or offer you a sympathetic ear. You can also forcibly exhale a breath to show others that you disagree with them and that they are causing you frustration. The hope of course, is that your nonverbal signal will be understood and the issue will be resolved without having to use more obvious or costly methods (such as using words).

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I really can’t believe this is happening again!” b) “Finally I can take a load off.” c) “I’m stressed and need to slow down my breath, control my breathing and concentrate on what comes next.”

Variant: N/A.

Cue In Action: a) When her husband was called into a late meeting at work, Jill huffed in displeasure. b) Jill got all the kids organized for school and tucked them in bed. She let out an audible sigh, “ahhh,” as she plopped down on the couch. c) Before taking stage, she forcefully blew air out of her mouth to get in the right frame of mind.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Blowing air out indicates frustration, disapproval, uncertainty and an attempt at pacifying. It signifies that pressure is being released from our bodies usually due to frustration and stress. To imagine this cue, think of the pressure being released from a balloon. We call this “deflating” and it’s similar to the emotional deflating of a person – the person feels deflated. A person might blow out air forcefully to prepare the body to concentrate on a difficult task or in preparation for a stressful event.

Sighs signify frustration, being overwhelmed or weighted down, burdened and thoughts of powerlessness. People often sigh many times throughout a regular day as their level of stress increases and decreases.

At other times, sighs are done at the completion of a difficult task spelling relief and relaxation.

Cue Cluster: Cues that accompany blowing off steam include slumped shoulders, slack arms that seem to hang off the body, and eyes rolling back and pacing. A general relaxation will come over the body at task completion. It might be plopped down on a chair or sofa, allowing the face to relax and relieving tension. Shortly thereafter, joy might appear.

Body Language Category: Emotional body language, Frustration or frustrated body language, Nervous body language, Stressful body language, Pacifying.

Resources:

Allen, Ben ; Friedman, Bruce H. Positive emotion reduces dyspnea during slow paced breathing. Psychophysiology. 2012 49(5): 690-696.

Brown, Richard P ; Gerbarg, Patricia L. Sudarshan Kriya yogic breathing in the treatment of stress, anxiety, and depression: part I-neurophysiologic model. Journal of alternative and complementary medicine . 2005. 11(1): 189-201.

Ekerholt, Kirsten Bergland. Breathing: a sign of life and a unique area for reflection and action. Astrid Physical therapy. 2008 88(7): 832-40.

Geronemus, Hillary. Breathe Through It. Women’s Health. 2010. 7(3): 068

Hunter, Virginia. Clinical clues in the breathing behaviors of patient and therapist. Clinical Social Work Journal. Summer. 1993 21(2):161-118.

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.

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

Sand-Jecklin, Kari. Patient Anxiety Levels Related to Gynecologic Examinations: Use of the Color Breathwork Relaxation Method. Archives of Psychiatric Nursing. 2008. 22(4): 240-242.

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.

Tainsky, Al. Calm, cool, collected: a meditation primer. Inside MS, Wntr. 2002. 20(1): 24(4).

Emotional body language, Nervous Body Language, Power play, Shy nonverbal, Submissive body language

The Body Language Meaning Of Becoming Quiet or Whispering

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The Body Language Meaning Of Becoming Quiet or Whispering

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Becoming Quiet or Whispering 2Cue: Becoming Quiet or Whispering.

Synonym(s): Soft Voice, Quiet Voice, Whispering, Hushed Voice.

Description: A sudden or sustained decrease in the volume of the voice making the voice barely audible or audible only to selected individuals rather than to a wider audience.

In One Sentence: A soft voice is a voice that is timid and does not want to be noticed or wants to bring people closer together and isolate them with secrete shared information.

How To Use it: Use a soft voice in dating to draw your date in closer to create an intimate interaction. A soft voice can also be used to demonstrate a caring and gentle personality. You may also use a soft voice to bring the level of intensity down in an interaction. This is particularly effective when the conversation volume has intensified to the point where screaming is in order just to be heard. When interacting with a scream toddler, for example, a soft voice forces them to struggle to listen, and as they do so, will tend to mirror your voice volume in return. This has the effect of creating a more peaceful dialogue. Finally, a soft voice can also force other people to struggle to listen to you. When done on purpose, a soft voice is a power play and can be used to control a situation. In this case, power is achieved by the omission of volume.

Context: a) General b) Dating.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m talking below the normal range of voice volume so people don’t pay attention to me or notice me.” a) “I’m speaking quietly because I’m embarrassed.” b) “I’m using a quiet voice to draw you in to my intimate space.”

Variant: Becoming Loud.

Cue In Action: a) When the spotlight turned to Linda, she became quiet and was barely audible – she didn’t want people to know she hadn’t done her research. b) The bar was really loud, but rather than try to speak over the music, he leaned in and whispered into her ear.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Becoming quiet is an attempt to go unnoticed due to shyness, timidity, embarrassment, or uncertainty. Becoming quiet can be due to a variety of reasons including trying to keep secrets and remain private, to create intimacy, to inhibit drawing attention to the self, to power play people into drawing them into personal space and forcing them to listen hard. Whispering can create intimacy also as it requires that a person move into the personal space zone of another. It can therefore be a tactic used in dating and attraction.

Other times a soft voice implies a quiet confidence from a person who lacks a desire to control a conversation. Other meanings of soft voice includes a withdrawal from a conversation due to confrontation, discomfort or nervousness, grief or sorrow, that a person is lying. It may also forcing a person to move closer (power play), to limit what is being heard, tiredness or illness.

Using a soft voice is sometimes used to manipulate others who strain to hear what is being said or mean that the speaker lacks confidence and assertiveness. This is considered a nonverbal power play as it uses tactics that are barely noticeable by others to influence their behaviours and perceptions.

Cue Cluster: Becoming quiet is usually accompanied with other meek body language such as eye aversion, chin tucked in, slumped shoulders and arm freezing.

Body Language Category: Shy nonverbal, Nervous Body Language, Submissive body language, Emotional body language, Power play.

Resources:

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http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/impress-higher-pitched-voice/

Apicella C. L.; D. R. Feinberg and F. W. Marlowe. Voice Pitch Predicts Reproductive Success in Male Hunter-Gatherers. Biology Letters. 2007. 3:682–684. doi:10.1098/rsbl.2007.0410
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Abitbol, J., Abitbol, P., & Abitbol, B. (1999). Sex hormones and the female voice. Journal of Voice, 13, 424–446.

Burriss. Intrasexual Competition Among Women: Vocal Femininity Affects Perceptions of Attractiveness And Flirtatiousness. Personality and Individual Differences. 2011; 50: 111-115.
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Bachorowski, J., & Owren, M. J. (1995). Vocal expression of emotion: Acoustic properties of speech are associated with emotional intensity and context. Psychological Science, 6, 219–224.

David A. Puts, Coren L. Apicella and Rodrigo A. Cárdenas. Masculine Voices Signal Men’s Threat Potential in Forager and Industrial Societies. Proceedings of the Royal Society. 2011. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2011.0829
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/deep-voice-signals-potential-threat-use-body-language-dominance/

Fraccaro, Paul J.; Jillian J. M. O’Connor; Daniel E. Re; Benedict C. Jones; Lisa M. DeBruine and David R. Feinberg. Faking it: Deliberately Altered Voice Pitch and Vocal Attractiveness. Animal Behaviour. 2013. 85: 127e136.
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Fraccaro, Paul J.; Benedict C. Jones; Jovana Vukovic; Finlay G. Smith; Christopher D. Watkins; David R. Feinberg; Anthony C. Little and Lisa M. Debruine. Experimental Evidence That Women Speak in a Higher Voice Pitch to Men They Find Attractive. Journal of Evolutionary Psychology. 2011. 9(1): 57-67.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/women-raise-voice-pitch-men-find-attractive/

Gobl C, Nı´ Chasaide A (2003) The role of voice quality in communicating emotion, mood and attitude. Speech Commun 40: 189–212. doi: 10.1016/ S0167-6393(02)00082-1.

Herold, Debora S. ; Nygaard, Lynne C. ; Namy, Laura L. Say It like You Mean It: Mothers’ Use of Prosody to Convey Word Meaning. Language and Speech. 2012. 55(3): 423-436.

Hughes, Susan M.; Franco Dispenza and Gordon G. Gallup Jr.. Ratings of voice attractiveness predict sexual behavior and body configuration. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2004; 25: 295–304.
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Hughes, S. M., & Gallup Jr., G. G. (2003). Sex differences in morphological predictors of sexual behavior: shoulder to hip and waist to hip ratios. Evolution and Human Behavior, 24, 173–178.

Hughes, S. M., Harrison, M. A., & Gallup Jr., G. G. (2002). The sound of symmetry: voice as a marker of developmental instability. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 173–180.

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Hughes, S. M., Harrison, M. A., & Gallup Jr., G. G. (2002). The sound of symmetry: voice as a marker of developmental instability. Evolution and Human Behavior, 23, 173–180.

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Leongómez, Juan David; Jakub Binter; Lydie Kubicová; Petra Stolarová; Katerina Klapilová and Jan Havlícek, S. Craig Roberts. Vocal Modulation During Courtship Increases Proceptivity Even in Naive Listeners. Evolution and Human Behavior. 2014. doi: 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2014.06.008.
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