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The Body Language Of Blushing

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.

The Body Language of Blowing off Steam or Exhaling

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).

The Body Language Of Blanching

The Body Language Of Blanching

No picCue: Blanching

Synonym(s): Pale Face, Pale Skin, Pale Complexion, Turning White, Blood Rushing Out Of The Face.

Description: The surface of the skin appears to lose its colour and appears gray.

In One Sentence: When the surface of the skin turns white, it indicates that one is experiencing negative emotions.

How To Use it: As turning white is an autonomic process, it can not be feigned. However, one might use various concealers to add colour to the skin to hide the negative effects if one is experiencing emotional turmoil in one’s life. Chemotherapy treatment often turns skin whitish, so make-up can help hide the illness. Using bronzers and getting sunlight on the face can produce a more healthy looking appearance. However, others find the youthfulness of pale, clear faces to be particularly appealing as it indicates purity.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m scared and all the blood is rushing out of my face and into my core body and legs. I am ready to run.” “I’m sick and my body is not circulating blood well throughout my body.” “There’s nothing wrong with me, my skin is naturally fair-skinned.”

Variant: See Blushing for opposite cue.

Cue In Action: a) When the bad news was delivered, her complexion faded and she appeared faint. b) Due to fighting cancer, she lost most of her colour and appeared white as a ghost. c) Just a natural complexion or lack of sun exposure.

Meaning and/or Motivation: a) It is due to the presence of extremely fearful situations or high anxiety, which create a flight or fight response. The fear draws blood from the periphery and diverts it to the major muscles including the legs and core. It is the body’s way to prepare to escape or mount an aggressive challenge. b) Other times blanching is due to illness, as the body loses its ability to keep proper blood flow. c) Caused by genetics and thus simply a natural complexion in the absence of UV light exposure. This may reflect having few outdoor activities or lacking the superficial drive to use artificial tanning machines like tanning beds. Other reasons include: a health conscious attitude leading a person to protect their skin against harmful rays, a cold climate keeping a person indoors or when sun exposure is limited due to their geographic location.

Cue Cluster: When blanching is due to fear, watch for other stress cues such as an expressionless face, confusion, or bewilderment.

Body Language Category: Stressful body language, Fearful body language, Arousal, Autonomic signal, Emotional body language, Negative 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/flushed-flattered-nonverbal-truth-blushing/

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.

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.

The Hidden Meaning Behind Beady Little Eyes

The Hidden Meaning Behind Beady Little Eyes

No picCue: Beady Little Eyes.

Synonym(s): Snake Eyes, Undialated Pupils, Narrow Pupils, Pupil Constriction, Constricted Pupils.

Description: When the eyes see something they don’t like, they pupils constrict.

In One Sentence: Eyes in which the pupil is small indicates that one is not stimulated emotionally by what is being seen, and/or one is in an environment with bright lights.

How To Use it: Beady eyes are universally seen as lacking allure so should generally be avoided. Beady eyes can, however, show that one is aggressive and focused rather than dreamy. An effective use of this concept includes beady eyes of a predator in a horror flick movie poster. When you want to demonstrate aggression and desire to be feared, use bright lights to shrink the pupil. A pronounced effect occurs when lights are bright, but pupils are constricted – a scene of horror.

Context: a) Dating b) General.

Verbal Translation: “I am disgusted by what I’m seeing therefore my pupils are constricting to prevent light from penetrating my eye so I don’t see it as well.”

Variant: See Bedroom Eyes or Dilated Pupils, Eye Aversion, Gaze Avoidance and Wandering Eyes.

Cue In Action: a) When she saw her ex-husband, her pupils contracted showing her distain. b) She hated horror films, but her boyfriend talked her into sitting through one anyway. Her eyes pupils where the size of grains of rice by the end.

Meaning and/or Motivation: In body language, pupils react to arousal, be it from fear or attraction of any kind. When the eyes view something stimulating, they dilate or open to allow more light to penetrate making seeing easier and contract when we see stimuli that we find unpleasant. In heterosexuals, for example, pupils constrict when viewing nude images of the same sex which are not particularly exciting but dilate when viewing nude images of the opposite sex.

Viewing unpleasant images such as war scenes or torture leads to the constriction of the pupils. Increased pupil size can be an indication of any positive stimuli such as food when hungry, or when seeking the companionship of other potential suitors in a room.

Cue Cluster: Various other cues might arise in accompaniment with Beady Little Eyes which include head leaning away, covering of the eyes with the hands, wincing, leaning back in the chair, moving feet toward the door or other escape routes, frowns or grimacing, cowering, and other closed body language.

Body Language Category: Arousal, Autonomic signal.

Resources:

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

Ahern S, Beatty J (1979) Pupillary responses during information processing vary with scholastic aptitude test scores. Science 205:1289–1292

Adolphs, Ralph A. 2006. Landmark study finds that when we look at sad faces, the size of the pupil we look at influences the size of our own pupil Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience. 1(1): 3-4

Aranguren, Martin. “Nonverbal interaction patterns in the Delhi Metro: interrogative looks and play-faces in the management of interpersonal distance.” Interaction Studies. 2016. 16(1) forthcoming.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/seriously-stop-touching-use-nonverbal-signaling-manage-unwanted-touching-busy-public-areas

Aranguren, Martin and Stephane Tonnelat. Emotional Transactions in the Paris Subway: Combining Naturalistic Videotaping, Objective Facial Coding and Sequential Analysis in the Study of Nonverbal Emotional Behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2014. 38:495–521. DOI 10.1007/s10919-014-0193-1

Beatty J (1982) Task-evoked pupillary responses, processing load, and the structure of processing resources. Psychol Bull 91:276–292

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

Bradley MM, Miccoli L, Escrig MA, Lang PJ (2008) The pupil as a measure of emotional arousal and autonomic activation. Psychophysiology 45: 602–607.

Daniel J. Kruger and Jory S. Piglowski. The Effect of Eyelid Constriction on Perceptions of Mating Strategy: Beware of the Squinty-Eyed Guy! Personality and Individual Differences. 2012. 52: 576-580.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/beware-squinty-eyed-guy-studying-body-language-narrowed-eyes

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/

Daniele Marzoli, Mariagrazia Custodero, Alessandra Pagliara, and Luca Tommasi. Sun-Induced Frowning Fosters Aggressive Feelings. Cognition And Emotion. 2013; 27 (8): 1513-1521.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/the-sun-can-produce-feelings-of-anger-and-aggression-it-makes-us-frown/

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.

Girard, Jeffrey M.; Jeffrey F. Cohna; Mohammad H.Mahoor S.; Mohammad Mavadati; Zakia Hammal; and Dean P. Rosenwalda. Nonverbal Social Withdrawal In Depression: Evidence From Manual And Automatic Analyses. Image and Vision Computing. 2013.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-language-signals-withdrawal-depression

Geangu, Elena; Petra Hauf; Rishi Bhardwaj and Wolfram Bentz. Infant Pupil Diameter Changes in Response to Others’ Positive and Negative Emotions. 2011. PLoS ONE 6(11): e27132. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0027132
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/distress-happiness-reflected-infants-eyes/

Goldinger SD, Papesh MH (2012) Pupil Dilation Reflects the Creation and Retrieval of Memories. Current Directions in Psychological Science 21: 90–95.

Heaver B, Hutton SB (2011) Keeping an eye on the truth? Pupil size changes associated with recognition memory. Memory 19: 398–405.

Hoeks B, Levelt W (1993) Pupillary dilation as a measure of attention: A quantitative
system analysis. Behav Res Methods 25:16–26.

Hamel, R. F (1974). Female subjective and pupillary reactions to nude male and female figures. Journal of Psychology. 87: 171-175.

Harrison, Neil A.; Wilson, C. Ellie; Critchley, Hugo D. 2007. Processing of observed pupil size modulates perception of sadness and predicts empathy. Emotion. 7(4): 724-729.

Hess, E. H., & Polt, J. M. (1960). Pupil size as related to the interest value of visual stimuli. Science, 132: 349-350.

Hess, E. H. 1965. Attitude and pupil size. Scientific American, 212 (4): 46–54.

Hess, E. H. 1975. The role of pupil size in communication. Scientific American. 233(5): 110–119.

Janisse, Michel Pierre. 1973. Pupil Size and Affect: A Critical Review of the Literature Since 1960. Canadian Psychologist Psychologie Canadienne. 14(4): 311-329.

Marzoli, Daniele; Mariagrazia Custodero; Alessandra Pagliara and Luca Tommasi. Sun-Induced Frowning Fosters Aggressive Feelings. Cognition And Emotion. 2013; 27 (8): 1513-1521.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/avoid-anger-sunny-days/

Otero SC, Weekes BS, Hutton SB (2011) Pupil size changes during recognition memory. Psychophysiology 48: 1346–1353.

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/body-language-signals-withdrawal-depression/

Rieger, Gerulf ; Savin-Williams, Ritch C Kemp, Andrew H. (Editor). The Eyes Have It: Sex and Sexual Orientation Differences in Pupil Dilation Patterns (The Eyes Have It). PLoS ONE, 2012, Vol.7(8), p.e40256.

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visual target detection. J Vis 10(10):3.

Steinhauer SR, Siegle GJ, Condray R, Pless M (2004) Sympathetic and
parasympathetic innervation of pupillary dilation during sustained processing.
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Siegle, Greg J ; Ichikawa, Naho ; Steinhauer, Stuart. Blink before and after you think: blinks occur prior to and following cognitive load indexed by pupillary responses. Psychophysiology. 2008. 45(5): 679-87.

Tombs, Selina; Silverman, Irwin 2004. Pupillometry: A sexual selection approach.
Evolution and Human Behavior. 25(4): 221-228.

Weisfeld, Glenn E. and Jody M. Beresford. Erectness of Posture as an Indicator of Dominance or Success in Humans. Motivation and Emotion. 1982. 6(2): 113-130.
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Wierda , Stefan M.; Van Rijn; Hedderik; Taatgen; Niels A.; Martens, Sander. Pupil dilation deconvolution reveals the dynamics of attention at high temporal resolution
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Wang, Joseph Tao-yi ; Spezio, Michael ; Camerer, Colin F. Pinocchio’s Pupil: Using Eyetracking and Pupil Dilation to Understand Truth Telling and Deception in Sender-Receiver Games. American Economic Review, 2010. 100(3): 984-1007
Raul, Muresan. Pupil dilation and visual object recognition. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2011, Vol.5.

Zellin, Martina; Pannekamp, Ann; Toepel, Ulrike; van der Meer, Elke. In the eye of the listener: Pupil dilation elucidates discourse processing. International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2011, Vol.81(3): 133-141.

Nonverbal Meaning of Arms Up Posture

Nonverbal Meaning of Arms Up Posture

BodyLanguageProjectCom - Arms Up Posture 2Cue: Arms Up Posture.

Synonym(s): V-posture, Victor Stance.

Description: a) It is done usually quickly and short in duration where the arms are thrust stiffly upward into the sky.

In One Sentence: Arms up is an expansive posture often associated with victory and is used by people to demonstrate their desire to be noticed and acknowledged for successes.

How To Use it: Use this posture to claim accolades in dominance encounters. This posture is effectively used in sports to show that one has scored a goal and is to be identified as a person to be admired. Use this posture when you wish to claim the pride, dominance, and leadership that come with winning.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m right here and I scored a goal, that was me that did it. I’m right here!”

Variant: See Arms Forward.

Cue In Action: a) After scoring a goal, the hockey player quickly shot his arms up in celebration. b) To grab the attention of the teacher, the student raised her hand to ask a question – she wanted to be noticed.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A gravity defying nonverbal cue done in triumph or victory such as winning a match or scoring a goal. It is done usually quickly and short in duration where the arms are thrust stiffly upward into the sky so as to draw as much attention to the victor as possible.

Alternatively, arms go up to draw attention if one does not want to disrupt others in a large group but otherwise, wants to interject with a question or statement.

Cue Cluster: Arms up can be accompanied with loud screams of excitement, jumping up and down to defy gravity further, fist pumping, dancing, etc.

Body Language Category: Gravity defying body language, Automatic gesture, Expansive movements, High confidence body language, Excited body language.

Resources:

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.

Matsumoto, David, Hyi Sung Hwang. Evidence For A Nonverbal Expression Of Triumph. Evolution and Human Behavior, 2012; 33 (5): 520-529. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/athletes-first-reaction-to-triumph-is-body-language-dominance-display/

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.

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Body Language Reading of Arm Crossed With Thumbs Up

Body Language Reading of Arm Crossed With Thumbs Up

No picCue: Arms Crossed With Thumbs Up

Synonym(s): Thumbs Up Arm Cross.

Description: The arms fold neatly over the chest with the thumbs point upward.

In One Sentence: Arms crossed with thumbs up show others that a person is confident but also reserved and defensive.

How To Use it: Use the thumbs up posture to show that you are confident and couple this with a defensive arm cross to show that you are uncertain. The thumbs can be flexed upward on occasion, as you find points of agreement. Thumbs up is a positive signal and should be shown in unison with positive speech.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I am cool and in control but still feel defensive, so I’m combining thumbs up, which is positive, and arm crossing, showing I still need a barrier for protection.”

Variant: See Arm Crossing, Arms Crossed With Gripped Arm or Reinforced Arm Cross, Arm Cross With Clenched Fists.

Cue In Action: The boss introduced the new associate to the room. He said “hi” to everyone then crossed his arms with his thumbs up. When asked a question he gesticulated with thumbs up showing that he was confident and in control, but when not speaking tucked his arms together indicating that he felt overexposed.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Crossed arms with thumbs up indicate that a person thinks they have a superior thought process. It is usually expressed by the up-and-coming, cool and in control type.

The meaning and motivation of arm crossing is varied, complex and universal (see variants).

Arm crossing simultaneously holds our feelings inside and prevents other peoples’ feelings from entering. The arm cross shield is normally accompanied by head tilted backward, or forward facing head in a competitive orientation and a blank or angry facial expression.

Arms, as they relate to non-verbal meaning, are like shields. They can block and shank ideas from entering just as well as a shield can protect against swords and arrows. Using the arms across the body in a fold is like cutting off access to our core where our heart and lungs are present. The arm crossing usually shows defensiveness and protectiveness, but can also show aggression and anger depending on its variant. Arm crossing simultaneously hold our feelings inside and prevent other people’s feelings from entering. Alternatively, arms crossed indicates that a person is cold. To determine if someone is cold just watch for hands tucked under the armpits, shivering, with legs tightly pressed together.

Cue Cluster: Arm crossing is usually coupled with head up, down or turned away, shoulders oriented away or toward, legs crossed and various negative facial expressions. When arm crossing is combined with a tight-lipped smile or clenched teeth is signifies that a verbal or physical confrontation is immanent.

Body Language Category: Defensive, Hostile body language, Anger, Closed, Dislike (nonverbal), Indicators of disinterest (IOD), Protective reflexes, Stubborn or stubbornness, Body cross, Clenching and gripping.

Resources:

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The Hidden Meaning of Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal Body Language

The Hidden Meaning of Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal Body Language

No picCue: Arm Withdrawal or Leg Withdrawal

Synonym(s): Distancing, Pulling Arms or Legs In, Drawing Arms Or Legs In, Flexation Withdrawal.

Description: When the arms are suddenly pulled inward toward the body rather than away in order to create more distance between oneself and another. There will be times that distancing behaviours are not terribly dramatic.

In One Sentence: Drawing the arms or legs inward shows that a person is not engaged in another person or the topic, and at times, even withdrawn from a person or their ideas.

How To Use it: Pull the arms and legs away from people and their ideas when you wish to demonstrate disagreement. By coupling arm withdrawal in close or even immediate connection to specific spoken words you will tell others that you disagree with them nonverbally. This can be useful in any context including between friends, colleagues or lovers.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I disagree and want to get away but that would be too overt or prohibited at the moment, so I’m just going to do by pull my arms or legs away to make me feel like I’m escaping.”

Variant: See Blading Body Language, Body Angling or Ventral Displays.

Cue In Action: During a meeting over coffee, everything was fine until Dave told a sexist joke at which point Jill pull her arms onto her side of the table in disgust and turned her head away.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Arm and leg withdrawal indicates a lack of agreement or a difference of opinion. It can also indicate stress and anxiety. Even just a few inches of withdrawal can tell us that ideas and the people that voice them are diverging. When the legs or arms are suddenly withdrawn it can be a good indicator that what has been said is offensive or disagreeable to the other party.

When the feet or legs of couples are pulled in rather than neutral or extended toward each other, it can signal that the relationship isn’t going well.

Cue Cluster: Arm withdrawal is often coupled with leaning away, facing away, torso and feet turned toward an exit, disgusted or bored facial expression and postures.

Body Language Category: Stressful body language, Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Escape movements.

Resources:

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

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The Hidden Meaning of The Arm Twister Handshake

The Hidden Meaning of The Arm Twister Handshake

No picCue: Arm Twister Handshake

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: In the arm twister handshake, an otherwise ordinary handshake turns sour by being twisted underneath into the submissive palm up position.

In One Sentence: The arm twister handshake is a resistance to submission and represents the struggle to avoid having the hand turned palm up.

How To Use it: Twist the arm back to level when facing a habitual palm down handshakers to put him in his place. This is a high risk maneuver because it will be obvious to the palm-down shaker that will be no longer permitted unfettered dominance.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “We started the handshake off evenly with palm vertical, but I’m taking charge of this now and I’m going to wrench your hand until I get palm up dominance and authority.”

Variant: Sometimes a dominant handshaker will also offer their palm facing upwards almost vertically making it nearly impossible to gain the upper hand position. See Country Handshake (The), Cold Dead Wet Fish Handshake, Double Gripper Politician Handshake or Double Hander (The), Short Grabber/Finger Grabber Handshake, Oddball Handshake, Palm Up, Palm Down and Palm Even Handshakes, Stiff Arm And Thrust Forward Handshake, Death Grip Handshake, Wrench Forward Handshake, Undershaker Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake, Wrist Hold Handshake and Upper Arm Grip Handshake, Limp Fish Handshake, Teacup Handshake, Arm Twister Handshake (The), Firm handshake, Fist Bumping.

Cue In Action: The boss has had problems with one of his employees who has continuously undermined his leadership. The time the boss wanted to make it clear that he wasn’t going to put up with the disrespect of his employee so when they shook hands he twisted his arm over and pull him into his personal space to show him he was in charge.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Someone who does this is absolutely committed to being on top and dominating the other person.

Cue Cluster: The arm twister handshake can be combined with other dominant body language such as standing over another person, pulling a person into their personal space, placing a hand on the shoulder and gripping the hand more firmly than ordinary.

Body Language Category: Dominant body language, Hostile body language, Anger, Threat displays, Authoritative body language.

Resources:

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