Category: *No Photo

Body Language of Happy Feet

Body Language of Happy Feet

No picCue: Happy Feet

Synonym(s): Bouncing Feet.

Description: Happy feet are those that bounce up and down with joy, point upwards when standing, or seem to have a spring in their step when walking. Other times happy feet are feet that point or move in the direction of something they like.

In One Sentence: Feet that bounce up and down signal happiness, confidence, and good health.

How To Use it: Use happy feet to show others that you are healthy, confident and that good things are happening to you. Happy feet will be viewed by others as a symptom of your good fortune. Positive attitudes are transferred through body language and keeping the feet in motion shows others that you are prepared for action.

Bluff in poker by bouncing your feet. If people are attuned, they will read your bouncing feet as a true indicator of a great hand (even if you don’t have one).

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m happy with joy so my honest feet defy gravity by bouncing, toes rising and pointing.”

Variant: See Cooperative Feet, Toe Pointing or Pointed Toe, Toes Pointed Upward.

Cue In Action: We always knew it was time to fold. When Kevin had a great poker hand, his feet started bouncing. They were nearly vibrating the entire table.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Throughout our evolution, the feet carried out more traditional tasks like escaping predators, avoiding hot sand or coals from fire, leaping from slithering snakes or poisonous spiders, or navigating rough rocky river bottoms. The feet were therefore connected more to the reptilian brain which reacts to stimuli directly instead of contemplating higher order tasks that require planning. This makes the feet “honest” and reliable as clues to fear as well as happiness.

Bouncing feet are called “happy feet” and is a high confidence ‘tell’, indicating that a person is about to gain something important. It is very reliable and happens as a direct result of having heard or seen something significant that is positive to the person displaying the signal. While high affect happy feet make the entire body bounce, happy feet can be display in a more subdued way by just wiggling the feet. Watching for these cues in poker can be a very important tell and save a pile of money, so be careful to watch for it.

Legs and feet can also become jittery and fidget when a person is bored and wants to leave. Jittery feet, though, can also be due to nervous energy or even the result of happiness such as “happy feet.” It is the context that will help decide what feet and legs are telling in this type of body language.

Happy feet are feet that “defy gravity” are an honest indication of joy. When feet are happy they will bounce up and down and move the body in various playful ways. The feet are often extended toward things they like and point to them. Often the toes will point upward demonstrating confidence. This is done by bearing the weight on one foot and putting the heel down and lifting the toes up.

Cue Cluster: Watch for more open cues such as smiling, head tilted to the side in interest, palm up displays, open and lose body, torso flowing, touching other people, bouncing up and down and excited eye flashes and eye pops.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Buy signals, Childlike playfulness, Gravity defying body language, Honest body language, Up nonverbals.

Resources:

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

Astrom, Jan. Introductory greeting behavior: a laboratory investigation of approaching and closing salutation phases. Perceptual and Motor Skills. 1994. 79(2): 863(35).

Atkinson AP, Dittrich WH, Gemmell AJ, Young AW (2004) Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays. Perception 33: 717–746. doi: 10.1068/p5096.

Boone RT, Cunningham JG (1998) Children’s decoding of emotion in expressive body movement: the development of cue attunement. Dev Psychol. 34: 1007–1016. doi: 10.1037//0012-1649.34.5.1007.

Baxter, James C. ; Rozelle, Richard M. Lanzetta, John T. (editor). Nonverbal expression as a function of crowding during a simulated police-citizen encounter. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1975. 32(1): 40-54.

Brownlow S, Dixon AR, Egbert CA, Radcliffe RD (1997) Perception of movement and dancer characteristics from point-light displays of dance. Psychol Rec 47: 411–421.

Camurri A, Lagerlo¨f I, Volpe G (2003) Recognizing emotion from dance movement: Comparison of spectator recognition and automated techniques. Int J Hum Comput Stud 59: 213–225. doi: 10.1016/S1071-5819(03)00050-8.

de Meijer M (1989) The contribution of general features of body movement to the attribution of emotions. J Nonverbal Behav 13: 247–268. doi: 10.1007/BF00990296.

Flack, William F., Jr. Peripheral Feedback Effects of Facial Expressions, Bodily Postures, and Vocal Expressions on Emotional Feelings. Cognition and Emotion. 2006. 20 (2), 177-195. DOI:10.1080/02699930500359617
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/body-and-facial-expressions-influence-mood/

Fisch, Hans-ulrich ; Frey, Siegfried ; Hirsbrunner, Hans-peter Buchwald, Alexander M. (editor). Analyzing nonverbal behavior in depression. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1983. 92(3): 307-318.

Harrison, Cathie. Watching the children watching Play School: indicators of engagement, play and learning. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood. 2012. 37(4): 44(7).

Harrigan, Jinni ; Oxman, Thomas ; Rosenthal, Robert. Rapport expressed through nonverbal behavior. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1985. 9(2): 95-110.
Rovers, A.F. ; Essen, H.A. Guidelines for haptic interpersonal communication applications: an exploration of foot interaction styles. Virtual Reality. 2006. 9(2): 177-191.

Lagerlo¨f I, Djerf M (2000) Communicating emotions: Expressiveness in modern dance. Int J Psychol 35: 225–225.

Montepare, J. M., Goldstien, S. B., & Clausen, A. (1987). The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11, 33–42.

Michalak, J., Rohde, K., Troje, N. F. How We Walk Affects What We Remember: Gait Modifications Through Biofeedback Change Negative Affective Memory Bias. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2015. 46:121-125.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/walking-happy-leads-actual-happiness-game-emotions-body-language/

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

Nao, Misako Sawada and Motonobu Ishii. Development of the Movements Impressions Emotions Model: Evaluation of Movements and Impressions Related to the Perception of Emotions in Dance. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37:107-121.
DOI 10.1007/s10919-013-0148-y
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/convey-emotion-nonverbally-dance-study/

Park, Lora E.; Lindsey Streamer; Li Huang and Adam D. Galinsky. Stand Tall, But Don’t Put Your Feet Up: Universal and Culturally-Specific Effects of Expansive Postures On Power. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology. 2013; 49: 965–971.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/are-expansive-postures-of-power-universal-or-cultural/

Ricard, Nathalie C. ; Beaudry, Simon G. ; Pelletier, Luc G. Lovers With Happy Feet: The Interdependence of Relationship and Activity Factors for Individuals Dancing With a Romantic Partner.(Report). Journal of Applied Social Psychology. 2012. 42(4): 939(25).

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.

Sawada, M., Suda, K., & Ishii, M. (2003b). Relationship between leg movement quality and emotional expression in dance. Poster session presented at the annual meeting of the International Association for Dance Medicine & Science, London, England.

Schneider, Sabrina; Andrea Christensen; Florian B. Häußinger; Andreas J. Fallgatter; Martin A. Giese and Ann-Christine Ehlis. Show Me How You Walk and I Tell You How You Feel – A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study on Emotion Perception Based on Human Gait. NeuroImage. 2014, 85: 380-390 http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.078.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/show-me-how-you-walk-and-ill-tell-you-how-you-feel/

Van Dyck, Edith ; Vansteenkiste, Pieter ; Lenoir, Matthieu ; Lesaffre, Micheline ; Leman, Marc Canal-bruland, Rouwen. Recognizing Induced Emotions of Happiness and Sadness from Dance Movement. PLoS ONE. 2014 9(2): e89773.

Van Dyck E, Maes P-J, Hargreaves J, Lesaffre M, Leman M (2013). Expressing
induced emotions through free dance movement. J Nonverbal Behav 37: 175–
190. doi: 10.1007/s10919-013-0153-1.

Whittock, Trevor. The role of metaphor in dance. The British Journal of Aesthetics. 1992. 32(3): 242(8).

Body Language of Hang- Dog Expression

Body Language of Hang- Dog Expression

No picCue: Hang-Dog Expression

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: An unfortunate sad, somber looking face which droops and sags naturally.

In One Sentence: The hang-dog expression is an indication of old age, but in younger people, if persistent, indicates a negative disposition or depression.

How To Use it: N/A.

Context: General

Verbal Translation: “Unfortunately, my skin sags around my eyes and cheeks and there is nothing I can do about it, I’m not sad, it’s just how my skin has reacted to age.”

Variant: Men sometimes have a prominent brow ridge that makes them appear highly dominant. Women may have a low cut eyebrow that causes their eyes to appear sinister as in the “witch’s brow.” See Sadness Facial Expression.

Cue In Action: She showed her age from early on as her skin was loose around her eyes and cheeks. People often asked her if she was feeling okay, but being a positive person, she always was, it just didn’t appear so on the exterior, even when she smiled.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Some people are just born with eyes that curve downward and who’s cheeks sag without any underlying emotion. Other people wrongfully perceive these people as unfriendly.

Many elderly people have skin that is loose and sags making their emotions quite difficult to read. Looking beyond the expressions to voice pitch and tonality give us better clues to their disposition.

To accurately read a person who is hang-dog, watch the muscle action around the eyes. If they are taught and the eyes engaged, then you can be sure they are happy.

Cue Cluster: N/A.

Body Language Category: N/A.

Resources:

Little, Anthony; Benedict Jones; David Feinberg and David Perrett. Men’s strategic preferences for femininity in female faces’. British Journal of Psychology, 21 June 2013
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/wife-material-written-face/?preview=true

Olivola, Christopher Y Friederike Funk, Alexander Todorov. Social attributions from faces bias human choices. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, October 2014 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.09.007
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/bitchy-resting-face-explained-science/

Pflügera, Lena S.; Elisabeth Oberzauchera; Stanislav Katina; Iris J. Holzleitnera and Karl Grammer. Cues to Fertility: Perceived Attractiveness and Facial Shape Predict Reproductive Success. Evolution and Human Behavior 33. 2012. 708-714.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/nonverbal-physical-attractiveness-women-marker-reproductive-success/

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

Rezlescu C, Duchaine B, Olivola CY, Chater N. Unfakeable Facial Configurations Affect Strategic Choices in Trust Games with or without Information about Past Behavior. 2012. PLoS ONE 7(3): e34293. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0034293
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/science-describes-trustworthy-face/

Zhang, Yan; Fanchang Kong; Yanli Zhong and Hui Kou. Personality manipulations: Do they modulate facial attractiveness ratings? Personality and Individual Differences. 2014. 70: 80-84.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/better-personality-can-fix-ugly-face-study/

Body Language of Hand Rocked Side-To-Side

Body Language of Hand Rocked Side-To-Side

No picCue: Hand Rocking Side-To-Side

Synonym(s): Rocking The Hand Side-To-Side

Description: The hand is held horizontally and rocked from side-to-side.

In One Sentence: Rocking the hand from side-to-side is a demonstration that the outcome may fall one way or the other.

How To Use it: Rock the hand from side-to-side to nonverbally show that you are not sure which way you believe the outcome of a situation may fall.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m rocking my hand from side-to-side to show the various outcomes which might occur.”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: a) As Bill described the merger, he rocked his hand back and forth symbolizing either a mediocre company or one that would fail miserably. It could go either way, he explained. b) He rated the movie as “so-so” as he rocked his hand from side-to-side.

Meaning and/or Motivation: The hand is rocked as people describe the various outcomes that they feel may occur. It shows uncertainty and that an outcome is undecided and could go either way. The hand imitates the outcome which could go this way, or that way.

Cue Cluster: The eyes might squint showing uncertainty, the lips might purse, the lips might be stretched at their corners or the teeth might bear and grit together.

Body Language Category: Illustrators.

Resources:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Body Language of The Grimace

Body Language of The Grimace

No picCue: Grimace

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A facial expression that is contorted and uneven with many muscles of the face contracting to twist the face into an odd and painful looking orientation.

In One Sentence: A grimace is a nonverbal demonstration of pain.

How To Use it: Use the grimace to tell other people, in a nonverbal fashion, that you are suffering.

Sports athletes can use the grimace to show that they are strong enough to play through large amounts of emotional and physical pain. This serves to protect their dominance.

However, a persistent grimace can notify others that one is in need of emotional or medial help. Rather than suffering in silence, a grimace can show others that you are working hard to stifle the pain, but that you are struggling. This can often active other people to come to your assistance and offer aid.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in so much distress that my facial muscles are contracting in an odd and unusual ways.”

Variant: See Fear Facial Expression (The), Fear Smile.

Cue In Action: To see this face authentically, pay close attention while watching courtroom television shows. Usually the defendant who is under stress will seem to beam with light from their teeth. The judge will often see him or her as being defiant, and often requests for them to remove their smug look.

Meaning and/or Motivation: A grimace results from extreme shock or nervousness, disgust, disapproval, pain or fear. We see the fear facial expression under high stress situations.

The grimace happens in situations where one is forced to talk or debate under a stressful situation. You will find that this sly face appears almost universally even though no pleasure is felt. The grimace is a disarming gesture meant to appease others, but it usually comes off as insincere and smug.

Cue Cluster: A grimace will appear with other pain related body language such as head lowered, arms pulled inward, shoulders slumped, chest lowered to protect the abdomen and so forth.

Body Language Category: Automatic gesture, Emotional body language.

Resources:

Bonanno, George A. ; Keltner, Dacher Strauss, Milton E. (editor). Facial Expressions of Emotion and the Course of Conjugal Bereavement. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1997. 106(1): 126-137.

Boucher, J D. Facial displays of fear, sadness and pain. Perceptual and motor skills 1969. 28(1): 239-42.

Burton, Keith W. Habitual emotion regulation and the facial grimace. Psychological reports. 2011. 109(2): 521-32.

Burton, K. W., Hargrave, K., Myers, S., Warren, A., Wolsfeld, S., Tompkins, D., Qualls, M., & Reminger, S. (2008) Habitual emotion regulation and increased zygomaticus major activity evoked by negative images (or “grimacing”). Psychophysiology,
45, S118.

Craig, Kenneth D. ; Patrick, Christopher J. Hogan, Robert (editor). Facial Expression During Induced Pain. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1985 48(4): 1080-109.

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

De Morree, Helma M ; Marcora, Samuele M. The face of effort: frowning muscle activity reflects effort during a physical task. Biological psychology. 2010. 85(3): 377-82.

Frijda, Nico H.. What is pain facial expression for? Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 460-460.

Gehricke, Jean-Guido ; Fridlund, Alan J. Smiling, frowning, and autonomic activity in mildly depressed and nondepressed men in response to emotional imagery of social contexts. Perceptual and motor skills. 2002. 94(1): 141-51.

Humphries, Courtney. Not raving but frowning.(Viewpoint essay). New Scientist. 2012. 215(2874): 42(4).

Ichikawa, Hiroko ; Makino, Junshiro. Function of congruent facial responses to smiling and frowning. Perceptual and motor skills. 2007. 105(3 Pt 1): 838-51.

Lang, P. J., Greenwald, M. K., Bradley, M. M., & Hamm, A. O. (1993) Looking at pictures: affective, facial, visceral, and behavioral reactions. Psychophysiology, 30,
261-273.

Larsen, J. T., Norris, C. J., & Cacioppo, J. T. (2003) Effects of positive affect and negative affect on electromyographic activity over zygomaticus major and corrugator supercilii. Psychophysiology, 40, 776-785.

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

Morree, Helma ; Marcora, Samuele. Frowning muscle activity and perception of effort during constant-workload cycling. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 2012. 112(5): 1967-1972.

Hermann, Christiane; Flor, Herta. Facial expression of pain more than a fuzzy expression of distress? Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 462-463.

Han, Changsu ; Park, Geun-Young ; Wang, Sheng-Min ; Lee, Seung-Yeop ; Lee, Soo-Jung ; Bahk, Won-Myong ; Pae, Chi-Un. Can botulinum toxin improve mood in depressed patients? Expert review of neurotherapeutics. 2012 12(9): 1049-51.

Huang, Ding-Hau; Shih-Wei Chou; Yi-Lang Chen and Wen-Ko Chiou. Frowning and Jaw Clenching Muscle Activity Reflects the Perception of Effort During Incremental Workload Cycling. Journal of Sports Science and Medicine. 2014. 13: 921-928.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/physical-strain-leads-jaw-clenching-frowning-body-language/

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

Kunz, Miriam ; Mylius, Veit ; Schepelmann, Karsten ; Lautenbacher, Stefan. Impact of age on the facial expression of pain. Journal of Psychosomatic Research. 2008. 64(3): 311-318.

Keogh, Edmund; Holdcroft, Anita. Sex differences in pain: Evolutionary links to facial pain expression. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 465-465.

LeResche, Linda ; Dworkin, Samuel F. Facial expression accompanying pain
Social Science & Medicine. 1984. 19(12): 1325-1330.

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

Pantic, Maja; Rothkrantz, Leon J. M. Machine understanding of facial expression of pain. Behavioral and Brain Sciences. 2002. 25(4): 469-470.

Vlaeyen, Johan W.S. ; Hanssen, Marjolein ; Goubert, Liesbet ; Vervoort, Tine ; Peters, Madelon ; van Breukelen, Gerard ; Sullivan, Michael J.L. ; Morley, Stephen. Threat of pain influences social context effects on verbal pain report and facial expression. Behaviour Research and Therapy. 2009 47(9): 774-782.

Walsh, Joseph ; Eccleston, Christopher ; Keogh, Edmund. Pain communication through body posture: The development and validation of a stimulus set. Pain. 2014. 155(11): 2282-2290.

Body Language of Gait or Walking Styles

Body Language of Gait or Walking Styles

No picCue: Gait or Walking Styles

Synonym(s): Walking Styles.

Description: Refers to the style or mechanics of locomotion in humans and its hidden meaning.

In One Sentence: Gait is highly unique to each person much like a fingerprint and it’s style is connected to various personality traits.

How To Use it: Use your gait to signal desired qualities to others. A bouncy gait signals joy and happiness, a swagger shows sexual energy, hobble shows age, darting shows impatience, prancing shows femininity. Use the type of gait that suits your personality best.

Context: General

Verbal Translation: “How I walk gives clues to my health, emotions, character and accomplishments.”

Variant: N/A

Cue In Action: He just won the lottery. Not only did he carry a huge grin on his face, but he also walked with an exaggerated bounce in his step. It was as if he had been transported back to his youth.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Scientists have identified thirty six different types of gait in the human species. They include the hobble, the mince, the glide, the bounce, the stride, the wiggle, the dart, the prance and the run. People can shuffle along or drag their feet, bounce up and down, or seem to float on air.

How one walks gives clues to the internal workings of people, their emotions and rhythm, character and even their accomplishments not to mention their health and age.

Those who are positive will tend to walk energetically while those who are down and depressed or elderly will saunter or hobble about. The effect is particularly pronounced between the old and young, but it can easily be seen between those who expect good things to happen and those who do not.

Cue Cluster: Watch for additional cues coupled with gait types to decide the overall mental attitude and disposition people carry.

Body Language Category: Amplifier, Confident body language, Depressive body language, Emotional body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal), Excited body language, Gravity defying body language, Happiness, High confidence body language, Low confidence body language.

Resources:

Angela Book, Kimberly Costello and Joseph A. Camilleri Psychopathy and Victim Selection: The Use of Gait as a Cue to Vulnerability. Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 2013. 28(11): 2368-2383. DOI: 10.1177/0886260512475315jiv.sagepub.com
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/dont-walk-like-youre-watched-avoid-victimization-nonverbal-behavior/

Brownlow, S., Dixon, A. R., Egbert, C. A., & Radcliffe, R. D. (1997). Perception of movement and dancer characteristics from point-light displays of dance. The sychological Record, 47(3), 411–421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1068/p250727.

Crane, Elizabeth ; Gross, M. Effort-Shape Characteristics of Emotion-Related Body Movement. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2013. 37(2): 91-105.

Cutting, J. E., & Kozlowski, L. T. (1977). Recognizing friends by their walk: Gait perception without familiarity cues. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 9(5), 353–356.

Cho, S. H., Park, J. M., & Kwon, O. Y. (2004). Gender differences in three dimensional gait analysis data from 98 healthy Korean adults. Clinical Biomechanics, 19, 145–152.

Cutting, J. E., & Kozlowski, L. T. (1977). Recognizing friends by their walk: Gait
perception without familiarity cues. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 9, 353–356.

Eisenberg, Philip ; Reichline, Philipb. Judging Expressive Movement: II. Judgments of Dominance-Feeling from Motion Pictures of Gait. The Journal of Social Psychology. 1939. 10(3): 345-357.

Fink, Bernhard; Nadine Hugill and Benjamin P. Lange. Women’s Body Movements Are a Potential Cue to Ovulation. Personality and Individual Differences. 2012. 53: 759-763.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/women-use-sexier-body-language-indicate-ovulation-fertility-women-dance-walk-sexier/

Gunns, Rebekah E; Lucy Johnston; and Stephen M. Hudson. Victim Selection And Kinematics: A Point-Light Investigation Of Vulnerability To Attack. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2002. 26(3): 129-158.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/how-to-avoid-an-attack-just-by-changing-how-you-walk-study/

Guéguen N. Gait and menstrual cycle: ovulating women use sexier gaits and walk slowly ahead of men. Gait Posture. 2012; 35(4): 621-4.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/gait-as-bait-women-walk-sexy-during-high-sexual-receptivity/

Gross, M Melissa ; Crane, Elizabeth A ; Fredrickson, Barbara L. Effort-Shape and kinematic assessment of bodily expression of emotion during gait. Human movement science. 2012. 31(1): 202-21.

Hasegawa, T. and K. Sakaguchi. 2006. Person perception through gait information and target choice for sexual advances: comparison of likely targets in experiments and real life. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 30(2): 63-85.

Johnson, Kerri L.; Gill, Simone; Reichman, Victoria and Tassinary, Louis G. Swagger, Sway, and Sexuality: Judging Sexual Orientation from Body Motion and Morphology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 2007. 93(3): 321-334. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.93.3.321
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/heterosexual-vs-homosexual-swagger-can-you-spot-the-difference/

Janssen, Daniel ; Schöllhorn, Wolfgang ; Lubienetzki, Jessica ; Fölling, Karina ; Kokenge, Henrike ; Davids, Keith. Recognition of Emotions in Gait Patterns by Means of Artificial Neural Nets. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 2008. 32(2): 79-92.

Johnson, Kerri L ; Gill, Simone ; Reichman, Victoria ; Tassinary, Louis G. Swagger, sway, and sexuality: Judging sexual orientation from body motion and morphology. Journal of personality and social psychology. 2007. 93(3): 321-34.

Johnson, Kerri L ; Tassinary, Louis G. Perceiving sex directly and indirectly: meaning in motion and morphology. Psychological science. 2005. 16(11): 890-7.

Kito, Tomonori ; Yoneda, Tsugutake. Dominance of gait cycle duration in casual walking. Human Movement Science. 2006. 25(3): 383-392.

Kozlowski, L. T., & Cutting, J. E. (1977). Recognizing the sex of a walker from a dynamic point-light display. Perception and Psychophysics, 21(6), 575–580.

Montepare, Joann ; Zebrowitz, Leslie. A cross-cultural comparison of impressions created by age-related variations in gait. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1993. 17(1): 55-68.

Montepare, Joann ; Goldstein, Sabra ; Clausen, Annmarie. The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1987. 11(1): 33-42.

Montepare, J. M., & Zebrowitz-McArthur, L. (1988). Impressions of people created by age-related qualities of their gaits. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 55(4), 547–556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ 0022-3514.55.4.547.

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Montepare, J. M., Goldstien, S. B., & Clausen, A. (1987). The identification of emotions from gait information. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 11, 33–42.

Michalak, J., Rohde, K., Troje, N. F. How We Walk Affects What We Remember: Gait Modifications Through Biofeedback Change Negative Affective Memory Bias. Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry. 2015. 46:121-125.
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Moore, Monica. Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Journal of Sex Research. 1995. 32(4): 319-328.
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Prasad, S., & Shiffrar, M. (2009). Viewpoint and the recognition of people from their movements. Journal of Experimental Psychology – Human Perception and Performance, 35(1), 39–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/A0012728.

Roether, C. L., Omlor, L., Christensen, A., & Giese, M. A. (2009). Critical features for the perception of emotion from gait. Journal of Vision, 9(6), 1–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1167/9.6.15.

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Schneider, Sabrina ; Christensen, Andrea ; Hau[sz]inger, Florian B. ; Fallgatter, Andreas J. ; Giese, Martin A. ; Ehlis, Ann – Christine. Show me how you walk and I tell you how you feel — A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study on emotion perception based on human gait. Neuroimage. 2014. 85: 380(11).

Smith, E. O. (1999). High heels and evolution: Natural selection, sexual selection and high heels. Psychology, Evolution and Gender, 30, 245–277. Smith, E. O., & Helms, W. S. (1999). Natural selection and high heels. Foot and Ankle International, 20, 55–57.

Thoresen, John C.; Quoc C. Vuong and Anthony P. Atkinson. First Impressions: Gait Cues Drive Reliable Trait Judgements. Cognition. 2012. 261–271 Thoresen, John C.; Quoc C. Vuong and Anthony P. Atkinson. First Impressions: Gait Cues Drive Reliable Trait Judgements. Cognition. 2012. 261–271
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van der Zwan, Rick and Natasha Herbert. “I Like The Way You Move”: How Hormonal Changes Across The Menstrual Cycle Affect Female Perceptions of Gait. Research Notes. 2012; 5: 453.
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Walter, K. D., Brownlow, S., Ervin, S. L., & Williamson, N. (1998). Something in the way she moves: The influence of shoe altered gait on motion and trait impressions of women. PSI CHI Journal of Undergraduate Research, 3, 163–169.

Body Language of Frozen Hands or Frozen Feet Called Flash Frozen

Body Language of Frozen Hands or Frozen Feet Called Flash Frozen

No picCue: 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.

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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.

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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.

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panic in patients with panic disorder. Behavior Therapy, 33, 149–162.

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Van Der Zee, Sophie; Ronald Poppe; Paul J. Taylor; and Ross Anderson. To Freeze or Not to Freeze A Motion-Capture Approach to Detecting Deceit.
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Zvolensky, M. J., & Eifert, G. H. (2001). A review of psychological factors/processes affecting anxious responding during voluntary hyperventilation and inhalations of carbon dioxide-enriched air. Clinical Psychology Review,
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Body Language of Forehead Rubbing

Body Language of Forehead Rubbing

No picCue: Forehead Rubbing

Synonym(s): Rubbing The Forehead, Forehead Massage, Forehead Hold, Massaging The Forehead, Temple Rub, Hand To Temple, Rubbing The Temples, Massaging The Temple.

Description: Rubbing the forehead with the hands.

In One Sentence: Rubbing the forehead is a demonstration of an internal struggle as one works toward a solution to a problem.

How To Use it: Rubbing and massaging the head can help activate the mind to come up with solutions. However, even if this is not effective at producing thought, it can be used to show others that one is working to solve a problem. This will be read by others as being mindful and may buy a person some extra time in coming up with a viable solution.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I’m in distress and I figure if I massage my head long enough that my brain will be able to come to some sort of conclusion or solution.”

Variant: Rubbing the temples has a similar meaning.

Cue In Action: a) While studying for the test, she put her head down on her hands and massaged her forehead. b) With only a few minutes to decide, he rubbed his forehead. c) The stress was palpable. He massaged his temples vigorously to try to pacify himself.

Meaning and/or Motivation: Rubbing the forehead is an evaluative body language gesture, but it also signals an internal struggle where slight to severe discomfort is being experienced.

The forehead is prone to sweating while under stress so the forehead rub is likely a way the body fights the extra stimulation it receives due to extra heat and blood flow.

Cue Cluster: Other motivating cues can appear in cluster. For example, someone might tap a pencil against the mouth or teeth, the feet, hands or fingers might tap or bounce as someone tries to reach a decision.

Body Language Category: Pensive displays, Self-motivating gestures, Stressful body language.

Resources:

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

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

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

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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.

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

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

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

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

Ekman, Paul, and Wallace V. Friesen (1969). “Nonverbal Leakage and Clues to Deception.” In Psychiatry (Vol. 32), pp. 88-106.

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

Goodall, Jane (1986). The Chimpanzees of Gombe: Patterns of Behavior (Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University).

Givens, David B. (1976). An Ethological Approach to the Study of Human Nonverbal Communication (University of Washington Ph.D. dissertation in Anthropology, Ann Arbor: University Microfilms).

Grand, Stanley (1977). “On Hand Movements During Speech: Studies of the Role of Self-Stimulation in Communication Under Conditions of Psychopathology, Sensory Deficit, and Bilingualism.” In Norbert Freedman and Stanley Grand, eds., Communicative Structures and Psychic Structures: A Psycholanalytic Interpretation of Communication (New York: Plenum Press), pp. 199-221.

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Body Language of Fondling A Cylindrical Object

Body Language of Fondling A Cylindrical Object

No picCue: Fondling A Cylindrical Object

Synonym(s): Playing With A Glass, Phallus Play, Rubbing A Pen Or Glass, Stroking A Cylindrical Object, Object Caress.

Description: Rubbing, stroking up and down, or rimming the edge of a cylindrical, or phallic object in a dating context. One might see a person moving a ring off and on, playing with a pen or the arms of eye glasses by putting it in the mouth, tap their fingers to their lips, rub the stem of a whine or beer bottle or rub a pen.

In One Sentence: Fondling a cylindrical object is phallic in nature and is revealing of sexual thoughts.

How To Use it: Women can effectively rub cylindrical objects including the stem of a wine glass in a dating context to arouse the sexual appetite of men. Other phallic displays that work effectively in teasing men includes mouthing a pen and slowly moving a ring off and on a finger. When done slowly and deliberately and anchored with eye contact, it is an effective way to show underlying sexual feelings. When done properly, the cue is read subconsciously by men thereby initiating a desire in them to pursue.

Context: a) Dating b) General.

Verbal Translation: a) “I’m sexually aroused and I’m subconsciously acting out my fantasies with this inanimate object.” a) “I’m rubbing this object as if it were you, because I like you and want to rub you.” b) “I’m rubbing an object because it’s providing a tactile release to help pacify my negative pent-up emotions.”

Variant: See Neck Exposure, Self Stroking or Auto Contact.

Cue In Action: a) At the bar she and he enjoyed good conversation and as dessert was completed their mutual liking grew. By the time drinks had arrived they were in deep mutual gaze as she rubbed the stem of her wine glass up and down with her thumb and index finger. b) To pacify himself, he rubbed the pen back and forth through the webbing of his fingers.

Meaning and/or Motivation: a) In a dating context, the phallus is a replacement for the penis and represents an intended subconscious sexual act. It is often the case that a person who strokes the object is not aware that they are doing it, but are instead driven by primitive wiring. In a dating context the object becomes a phallic replacement and so the cue signals sexual interest to whomever the cue is directed toward. Fondling a cylindrical object is a cue that must be anchored through eye contact to a specific person to have sexual meeting. “Object caress” indicate a desire to be touched or touch in the way in which the object is touched. The object is a substitute for actual touching

b) Many times people will stroke objects to pacify themselves as it releases soothing hormones inside the body. As with all body language, a reader should look for at least four independent cues before true meaning can be assessed. When men do it, it’s likely linked to having a need to pacify, to sooth, and looking for tactile stimulation. Usually it is motivated by boredom or stress.

Cue Cluster: This cue must appear in cluster to have full sexual meaning including eye contact in order to anchor the cue to a specific person. Watch for the head to bow with upcast eyes, wrist, palm, and neck exposure, self touching, licking the lips, stroking the hair, grooming, head turned at forty five degrees and so forth. When these cues are absent, the fondling a cylindrical object likely indicates a pacifying purpose.

Body Language Category: Arousal, Courtship displays, Indicators of sexual interest (IOsI), Intention movements.

Resources:

Argo, J. J., Dahl, D. W., & Morales, A. C. (2006). Consumer contamination: How consumers react to products touched by others. Journal of Marketing, 70(April), 81–94.

Aggarwal, P., & Mcgill, A. (2007). Is that car smiling at me? Schema congruity as a basis for evaluating anthropomorphized products. Journal of Consumer Research, 34, 468–479.

Argo, J. J., Dahl, D. W., & Morales, A. C. (2006). Consumer contamination: How consumers react to products touched by others. Journal of Marketing, 70(April), 81–94.

Chandler, J., & Schwarz, N. (2010). Use does not wear ragged the fabric of friendship: Thinking of objects as alive makes people less willing to replace them. Journal of Consumer Psychology, 20, 138–145.

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Hadi, R., and Valenzuela, A., A meaningful embrace: Contingent effects of embodied cues of affection. Journal of Consumer Psychology. 2014. http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/whats-in-a-nonverbal-object-caress/

Krishna, A., & Morrin, M. (2008). Does touch affect taste? The perceptual transfer of product container haptic cues. Journal of Consumer Research, 34(6), 807–818.

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Moore, Monica M. Nonverbal courtship patterns in women: Context and consequences. Ethology and Sociobiology. 1985 6(4): 237-247.

Moore, Monica. Courtship Signaling and Adolescents: Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Journal of Sex Research. 1995. 32(4): 319-328.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/girls-just-want-to-have-fun-the-origins-of-courtship-cues-in-girls-and-women/

Peck, J., & Shu, S. B. (2009). The effect of mere touch on perceived ownership. Journal of Consumer Research, 36(Oct), 434–447.

Peck, J., & Wiggins, J. (2006). It just feels good: Consumers’ affective response to touch and its influence on persuasion. Journal of Marketing, 70(Oct), 56–69.

Sigall, H., & Johnson, M. (2006). The relationship between facial contact with a pillow and mood. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 36, 505–526.

Williams, L. E., Huang, J. Y., & Bargh, J. A. (2009). The scaffolded mind: Higher mental processes are grounded in early experience of the physical world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 39, 1257–1267.

Body Language of Fist Bumping

Body Language of Fist Bumping

No picCue: Fist Bumping

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A greeting gesture where people close their fist and bump up against each other’s knuckles.

In One Sentence: The fist bump is an informal greeting gesture.

How To Use it: Use the fist bump to demonstrate your camaraderie in an informal way. This can apply to friends and sometimes even close business associates. The fist bump is a way you can demonstrate a less formal relationship. This will help break down barriers and form stronger bonds which are useful in business and in life in general. Use the greeting when you want to appear more friendly than formal.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “Hey man, we can be cooler than the older folks and just smash our knuckles together like real men.”

Variant: 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 boys would always fist bump when they called on each other for skateboarding.

Meaning and/or Motivation: It is a signal of cohesion showing solidarity and affection without a great deal of intimacy. It is not designed to be personal or proper like the more traditional handshake so comes across as less mature.

It is usually reserved as a gesture between macho men and is not a submissive gesture, but it is not dominant either. The fist bump has been made much more popular recently as a way to reduce the spread of germs since the knuckles are usually much drier making them less prone to bacterial growth.

Cue Cluster: N/A

Body Language Category: Greeting gesture.

Resources:

Aström, J ; Thorell, L H ; Holmlund, U ; D’Elia, G. Handshaking, personality, and psychopathology in psychiatric patients, a reliability and correlational study. Perceptual and motor skills 1993, Vol.77(3 Pt 2): 1171-86.

Chaplin William F.; Phillips Jeffrey B; Brown Jonathan D.; Clanton Nancy R.; Stein Jennifer L.; 2000. Handshaking, gender, personality, and first impressions Journal of personality and social psychology. 79(1): 110-117.

Debrot, Anik ; Schoebi, Dominik ; Perrez, Meinrad ; Horn, Andrea B. Touch as an interpersonal emotion regulation process in couples’ daily lives: the mediating role of psychological intimacy. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2013. 9(10): 1373-85.

Dolcos, Sanda ; Sung, Keen ; Argo, Jennifer J ; Flor-Henry, Sophie ; Dolcos, Florin. The power of a handshake: neural correlates of evaluative judgments in observed social interactions. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. 2012 24(12): 2292-305.

Fisher, Jeffrey D.; Marvin Rytting; Richard Heslin. 1976. Hands Touching Hands: Affective and Evaluative Effects of an Interpersonal Touch. Sociometry, 39(4): 416-421.

Frumin, Idan; Ofer Perl; Yaara Endevelt-Shapira; Ami Eisen; Neetai Eshel; Iris Heller; Maya Shemesh; Aharon Ravia; Lee Sela; Anat Arzi and Noam Sobel. A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking. eLife 2015. 4:e05154
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05154.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/shake-hands-share-human-scent-curious-case-hand-sniffing-body-language/

Fisher, J; Rytting, M and Heslin, R. 1976. Hands touching hands: affective and evaluative effects on interpersonal touch, Sociometry 39: 416–421.

Gueguen, Nicolas. Handshaking and Compliance With a Request – A Door-to-door Setting. Social Behavior and Personality. 2013. 41(10): 1585-1588.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshakes-lead-compliance-study/

Greenbaum, Paul ; Rosenfeld, Howard. Varieties of touching in greetings: Sequential structure and sex-related differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1980. 5(1): 13-25.

Ghareeb, P.A. ; Bourlai, T. ; Dutton, W. ; McClellan, W.T. Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake verses fist bump: a pilot study. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2013. 85(4): 321-323.

Hiemstra, Kathleen M. Shake My Hand: Making the Right First Impression in Business With Nonverbal Communications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included). Business Communication Quarterly. 1999. 62(4): 71.

Lipsitz, Rebecca (2000). “A Gripping Start.” In Scientific American (September), p. 32.

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

Stewart, Greg L. ; Dustin, Susan L. ; Barrick, Murray R. ; Darnold, Todd C. Zedeck, Sheldon (editor). Exploring the Handshake in Employment Interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2008 93(5): 1139-1146.

Spezialetti, Brian D. Do’s and don’ts for winning the job interview. (laboratory technicians). Medical Laboratory Observer. 1995. 27(7): 51-53.

Sanda Dolcos; Keen Sung; Jennifer J. Argo; Sophie Flor-Henry and Florin Dolcos. The Power of a Handshake: Neural Correlates of Evaluative Judgments in Observed Social Interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 24; 12: 2292–2305.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshake-open-body-language-powerful-nonverbal-effect-brain/

Wesson, David A. The handshake as non-verbal communication in business. (marketing technique). Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 1992. 10(9): 61(6).

PT in Motion. Fist bump: a hygienic alternative to handshaking.(Professional Pulse: HEALTH CARE HEADLINES). 2014. 6(11): 44(1).
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/makes-fist-bump-gesture-unique/

Body Language of The Firm Handshake

Body Language of The Firm Handshake

No picCue: Firm Handshake

Synonym(s): N/A

Description: A handshake that is neither too hard, nor too soft.

In One Sentence: A firm handshake is a universal signal of confidence.

How To Use it: A firm handshake should be a default condition for both men and women. Use a firm handshake especially when it is important that you are seen as competent such as in a business setting. When doing the firm handshake, make sure you are not overly aggressive, as firm does not mean that one needs to inflict pain. A proper firm handshake rarely goes unnoticed and is rewarded with a positive impression and the benefits that go along with it.

Context: General.

Verbal Translation: “I show my confidence by shaking hands with just the right pressure, not too much to be overbearing and not too little to show weakness.”

Variant: 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: He was pleasantly surprised by the new recruit, she had a firm handshake unlike some of the others. This gave him confidence that she’d do a good job.

Meaning and/or Motivation: This is the best overall handshake as it does not appear overbearing or flaccid and weak. Positive attributes are given people who shake hands with appropriate force. When a handshake is too firm, it signals an overbearing attitude, or masks low confidence except when it is matched by a strong physique which might come from a larger athletic person.

Cue Cluster: The firm handshake is a stand-alone cue which has meaning in and of itself, however, we usually see other positive and dominant cues associated with the firm handshake.

Body Language Category: Authoritative body language, Confident body language, Dominant body language, Enthusiasm (nonverbal).

Resources:

Aström, J ; Thorell, L H ; Holmlund, U ; D’Elia, G. Handshaking, personality, and psychopathology in psychiatric patients, a reliability and correlational study. Perceptual and motor skills 1993, Vol.77(3 Pt 2): 1171-86.

Chaplin William F.; Phillips Jeffrey B; Brown Jonathan D.; Clanton Nancy R.; Stein Jennifer L.; 2000. Handshaking, gender, personality, and first impressions Journal of personality and social psychology. 79(1): 110-117.

Debrot, Anik ; Schoebi, Dominik ; Perrez, Meinrad ; Horn, Andrea B. Touch as an interpersonal emotion regulation process in couples’ daily lives: the mediating role of psychological intimacy. Personality & social psychology bulletin. 2013. 9(10): 1373-85.

Dolcos, Sanda ; Sung, Keen ; Argo, Jennifer J ; Flor-Henry, Sophie ; Dolcos, Florin. The power of a handshake: neural correlates of evaluative judgments in observed social interactions. Journal of cognitive neuroscience. 2012 24(12): 2292-305.

Fisher, Jeffrey D.; Marvin Rytting; Richard Heslin. 1976. Hands Touching Hands: Affective and Evaluative Effects of an Interpersonal Touch. Sociometry, 39(4): 416-421.

Frumin, Idan; Ofer Perl; Yaara Endevelt-Shapira; Ami Eisen; Neetai Eshel; Iris Heller; Maya Shemesh; Aharon Ravia; Lee Sela; Anat Arzi and Noam Sobel. A Social Chemosignaling Function for Human Handshaking. eLife 2015. 4:e05154
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.7554/eLife.05154.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/shake-hands-share-human-scent-curious-case-hand-sniffing-body-language/

Fisher, J; Rytting, M and Heslin, R. 1976. Hands touching hands: affective and evaluative effects on interpersonal touch, Sociometry 39: 416–421.

Gueguen, Nicolas. Handshaking and Compliance With a Request – A Door-to-door Setting. Social Behavior and Personality. 2013. 41(10): 1585-1588.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshakes-lead-compliance-study/

Greenbaum, Paul ; Rosenfeld, Howard. Varieties of touching in greetings: Sequential structure and sex-related differences. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior. 1980. 5(1): 13-25.

Ghareeb, P.A. ; Bourlai, T. ; Dutton, W. ; McClellan, W.T. Reducing pathogen transmission in a hospital setting. Handshake verses fist bump: a pilot study. Journal of Hospital Infection. 2013. 85(4): 321-323.

Hiemstra, Kathleen M. Shake My Hand: Making the Right First Impression in Business With Nonverbal Communications.(Brief Article)(Statistical Data Included). Business Communication Quarterly. 1999. 62(4): 71.

Lipsitz, Rebecca (2000). “A Gripping Start.” In Scientific American (September), p. 32.

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

Stewart, Greg L. ; Dustin, Susan L. ; Barrick, Murray R. ; Darnold, Todd C. Zedeck, Sheldon (editor). Exploring the Handshake in Employment Interviews. Journal of Applied Psychology. 2008 93(5): 1139-1146.

Spezialetti, Brian D. Do’s and don’ts for winning the job interview. (laboratory technicians). Medical Laboratory Observer. 1995. 27(7): 51-53.

Sanda Dolcos; Keen Sung; Jennifer J. Argo; Sophie Flor-Henry and Florin Dolcos. The Power of a Handshake: Neural Correlates of Evaluative Judgments in Observed Social Interactions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. 24; 12: 2292–2305.
http://bodylanguageproject.com/articles/handshake-open-body-language-powerful-nonverbal-effect-brain/

Wesson, David A. The handshake as non-verbal communication in business. (marketing technique). Marketing Intelligence & Planning. 1992. 10(9): 61(6).