![\"No](\"http:\/\/bodylanguageproject.com\/nonverbal-dictionary\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/10\/No-pic.jpg\")
<\/a>Cue<\/strong>: Head Shake or Head Negation<\/p>\nSynonym(s)<\/strong>: Shaking The Head.<\/p>\n Description<\/strong>: The head shake is a side-to-side motion of the head.<\/p>\n In One Sentence<\/strong>: Shaking the head is a universal negative thought indicator.<\/p>\n How To Use it<\/strong>: Use the head shake to show other people that you disagree. A small micro-head shake can fly under the conscious radar of others but still deliver a message they will perceive as negative without saddling you with a pessimistic view. To negate a positive view, simply shake your head as you verbalize your thoughts.<\/p>\n Context<\/strong>: General.<\/p>\n Verbal Translation<\/strong>: \u201cI\u2019m having difficulty with what you are presenting me. My head shakes back and forth like a child would as they reject distasteful food.\u201d<\/p>\n Variant<\/strong>: See Head Nods<\/a>.<\/p>\n Cue In Action<\/strong>: The librarian shook her head slowly back and forth while peering over her glasses. She wasn\u2019t impressed by the students who were giggling and acting out.<\/p>\n Meaning and\/or Motivation<\/strong>: The headshake is sometimes perceived as \u201cmaybe,\u201d but in reality this is a negative thought indicator. It is done when a person can\u2019t get past a thought or idea.<\/p>\n Babies use the headshake as an innate gesture to signal to their mother that they\u2019ve had enough milk by turning their head away. The head shake is different from the typical \u201cno type gesture\u201d in that the head is tilted from side-to-side instead of being pivoted back and forth used to signify \u201cno\u201d in various cultures by adults.<\/p>\n We should be skeptical if the head shake is given while voicing specifically agreeable language such as \u201cYou make a good point.\u201d or \u201cThat sounds like a great idea.\u201d These words, accompanied by the head shake, negates whatever positive words were voiced. It tells us that they were either trying to pull a fast one on us, or just trying to appease us.<\/p>\n Head shakes have two speeds. Fast shaking indicates disagreement and that a listener wants to take over speaking. When head shakes are slow it signifies incredulousness at what\u2019s being heard. Head shaking can also appear as microexpressions as microsignals where the head only slightly turns from side-to-side and only astute observers will notice.<\/p>\n Cue Cluster<\/strong>: Head shaking is coupled with relaxed, but focused eye contact, the head might peer down or head back depending on superiority or judgment, the arms are often crossed to prevent information from coming in and if the speaker continues the toes and torso will begin to shift away.<\/p>\n Body Language Category<\/strong>: Automatic gesture, Disengagement, Dislike (nonverbal), Doubt or disbelief body language, Escape movements, Microgestures, Rejection body language, Universal gestures.<\/p>\n Resources:<\/strong><\/p>\n Austin, Keith ; Theakston, Anna ; Lieven, Elena ; Tomasello, Michael Eccles, Jacquelynne S. (editor). Young Children\u2019s Understanding of Denial. Developmental Psychology. 2014. 50(8): 2061-2070.<\/p>\n Altmann, Stuart (1967). “The Structure of Primate Communication.” In Stuart Altmann, ed., Social Communication Among Primates (Chicago: University of Chicago Press), pp. 325-62.<\/p>\n Akiyama, M. M. (1985). Denials in young children from a cross-linguistic perspective. Child Development, 56, 95\u2013102. doi:10.2307\/1130177<\/p>\n Cameron-Faulkner, T., Lieven, E., & Theakston, A. (2007). What part of no do children not understand? A usage-based account of multiword negation. Journal of Child Language, 34, 251\u2013282. doi:10.1016\/j.cognition.2010.08.017<\/p>\n Darwin, Charles (1872). The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, third edition (New York: Oxford University Press, 1998).<\/p>\n Eibl-Eibesfeldt, Irenaus (1973). “The Expressive Behaviour of the Deaf-and-Blind-Born.” In Mario von Cranach and Ian Vine (Eds.), Social Communication and Movement (European Monographs in Social Psychology 4, New York: Academic Press), pp. 163-94.<\/p>\n Ekman, P., & Friesen, W. V. The Repertoire of Nonverbal Behavior: Categories, The Relationship Between Verbal and Nonverbal Communication<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n
\nOrigins, Usage, and Coding. Semiotica. 1969. 1: 49\u201398.<\/p>\n