A
Abrazo Originating in Latin America, the abrazo has become a popular greeting or celebratory action, particularly among males under the age of 50. The embrace action sees chests come together with the arms hooking around, often with hands patting the back.
Absolutes (no) There are no ‘absolutes’ in body
language as state Rouse & Hartley; no single action that, taken in
isolation, can be taken to signal one meaning.
Absorbed actions Actions that we emulate and adopt unconsciously
from other members of our ingroup. They vary from group to group and culturally
but easily spread to other likeminded groups. Morris gave the example of some
homosexual males’ mannerisms.
Acceptance The action of consenting to receive, undertake, make peace with, or acknowledge something. Signs include a reduction in muscular tension, and an increase in nodding, smiling, open posture, open palms and touching. Acceptance can also be supressed or reluctant, with sighing and pursed lips among the cues to this.
Active crowd A group of people gathered together in
an emotionally charged state whose shared motivation can lead to displays of
aggression.
Adam’s apple Emotional discomfort can produce
involuntary vertical jumping of the Adam’s apple, the laryngeal prominence.
More prominent in males it may become visible in combination with the gulping
or swallowing hard of nervousness. The unconscious, uncontrollable act can highlight
strong disagreement. Is this merely swallowing or an emotional reaction?
Adapted Modern living - even the previous 10,000 years
of farming and hording – is a blip on humanity’s timeline. Our bodies are
adapted to the life of the hunter-gatherer, our minds too, as proposed by Tooby
& Cosmides. Many gestures have also adapted, their meaning altering to suit
changing environments.
Adaptive These adaptive responses are how humans have
changed their behaviour patterns to suit different conditions. Riskind
suggested that slumping posture is an adaptive response, allowing the slumper the
time to compose their emotions and recover internally.
Adaptors These are actions done to help ourselves cope with stressful situations. By altering our space, releasing nervous energy, touching
ourselves or making postural changes, we can ease discomfort. Adaptors include
facial distortions, exhaling, collar pull, tapping and self-punishments such as
nail biting.
Adiposity The state of containing fat; colloquially,
overweight. People are judged and character traits inferred by adiposity.
Admiration Respect and approval that facilitates social learning in groups. Expect to see prolonged eye gaze, a Duchenne smile, forward lean and self-grooming from the person feeling the admiration. If admiration is being hidden then conscious breathing and intermittent eye contact is more likely.
Adoration Respect, reverence, strong admiration or devotion in someone or something. Signs include mirroring/matching behaviour, large pupils, reduced blinking, a relaxed mouth, and self-stroking.
Adrenalin A stress hormone and neurotransmitter which
makes heart beat faster. Secreted into the bloodstream adrenalin (epinephrine)
causes general physiological arousal, distributing energy around the body in
preparation for possible fight or flight. It is produced in the endocrine gland.
Aesthetic behaviour We pursuit beauty and react to
its presence. The brain’s visual cortex is large, the importance of our visual
stimuli to our survival vital over years of evolution, letting us decide who to
avoid and affiliate with. Beauty itself might not vital to our survival but human
attraction towards it is universal.
Aesthetic selection In instantly classifying others
we assess someone’s fitness for successful reproduction (bearing and rearing)
before we consciously aware of it. From three months of age we constantly
associate outer beauty with positive internal qualities.
Affect displays One of Ekman & Friesen categories,
affect displays are synchronised with other behaviours, with sound and/or
facial expressions often matching arm actions to produce an affect. An example
is the arms aloft, smiling behaviour of a winning athlete, also seen in
congenitally blind performers.
Affective realism An idea from Barrett, who proposes
that emotions are the social-constructs which take a particular formal shape
based on their intricate feedback-loops with our body. Affective realism refers
to the idea that affective feelings help to construct your experience of the
world.
Affiliator (the) This is a role that is taken by the
person motivated to aid group cohesion and rapport. The affiliator is
empathetic and smooths difficult situations with open, calm body language, palm
displays, smiling and plentiful eye contact.
Affiliation If you have an affiliation with a group
or another person, you have a close or official connection with them. You are more
likely to mirror their body language and match their nonverbal communication. The
hormone oxytocin is linked to our feelings of social safeness and affiliation.
Affirmation An action which displays agreement,
encouragement or emotional support. The single head nod of affirmation is not universally
performed but may originate from the universal movement of the mouth toward
food.
Aggression Our reptilian brain promotes aggression,
often when we are frustrated or intruded upon. Signs of aggression include a
finger prod, direct and prolonged eye contact, constricted pupils, the chin
jut, bared teeth, sudden/large arm movements, tension (such as clenched fists),
flared nostrils and signs of the body making itself larger or loftier.
Agitation A state of anxiety or nervous excitement, agitation can produce a warm/hot feeling and red/sweaty face, with pacifiers presented such a palming the neck. Expect adjustment behaviours and the agitation state is typically a dynamic one.(b>
Agreeableness Agreeableness is shown through open
body language such as ventral and palm displays, nodding, smiling and eye
contact, as well as angling or leaning towards a person one’s in agreement
with. It is also one of the five major dimensions of personality structure.
Air-grasp baton Fingers are spread rigidly with a
slight curl as if clutching at air. This represents or emphasises the desire
for, and attempt at, control, as if the performer is striving to achieve something
just out of grasp.
Alexithymia The inability to identify or describe experienced
emotions. This dysfunction in emotional awareness, social attachment, and interpersonal
relating, comes with a difficulty in distinguishing and appreciating the
emotions of others too, and the condition can occur with other psychiatric
conditions.
Alter-adaptors Made in response, alter-adaptors are
actions which comfort the performer, and they are reactions to the stress
caused by the trigger action of another. For example, an angry finger is jabbed
at someone whose alter-adaptors are to step back and tense their jaw.
Alternative intention movements These are actions
which suggest different directions are movement, for example rocking and
swaying. Dancing uses these movements as do individuals torn between wanting to
stay and leave, such as nervous public speakers.
Allo-contact When we touch someone else’s body. Typically,
a conscious behaviour. This form of touch, even if subtle, can have powerful
consequences.
Altruism The principle and moral practice of concern
for the happiness of others. A criticism of altruism is that it goes hand in
hand with emotional closeness and selects for kin and ingroups possibly to the
exclusion of others. Reciprocal altruism – you scratch my back… - and delayed
altruism are common forms.
Amazement Overwhelming surprise or astonishment looks like surprise - wide eyes, raised eyebrows, open mouth - but is usually held longer and is more likely to be accompanied by a palm to the mouth.
Ambience This is the feeling or spirit of a place or
situation. Often involving the senses – the smell, look or comfort of a venue –
it’s the general atmosphere’s effect on the people within it.
Ambivalent signals Often when experiencing a mixed
mood, body language gives off ambivalent signals, usually with contradicting
signals appearing simultaneously. These can make the overall message difficult
to read and often lead to the receiver reacting negatively.
Amimia The loss or impairment of the ability to
communicate via gestures or expressions, perhaps due to cerebral impairment. It
could be that facial paralysis has made recognisable facial expressions
difficult to perform.
Amplifying Gestures These gestures add meaning and relevance, often allowing the inference of meaning that the initial gesture alone doesn't. For example, if a person crosses their arms, it doesn't carry enough meaning on its own, however, with amplified gestures such as withdrawing the feet, lowering the chin and tensing the jaw, the initial gesture becomes more relevant (is amplified).
Amusement The experience of funding something funny or entertaining, amusement produces an animated face with smiling/laughing, and subordinate behaviours. The context for the emotion may not be appropriate leading to suppression such as turning away, palm to the mouth, attempts to hold their breath, and even tearing up.
Amusement The experience of funding something funny or entertaining, amusement produces an animated face with smiling/laughing, and subordinate behaviours. The context for the emotion may not be appropriate leading to suppression such as turning away, palm to the mouth, attempts to hold their breath, and even tearing up.
Amygdala Maturing quickly our amygdala scans our experience
for threats. Continually at work it unconscious tracks incoming sensory signals
providing enough for a neural takeover when trouble is sensed. Playing this key
role in the circuitry that activates emotion, this primitive structure also
stores emotional memories, triggering fear responses that we don’t always want,
such as phobias. Le Doux was the first to discover the amygdala’s key role in
emotional.
Anchor point
Androstadienone An endogenous steroid which has potent
pheromone-like activities in humans. Released by men in their perspiration,
this chemical can help attract a mate. It has been found to alter mood and
promote sexual arousal, and is commonly added to male fragrances.
Anger A strong feeling of annoyance, displeasure, or hostility is one of the universal facial expressions, with furrowed low brow, tense jutting jaw, compressed lips, squinting eyes, and flaring nostrils expected. If accused but innocent, anger the anger display may be accompanied by open palms. In a state of anger, a wide, front-on posture that's rigid but prepared to move, may present itself, as can a fist or jabbing finger. The antithesis is joy.
Anguish Derived from the Latin word angustiae, meaning extreme pain, distress or anxiety, anguish may be witnessed on a scrunched up face with gritted teeth and a tight mouth, a hunched body, the furious rubbing of the hands or the back of neck, hugging the knees to the body and rocking, shaking, and hiding behaviours.
Angular distance Humans lean, move and angle their
bodies towards things of interest, novelty or liking, and away from those of
distaste, disinterest or disliking. The amount of space between people should
be considered – in context - along with the intention signals of eye gaze
direction, and the orientation of people’s trunks and feet.
Ankle lock (the) Often signalling a negative or
defensive attitude, the ankle lock can be performed whilst standing or sitting.
Performed unconsciously, one foot crosses tightly around the opposite ankle (or
around a chair leg(s)). The performer of an ankle lock is often withdrawing
from the situation or holding back their thoughts.
Annoyance The state of irritation or distraction, annoyance usually has a target (of the annoyance). May be expressed behaviours such as foot-bouncing, shifting position, a furrowed brow, a tightening of the eyelids, clenching, rubbing and ventilating.
Anosmic The medical term for the loss of the sense of
smell, usually caused by an injury although some people have congenital anosmia
(born without a sense of smell). It is common for people with anosmia to be anxious
about how they smell to others.
ANS Autonomic Nervous System The involuntary,
unconscious part of the peripheral nervous system that controller of digestion,
heart rate, perspiration, respiration, salivation, pupil size, sexual arousal
and other vital bodily responses. The male’s ANS, which largely controls stress
response, is slightly more sensitive than female’s, and takes longer to recover
from emotional upset.
Antecedent Something that existed before or logically
precedes another but typically an anthropological term used to refer to a
person's ancestors or family and social background.
Anthropology The study of humans, especially
culturally, their social development, evolution and behaviour. Anthropologists
have assisted in the understanding of the origins of human actions. Biological
or physical anthropology studies the biological development of humans.
Anthropoids Meaning resembling humans or apes,
or pertaining to the primate suborder Anthropoidea, characterized by a
relatively flat face, dry nose, small immobile ears, and forward-facing eyes.
Anticipation The awaiting of an expected event, anticipation can be pleasurable or anxiety inducing. Hands and feet tend to fidget or are kept busy, often checking and rechecking items or the time. Mental rehearsal, sweating/drinking/licking, and rubbing the hands together are among the associated behaviours of anticipation.
Antithesis The act of performing opposite movements representing
the corresponding opposite feelings. One of Darwin’s principles, he wrote of
the opposite move/action to the opposite emotion giving the example of a dog’s
tail wagging to display happiness, and hidden under their body (or rod like) if
frightened. The principle claims that some human expressions were selected for
because they look different from their opposite expressions, for example, the
corners of our mouth go up when we’re happy and down when we’re sad. The fact
we have cold and hot emotions fits the principle.
Anxiety Fear in the form of anticipation, of a threat
that may or may not occur. It can be a balance that’s easily lost. The anxious
breathe from the chest more than the stomach. Perhaps this is because of the
many feelings of anxiety that are centred on the gut. Whilst it may be better to be
cautious than caught, if the threat is irrational, as many are, the anxiety
causes more harm that the threat. Swallowing, darting eyes (and other environment/exit checking acts), and self-soothing hand actions (and adjusters) are examples of related behaviour. The antithesis is calmness.
Apocrine glands The apocrine sweat glands, associated
with the presence of hair in human beings (as on the scalp, the armpit, and the
genital region), continuously secrete a concentrated fatty sweat into the gland
tube. Emotional stress stimulates contraction of the gland, expelling its
contents. Located in the groin, armpits, mouth, eyelids, back of the knees,
wrists, and palms. These glands release
a chemical called androsterone in men, which is chemically related to
testosterone, the male sex hormone.
Androsterone is (weakly – not strongly proven) linked to sexual
attraction and is unperceivable consciously, when it is effective it works
without awareness.
Appalled The response to something judged as shocking or disgusting due to its unpleasantness/inappropriateness. When appalled a person may inch their head back, make a fleeting disgust facial expression (but often with an open mouth), eye block, look or turning away, or even put their hands to their face.
Appeasement Refers to the desire to concede to an
aggressor through submissive or compliant body language such as shoulders
turned inward and head down. Smiles are
often referred to as appeasement expressions. making political or material
concessions to an aggressive power in order to avoid conflict.
Apprehension The feeling that something bad is about to happen, bringing on anxiety. A fear smile, exit-minding, mental reassurance, limb rubbing, and cautious movements are signs of apprehension.
Archipallium Also known as the archicortex this is the
phylogenetically oldest region of the brain's pallium or cortex.
Arms akimbo or hand on hips Can be done for reasons of comfort, habit, protection, intimidation or status. Commonly performed by law enforcers, the hands on the hips displaying a desire to take charge. Look for the direction of the thumbs, if backwards - with the fingers forward - then it's a male position of strength. When performed by a female, it may be a sexual display, depending on the context and other cues. If the thumbs are pointing forwards it can signal curiosity or an interest in whatever the trunk is facing.
Arms aloft An gravity-defying display of a raised mood (joy, celebration) or raised energy levels. If the elbows are raised above the shoulders then the open armpit suggests excitement. If the elbows raise no higher than the shoulders then the lack of control (of the arms aloft) could be the need to apologise 'sorry', warn 'stop' or signal 'keep away'.
Arms behind back 'Royalty arms' with the hands clasped behind the back is a display of confidence and perhaps arrogance or superiority. The effect is to display the ventral region as being open to potential attack. The message 'don't touch, you can't touch'. Teachers, professors, leaders, inspectors, coaches, regularly adopt this pose. If the hands can be seen, look for the tightness of the grip, the more intense, the more restraints may be being performed. If the hands dig in to the back or raise up the back, it can be that the performer is feeling some mental discomfort.
Arousal This relates to how energised someone is. Arousal can be increased by a diverse group of triggers including eye contact, anxiety, imagination and the colour red. Pupil size and the frequency of self-touching can indicate the level arousal of the sympathetic nervous system. Sexual arousal produces physical changes too. As with the labia, a women’s lips become redder and more swollen during sexual arousal, which has also been shown to lowers disgust levels.
Arms aloft An gravity-defying display of a raised mood (joy, celebration) or raised energy levels. If the elbows are raised above the shoulders then the open armpit suggests excitement. If the elbows raise no higher than the shoulders then the lack of control (of the arms aloft) could be the need to apologise 'sorry', warn 'stop' or signal 'keep away'.
Arms behind back 'Royalty arms' with the hands clasped behind the back is a display of confidence and perhaps arrogance or superiority. The effect is to display the ventral region as being open to potential attack. The message 'don't touch, you can't touch'. Teachers, professors, leaders, inspectors, coaches, regularly adopt this pose. If the hands can be seen, look for the tightness of the grip, the more intense, the more restraints may be being performed. If the hands dig in to the back or raise up the back, it can be that the performer is feeling some mental discomfort.
Arousal This relates to how energised someone is. Arousal can be increased by a diverse group of triggers including eye contact, anxiety, imagination and the colour red. Pupil size and the frequency of self-touching can indicate the level arousal of the sympathetic nervous system. Sexual arousal produces physical changes too. As with the labia, a women’s lips become redder and more swollen during sexual arousal, which has also been shown to lowers disgust levels.
Arrector pili muscles This microscopic band of muscle
tissue connects hair follicles to the skin. When stimulated by cold air or
fear, they stand on end. The feeling of shivers down the spin, or goosebumps,
is experienced when these small muscles are being stimulated.
Artifacts Objects in the environment or on the person
that can provide some form of stimulus to the communicators, influencing
nonverbal behaviour.
Artificial aggression Acting aggressively without
feeling aggressive can be effective at delivering threat, particularly as
receivers veer on the side of caution when faced with aggression they suspect
may not be genuine.
Artificial appeasement Acted compliance, agreement or
happiness is often used by those adopting a subordinate role for the sake of
social ease. Fake smiles are a common example.
Associative memory Labels, smells, venues, images, all
manner of stimuli can be related to other items associated with our behaviour. This
is powerful, we do it instinctively, and it’s a big part of learning and memory.
Wells & Petty demonstrated that listening to messages whilst nodding makes
the received statement more likely to be accepted as true, whilst shaking your
head was more likely to produce rejection of the same message.
Astonishment A brief expression of great surprise triggered
by the sudden occurrence of an unexpected event. Astonishment quickly merges
into another emotion such as anger, fear or happiness as realisation occurs.
Expect raises eyebrows, wide open eyes and an open mouth.
Asymmetry The brain is comforted by symmetry but taxed
by asymmetry. So much so it can be used for negative priming. When attempting
to hide an emotion the face may unconsciously display asymmetry, such as when
feeling contempt. Gestures or expressions that are unequal laterally may
indicate incongruency or dishonesty, however, leftward asymmetry in cortical
activity is associated with approaching pleasurable things, according to Fox.
Asynchrony A lack of synchrony, or any relative
similarity, in the actions or postures of two people may indicate a problem or
a difference of opinion, or represent a barrier to effective communication.
Attachment The attachment system, first described by Bowlby,
is the process by which humans have evolved to seek closeness with their first
or early carers. Our mammalian brains also affect the caregivers, making them
respond to the needs of infants. The way new parents react to a baby’s cry is
an example of the evolved reaction. Bowlby argued that how we experience our
early relationships has a lasting effect on how we experience and regulate our
emotions, and relate to others. The word attachment may also be used when
describing how a person’s perceptions can be are difficult to alter. Ultimately,
we more or orient towards that to which we are attached.
Attribution effect This is a fleeting act, event or behaviour
which proves enough to lead others to make assumptions about them. If the
observed event is viewed as negative then the sender/doer will have a negative
attribution applied to them, with subsequent judgements influenced by this as
confirmation is easily sought.
Audioception Hearing or the ability to hear sounds.
Auditory Our auditory system works outside consciousness,
picking up on key words, such as our name, and even threatening tone of voice.
The emotional content of a sound results in a change of activity in an area
within the auditory region of the right hemisphere.
Auditory learners About a quarter of people favour information
presented orally. Auditory communicators tend to use phrases such as “I hear
you” and “sounds good”.
Auto-contact A term used to describe self-intimacy gestures,
such as stroking, hugging or grabbing ourselves. They are common and provide
comfort as they unconsciously mime the actions of others. Women habitually use self-touch
more often than men, especially when in the presence of someone to which they
are sexually attracted.
Autobiographical memory bias A memory system which
gives us our identity as we judge ourselves by how we recall we have behaved
during our life. We often choose how to behave and assign to ourselves a
personality type based on how we acted and decisions we made previously.
Autoerotic touching A form of auto-contact this self-touching
is motivated by sexual thoughts. Autoerotic touching is usually done when the
doer has a desire to receive the touch being performed by someone else. It can
be a flirting action.
Autonomic signals Stress-induced physiological responses
such as sweating and increased heart rate. These are difficult, and in some
cases impossible, to control voluntarily.
Autonomous tell
Availability heuristic Human judgment on frequency is
influenced by how easily something is recalled or imagined. It is a mental
shortcut that relies on immediate examples that come to a given person's mind when
evaluating a specific topic, concept, method or decision, operating on the
notion that if something can be recalled, it must be important, or at least
more important than the alternatives. More recent information often carries a
strong sway.
Awe Comparable to wonder but less joyful, awe can be overwhelming admiration felt in the presence of something wonderful. It's on Plutchik's wheel of emotion as a combination of surprise and fear. The nature of awe make context vital in the search for cues but a still posture and fixed gaze can be expected.
Awe Comparable to wonder but less joyful, awe can be overwhelming admiration felt in the presence of something wonderful. It's on Plutchik's wheel of emotion as a combination of surprise and fear. The nature of awe make context vital in the search for cues but a still posture and fixed gaze can be expected.