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Bb - Dictionary of Terms


B

 Back channels This is a form of communication used by a listener to show that they are paying attention, such as “uh-huh”. The signal can be a noise, gesture, expression, or word, often a head movements, brief vocalization or facial expression. These are meant to encourage as opposed to interrupt the speaker.


Bandler, Richard 

Barriers From an early age, humans hide behind a barrier if threatened. Controlling space and distance in this way can be a comforting and protective behaviour. When experiencing stress or simple in social situations, the ventral region (trunk) is often covered unconsciously, and often fleetingly. It could be obvious, such as arms being crossed – in which case the tightness of the grip/interlocking can be significant when detecting anxiety - or subtle, such as checking a phone, watch, tie knot, or pulling a sleeve down. The cufflink-check seen done by Prince Charles also allows for the touching of the wrist, another comforter. Women, especially young women, often adopt a single-arm cross/wrap in which one arm crosses the midriff in a social setting for extra security. The cold shoulder is another form of barrier. If arms are folded the doer retains less information. Inquisitiveness often sees the removal of barriers.

Baseline This is a person’s typical behaviour when comfortable. Understanding how someone is expected to behave provides a context for interpretation. The best predictor of future behaviour is past behaviour. Establishing a baseline is important before judgements are made. When interrogating someone it’s often that non-threatening questions are asked first to help first establish a baseline.

Baton gestures Typically hand signals which emphasise words using speech rhythms. Baton signals beat time to the spoken words they accompany like a conductor of emotional punctuation. They are usually performed unconsciously and often occur when we speak on the phone. There are several sub-sections of baton signals that extend to the use of the body, head and foot. If these gestures are not in synch with the words used (asynchronous) there may be incongruity between what is being felt and said. 

Beat gestures Rhythmic beating of a finger, hand or arm. They can be as short as a single beat or as long as needed to make a particular point. Beating and repetition plays to primitive feelings of basic patterning, and can vary in sense according to the context.


Beckoning Most commonly performed with the fingers of one palm-up hand opening and closing repeatedly until the receiver responds to the message, beckoning is also regularly performed with one finger (curling/uncurling). People also beckon with their heads, usually with diagonal backward throw of head, and eye gaze is also used when the sender doesn’t want other onlookers to see the instruction.

Behavioural compensation When people adapt to a situation or another’s behaviour by compensating for it. For example, leaning away from someone who moved too close.

Behaviourism A systematic approach to understanding human behaviour that assumes that all behaviours are either reflexes produced by a response to certain stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual's history, including especially reinforcement and punishment, together with the individual's current motivational state and controlling stimuli.

Behaviourists A psychologist who subscribes to behaviourism.

Bernieri, Frank

Beta males and females Take a more subordinate role, as opposed to the alpha males/females. Betas are more likely to be followers, but people take different roles in different context despite relatively fived personality traits.

Betrayal The context is telling but feelings of anger and being disrespected or wounded occur following a breaking or violation of a presumptive trust or confidence. This can result in disappointed, protective or threatening behaviours.

Biochemistry The study of chemical processes within and relating to living organisms.

Biological preparedness The idea that people and animals are inherently inclined to form associations between certain stimuli and responses. This concept plays an important role in learning, particularly in understanding the classical conditioning process.

Bipedalism A form of terrestrial locomotion where an organism moves by means of its two rear limbs or legs. About six million years ago we became bipeds, freeing our free hands for, amongst other things, improved communication.


Biting tongue To stop oneself from saying something (often something potentially inappropriate, hurtful, or offensive). Also a pacifier.

Bitterness A hard to deal with situation arising from a perception of feeling unfairly treated. A narrowing of the eyes and/or mouth, tense jaw, defensive attitude and closed posture are all associated expressions of bitterness.

Blading When people turn their bodies away from a perceived threat. Less torso becomes on display to the threat. Instead of fronting up, the blading results in a leg and shoulder being withdrawn.

Blanching An involuntary act to a spike in adrenalin, which, according to Halbertstadt & Green, is done to render leniency in the observers of our embarrassment, fear guilt or shame. The reddening of cheeks is designed to be seen so has evolved to produce a beneficial reaction from its receivers as well as opening up the doer's blood vessels in the cheeks for more oxygen, perhaps during sex or sexual arousal. It’s usually a limbic reaction but depends on an awareness of being watched and a sensitive regard for their opinion. Blushing/blanching/flushing may also be misinterpreted as it can be a sign of alcohol consumption.  

Blocking People attempt to block out what they don’t like hearing, seeing or thinking (perhaps a memory). This can be in the form of hands over the ears or eyes, or turning away from the unwanted stimuli. Eye blocking is commonly performed when people want to avert what they are seeing. It can result in such behaviours as constricting pupils, squinting, blinking or hands over eyes.

Blue taboo Our ancestors’ natural food was not blue, so blue might have been a warning that the ‘food’ was not good for us. Few foods are blue today but cleaning products often use the colour, perhaps playing on our evolved preferences and ingestion avoidance mechanisms.

Blushing See blanching.

Bodifications Body modification (or body alteration), the deliberate altering of appearance, often done for aesthetics, sexual enhancement, rites of passage, religious beliefs, or to display group affiliation. It includes plastic surgery, ear piercing, circumcision and tattoos. When chosen, as it usually is, by the wearer, it represents a self-expression that will receive outside judgement.

Bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence One of Gardner’s types of intelligence, if a person has a strong preference for learning by using their body, they have bodily-kinaesthetic intelligence. For example, dancers often perform after learning choreography from the body, done without looking at written words or images.

Body adornment Also including bodifications, adornment covers hairstyles, clothes, jewellery etc. In most interactions, appearance and adornment are the first nonverbal cues people notice.

Body language receiver The person observing and decoding the nonverbal communication.

Body language sender The person emitting or encoding the nonverbal communication.

Body lowering Linked to status, body lowering in front of another person has been used as a means of establishing superiority-subordinate relationship. By lowering the body, the status of others can be raised, for example bowing or curtseying. Collett said that the habit of lowering the head as a sign of submission appears to be universal.

Body orientation or body angling One of Hewes’ three postural dimensions, orientation can convey messages of dominance and respect. To demonstrate to others that no threat is carried, humans presents vulnerable areas of the body, commonly their side. Fronting-up is more of a challenging behaviour if the proximity is close.   

Body self-mimicry A term for animals that have one body part that mimics another to increase reproduction or survival chances. Morris suggested that human body parts have evolved to represent other body parts, for example a women’s facial lips being proportionally the same thickness as her outer genital lips, and breasts resembling her rear.

Botox Commonly used to reduce wrinkling, botulinum toxin is a neurotoxic protein that prevents the release of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine from axon endings at the neuromuscular junction and thus causes flaccid paralysis, and yet faces with more expression are deemed more attractive. People with botox affected faces mirror less and have been shown to engage less successfully in the feedback loop, meaning they can even struggle to read people’s emotions. Babies crave expressions and botoxed faces can have a negative impact on their happiness.


Bounded rationality Human decision-making capacity cannot be fully rational because of a number of limits faced. The result is that people usually end up making satisficing decisions, rather than optimising decisions. To make decision, we end up using “rules of thumb” or heuristics, or become reliant upon our automatic familiar routines.

Brain stem Controls the flow of messages between the brain and the rest of the body, and it also controls basic body functions such as breathing, swallowing, heart rate, blood pressure, consciousness, and whether one is awake or sleepy.

Breathing rate When in fight or flight breathing rate increases. If someone is breathing close to (or more than) twenty breaths per minute they may be experiencing stress. Rule out other causes first - baseline - such as exercise and medical conditions and check for changes. People may also hold their breath when anxious. When noticing breath being held, ask why then.  
Broken window theory Any visible signs of crime, anti-social behaviour, and civil disorder create an urban environment that encourages further crime and disorder, including serious crimes. By targeting and cutting minor crimes, such as litter dropping, an improved atmosphere of order and lawfulness can be created. The theory can be applied to a person’s physical appearance.

Brow beating A condemning looking down the nose stare can intimidate (someone), typically into doing something, challenge them, display distrust or show disrespect.

Buccinator muscles The buccinator muscles draw the lip(s)’ corner(s) sideways towards the ear(s) producing dimple(s) in the cheek(s). The muscle of the cheek, it is employed every time air expanding the cheeks is forcefully expelled. It is in the space between the mandible and the maxilla.


Business gaze A eye pattern behaviour adopted in the professional world in which the gaze direction never falls below the mouth and commonly remains eye-to-eye height, offering respect.

Buttoning up If an open jacket (or the removal of a jacket) suggests openness and trust, the antithesis is buttoning up the jacket. Assuming it's not temperature driven, the sudden buttoning up could suggest a problem has occurred.  
Buttress stance This is when most of the body’s weight is on the support leg, the other leg resting. It can be considered a disguised intention movement, the intention being to depart in the direction the foot is pointing.

Bystander effect (the) Popularised by Latané & Darley this theory suggests that an individual is less likely to offer help to a victim when there are other people present.