Emotional expression can be a window into unspoken thoughts.

Expressive behavior is a core element of emotion that plays an important role in human social interactions (Keltner, 2019). Every day, we spend a significant amount of time observing the emotions of others, interpreting what these signals might mean, and deciding how to react. We are endowed with the capacity to speak without talking. For example, when someone flips you the bird, you know exactly what that means. Emotional expressions include bodily posture, voice pitch, blushing, smiling, showing one’s teeth in anger, laughing, frowning, and crying—as well as things like the gaze aversion of shame and embarrassment, the chest expansion of pride, and the face touch of embarrassment.

The Role of Context

Yet we do not perceive faces in a vacuum. Context is essential to correctly interpret facial expressions. Evidence has shown that people in fearful contexts, for example, tend to rate neutral faces as significantly more negative and arousing than neutral faces in both neutral and happy contexts (Calbi et al. 2017). An individual vulnerable to social anxiety will also likely interpret ambiguous facial expressions as a sign of disapproval. Emotional expressions make it possible for the emotion felt by one person to shape the behavior of others. For example, expressions of distress can evoke sympathy in perceivers. The emotion of embarrassment triggers a positive emotional response. Psychologists have found that reddening cheeks soften others’ judgments of bad or clumsy behavior and help to strengthen social bonds rather than strain them. The blush is a signal of awareness and regret for the mistake they have made. The inability to judge emotional expressions can result in miscommunication. Individuals who have difficulties in producing facial expressions (e.g., patients with Parkinson’s diseases) say that their social interactions are made difficult. Evidence shows that delinquent youths who get into trouble with the law may find it hard to interpret facial expressions of disgust or anger more often than their peers (Sato 2009). Misrecognizing an expression may lead them to see a situation as more hostile than it is. Similarly, heavy drinking can affect the ability to recognize other people’s facial emotions.

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Reflection: Have you ever, in the middle of a situation/dialouge, read someone's body language and nonverbal clues and adapted your response or behavior in according to that? If so, what clues and body language did you pick up on?

#BodyLanguage #NonVerbal #Expressions