Body and gesture language: human psychology by behavior and facial expressions

Each person during a conversation uses nonverbal signals with which he subconsciously complements or refute what was said. Such signals are involuntary, but with proper training you can learn to control them and recognize the facial expressions of other people.

The psychology of human gestures and facial expressions studies the features of using gestures, various combinations, and the possibility of preventing an emotional reaction. By understanding the main types of reactions and learning to distinguish them, a person will be able to determine whether his interlocutor is telling the truth, his real emotions.

The meaning of gestures

In the human psyche, the meaning of non-verbal signals - gestures and facial expressions - lies in the sphere of the unconscious. People may not pay attention to their own and others' attempts to convey information, but they subconsciously recognize them. To read messages more accurately, it is necessary to study their meaning in accordance with the cultural environment to which the interlocutors belong.

Despite the common meaning of most facial reactions, in some cultures common gestures may have the opposite meaning. Thus, nodding your head usually means agreement, but in some cultures it means denial.

Body language varies depending on the speaker's gender, age, social status and other personal characteristics. Communication using gestures is limited: movements can only convey basic emotions, but it is impossible to show the subtleties of attitude. Therefore, body language is used to complement and enhance the emotional coloring of speech. The conscious use of gestures and control of facial expressions is the result of a volitional effort, aimed mainly at the desire to hide a lie.

Body language and sign language should not be confused. Unlike unconscious muscle reactions, sign language is a full-fledged linguistic unit used for normal communication. The use of sign language allows people with hearing and speech impairments to communicate and socialize successfully.

The importance of interpersonal space

When considering various types of nonverbal communication, special attention should be paid to the importance of interpersonal space. It is this instrument that plays a significant role when trying to establish contact in communication. Frequently used expressions such as “stay away from him” and “want to be close to him” clearly show the importance of this tool. In a situation where people show subconscious interest in each other, they tend to reduce the space between them. In some situations, such behavior is unacceptable, which forces a person to adhere to a certain framework of communication.

Nonverbal communication between a man and a woman who are interested in each other is carried out at a distance of less than fifty centimeters. For this distance the term “intimate” is used . Such a distance is allowed in communication with the other half, close friends, as well as in some sports that involve physical contact. During a friendly conversation, the interlocutors are most often located at some distance from each other. Most often they are located at a distance from half a meter to one hundred and twenty centimeters. This distance is called interpersonal space.

Today, 60% of communication between people is the non-verbal part, what people convey to each other with their bodies, through posture, gestures and facial expressions

The social space between people having a conversation ranges from one hundred and twenty to three hundred and seventy centimeters. Most often, such examples can be seen during business conversations. The formality of the conversation is determined by the distance between the participants in the negotiations. A distance of more than four meters between people is called public space. As the name suggests, this distance is more comfortable for public speaking in front of an audience.

When establishing certain boundaries in communication, one should take into account the gender and age of a person, as well as some features of his personality. Psychologists say that children often try to position themselves as close to their interlocutor as possible, while teenagers feel the need for some detachment . Women, like children, like to talk at a closer distance. Psychologists also say that for people with self-confidence, the distance at which a conversation is conducted is rarely of particular importance, while people with problems with self-esteem try to subconsciously distance themselves from the person.

Scientific research

Representatives of Ancient Rome already possessed the study of body language and the desire to characterize gestures. The science formed on the basis of the observations of researchers was called kenesics. The greatest contribution to its development was made by:

J. Balwer. He created a fundamental work devoted to gestures, in particular, hand movements.
I. F. Lavater. He studied physiognomy and conducted a comparative analysis of emotions and gestures.
G. K. Lichtenberg. He published several works in which he examined Lavater’s ideas in detail, calling them superficial and far from reality.
C. Bell. He studied the nervous system, studied the correspondence of facial features to the emotions experienced. He deduced a pattern between emotional reaction and muscular activity.
C. Darwin. Studied the correspondence of facial expression to emotional reaction.
F. Bacon. I came to the conclusion that there is a special body language that is understood by all peoples of the world.
F. Lowen. In his book on the psychology of the body, he outlined the basics of psychosomatic problems

Psychologists and sociologists believe that body language can become a universal means of communication between people of different social groups.

Communication nonverbal communication

Personality development - what is it in psychology

Nonverbal means of communication are a system of signs that complement, enhance or replace speech:

Akulesika. Messages are conveyed through glances. They depend on the frequency and duration, intensity of contact (closely or sliding). The gaze reduces psychological distance or is perceived as a threat.
Kinesics. Combines looks, facial expressions, postures, gestures, movements of sociocultural and physiological origin.
Tactile behavior. The communication method is based on touch (ritual, love, professional, friendly) to strengthen or weaken communication processes.
Chronemics. Use of time in nonverbal communication. For example, in the United States being late is considered disrespectful, but in Latin America this situation is common.
Proxemics. Relationships are built taking into account distances and territorial locations.
Sensory. The attitude towards an individual is based on perception by the senses (sensation of sound, taste, warmth of the interlocutor).
Paraverbal communication is determined by vocal timbre, rhythm, and intonation when transmitting information.

Important! Specialists in nonverbal psychology combine the listed types of communication into various forms of information transmission: sign-symbolic, optical-kinetic, tactical and phonation (sound).

Main body segments

When assessing the meaning of posture and movements, you need to pay attention to the segment of the body that gives signals. Each department is responsible for a specific issue:

eyes - an expression of fear associated with personal relationships;
mouth - difficulties in communication, fear of rejection;
neck - negative emotions, anger, aggression;
chest - suppression of emotional reactions, restraint, self-control;
diaphragm - social anxiety, volitional efforts, feeling of satisfaction;
stomach area - feeling of danger, external threat;
pelvis and groin area - true feelings, intimate interest.

When assessing the reaction of individual body segments, it is always necessary to compare the movements as a whole. Warning should be caused by desynchronization of movements of different departments: a person cannot control his body and it betrays his deception.

The Origin of Nonverbal Communication

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Nonverbal language has two types of origin: biological evolution and culture. Biologists have found that facial expressions when expressing emotions, most gestures and body movements in people are innate and serve as a signal for feedback. The biological nature of nonverbal communication is confirmed by elements not controlled subconsciously:

paleness or redness;
enlarged pupils;
curvature of the lips;
blinking.

Based on intentional and unintentional communication, there are 3 nonverbal means of communication:

Behavioral factors. Caused by a physiological reaction: sweating from excitement, trembling in case of cold or fear.
Unintentional means. Associated with people's habits (scratching temples, swinging legs, biting lips).
Communication signals. Conveys brief information about an object, event, or state.

There are also universal signals known to everyone that are characteristic of a particular culture. Vivid examples are the style of behavior, dress code, and conventional signs of greeting and farewell.

Common “body signs”

Gestures of closedness, isolation

For a full psychological assessment of a person based on body movements and gestures, it is necessary to distinguish between shyness and purposeful secrecy. He speaks about reluctance to communicate, fear and hostility:

Crossing your arms over your chest. While sitting, a person can also cross their legs with their knee forward. This indicates a desire to fence off with armor, to be as far as possible from the interlocutor, distrust and hostility.
Tightness, hands on knees. A defensive posture, the desire to quickly end the conversation.
Stomping, tapping fingers, throwing objects from hand to hand. The desire to divert attention from oneself, to avoid a negative reaction.

For many people, secretive postures are comfortable, and they unconsciously adopt them when talking with trusted people. But during business communication they should be avoided so as not to cause misunderstanding.

Gestures to help recognize lies

The main thing that any student of body language strives for is the ability to detect lies in the speech of the interlocutor. They say about dishonesty:

Frequently touching the face, scratching the forehead and nose, covering the mouth with the hand. A person literally tries to stop himself from telling a lie, to cover his face, avoiding a direct condemning gaze.
Stroking, scratching the neck. Talks about lies caused by fear or misunderstanding. Such gestures are often demonstrated by subordinates when talking with their boss.
Touching the earlobe. During communication, touching the ears means that the person does not believe in the information he heard, but tries not to show it.
Quick, frequent smiles, licking lips. It means excitement, a desire to hide deception.

The discrepancy between gestures and spoken words indicates a lie, but individual characteristics must be taken into account. Perhaps the dissonance is caused by anatomical features and is a consequence of the disease. Also characteristic is the discrepancy between movement and words among foreigners who do not know the language well and try to supplement words with gestures.

Gestures warning of aggression

It is important to recognize gestures of aggression and threats in a timely manner - this makes it possible to prevent a conflict in time and get away from the direct line of attack of the interlocutor. An aggressive attitude manifests itself:

Clenching your fists. The interlocutor speaks in a calm tone, his posture is relaxed, but his hands are constantly clenched into fists - a clear signal of pent-up anger.
Fists resting on the surface of the table, hips or pressed to the waist - a direct threat, readiness to attack.
Hands hidden behind back. The person is literally trying to control himself and not show aggression.
Pursed lips, tightly clenched jaws. They express contempt and dissatisfaction with the interlocutor.
Scratching the back of the neck and the back of the head. Anticipation of attack, demonstration of readiness for defense.

If during a conversation a person twitches his upper lip, flares his nostrils, squints his eyes, he is ready for open confrontation, demonstrates superiority over his opponent, and threatens.

Advice from psychologists

An experienced psychologist is able to read the gestures and facial expressions of even a very secretive person and assess his emotional state regardless of verbal information. For people unfamiliar with the subtleties of nonverbal cues, it can be difficult at first to monitor two channels of information simultaneously. You can start with the following techniques:

note the movements that a person reproduces most often and compare them with spoken words;
ask your interlocutor leading and clarifying questions, ask the same information several times;
do not look directly at the interlocutor, look away so as not to arouse suspicion;
having caught a person in a lie, do not immediately express complaints, do not interrupt the story - perhaps the first conclusions will turn out to be incorrect;
develop observation skills, learn to compare information.

Special books from which you can glean theoretical information and constant practice will help you learn to understand body language. To learn to read different people, you should constantly train your ability to study emotional reactions, movements, and other nonverbal signals. It is important to compare signals and identify a common series of symbolic gestures. This will help you recognize body signals without thinking in the future.

Features of nonverbal communication

Nonverbal communication is a situational reflection of people’s personal characteristics: mood, emotional background, attitude towards others and the topic. This communication is involuntary and spontaneous, it is difficult to divide it into individual elements (postures, facial expressions, olfactonics), this is the key feature of nonverbalism. Gestures, intonation, gaze are difficult to study or edit; it will take years and decades. But even trained people can be caught lying when one part of communication does not match another. Sign language is trusted more; it is perceived at the level of intuition.

Open posture in negotiations

Nonverbalism is an important element of communication, carrying 60-80% of information with the body, only 20-40% of communication is realized in words. It is worth closing your eyes and hiding your hands if you need to hide insincerity - this was the conclusion of one observant English court official.

How to recognize gestures?

To get a complete picture of the correspondence of gestures and facial expressions to a person’s words, you need to evaluate the meaning of all movements:

Gait. By the way the interlocutor enters the room, you can assess the degree of confidence and self-esteem: a long step, a confident gait - purposefulness and ambition, a shuffling gait - lack of will and aspirations, a slow, imposing gait - narcissism and demonstrativeness.
Hand position while moving and sitting. Elbows pressed to the body indicate isolation, unsociability; broad gestures, waving your arms when talking - openness, sociability. Touching your interlocutor is a desire to enter the zone of closest trust, a desire to subjugate.
Direction of view. The position of the eyes shows how interested the interlocutor is in the conversation and the desire to defend his point of view. A downward gaze means the person is telling the truth; an upward gaze means he makes it up as he goes along.
Posture. A straightened neck and a raised chin indicate a person’s general confidence; a bowed head is a sign of humility and timidity.
Body direction. A body leaning forward means interest in the conversation, sympathy for the interlocutor, a desire to reduce the emotional distance, and gain trust.

If a person often changes position during a conversation, his opinion is unstable. He is ready to accept someone else's point of view and submit to his interlocutor.

Expand your perception

Knowing the types of nonverbal communication and understanding nonverbal cues is important for several reasons. Firstly, they perform the function of accurately expressing feelings, because very often we experience feelings so complex that we are simply unable to find the right words to describe them, but this can be done using non-verbal means and methods. Secondly, they perform the functions of deeper mutual understanding.

Knowing the basic methods of nonverbal communication, you will be able to better understand and “see through” another person when he is trying to control his behavior when communicating with you, because nonverbal signals manifest themselves unconsciously and your interlocutor simply cannot control them. The classification of nonverbal means of communication and examples of their use will help you not only understand yourself better, but also teach you to recognize lies and manipulation from other people.

To learn to better understand your interlocutor and recognize his hidden signals, you must first learn to pay attention simultaneously to all elements or means of nonverbal communication, and nonverbal means of communication include facial expressions, gestures, postures, intonation and timbre of voice, visual contact and interpersonal space.

Let's talk in more detail about each of these elements of nonverbal communication and give specific examples of their manifestation.

Facial expressions

Facial expressions are the expression of a person’s face; they are the main element of displaying emotions and feelings. Positive emotions, such as love or surprise, are much easier to recognize than negative emotions, which include disgust or anger. Emotions are reflected differently on the right and left sides of the face, because the left and right hemispheres of the brain perform different functions: the right one controls the emotional sphere, and the left one is responsible for intellectual functions.

Emotions are expressed in facial expressions in this way:

Anger - wide open eyes, drooping corners of the lips, “squinted” gaze, clenched teeth;
Surprise - a slightly open mouth, wide open eyes and raised eyebrows, lowered tips of the lips;
Fear - knitted eyebrows, stretched lips with downturned and downturned corners;
Happiness is a calm look, raised, drawn back corners of the lips;
Sadness - a “faded” look, drooping corners of the lips, knitted eyebrows.

Eye contact

This method of nonverbal communication helps to demonstrate interest in the conversation and better understand the meaning of what is being said. During a conversation, two people work together to create and regulate the degree of comfort by periodically meeting their gaze and looking away. Staring can either build trust or create discomfort.

Pleasant, general topics maintain eye contact, while negative, confusing questions cause you to look away, demonstrating disagreement and hostility. Features of visual contact allow us to draw conclusions about the degree of interest in the dialogue and attitude towards the interlocutor:

Admiration – long eye contact, calm gaze;
Indignation - a fixed, intrusive, somewhat alarming gaze, prolonged eye contact without pauses;
Position – attentive gaze, eye contact with pauses every 10 seconds;
Dislike – avoiding eye contact, “rolling” the eyes.
Waiting - a sharp look into the eyes, raised eyebrows.

With visual contact, you can find out not only the attitude of the interlocutor, but also determine some character traits by eye color.

Intonation and timbre of voice

Correctly understanding the intonation and timbre of a voice means learning to “read between the lines” of another person’s message. Such features include frequent pauses, unfinished sentences and their construction, strength and pitch of the voice, as well as speed of speech.

Excitement – low tone of voice, fast, choppy speech;
Enthusiasm – high tone of voice, clear, confident speech;
Fatigue – low tone of voice, lowering of intonation towards the end of a sentence;
Arrogance – slow speech, smooth monotonous intonation;
Uncertainty - mistakes in words, frequent pauses, nervous cough.

Male and female gestures

During a conversation, women tend to gesticulate more often if the subject of discussion is pleasant to them. When discussing unpleasant things or talking with an unpleasant interlocutor, women instinctively strive to move away, shrink, and become smaller. They press their hands, bow their heads, turn away. Expressing interest, women try to come closer, their gestures are open, their palms are turned towards the interlocutor.

Men are less likely to express irritation through gestures. It’s easier to assess their mood through their posture: a relaxed posture speaks of trust, openness, and a desire to continue the conversation. Hunching, squeezing your shoulders, putting your hands in front of you is forming a kind of barrier from an unpleasant interlocutor.

Expressing affection using gestures

By studying body language and gestures, a person can easily understand interest in intimate and romantic relationships. The body movements of women who attract the attention of men are actively expressed:

demonstration of the wrists, turning the inside of the palms up;
shaking hair, twirling a curl on a finger;
licking, biting lips;
touching the thighs, ankles;
pointing the toes of the shoes towards the man.

A man, showing interest in a relationship with a woman, subconsciously tries to demonstrate his best qualities:

stretches up, straightens his shoulders;
constantly adjusts his tie, cuffs and shirt collar;
runs his hands over his thighs and knees.

In representatives of both sexes, interest in intimate relationships is revealed by a searching gaze. It glides along the figure of the attractive person from top to bottom, lingering at the neckline and hip level.