This week in class we discussed the psychology of language. However, what we looked over was the psychology of body language. As someone with a personal interest in body language, this is a topic I chose to delve into deeper.
By watching the above video, you can allegedly learn how
to become “a human lie detector.” Now this may sound somewhat outrageous, but
the study of body language is not entirely pseudoscience. Research results have
actually shown some great promise and it is through these results, media
acknowledgements, and personal experience that I will describe the psychology
of body language.
One
main focus point for those interested in body language actually stems from
political debates and public opinions. As a psychology and political science
double major, I absolutely love watching political debates. When you watch a
debate, you probably try hard to focus on the questions being asked and the
responses being given. However, subconsciously you are also paying attention to
the body language of the debaters; if the speaker’s opponent is making faces,
rolling his/her eyes, making exasperated or aggravated noises, etc. You pick up
on these things with or without actively trying to.
In a study done by Seiter et al. in 1998, viewers had
more positive attitudes toward the speaker when the speaker’s opponent
displayed visible disagreement by rolling his eyes, shaking his head, etc. When
they witnessed this they were far more likely to rate the speaker higher in
competence, character, sociability, and composure. This study shows that even
without focusing on body language, negative body language draws our attention
and evokes psychological and emotional responses. Another study done by Seiter
in 2001 showed that the same behaviors can even lead viewers to believe the
speaker’s opponent is deceptive and thus that the speaker is truthful.
If you have ever watched the show “Lie to Me” (and if you
have not you absolutely should!), then you would see a lot of cases of
assessing body language, especially through facial ticks and expressions and
cues. In the show they often point to real examples (often of politicians) and
give legitimate explanations of what these subconscious signals mean. There are
a lot of aspects of our body language that are subconscious and therefore
virtually uncontrollable. For example, depending on who we are talking to,
subconsciously our blink rate can alter to show that we may be emotionally or
physically interested in the person we are talking to, or even that we are
lying or nervous. However, it does not come close to ending there. Other eye
mannerisms, such as the direction we are looking, can also give way to
information. It is believed that if someone is looking to the left, it means
they are reminiscing or trying to remember something. On the other hand, if
someone is looking to the right it could mean they are lying or trying to make
something up (note the meaning of directions can change if the subject is
left-handed).
However,
this only examines eye cues (and not even all of them!). Another interesting
thing about body language is how people try to consciously use it or be aware
of it to hide things or deceive. For example, a common occurrence with people
(I’m guilty of this myself) includes putting a very active effort into hiding
emotions, i.e. smiling to hide if you are upset. We also try to be actively
aware of other’s body language in hopes of understanding what our significant
others, professors, or friends really mean (though without the appropriate
training, background, and research, we often do this incorrectly). Poker players
are known for their “poker face:” which is being actively aware of their own
facial cues and those of others in hopes of deceiving their opponents. People
who are arrested (especially on television) try to keep a straight face and use
very little body language in hopes of deceiving the police and hiding their
actual thoughts and feelings, but to the trained eye this is unsuccessful. We
cannot control every single aspect of our body language. Think about this the
next time you’re entering a poker match or trying to tell your significant
other “No, I did not cheat on you” or tell your parents “No, I have no idea who
broke that!” Or perhaps if you are someone’s roommate and want to be civil and
maybe even kind, don’t let your body language deceive your façade. For all you
know, the person you are talking to is going to be far more aware than you
expect them to be. Especially if they just read this post.
articles referenced for this post:
Hi Kaci,
ReplyDeleteI found your post to be really interesting. Specifically the part about political debates, I never would have guessed that disagree with your body like rolling your eyes when your opponent is speaking would have such an effect on the audience.
I also find that I try to find out whether someone is upset emotionally by studying their body language. And, just a little interesting tid bit about body language is that is someone likes you, then they will point their body in the direct towards you.
-Chantal McGovern