Body language

Body language is a type of nonverbal communication in which physical behaviors, as opposed to words, are used to express or convey information.

Having open body language, which is typically identified as having a relaxed posture, nodding, eye contact can contribute to patients having higher levels of trust with their doctors.

[1] The rise of different technologies has led to humans adapting to non-face-to-face communication, for example, while texting, it can challenge to decode the messages because body language cues like tone and eye contact are not present.

This is hypothesized to be the case because people that demonstrate similar nonverbal cues can interpret and decode communication signals more effectively.

More recently, however, a study conducted by researchers at Northeastern University found that people could convincingly fake a Duchenne smile, even when they were not feeling especially happy.

[9][better source needed] Normally, eyes instinctively blink at around 20 times per minute, but looking at a person the viewer finds attractive can make this rate faster.

A person sitting still in the back of their chair, leaning forward with their head nodding along with the discussion implies that they are open, relaxed and generally ready to listen.

On the other hand, a person who has their legs and arms crossed with the foot kicking could imply that they are feeling impatient and emotionally detached from the discussion.

[22][better source needed] Finger gestures are also commonly used to exemplify one's speech as well as denote the state of well-being of the person making them.

[27] Likewise, the thumbs up gesture could show "OK" or "good" in countries like the United States, South Africa, France, Lebanon and Germany.

For example, in traditional Anglo-Saxon culture, avoiding eye contact usually portrays a lack of confidence, certainty, or truthfulness.

[36] However, in the Latino culture, direct or prolonged eye contact means that you are challenging the individual with whom you are speaking or that you have a romantic interest in the person.

[37] A study by Jones and Yarbrough[38] regarded communication with touch as the most intimate and involving form which helps people to keep good relationships with others.

[38] Heslin outlines five haptic categories:[39] Another notable area in the nonverbal world of body language is that of spatial relationships, which is also known as proxemics.

Albert Mehrabian maintains that during a conversation dealing with feelings and attitudes (i.e., like-dislike), 7% of what is communicated is via what is said, 38% is via tone of voice, and the majority, 55%, is via body language.

While there is a wider debate about the percentage share which should be attributed to each of the three contributing factors, it is generally agreed upon that body language plays a fundamental role in determining the attitude a person conveys.

Nonverbal dominance refers to how people communicate power, control, and authority using gestures, posture, facial expressions, and voice.

Overall, the study was able to demonstrate a correlation between the participants’ role and how they adapted their body language to match the level of dominance.

These displays of body language may increase trust between friends, as nonverbal and verbal communication work together to form a clearer message.

The body language of trust in intimate relationships such as courtship and marriage is very open and often highly personalized, even if it is not necessarily as physically dynamic as that found in a friendship for example.

[57] When you get onto a basketball court, all your teammates beside you, pumped up and ready to go, you form impressions of the other side, their strength and unity, their mood and body language.

The cultural equivalence model predicts that "individuals should be equally accurate in understanding the emotions of ingroup and outgroup members".

[62] This model is rooted in Darwin's evolutionary theory, where he noted that both humans and animals share similar postural expressions of emotions such as anger/aggression, happiness, and fear.

[62] These similarities support the evolution argument that social animals (including humans) have a natural ability to relay emotional signals with one another, a notion shared by several academics (Chevalier-Skolnikoff, 1974; Linnankoski, Laakso, Aulanko, & Leinonen, 1994).

One of the strongest pieces of evidence that supports this model was a study conducted by Paul Ekman, where members of a preliterate tribe in Papua New Guinea reliably recognized the facial expressions of individuals from the United States.

[64] On the other hand, the cultural advantage model predicts that individuals of the same race "process the visual characteristics more accurately and efficiently than other-race faces".

Tracy and Robins (2008) concluded that the expression of pride includes an expanded posture of the body with the head tilted back, with a low-intensity face and a non-Duchenne smile (raising the corner of the mouth).

[76] Numerous Federal Bureau of Investigation Law Enforcement Bulletins have addressed body language as a purported tool for "evaluation truthfulness and detecting deception.

[82]Research on body language (nonverbal behavior, NVB) in sport is only slowly emerging, although it is considered important and has been frequently studied in other disciplines.

Research indicates that athletes' NVBs, such as facial expressions and postures, are correlated with internal factors like emotions and contextual variables like success.