Considering Body Language: Hidden Communication
Many fields are interested in body language. Psychologists want to know about how bodies convey hidden truths. The best poker players in the world are experts in projecting and observing body language as are spy agents. Professional athletes are adept at reading body language as well. Public figures are interested in learning of how to leverage body language to become more engaging and effective in delivering speeches.On a biological level, people are interested in discovering how others perceive themselves.
Find one article about body language. Beyond summarizing the content of the source, you are also tasked with raising questions and analyzing the article. Consider the journal the article is published in or who sponsored the popular article. Consider the audiences the writers aimed to influence and why those audiences are targeted. Explore why the author conducted the study in a particular way. What does the article accomplish, and to what extent did the writer accomplish his or her goals?
Connect some aspect from of one of the articles to your own personal experiences. Does your experience reveal some nuance about claims regarding body language?
This posting is not a test of knowledge, but is a collective way to gather a large swath of information about a common area of interest. We all care about body language because it is a primary means of communication. There are no right or wrong answers for this posting. This also isn't meant to be published in The New Yorker. Deliver a bit of analysis, some summary, and make a connection to your own personal experiences. In other words, there are not penalties for being wrong here.
During class next time, we are going to explore this conversation about body language. We will look for gaps in the conversation, and we will think about ways that we might enter into the conversation.
Be sure to reference the sources you use at the bottom of your posting. For help with MLA reference formatting, please follow this link to the Purdue Owl: https://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/747/05/
Bonus points will be awarded for anyone who uses a scholarly, peer reviewed article. Points will be deducted for those that fail to properly reference the source they use.
If you have any questions, please send me an email.
Toby Dieckman
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
13 January 2016
The title of my article was “Verbal and Nonverbal Communication of Deception”, written by Miron Zuckerman, Bella M. DePaulo, and Robert Rosenthal. All of whom teach in the Department of Psychology at Rochester, Virginia, and Harvard University, respectively. The main focus of the article is lying, and the human act of deception. It gives an in depth analysis of how lying works psychologically, and how the psychological effects of lying causes nonverbal cues from the face and body. The article also focuses on how the nonverbal and verbal exchanges between the deceiver and the lie detector effect communication, and then provides a definition for deception. Later in the article, a table is shown listing behaviors associated with deception. From multiple studies, the table is filled with data on how common each behavior is when an individual is lying, the behavior table included movements like pupil dilation, gazing, blinking, shrugging, etc. The end of the article focused more on the lie detector, and how they psychologically recognized nonverbal cues from the deceiver. I found it interesting that as humans we have been able to recognize liars for a very long time, in the article it said, “An often cited quotation from a 900 B.C. papyrus veda describes the behavior of a liar: ‘He does not answer questions, or they are evasive answers; he speaks nonsense, rubs the great toe along the ground and shivers; his face is discolored; he rubs the roots of the hair with his fingers’”.
The article was supported in part by a grant from the Office of Naval Research, the National Science Foundation, the University of Virginia Research Council, and the National Institute of Mental Health. It is interesting that a military organization supported this study, recognizing the physical cues of lying could be incredibly beneficial for the military. I visited the Office of Naval Research page and it appears they support many studies regarding facial recognition and nonverbal cues, on the front page of their site they have a post describing a new app they supported that can recognize facial expressions for signs of autism in young children. Despite the supporters of this study, I believe the goal of Zuckerman, DePaulo, and Rosenthal was to further science and psychology. They conducted their research and studies in a very organized and scholarly way, ensuring to use valid evidence and sources. This proves that they wanted their work to be recognized by other psychologist and scholars, and want the information to be correct.
I personally enjoyed this article because even as a college freshman I can recognize the manners and nonverbal cues of someone who is lying to me. Not only that, but I am familiar with the thought process that happens as I lie to others, and attempting to control my physical behaviors. I find it incredibly interesting that deception is so in depth, and also that a fair amount of scientific studies has been done on the subject.
Works Cited
Zuckerman, Miron. DePaulo, Bella. Rosenthal, Robert. “Verbal and
Nonverbal Communication of Deception.” Advances in Experimental Social Psychoology Volume 14 (1981): n. pag. Web. 13 January 2016.
The Office of Naval Research. Office of Naval Research. Web. 13 January 2016
This article, “Body Language Basics” introduces some basic information about body language, how nonverbal communication has been with us for millions of years, and goes through the psychology of body language. Our emotions and feelings are processed through our limbic system in out brain, which makes us react, both verbally and nonverbally to what is happening around us in the world. An interesting point made in this article is that these behaviors we have evolved through time, giving an example that a blind child will react to a loud noise or something he doesn’t like the same way a person can see through body language.
ReplyDeleteBecause this article was published through Psychology Today, there is a lot of science and reasoning through psychology with this article. It is probably geared towards someone studying psychology, or wants to know more about the science of body language. In the beginning of the article it decribes what our life would be like without body language, and it made me wonder that exact thing. What would happen if we only reacted verbally to the things happening to us, not using our facial expressions or our bodies to react, and how that would affect our society.
Some examples Navarro gave about body language in certain situations are things that I do without even noticing. One was when someone sees a person they like and describes their reaction to seeing that person. It made me think that we all have the same kind of body reactions to certain instances, with slight changes. When we see someone we like, our body languages will be similar.
Works Cited:
Navarro, Joe. "Body Language Basics." Psychology Today. N.p., 21 Aug. 2011. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
Caleb Van Beck
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
13 January 2016
The title of my article is “At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language” by John Tierney. The overall emphasis of the article was the use of professional lie-detecting methods through body language at airports to identify possible terrorists. It focused on the notion that trained security screeners are no better at detecting liars through body language than average people. The only difference is that trained professionals are more confident in their abilities. The article continues with research studies showing that people, on average, can identify a liar correctly only 54% of the time. In addition, their correctness was even lower when they couldn’t hear the liar speak and had to go by body language alone. The article does say, however, that it may be easier to spot a liar in a “high-stake” scenario through nonverbal cues and body language, but it still may not be a reliable method to use. All in all though, the article comes back to the point that the T.S.A. is ineffective at detecting liars through body language cues, as less than 1% of passengers deemed “suspicious” actually end up being arrested and none of them are connected to terrorism. The article ends with statements from Dr. Epley of the University of Chicago saying that we think our emotions are more apparent through body language than they actually are, which is why we view others’ body language cues in the same manner.
This article was published by the New York Times, so the writer, John Tierney, can be seen as a safe and reliable source. His targeted audience was most likely everyday people who may want to know how effective a program like the T.S.A. actually is at identifying liars and terrorism. The goal of the article was not to negate any correlation whatsoever between lying and body language, but to show that the methodology behind this correlation may not be the most effective to utilize for security at airports, especially at the expense of government and taxpayer money.
When I first read Dr. Epley’s statements near the end of this article, I immediately related them to my life. I’ve found myself many times thinking my emotions were extremely obvious through the body language I conveyed. I’ve also found myself viewing others and their body language, certainly thinking I knew what they were feeling and ending up wrong a lot. This article just goes to show that body language, while important, isn’t necessarily the whole picture when attempting to identify someone’s feelings and emotions.
Works Cited
Tierney, John. “At Airports, a Misplaced Faith in Body Language.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 23 Mar. 2014. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
I chose to read an article titled, “What is Nonverbal Communication and Body Language?” This particularly sparked my interest because it listed more ways of nonverbal communication other than crossing arms and rolling eyes- two things that come to my mind when thinking of body language. I guess I never really thought of “stress of voice” or “touch” to be ways of nonverbal communication but now that I think about it, there has to be a multitude of ways different people define body language. While reading this article, one question that came to mind was- how do human minds automatically read body language considering body language isn’t a common topic taught in early education? Is it something we all just adapt to? This interests me because body language is a topic I have never looked into. In todays society most everyone could give you an example of body language but I don’t think many could tell you they were taught how to “do body language” if you will. This website kind of seems like a step-by-step guide to understanding body language. Although an interesting read, this isn’t something a child would read in a certain grade and suddenly be able to identify and use body language. So, how are they taught?
ReplyDeleteTarakanov, Sinay. "Nonverbal Communication and Body Language." Study-Body-Language.com. N.p., 2012. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteProfessor Dana Carney, who works at the Columbia University Graduate School of Business, performed a research experiment to compare the body language of liars in powerful positions to those in weaker ones. She is an expert in the detection of liars, and focused on two specific physical variables that indicate lying, which are involuntary shoulder shrugs and accelerated speech. She allowed the bosses in powerful positions and their employees to steal a one hundred-dollar bill and then had them confronted about the incident. Prior to the confrontation, the subjects were asked questions about the weather and other casual topics to determine how much they naturally shrugged and how quickly they spoke. What Carney found was that the subjects in powerful positions only shrugged an average of 1.4 times, while those in weaker positions shrugged an average of 4.3 times. Harvard business school was able to summarize the findings by writing on an image included in the article that “For most people, lying is stressful and produces involuntary reactions. Disturbingly, high-power liars don’t display these telltale signs,” (page 33). The image also describes other signs of lying, such as dilated pupils, repeated sentences and phrases, and pressed lips that smirk when a subject gets away with a lie (Harvard Business School, 33). The dilation of the pupils often occurs in pleasant situations as well, for example in the original post that these comments were added to, it refers to the body language of poker players. These players have learned to overcome the physical signs of lying that Carney described. The article emphasizes the important role that power plays when lying, and it illustrates the confidence such power induces. Growing up, everyone had a moment in their life when either an older sibling or a cousin tried to tell them something that was not true to trick them for amusement. At the time, nobody questioned those older figures because they seemed like they knew what they were talking about, and that is a perfect example of the confidence exuded due to a sense of power. Those figures felt powerful, as they were older and we were younger, naïve, and maybe even looked up to them. That power they possessed over us inspired their confidence, and therefore allowed them to be amazing liars.
ReplyDeleteCarney, D. (2009). "Powerful People are Better Liars". Harvard Business Review. Web. Retrieved January 13, 2016.
Aksel Knudsen
ReplyDeleteLonghany
ENC1102
1/13/16
Growing up, my mother constantly reminded me about keeping good
posture, “Back straight, chin up!”, almost as if I were in the military. I rarely
heeded her advice but, as I grew, the reasoning behind it became more and
more clear and important. Keeping good posture, and focusing on other aspects
of my body language are arguably more important than the actually words you
say. According to psychology expert Kendra Cherry and her article on
Understanding Body Language, “body language is thought to account for
between 50 to 70 percent of all communication”. She goes on breaking down
and analyzing the important thinks to look for in body language and it gets much
more detailed than I would have expected. Starting with facial expressions,
which I never realized to be universal, the eyes and mouth movements in
particular. It really is surprising how these subtle changes translate so directly.
Blinking, lip biting, and even pupil size, all things we do without thinking, yet
they send very important messages to the people around you. Next, she
describes some of the various gestures with the hands, arms and legs. The hand
gestures are much more culturally adapted while the arms and legs are more
universal. The hands are also much more intentional compared to eyes and
mouth movements. The last two things she mentions in her article are posture
and personal space. Personal space is pretty obvious, you have intimate
distance, social distance and so on. Posture, in my opinion is the most
important aspect of body language. Firstly, the message its sends off is an
overall message of your wellbeing. Secondly, it has real physical consequences
over time. Spinal injuries are very often the result prolonged closed posture.
Meanwhile, straightening you back can instantly have positive effect,
psychologically and physically. Clearly, there is a lot to look at when it comes to
body language and this article only scratches the surface of it.
Works Cited
Cherry, Kendra. Understanding Body Language. About: Psychology. N.p,
2015. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
Whether we like it or not, body language says a lot about how we are feeling and what are current emotions are. When it comes to reading facial expressions, the determinations can often be ambiguous. Researchers at Princeton University did an experiment where participants were asked to determine which emotions people were feeling based on photographs of those people. The photographs would either only have the body language or the facial expression, but some of them had both. However, there were some images where the facial expression did not match the body language. These participants were able to more accurately determine the emotions of the images that had either just body language or body language paired with the facial expression. “These results challenge the clinical — and conventional — presumption that the face best communicates feeling,” said the Senior researcher and Princeton psychology professor, Alexander Todorov. Most of the participants, when asked, said that they determine emotion based on facial expression, a common misjudgment known as “illusionary facial affect.” This is interesting because I myself believe that I use facial expressions over body language when it comes to figuring out how someone is feeling. I believe this because if one is slouching that does not necessarily mean that they are feeling blue, but that they may have bad posture. On the contrary, if I were to see someone whose face appeared to be visually upset, that would be a bolder indicator to me personally. This article spoke to me, being a psychology major. I am sure it did the same for others who are interested in any realm of psychology, these people being the audience I predict this article was aimed for. Another psychology professor at the University of Otago said, “Before I read this [article], I would have thought that the body only provides contextual clues. This study really questions the primacy of the face in emotion. Real emotional expressions are much more ambiguous, subtle and malleable than you would think from the research. Any application of emotion theory that relies on or assumes that emotional expressions reside primarily in the face should be under reconsideration from this kind of study." This article did an excellent job displaying the illusionary facial affect in action. Now reflecting on it, it is incredibly easy for one to fake their emotions by contorting their face to demonstrate they wish others to perceive. I cannot count how many times I have put a big smile on my face, just so that others would not notice that I was feeling sad. Todorov also commented, "There are lots of cues that help us in the social environment, but we often think the face has this special status, that we can tell so much from it," he said. "In reality it tells us much less than we think." If it is this simple to have misconceptions on how we see people and read their emotions, who is to know what else we are often mistaken about?
ReplyDeleteKelly, Morgan. "Don't Read My Lips! Body Language Trumps the Face for Conveying Intense Emotions." Princeton University. Trustees of Princeton University, 15 Jan. 2013. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
Noah Madover
ReplyDeleteProfessor Joseph Longhany
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
While the article I chose focuses on body language it mentions the fact that we, as humans perform many acts of nonverbal communication and some people even believe that we communicate more nonverbally than we do verbally. The author explains how we perform body languages every day, he explains body language as a whole separate language from the one we talk. He then goes on to talk about how body language can change from culture to culture and that we learn body language as a little kid without even realizing it. I think that body language is a big way that people communicate from one to another. The first thing I think about and recognize when I first meet someone is their body language. I agree with the author that body language greatly varies from culture to culture but I think that body language can even vary from family to family. People within the same culture can have different body language. I have had experiences as the one in the article with people that share the same culture and language as me. I can find it uncomfortable for someone to be doing something they think is normal like standing really closet to you when you speak. One big difference I have noticed in body languages is eye contact. I know many people who think it is rude to not make eye contact with you when you’re speaking but I also know people who think it’s normal to not be making eye contact to someone while they’re interacting.
Work Cited
Lynne. "Body Language." English Magazine. 2015. http://english-magazine.org/english-reading/english-language-articles/919-body-language
Miranda Martin
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
14 January 2016
The article I read was “The Silent Language of the Body” by Christa Dowling. Body language has always interested me, but even more so now that I am a Psychology major. It amazes me how people can detect true feelings through analyzing one’s body language, verses what they are actually saying. Dowling states that everyone has observed others nonverbal behavior in order to learn about and interact with those people more successfully than just having a conversation. People can read others actual emotions through their gestures, facial expressions and movements, which are all forms of body language. Personally, I see this all the time when having conversations with people. They will say that they are interested yet their posture disagrees, sending a negative vibe. Body language reveals deception and disloyalty in many cases, which is a valuable asset to be able to read and understand, says Dowling. In the article, she included an excerpt from a psychologist, Elaine D. Papas. Papas agrees with Dowling in the sense that involuntary body language is an affirmation of what a person is actually thinking. She writes, “Use of body language with verbal language use is the need to eliminate uncertainty and aid in comprehension.” One question that comes to mind for me is ‘why do people continue to lie and say the opposite of what they feel when they know that their body language may contradict the lie?’. More and more people are being able to identify body language and when it conflicts with words, so people are more prone to being caught in a lie, yet they still continue to lie in the presence of others. Another interesting point is that body language differs based off cultural norms. Sincerity in one country may equate to offensiveness in another, when it comes to body language, such as eye contact. Furthermore, body language is an increasingly popular subject today because people love being able to read messages sent by the body. Although it isn’t always the most accurate way to tell if someone is feeling differently than what they say they are feeling, it definitely helps to lead to the right direction of human expression and true feelings.
Works Cited
Dowling, Christa. "The Silent Language of the Body." The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 30 Apr. 2015. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Body language is also used as nonverbal communication. One of the first things people look at in a person is if they are making eye contact. Based on this student’s research, eye contact can show if a person is nervous, scared, sad, or dishonest. Same with when looking at hand motions. If I person is using their hands a lot, this could mean the person is open and trustworthy, whereas someone with their hands in their pockets the whole time could mean the person is dishonest or trying to hide something. This student portrayed what teachers may think of students, but I want to look at it in a way of theatre as well. Theatre is a major part of my past, and I remember that body language was very important, especially in an audition. Making eye contact, not fidgeting, and remaining calm will show that you are used to standing in front of a lot of people, and that you are confident in your performance. My question would be, is there any sort of role in life where body language isn’t important? No matter where you are in life, won’t everyone always notice your body language and judge you?
ReplyDeleteWork Cited
KÖPRÜLÜ, Özlem1, okoprulu10@hotmail.com. "Using Body Language To Make And Maintain A Solid First Impression And To Decode Students' Behaviours." Sakarya University Journal Of Education 4.2 (2014): 6-18. Education Source. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Alexandra Stavros
ReplyDeleteI read an article called " What is your body language saying?" This article went through popular habits and postures that occur in a professional environment. By explaining how each of them come off to others their audience is those that are in a professional environment needing to come across a certain way. The business world is very competitive these days so something as small as body language could be the deciding factor. The writer wanted to show the negative postures so that people are aware of what not to do and why. I can relate to this personally because from the first job I interviewed for my mom would stress to me how important body language was.
Smith, Sarah. "What Is Your Body Language Saying?" Real Simple. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Patrick Curtis
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhand
ENC 1102
13 January 2016
My article is called “Doctors’ body language may convey racial bias, study says” written by Marvin Harris who is an author for the Hawaii News Now website. This articles argument is “Racial bias conveyed through a doctor's body language could make terminally ill blacks more likely to request extraordinary life-sustaining measures than whites, according to a study” (Harris). This was discovered from very realistic simulations where actors represented dying black and white patients and even family members with 33 actual doctors. According to Dr. Amber Barnato of the University of Pittsburgh’s School of Medicine, "Although we found that physicians said the same things to their black and white patients, communication is not just the spoken word”. He then goes on to talk about how that nonverbal communication could be the explanation for why black patients think there is discrimination in health care. An example of this poor nonverbal communication are when physicians stand near the door and hold binders in front of themselves and this creates the impression of a disengaged or defensive physician.
I found this to be particular interesting because I guess it makes sense that the way the doctor holds himself and the way he acts can have an effect on how the patient feels and therefore the decisions he or she may make in response. For example if the physician were to be depressed for some reason and is diagnosing a patient, personally I would freak out and think that I am dying or am really sick and blow the whole thing out of proportion. But to take this whole this whole scene to a racial level I find to be a bit ridiculous, but there is plenty of evidence according to this article which I guess proves it.
Works Cited:
"Doctors' Body Language May Convey Racial Bias, Study Says." - Hawaii News Now. N.p., 13 Jan. 2016. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
I chose an article "Understanding Body Language" by Kendra Cherry. In the article she explains how important body language is in our daily communication. Her main focus in the article is the interpretation of different uses of body language. She goes through the different body parts explaining what some expressions of those parts mean. She also goes through the importance of posture and how we hold ourselves carries a lot of meaning. Also the most interesting thing to me was she went over how there are different levels of personal space and how cultures vary with it as well. I thought it was interesting because I had a personal experience with this. One day I was ordering a sandwich at a restaurant and a latin couple behind me were right on my back a few inches away from me looking over my shoulder and trying to look at the food which obviously made me very uncomfortable. In the article she explains how people from Latin countries tend to feel more comfortable standing closer to one another as they interact, while those from North America need more personal distance. I think this article did a really good job on explaining the different body languages and how to interpret them from different body parts. I also think they targeted the general public in this article because it was more of a general informatory article.
ReplyDeleteWorks Cited
Cherry, Kendra. Understanding Body Language. About: Psychology. N.p,
2015. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
Jadia Bashir
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
The article I chose was published by Time Magazine, titled "How You Could Botch a Job Interview Without Saying a Word." The main focus of this article is the body language job-seekers utilize during their interviews and how it minimizes their chances of getting the job. The article took a poll from over 2,100 employers who decided that the main issue with body language during interviews is lack of eye contact. A career advisor from CareerBuilder's suggests that lack of eye contact "could mean you have something to hide." Personally, I find it hard to believe that someone could lose their chances at scoring the job of their dreams just because they decide to gaze away from the employer from time to time. Yet every time I go to a job interview I do my best to display a confident and enthused body image. Many of us forget the severity of body language in our everyday communications. The title of the article is absolutely correct in its assertion that your words are completely separate from the way your body language appeal influences your future employer. Another point discussed in this article is that a lack of smiling could also turn an employer away, suggesting a shortage of enthusiasm. While this is a valid point, I don't believe that we should be so quick to jump to conclusions based solely on body language. There is a chance that an interviewee had a rough couple of days. He may have lost one of his close family members, or become diagnosed with a severe disease. The truth is that we never know the real story until someone tells us, so although the general principles of body language are accurate, we must dive deeper if we want to truly know someone.
Work Cited:
"How You Could Botch a Job Interview Without Saying a Word." Time. Time, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Stephanie Spratte
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
14 January 2016
In the article “7 Surprising Truths About Body Language” on Forbes.com, it goes over what people may think about body language and what it actually portrays. I believe it is written towards anyone who may have questions or concerns in regard to body language and also those who frequent Forbes.com. The author, Nick Morgan, accomplishes reviewing what is commonly misconstrued. Morgan mentions how each gesture is ambiguous. He uses the example of how if someone crosses their arms, they could be either annoyed or just cold. Honestly, I'm always cold so I cross my arms all the time and I'm rarely annoyed. Like if I were annoyed, you would be able to see it in my face, not my arms. Morgan also covers that in his article, facial expressions. He explains how, as adults, we are able to mask our emotions but Morgan it says how you can read micro-expressions with some training. It’s like what they do in the show “Lie to Me” where they look to see if someone raises an eyebrow or takes a deep breath or looks away briefly after being asked a question. But, it is always easier to read peoples body language that we know, as it is also stated in one of the seven truths in this article. Like, I can tell when my best friend is upset or if something is bothering my mom. I've gotten so use to how they act when they’re happy, that when they're upset it’s pretty obvious. I love learning the different ways that body language effect and it is so cool to see other people’s opinions on the subject.
Morgan, Nick. "7 Surprising Truths about Body Language." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 13 Jan. 2016.
Malikh Shrouder
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhand
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
This article “Body Speaks: Body language around the world” spoke about the importance understanding body language. One thing the author emphasized was the importance of understanding acceptable and unacceptable body languages from around the world. This article was of benefit to people who weren’t educated on how impactful body language really is. The author goes about showing this by giving different examples. For example, a thumbs up might be encouraging in America but can be seen as an insult in another country. The author accomplished his goals of educating people the importance of body language because after reading this article one understands clearly that body language is very important. One question I raise to the author about his article is why he feels so passionate about educating others on the importance of understanding body language.
In today’s world body language is very important to me. One reason for this is because I work with young children. This job requires you to know what’s happening at all times when your kids aren’t feeling good and when someone is acting strange around them. At work I am constantly looking for signs in kid’s body language that they are being bullied. If I notice they go from happy and social and all of a sudden they start being quieter and smile less I know something is wrong. Also, his job includes teaching them acceptable body language. Reading this article makes me realize that all the stuff I am teaching them is really important and can benefit tem always. Like the article said it is very important to correctly understand body language. For example, if I’m at a theme park and I see someone who is nervous and pacing and has a back pack and puts it down and walks away and I can call the police. If I misinterpret their body language ad call and the person is nervous about going on a ride I could embarrass them, embarrass myself and also get in some time of trouble. If I had properly analyzed their body language that whole situation could’ve been avoided. With all this being said correctly analyzing body language is a very important skill.
Works cited
Rugsaken, Kris. "Body Speaks: Body Language around the World." 2006. Web. 14 Jan. 2016. .
Stephen Tassinaro
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC1102
14 January 2016
I chose an article titled "Stanford scientists identify body language tied to creativity, learning" by Bjorn Carey. This article stuck out to me because it instantly tied into my own behavior in my calculus class this morning. I entered class rather tired and not yet fully awake and found myself slouched in my chair and not exactly taking in much information from my professor. I found my self looking aimlessly around the classroom trying to focus. I was not able to focus until I finally sat myself up straight, straightened my shoulders and was able to then wake up and learn from todays lecture. Coincidentally this coincides directly with the article I found relating to body language. The research study performed by Jeremy Baileson and Andrea Stevenson Won showed that both the student and instructor's body language played a significant role in how much the student gained from the lecture. It was found that large amounts of upper-body movement in students and teachers could predict poor test scores. Similarly this morning I was showing significant amounts of upper-body movement when I couldn't focus on my instructor's lesson. This article along with my personal life experience has thoroughly convinced me that one's body language can accurately predict test scores and simple actions such as sitting up straight and keeping one's chin up can improve test scores!
Carey, Bjorn. "Stanford Scientists Identify Body Language Tied to Creativity, Learning." Stanford University. 24 July 2014. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Samantha DeBell
ReplyDeleteLonghany
ENC 1102
January 14 2016
The art of body language isn’t something that’s taught, but ingrained in our natural born instincts. Fortunately, doctors can use this to their benefit during patient consultation. According to an article titled “The Concept of Body Language In The Medical Consultation” written by Isabella Lindsley, Sophie Woodhead, Claranne Micallef, and Mark Agius, the body language conveyed by the doctor during consultation can improve or diminish the patient’s trust in the doctor’s “empathy and understanding” of their situation. If this is true, then the patient’s body language must also have some kind of effect on the doctor. For example, it’ known that when lying, people tend to resort to certain gestures to “play it cool”. A doctor can identify these gestures from the patient to aid in his/her evaluation of the symptoms reported by the patient. For an anecdotal example, I had a minor knee surgery a couple years back and upon waking up from the surgery, my doctor had to break it to me that I actually tore my ACL and needed a major reconstruction surgery. His body language during this conversation showed me that he was personally disheartened by the situation, as he knew that I played competitive soccer and was anticipating a quick recovery. His use of body language to show remorse and understanding helped me, as a patient, to trust him and have faith in his work. But knowing what I know now, after reading up on the Cambridge study, was he using his body language to show understanding just so I wouldn’t be angry that his radiologist read my MRI wrong? Do people use body language to avoid confrontation? To what extent can body language interpretation be beneficial?
Works Cited
Lindsley, Isabella, et al. "The Concept Of Body Language In The Medical Consultation." Psychiatria Danubina 27.Suppl 1 (2015): 41-47. PsycINFO. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Samara Halperin
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
In Christine M. Tipper’s article on body language, she learns that "This MRI study investigated neural systems that interpret body language—the meaningful emotive expressions conveyed by body movement.” When reading the article, I thought about “What sources are outsiders using when they are judging the body language of others?” I also thought about “Do all Americans think about how their body language appears to others when acting a certain way in public, or do they just do whatever comes to their mind first?” 18-64-year-olds where observed in this study, which I also agree is the age group the study is meant for so people can see how others in their age range are observed and judged for their body language. There is such a wide variety of age ranges observed to compare the results of the different ages.
To me, body language is a way a person displays themselves. It changes depending on your mood, personality, or age. Body language has some similarities for many people, but many people might have a different resting position that is more comfortable to them, for example. Tipper conducted the study by giving MRIs to the participants and to see "whether the meaning of an affectively laden performance was decoded in localized brain substrates as a distinct property of action separable from other superficial features, such as choreography, kinematics, performer, and low-level visual stimuli.” The MRIs were given after having the participants watch a video of performers or had them dance themselves. I think that the article accomplishes showing that body language is affected by your actions. Watching someone perform or performing yourself can get you in an upbeat mood which would show in your body language. Tipper accomplished her goals in writing her article on her experiment because she gave a thorough explanation on how the body language is affected by watching the performers or performing. The MRIs were a scientific proof of the affect on the brain which has an affect on the way a person upholds themselves. Personally, the article makes a lot of sense because I really enjoy watching performers and I think that my whole body seems happy when I am happy or excited about something.
Work Cited
Tipper, Christine M., Giulia Signorini, and Scott T. Grafton. "Body Language In The Brain: Constructing Meaning From Expressive Movement." Frontiers In Human Neuroscience 9.(2015): PsycINFO. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Nick Cassara
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
The article I read, "Understanding Non-Verbal Communication", discusses the different examples of body language that the average person displays in various situations. The article lists very common gestures that people use to show how they really feel in a certain situation even if they say otherwise. The author focuses primarily on real world instances where body language plays a huge role, such as when someone is being interviewed for a job. They list examples of positive and negative body language and how an employer or interviewer might perceive these actions, for example, how maintaining eye contact and smiling at someone can display confidence, where as, crossing your arms, can be perceived as closed off and uninviting. The author also states that while there are very common examples of body language that are used by most people, that not everybody is the same, which can lead to a misinterpretation of how someone actually feels.
I found this article very useful. The author provided lots of insight into the world of body language and how to interpret people's actions. I found this helpful as when I decide to apply for a job or go to an interview, I will know how to act in order to give a strong first impression.
"Body Language: Understanding Non-Verbal Communication." Body Language. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
Julie Phan
ReplyDeleteProfessor Joseph Longhany
ENC 1102
14 January 2016
The article I picked out for this assignment is called “12 Body Language Tips for Career Success.” This article basically gives suggestions on how to increase your chances of success for your current career then goes into detail with examples and statistics to prove the original statement. It also states that with body language comes respect as well. “It can help you develop positive business relationships, influence and motivate the people who report to you, improve productivity, bond with members of your team, and present your ideas with more impact.” As a young adult working in the corporate industry, I find this article to be mostly true. For example, there is a tip on smiling along with a statistic from Duke that proves that smiling during a conversation will help the recipient (of the conversation) remember your face and name. Although this article gives tips that are more masculine based, I still find the article to be very helpful that will help guide and uplift me to become more successful within my career field. I also like this article because it can be applied to everyday life and other career fields as well aside from just a corporate perspective.
Forbes. Forbes Magazine, n.d. Web. 14 Jan. 2016.
DeleteCarlos G. Morales
ReplyDeleteProfessor Longhany
ENC 1102
In the article "The Ultimate Guide to Body Language", the author speaks about how to control the body’s unconscious cues. The author speaks of how different parts of the body display how you feel. For example, the author used the way a person’s hair is kept as a way of seeing how the person is, if their hair is messy, then the person might be stressed and have forgotten to brush their hair, but if the person’s hair is well groomed, then that person is more relaxed and probably handles time better. I found it interesting on what our body language can say about ourselves and our habits, which is something my mother emphasized heavily when growing up. The way people walk and talk tells others how much they care and if they are going to be efficient works or not. The author states in the article, “Your body’s actions, consciously and unconsciously, reflect your mental state.” I agree with the author in the sense that what we do and how we conduct ourselves gives an insight to how we are in our minds. By controlling those unconscious cues our body makes, we can change people’s perspectives of ourselves.
Krauss, Susan.“The Ultimate Guide to Body Language.” Psychology Today. 30 June 2012. .