Body Language_ How to read others' thoughts by their gestures Part 7

The following three figures show a party scene that demonstrates typical defence, aggression and courts.h.i.+p gesture cl.u.s.ters.

Figure 180 The three people all have their arms folded, two have their legs crossed (defensive) and all have their bodies oriented away from each other, all indicating that they have just met for the first time. The man on the right is very interested in the woman as he has turned his right foot around to point at her and he is giving her a sideways glance, combined with raised eyebrows (interest) and a smile; he is leaning towards her with the upper part of his body. The three people all have their arms folded, two have their legs crossed (defensive) and all have their bodies oriented away from each other, all indicating that they have just met for the first time. The man on the right is very interested in the woman as he has turned his right foot around to point at her and he is giving her a sideways glance, combined with raised eyebrows (interest) and a smile; he is leaning towards her with the upper part of his body.

[image]

Figure 181The non-verbal att.i.tudes have changed. The woman has uncrossed her legs and is standing in a neutral position, while the man on the left of the sequence has uncrossed his legs and is pointing one foot at her (interest). He is using the thumbs-in-belt gesture which is intended either for the other man, in which case the att.i.tude is one of aggression, or for the benefit of the woman, making it a s.e.xual signal. He is also standing straighter to make himself appear bigger. The man on the right seems to have become intimidated by the other man, as seen by his more erect stance, and he is giving the man on the left a sideways glance combined with eyebrows down (disapproval) and his smile has gone.

[image]

[image]

Figure 182The att.i.tudes and emotions of those people are now clearly shown by their gestures. The man on the left has kept his thumbs-in-belt, foot-forward position and has turned his body slightly towards the woman, making it a complete courts.h.i.+p display. His thumbs are also gripping his belt much tighter to make the gesture more noticeable and his body has become even more erect. The woman is responding to this courts.h.i.+p display with her own, showing that she is interested in being involved with the man. She has uncrossed her arms, turned her body toward him and is pointing one foot at him. Her courts.h.i.+p gestures include hair touching, exposed wrists, chest forward with exposed cleavage and positive facial expression, and she is blowing her cigarette smoke upwards (confidence). The man on the right appears unhappy about being excluded and is using the hands-on-hips gesture (aggressive readiness) to show his displeasure.

In summary, the man on the left has won the woman's attentions and the other man should look elsewhere for a partner.

References Ardrey, R., The Territorial Imperative The Territorial Imperative, Collins, London, 1967 Argyle, M., The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour The Psychology of Interpersonal Behaviour, Penguin Books, 1967 Argyle, M., Bodily Communication Bodily Communication, Methuen, London, 1975 Argyle, M., s.h.i.+lls with People: A Guide for Managers s.h.i.+lls with People: A Guide for Managers, Hutchinson, London, 1973 Argyle, M., Training Managers Training Managers, The Acton Society Trust, London, 1962 Argyle, M., Social Interaction Social Interaction, Methuen, London, 1968 Bacon, A.M., A Manual of Gestures A Manual of Gestures, Griggs, Chicago, 1875 Benthall, J. and Polhemus, T., The Body as a Medium of Expression The Body as a Medium of Expression, Allen Lane, London, 1975 Berne, E., Games People Play Games People Play, Grove Press, New York, 1964 Birdwhistell, R.L., Introduction to Kinesics Introduction to Kinesics, University of Louisville Press, Louisville, Kentucky, 1952 Birdwhistell, R.L., Kinesies and Context Kinesies and Context, Allen Lane, London, 1971 Blacking, J., Anthropology of the Body Anthropology of the Body, Academic Press, London, New York, 1977 Bryan, W.J., The Psychology of Jury Selection The Psychology of Jury Selection, Vantage Press, New York, 1971 Brun, T., The International Dictionary of Sign Language The International Dictionary of Sign Language, Wolfe Publis.h.i.+ng, London, 1969 Calero, H., Winning the Negotiation Winning the Negotiation, Hawthorn Books, New York, 1979 Carnegie, D., How to Win Friends and Influence People How to Win Friends and Influence People, Angus and Robertson, Sydney, 1965 Collett, P., Social Rules and Social Behaviour Social Rules and Social Behaviour, Blackwell, Oxford, 1977 Critchley, M., The Language of Gesture The Language of Gesture, Arnold, London, 1939 Critchley, M., Silent Language Silent Language, b.u.t.terworth, London, 1975 Cundiff, M., Kinesics Kinesics, Parker Publis.h.i.+ng, New York, 1972 Dale-Guthrie, R., Body Hot-Spots Body Hot-Spots, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1976 Darwin, C., The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals The Expression of Emotion in Man and Animals, Appleton-Century-Crofts, New York, 1872 Davitz, J.R., The Communication of Emotional Meaning The Communication of Emotional Meaning, McGraw-Hill, New York, 1964 Duncan, S., and Fiske, D.W., Face-to-Face Interaction Face-to-Face Interaction, Erlbaum, Hillsdale, New Jersey, 1977 Dunkell, S., Sleep Positions Sleep Positions, Heinemann, London,1977 Effron, D., Gesture, Race and Culture Gesture, Race and Culture, Mouton, The Hague, 1972 Eibl-Eibesfeldt, L, Ethology: The Biology of Behaviour Ethology: The Biology of Behaviour, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1970 Eibl-Eibesfeldt, L, Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behaviour Patterns Love and Hate: The Natural History of Behaviour Patterns, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1971 Ekman, P., Darwin and Facial Expression Darwin and Facial Expression, Academic Press, New York, 1973 Ekman, P., Friesen, W. and Ellsworth, P., Emotion in the Human Face Emotion in the Human Face, Pergamon Press, New York, 1972 Ekman, P., and Friesen, W., Unmasking the Face Unmasking the Face, Prentice-Hall, London, 1975 Fast, J., Body Language Body Language, Pan Books, London and Sydney, 1970 Fast, J. and B., Reading between the Lines Reading between the Lines, Viking, New York, 1979 Feldman, S., Mannerisms of Speech and Gesture in Everyday Life Mannerisms of Speech and Gesture in Everyday Life, International University Press, 1959 Gayle, W., Power Selling Power Selling, Prentice-Hall, New York, 1959 Goffman, E., Interaction Ritual Interaction Ritual, Allen Lane, London, 1972 Goffman, E., The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life, Edinburgh University Press, Edinburgh, 1956 Goffman, E., Behaviour in Public Places Behaviour in Public Places, Free Press, Illinois, 1963 Gordon, R.L., Interviewing Strategy, Techniques and Tactics Interviewing Strategy, Techniques and Tactics, Dorsey, Homewood, Illinois, 1976 Hall, E.T., Silent Language Silent Language, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1959 Hall, E.T., The Hidden Dimension The Hidden Dimension, Doubleday & Co., New York, 1966 Harper, R.G., Non-Verbal Communication; the State of the Art Non-Verbal Communication; the State of the Art, Wiley, New York, 1978 Henley, N.M., Body Politics: Power, s.e.x and Non-Verbal Communication Body Politics: Power, s.e.x and Non-Verbal Communication, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1977 Hess, E., The Tell-Tale Eye The Tell-Tale Eye, Van Nostrand Reinhold, New York, 1975 Hind, R., Non-Verbal Communication Non-Verbal Communication, Cambridge University Press, London, 1972 h.o.r.e, T. Non-Verbal Behaviour Non-Verbal Behaviour, Australian Council for Educational Research, 1976 James, W., Principles of Psychology Principles of Psychology, Holt, Rinehart, New York, 1892 Jung, C., Man and his Symbols Man and his Symbols, Aldus, London, 1964 Kahn, R.I., and Cannell, C.F., The Dynamics of Interviewing The Dynamics of Interviewing, Wiley, New York, 1957 Kendon, A., Organisation of Behaviour in Face-to-Face Interaction Organisation of Behaviour in Face-to-Face Interaction, Mouton, The Hague, 1975 Key, M.R., Non-Verbal Communication: a Research Guide and Bibliography Non-Verbal Communication: a Research Guide and Bibliography, Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1977 Key, M.R., Paralinguistics and Kinesics; Nonverbal Communication Paralinguistics and Kinesics; Nonverbal Communication, Scarecrow Press, Metuchen, New Jersey, 1975 Knapp, M., Non-Verbal Communication in Human Interaction (2nd edition) Non-Verbal Communication in Human Interaction (2nd edition), Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1978 Korda, M., Power! How To Get It, How To Use It Power! How To Get It, How To Use It, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1975 Korda, M., Power in the Office Power in the Office, Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1976 Korman, B., Hands: The Power of Awareness Hands: The Power of Awareness, Sunridge Press, New York, 1978 Lamb, W., Posture and Gesture Posture and Gesture, Duckworth, London, 1965 Lamb, W., Body Code Body Code, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1979 Lewis, D., The Secret Language of Your Child The Secret Language of Your Child, Souvenir Press, London, 1978 Liggett, J., The Human Face The Human Face, Constable, London, 1974 Lorenz, K., On Aggression On Aggression, Methuen, London, 1967 Lorenz, K., King Solomon's Ring King Solomon's Ring, London Reprint Society, 1953 McCroskey, Larson and Knapp, An Introduction to Interpersonal Behaviour An Introduction to Interpersonal Behaviour, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1971 MacHovec, F.J., Body Talk Body Talk, Peter Pauper Press, New York, 1975 Mallery, G., The Gesture Speech of Man The Gesture Speech of Man, Salem, 1881 Masters; W.H. and Johnson, V.E., Human s.e.xual Response Human s.e.xual Response, Little, Brown, Boston, 1966 Mehrabian, A., Tactics in Social Influence Tactics in Social Influence, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969 Mehrabian, A., Silent Messages Silent Messages, Wadsworth, Belmont, California, 1971 Mitch.e.l.l, M.E., How to Read the Language of the Face How to Read the Language of the Face, Macmillan, New York, 1968 Morris, D., The Naked Ape The Naked Ape, Cape, London, 1967 Morris, D., The Human Zoo The Human Zoo, Cape, London, 1969 Morris, D., Intimate Behaviour Intimate Behaviour, Cape, London, 1971 Morris, D., Manwatching Manwatching, Cape, London, 1977 Morris, D., with Collett, Marsh and O'Shaughnessy, Gestures, their Origins and Distribution Gestures, their Origins and Distribution, Cape, London, 1979 Nierenberg, G., The Art of Negotiating The Art of Negotiating, Hawthorn Books, New York, 1968 Nierenberg, G., and Calero, H., How to Read a Person like a Book How to Read a Person like a Book, Hawthorn Books, New York, 1971 Pease, A.V., The Hot b.u.t.ton Selling System The Hot b.u.t.ton Selling System, Elvic & Co, Sydney, 1976 Pliner, O., Kramer, L., Alloway, T., Non-Verbal Communication Non-Verbal Communication, Plenum Press, New York, 1973 Reik, T., Listening with the Third Ear Listening with the Third Ear, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, New York, 1948 Saitz, R.L. and Cervenka, E.C., Handbook of Gestures Handbook of Gestures: Columbia and the United States, Mouton, The Hague, 1972 Sathre, F., Olson, R., and Whitney, C., Let's Talk Let's Talk, Scott Foresman, Glenview, Illinois, 1973 Scheflen, A.E., Body Language and the Social Order Body Language and the Social Order, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1972 Scheflen, A.E., Human Territories Human Territories, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1976 Schutz, W.C., A Three-Dimensional Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour A Three-Dimensional Theory of Interpersonal Behaviour, Holt, Rinehart and Winston, New York, 1958 Siddons, H., Practical Ill.u.s.tration of Rhetorical Gestures Practical Ill.u.s.tration of Rhetorical Gestures, London, 1822 Sommer, R., Personal s.p.a.ce: The Behavioural Basis of Design Personal s.p.a.ce: The Behavioural Basis of Design, Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1969 Szasz, S., Body Language of Children Body Language of Children, Norton, New York, 1978 Whiteside, R.L., Face Language Face Language, Pocket Books, New York, 1975 Whitney, Hubin and Murphy, The New Psychology of Persuasion and Motivation in Selling The New Psychology of Persuasion and Motivation in Selling, Prentice-Hall, New Jersey, 1978 Wolfe, C., A Psychology of Gesture A Psychology of Gesture, Methuen, London, 1948 Von Cranach, M., Social Communication and Movement: Studies of Interaction end Expression in Man and Chimpanzee Social Communication and Movement: Studies of Interaction end Expression in Man and Chimpanzee, Academic Press, London, 1973