Body language is the communication of personal feeling, emotions, attitude and thoughts through body movements. It is the way people unconsciously show their private thoughts and emotions through body movements.
There are a lot of misconceptions about nonverbal communication. For example, there are a number of books that suggest that you can “read people like a book.” It’s simply not true. You can, however, become better at reading nonverbally through practice.
Here is the collection of interesting psychological facts about body language.
- The meaning of a particular nonverbal cue, such as a certain gesture or eye movement, can depend on the context, the individual, and the relationship between the “sender” of the cue and the recipient. The exception are certain gestures, known as “emblems” – gestures that take the place of the spoken word, such as the “ok” symbol made with thumb and forefinger – the meaning of these emblems is clear!
- There is no such factor as a neutral face, because a neutral face is generally taken negatively.
- There are six universal facial expressions: anger, disgust, sadness, fear, surprise and happiness. These basic facial expressions are displayed similarly across cultures. We can recognize a happy face in just about anyone in the world.
- People stressed are probably to dramatically increase their blinking rate.
- An unexpected crossing of arms throughout a conversation usually indicates discomfort.
- Invading personal space causes arousal. We carry around with us a “bubble” of personal space. If someone enters our personal space bubble, it causes arousal, but the meaning of that arousal depends on who is invading our space and the context.