What Your Body Language Says About You

By Melissa Aguilera on April 22, 2016

Amidst the pre-finals week mobs, I began to ponder upon the vast knowledge of my peers. Everyone fluent in their specific fields.  What goes on in the minds of people you’re simply walking by? What could be understood through a passing exchange with no words?

Surely some of these people among us are psychology majors, capable of deciphering what your body language says about you. How would you feel if someone knew how you really felt without you saying anything at all? Of course, there are certain forms of body language that blatantly reveal feelings, like the eye roll. But, what of those that we are barely conscious of? Could we be communicating aspects of ourselves without even trying?

Posture

Many of us believe that our daily activities affect our posture, and for the most part, that’s true. However, one’s posture can actually reveal a lot about personality.

Biologically, our bodies respond to positive and negative stress. In preparation for something, one may roll back their shoulders and stick out their chest. This is a natural response to a positive stress situation.Whenever one is placed under negative stress; fear, concern, guilt, the withdrawal response is triggered and the back is flattened.

Image via lifehacker.com

Those who often sit up straight and have their shoulders rolled back are mostly extroverted, exuding a welcoming physical presence. Those who often have a slight curve in the upper spine with the shoulders rolled forward are usually introverted, avoiding being the center of attention.

Oculesics

Oculesics is the study of eve movement, eye behavior, or nonverbal communication. The exact definition varies based on context, medicine or social science. The eyes are capable of communicating one’s environment, physical characteristics, and behavior. There are four subcategories within Oculesics; eye contact, eye movement, pupil dilation, and gaze direction.

Image via funnyimagess.com

Eye contact is widely thought to have a huge influence on social behavior, consciously or unconsciously. It’s all about the duration and avoidance. Avoidance of eye contact may indicate disinterest, while maintaining eye contact indicates the contrary. Sustained eye contact may be held amongs close friends, family, or people who are simply very interested in each other. A lack of eye contact may reveal low self confidence.

Haptics 

Haptics is the study of how we utilize touch to communicate with others. Touch is the first sense we experience. Many information we receive is received through the skin, the largest organ, filled with countless sensory nerves.

Touch is closely related to space. Touching is sort of a form of initiation within relationships. When one touches another, it communicates that that person is now allowed within the communicator’s intimate space. Touch is a way to communicate emotion in physical form. Touching is a basic human desire and when we touch and are touched we feel happy.

Hugging someone for twenty seconds releases “happy signals” in your brain. The strange human behavior of kissing can reveal a lot about the person and may incline you to date he/she, or not. Kissing reveals scent and taste, things we are biologically attracted to. You can tell a lot about a relationship based on the amount of touching that takes place, whether the relation be intimate or simply friendly, touching indicates a close bond.

Image via gorgonia.it

Nobody knows you better than yourself, but just know, someone may know a thing or two about you that you aren’t verbally communicating. Sounds creepy but it’s just true, the body doesn’t lie!

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