Originally published October 31 2005
New research claims body language is the key form of expression
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
Hanneke Meeren of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Tilburg University in the Netherlands has led research that concludes body language weighs more than facial expression in human perception.
When you first meet someone, what do you find more revealing -- their body language or facial expression?
What about when that person's body language doesn't match the look on his or her face?
If you had to size that person up instantly, which would you believe more: his body language or facial expression?
That may be worth remembering when you're making a first impression.
If your face and body send mixed messages, your body language may be what counts most.
They were shown computerized images of people for a split second.
The people in those images had angry faces and cowering bodies, or vice versa.
That's enough time for a gut reaction but not in-depth thinking, write the researchers.
They included Hanneke Meeren of the Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory at Tilburg University in the Netherlands.
They were told to judge which emotion -- anger or fear -- was shown in each image, as quickly and as accurately as possible.
They pressed one of two buttons to cast their vote, with no time to brood before the images changed.
Participants were specifically told to judge facial expression when both face and body were shown.
Meanwhile, electrodes on participants' scalps tracked electrical activity in their brains.
Participants favored body language over facial expression when the two clashed.
For instance, if an image showed someone with a frightened face and angry stance, participants instantly called that person angry, not fearful.
"Observers judging a facial expression are strongly influenced by emotional body language," the researchers write.
"When face and body convey conflicting emotional information, judgment of facial expression is hampered and becomes biased toward the emotion expressed by the body," they continue.
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