Exploring the forces that shape the human psyche
To give you an idea about how body language plays a role in communication, I want to introduce you to Ahmed. Ahmed was a very jolly and a happy-go-lucky kind of person. You know the type- the one who’s always smiling and breaks out in a friendly, high-fived laughter at the pettiest joke. The one …
The leg and feet gestures can provide the most accurate clues to someone’s mental state. The more a body part is located away from the brain, the less aware we are of what it is doing and the less control we have over its unconscious movements. In fact, the leg and feet gestures can sometimes tell you what …
Whilst seated, a person doing the figure four leg lock gesture rests one leg horizontally over the knee of the other leg. The legs are spread out and the person leans back slightly. If you look at this gesture from the top, the legs appear to be making the shape of the number ‘4’ and hence …
Sitting and standing with legs crossed, like crossing the arms, indicates a fundamentally defensive attitude. While arm-crossing is a subconscious attempt by a person to protect his vital organs- the heart and the lungs, crossing the legs is an attempt to protect the genitals. Of course, crossing the legs seems like a silly and ineffective way to …
Read moreBody language: Sitting and standing with legs crossed
When it comes to attraction, males and females use different signals to display their attractive qualities. Female courtship signals primarily involve displaying beauty and submissiveness. On the other hand, male courtship signals involve a display of wealth, status, and dominance. One way in which men display dominance is by displaying their crotch. I know it sounds weird …
The hands on hips pose is one of the most common body language gestures that we encounter. I’m pretty sure that most people, at least intuitively, know what it means. Still, the certainty of conscious knowledge is better than intuition. The former makes it less likely for you to ignore a gesture the next time you …
Why do people engage in nail-biting? What does the nail-biting gesture show? Is it simply because they’ve grown too long? What’s the nail-cutter for then? While nail-biting may have several causes, this article will look at what causes nail-biting gesture in people from the perspective of body language. We’ll also look at some other similar behaviors that …
We’re used to seeing babies sucking their thumbs as it’s their typical behaviour but what makes adults do the same thing? What’s behind adult thumb sucking and why do they put things in their mouths? Laila, an accountant working in a sales company, was auditing accounts when suddenly she put a finger in her mouth, …
Read moreAdult thumb sucking and putting things in the mouth
I first came to know about the ‘three wise monkeys’ in some random book that I read when I was a kid. The first monkey is covering eyes, the second covers its ears while the third covers its mouth. The wisdom that these monkeys are supposed to convey is that you should ‘see no evil’, ‘hear no …
Positive evaluation gestures When we see or hear something positive, or at least perceive it to be as positive, we might do what are known as the positive evaluation gestures. I won’t be discussing the obvious positive evaluation gestures such as smiling, excessive eye contact, clapping, etc. but my focus will be on the lesser-known gestures that you’re likely …