Basics on study of body language

1. Kinesics
Prachi Bhavesh Sanghvi
M.Sc Clinical Psychology
St. Agnes Centre For Post-graduate Studies And
Research

2. Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion
communication, that is, nonverbal behavior related
to movement of any part of the body or the body
as a whole.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

3. When the client talks and you are confused
regarding what is being narrated, pay attention to
the body language of the client. Your reading the
body language of the client will help you discern
what the truth is. When the words and body
language miss match, then rely on body language,
for body never lies.
-Carl Rogers
Only 7% of the message is conveyed through words,
38% is revealed through paralinguistic behaviour
like vocal quality and 55% comes through the body.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

4. Criteria for interpretation
1. “Cluster gestures”
Anger:
o Blinks fast and frequently
o Clenched fists
o Crossed arms over the chest
o Tapping a chair arm with finger or the floor with
a foot
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

5. Anxiety:
oTwisting ring around on a finger, removing or
replacing it
oBiting fingernails
oClearing the throat
oLip chewing
oTapping a chair arm with finger or the floor with a
foot
oAdjusting tie
oHolding an arm behind the back and clenching
the hand tightly while the other hand grips the
wrist
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

6. Impatience:
oDrumming the fingers
oTapping feet on the ground
oWhile sitting with crossed legs, the person twitches
the suspended foot up and down.
oGathering his belongings, looking at the watch and
orienting to the exit
Interest:
oMaintains eye contact
oInclines his head forward
oHead nodding
oSmiling
oTilting his head to one side
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

7. Lying:
oHesitation and long pause before answering
oHigh pitch, fast pace and stuttering voice
oSuppressing facial expressions and maintaining a
straight face
oAvoids eye contact
oRapid blinking
oConstant swallowing and clearing the throat
oPlacing objects like glass of water or books as a barrier
oTapping hands or feet
oEye-shuttling to find an escape
oRubbing the nose Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

8. 2. “Congruence between verbal and body language”
3. “Context”
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

9. 4. “Culture”
•Certain gestures are purely cultural. They may mean
one thing in one culture and another thing in
another culture.
•Difference in gestures mainly exists relating to
territorial space, eye contact, touch frequency and
insult gestures.
oE.g., Greeting can include handshake, embrace,
kiss, bowing and joining hands. Handshake, kissing
and embrace are impolite in Japan.
o‘OK’ in West, ‘money’ in Japan, insult to Turks and
Brazilians.
oThumbs-up: ok, insult and good.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

10. SPECIFIC GESTURES
Unintentional gestures:
Defensive posture (Folded arms, lips pressed
together and crossed legs) might arise
automatically when you do not like the
speech of someone talking too much.
Micro gestures:
Flashes of emotions-movements around the mouth,
tension at the eye and flaring of the nose. They can occur
automatically.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

11. Displacement gestures:
oDrumming fingers, fiddling with objects, stroking
the chin, running fingers through hair, twisting the
ring on the finger.
oWhen one feels conflicting emotions, he may
engage in gestures which have no relation to his
immediate goals.
oThey are mostly self-directed and serve to release
excess energy and gain a feeling of comfort for a
short while. By these, one burns some pent up
energy or refocus it.
oAlso called ‘adaptors’ as they help us to adapt to
our internal tension.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

12. Mirroring:
oYou reflect certain behaviour patterns of your clients to
make them feel that they are with someone who
understands them and who is like them.
oIf you mirror the behaviour of a person, it communicates
that you are in agreement with that person.
oParents’ mirroring responses influence the development
and maintenance of self-esteem and self-assertiveness.
Parents’ response will mirror back to the child a sense of
worth which creates self-respect.
oFor a child to have healthy self-esteem it is essential that
he feels loved and accepted. Mirroring helps here. If a child
does not feel so then he might develop the self that is
fabricated in order to get the approval of others.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

13. Kinesics therapy
•It attempts to modify observable, maladaptive
behaviour patterns by substituting new response or
a set of responses to a given stimulus in the place
of old responses.
•Through behavioural techniques, it reinforces
desired behaviors and eliminates undesired
behaviors.
Body awareness
Breathing, voice quality, position of the body parts
helps them to own their feelings and internal
states.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

14. Changing fixed muscular patterns
•If a person goes cringing, bent down and walking slow, ask
him to stand straight, hold his head high with chin slightly
lifted up and walk fast. These changed patterns alter the
way he feels in himself and give corresponding impression
to others.
•If you assume an erect posture with your head held high
and your chest protruding, then you automatically feel self-
confident.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

15. Appropriate eye-contact
•With your eyes you can command attention, display
interest, show disapproval, create intimate feelings and
demonstrate dominance.
•If you maintain eye-contact, you hold the control of
the situation. It improves social interaction.
•Dilate pupils-attractive or interesting
•Constricted pupils-hostility
•Looking away while listening will mean that you are
not completely satisfied with what the speaker says and
so you are having certain reservations; it could also
mean that you want to conceal your real feelings from
the speaker, especially if the speaker is critical and
evaluative.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

16. Head behaviours
•Slow nodding shows that you are validating the
comments of the other person and encouraging him to
continue.
•Rapid nodding shows that you are impatient, eager to
add something and you want to take over the role of
speaker.
•When you continue nodding, you indicate that you do
not intend to take over the speaker’s role. It
encourages the speaker to say more. If you stop
nodding, then the speaker thinks that you are not
interested and may wind up immediately.
•Research has confirmed that nodding while someone
speaks prompts the speaker to generate 3 or 4 times
more information than when there is no nodding.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

17. Walking:
Way of walking betrays your mental state. When
you are sad, everything slows down and your
walking too. When you feel depressed, you can
increase the tempo of your walk and see the
difference in your feeling with erect body which is
an impression of dynamism and confidence.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

18. Smiling
•when we smile or laugh, the brain releases endorphins
which are natural pain killers and enhances ‘feeling good.’
•They have similar a chemical composition to morphine
and heroin and have a tranquillizing effect on the body
and they help to build the immune system.
•One may turn to drugs and alcohol to achieve the same
feeling that endorphin-induced laughter produces. Alcohol
is known to loosen inhibitions and lets people laugh more,
which releases endorphins. One will take alcohol and
drugs to try to feel how happy people feel normally.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

19. Reference
D. John Anthony. Body never lies. 2011. Guru
Publications, Tamil Nadu.
Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology