Embarrassment is a powerful emotion. When we are in a social situation and feel ashamed, it’s not possible to control our reaction. After all, you can’t stop yourself from blushing, if that’s one of your responses to embarrassment.

In states of embarrassment people want to hide, become invisible, or, as the phrase goes, want to dig a hole and disappear in it. There is another phrase people use when talking about a moment of embarrassment: “I didn’t know where to look.”Continue Reading

Anxiousness is one of those emotional states we see in the face; but perhaps most of all we see it in the movements of the body.

(Note: there is purposely no audio with the above video)

When we become anxious we lose some control over our actions. Carrie’s hands are raised, partially coverng her face, as her fingers scratch nervously. Her gaze is unfocused and shifts direction from side to side and then upwards.

Feeling anxious or distressed is shown in the mouth – and here Carrie’s mouth is stretched and then becomes slack and turned down. She’s at a loss as to how to answer a difficult question, as she gives way to negative thoughts.

When someone is in the grips of anxiety they temporarily go into an emotional ‘bubble,’ losing awareness of the person they are having a discussion with.

Signs to note

  • partially covering her face with her hands
  • unfocused gaze
  • shifting direction of gaze from left to right, then up
  • scratching her hand
  • mouth stretched, then drooping down

By John Habershon

We often see more than one emotion on the face at the same time. Watch this video to see how disbelief or irritation can be expressed through facial expressions.

Beth is watching an action-packed trailer for some TV shows and she finds the voiceover unconvincing and the scenes coming at such as fast pace she can’t keep up.

Her lowered brow and narrow eyes show that she not only disbelieves what she is hearing – she finds it puzzling to the point of irritation.

She gently shakes her head in disbelief. Her mouth is pulled up towards her nose in irritation.

Signs to note

  • lowers her eyebrows
  • narrows her eyes
  • pulls up her mouth under her nose
  • a slow shake of the head

By John Habershon

Heather smiles gently as she watches the video about a celebration in Africa. To be fascinated by something means that it captures your imagination and you want to give it your full attention. Heather leans forward (always a sign of interest) towards the TV screen.

She stares intently at the screen, following the action with her eyes. Active thinking is a central part of fascination. We can see thinking going on in the way she strokes her lip with her little finger. We get the sense that she is ‘in the moment’, giving her complete attention to the screen.

In a split second when she’s intensely interested her eyes close a little and then widen. If you look carefully you will also see an intake of breath.

Signs to note

  • gaze follows the action on the screen
  • she leans forwards
  • strokes her lip with her finger
  • a widening smile with closed lips

To see stills on this emotion visit our website:

http://www.momentumresearch.co.uk/emotions-a-to-z.html

By Dr. John Habershon

Heather is not pleased with the TV ad she’s watching and we can tell this by the combination of two subtle signs. First, there is a slight lowering of her brow. We tend to associate this with being puzzled, but it’s also a general negative sign. When the brow is lowered the eyes become more narrow. When we narrow our eyes we are going into a defensive mode. The opposite of this would be when we are relaxed and the eyes open wide to the world around us.

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In the last blog we looked at more than one emotion on the face (Disbelief/Irritation). This week one overwhelming and strong emotion is showing through: discomfort.

Benjamin is watching a somewhat controversial TV ad and although he sits quite still we can see several signs which point to his discomfort.

He takes a deep breath and quickly shifts the direction of his gaze, attempting not to focus too sharply on what he’s been asked to watch. He breathes out and closes his eyes for a second (too long to be a blink) in an effort to shut out the scene on the TV.

When we look at something which we find disturbing (or even think of something we find uncomfortable) we often close our eyes, as if that will give us a moment of respite.

Benjamin continues watching, but with a blank stare, his mouth tightly closed.

Signs to note

  • an unfocused gaze
  • a deep intake of breath
  • he blinks with discomfort
  • closes his eyes
  • continues watching with a blank look

By John Habershon

Carrie is more than puzzled by the question she has just been asked; she is confused.

Her eyes give away her feelings of confusion in different ways.

Firstly, there is a lack of focus as she looks into the middle distance trying to find an answer.
Secondly, there are several changes in direction as she looks up and down, racking her brain for a response. This lack of focus and rapid change in the direction of the gaze is always a sign of mental struggle, discomfort or even distress.

She also wrinkles her nose and brow.

Carrie’s mouth shows her exasperation. She closes her mouth tightly, holds her breath and pushes her lips forward.

Signs to note

  • gazes into the middle distance
  • wrinkles her mouth and nose
  • rapid change of the direction of her gaze
  • narrows her eyes
  • blinks
  • closes her lips and pushes them forward

By John Habershon

We can see that Laura is not interested in the statement she is reading. Her gaze is unfocused, her eyes look blank. She’s zoning out.

But she is not just uninterested. She finds the idea on the page boring, which we see from her compressed lips and the downturned corners of her mouth.

Boredom is closely related to tedium, the repetition of something which holds little interest. We all want our minds to be stimulated. Sometimes things can be too predictable and we just want to move on to something else. She looks away, having had enough.

Signs to note

  • compressed mouth with downturned corners
  • blank eyes
  • blinking
  • unfocused gaze
  • looking away

By John Habershon

Awkwardness is about feeling a little unsure, suddenly feeling self-conscious. We can see the signs in the way Evan moves his body and avoids eye contact.

He is talking about something quite personal, which makes him feel rather uncomfortable.

There is a defensiveness about his posture, resting his chin on his fist, partially covering his mouth, looking away and then rubbing his eye nervously.Continue Reading

Guy is listening to an upsetting item on the radio, which is making him feel uncomfortable. He wants it to end, he’s impatient for it to end.

How do we recognise discomfort? When we feel emotionally discomforted it can be like a physical discomfort. Continue Reading

Often in life things don’t go the way we want them to, whether it’s people who don’t cooperate or just objects, like printers that don’t work just when we really need them to print off an urgent document. When these obstacles seem unreasonable, or illogical, after several tries to make it work . . . so frustrating! So how can we recognize frustration in another person?

Holly is talking about something she’s trying to do, but hasn’t succeeded with so far. We can see signs of pent up anger as she describes her frustrating experience. She shakes her head rapidly from side to side and her gaze shifts restlessly to her left, to John, and then away again. Her gaze at John is direct and her eyes widen to show her surprise.Continue Reading

How can we tell the difference between someone simply enjoying something, on the one hand, and getting excited by it, on the other?

The answer lies in the movement of the body.

 

The way Lisa smiles as she talks about this exciting topic, tells us that she is experiencing pleasure. But the way she can’t keep still shows her excitement.Continue Reading