Body Language: Definition, Examples, & Signs

Over time, I came to realize that this behavior also signified that I was shutting down and withdrawing in a conversation. Since I wanted to stay in conversation with others, I worked hard to deliberately stop crossing my arms, and I do think it has helped me stay more open to the feedback other people are giving me.
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This anecdote from my life represents just one example of the many ways that our body language can offer a window into our inner workings. Let’s learn together about body language, including plenty of examples of what different types of body language can signify. 
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Body language is sometimes referred to as kinesics, and it includes all the ways that we use our bodies (but not our voices) to communicate information (Phutela, 2015). Usually, the information we are conveying is related to our emotions, but it can also include more general cues about who we are. Broadly speaking, the categories of body language are the orientation of the body (such as toward the other person speaking), hand gestures, eye contact, facial expressions, and our posture (Phutela, 2015).

Body language can achieve at least four communicative goals (Phutela, 2015):

1)    Substituting for spoken language. Instead of using words to send a message, we can sometimes say everything we need to say simply through body language.

2)    Adding meaning to what you’ve said. Sometimes, body language can add more layers of meaning to what is being said out loud. For example, I might tell you that I have a lot of work to do this week, and you might deduce from my raised shoulders and furrowed brow that I am worried about getting it all done.

3)    Contradicting what you’ve said. Our body language can communicate something opposite to what we are saying out loud, such as when somebody says they are not nervous, but the smile that accompanies this statement is not a genuine one (Harrison & Taing, 1997).

4)    Emphasizing what you’ve said. When our body language and our spoken words are in agreement, they emphasize each other. Think of how a loving grandparent might smile, open their arms wide, and even beckon you forward as they say, “It’s so good to see you, sweetie.”
Neuroscience tells us that we interpret body language in two stages (de Gelder, 2006). First, we have an almost automatic, speedy reaction that is based in our gut understanding of what certain body language behaviors mean. Next, we think more deliberately about what the different aspects of body language we are observing mean in combination: for example, what does your posture mean, and what does it mean in the context of your facial expression and words?
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Interestingly, we seem to do better interpreting body language when it is unfolding in time – such as watching a person interact with somebody else – than we do when we just look at a photograph or see a person for only a moment (Atkinson et al., 2004). In fact, our brains show a lot more activation when we watch dynamic body language – bodies in motion – than when we view body language that is static (Kret et al., 2010).

Body language is so fundamental to interpersonal communication that the first modern scientist to study it in depth and describe its importance is none other than Charles Darwin. In his early writings, Darwin began to trace how certain facial expressions and bodily behaviors were related to certain emotions, both in humans and in other animals (Darwin & Prodger, 1998). Darwin saw all of this behavior as being adaptive – we engage in body language because it is an effective way to communicate with other beings.
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Our body language communicates not just what we are feeling, but also what we might do next (de Gelder, 2006). For example, a person who is feeling fear may show it in their face, and that information is helpful to the people around them. But is the fearful person about to lash out, shut down, or run away? Other aspects of body language can provide that additional information.​

Understanding body language is also important because we seem to trust it more than other forms of information. For example, research studies have shown that when there is a mismatch between a person’s facial expression and what the rest of their body language is showing, we tend to trust the body language more (Meeren et al., 2005). To return to an earlier example, if a typically loving grandparent said, “It’s so great to see you,” and smiled, but showed reluctance in the rest of their body language, a grandchild might pick up on the discrepancy – although not necessarily consciously – and wonder what is wrong.

Without the ability to read other people in this way, and communicate with our own body language, we will have trouble adapting socially (Rose & Clarke, 2009). In other words, effective displays (and interpretation) of body language are basic social abilities.

Let’s look in more depth at some examples of body language.

Body Language: Posture
First, our body posture sends all kinds of clear information about our mood or our readiness to interact with others (Phutela, 2015). Science confirms that when people cross their arms, as I used to do, they are not interested in engaging with others or hearing new information. When we slump forward or back in our seats, we are sending the signal that we are low in energy or not interested in what is happening.

Conversely, a more rigid body posture suggests that we are on high alert. When people are in stressful situations or around people more powerful than them, they are more likely to maintain a rigid posture. At the same time, maintaining a casual posture in the face of what should be a stressful situation sends the message that one is not intimidated or concerned about what is at stake.

Body Language: Gesturing
In the category of gesturing, expressing ourselves with our palms up or facing the other person – unless our fingers are pointing up – communicates openness and a desire to connect (Linehan, 2014). A very interesting study found that we gesture more with our dominant hand when we are discussing positive things and more with our non-dominant hand when discussing a negative topic (Casasanto & Jasmin, 2010). A pointed finger is almost always taken to be accusatory, while widespread arms are seen as inviting, and raising both arms toward the sky is an almost universal sign of joy or triumph.

Body Language Intrepretation
As an interesting side note, men and women seem to interpret body language differently. Men seem more effective in recognizing happiness in body language, while women seem to be more effective in recognizing anger, as well as a lack of emotional expression (Sokolov et al., 2011). This seems to align with research that shows that women are more sensitive to body language than men generally speaking, and particularly with regard to facial expressions (Farris et al., 2008; Montagne et al., 2005). Taken together, these findings may explain why men are more likely than women to misinterpret body language as indicating attraction or interest.

Since negative emotions in others can be threatening, we are particularly effective as a species at noticing negative body language (Martinez et al., 2016). Here are some telltale negative body language markers (Kleinsmith & Bianchi-Berthouze, 2012):  
 

• Anger: Anger is characterized by raised arms or fists, bent elbows or knees, tilting one’s head forward, shoulders moving back, stepping backward, and making jerky or sudden movements. Think of a boxer dropping into their fighting stance. An angry face features a furrowed brow and tightening of the lips and skin around the eyes.
• Fear: Fear is characterized by an upright or slightly backward-tiled head; arms held close to the body with forearms sticking forward; and tension throughout the body. A fearful face features raised eyebrows and stretched out lips, with more of the whites of the eyes exposed.
• Sadness: A person who is feeling sad leans forward and bends their head forward, keeps their arms straight and by their side, avoids eye contact, and makes minimal movements. A sad face features the sides of the lips being pulled down (in the opposite of a smile) and the outsides of the eyebrows being lifted up.

You might have noticed that when people are especially engaged with each other in conversation, they tend to end up assuming similar postures. This mirroring of body language can be explained by the “motor theory of empathy”, which suggests that we are better able to understand other people when we imitate them physically (Iacoboni, 2009).

I bet you’re excited to know how to spot a liar. Unfortunately, because cues of lying can be hard to detect, and most people are not aware of them, people in general are not good at detecting when they are being deceived (Bond & DePaulo, 2006). For example, it is commonly thought that liars avoid eye contact, but use more body language (Stromwall et al., 2004), but in fact people who are lying make as much eye contact and those telling the truth, and they actually make fewer bodily movements while talking (DePaulo et al., 2003).
 
One true sign of being deceptive is more frequent and complex movements in the upper face, which may reflect the greater conscious effort involved in lying than in telling the truth and trying to manage one’s emotional expressions (Duran et al., 2013). When lying, we also provide more details than might be necessary, repeat details more often, blink and pause more often, and actually have a better grasp on the chronology of events than when we are telling the truth (Porter & ten Brinke, 2010).

For more interesting information on body language and deception, I recommend watching this video from an expert in decoding body language:

Want to learn more? Here are some related articles that might be helpful.

To keep learning, here are some books to explore:​​

• Atkinson, A. P., Dittrich, W. H., Gemmell, A. J., & Young, A. W. (2004). Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays. Perception, 33(6), 717–746.
• Bond, C. F., & DePaulo, B. M. (2006). Accuracy of deception judgements. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 10(3), 214–234.
• Casasanto, D., & Jasmin, K. (2010). Good and bad in the hands of politicians: Spontaneous gestures during positive and negative speech. Plos one, 5(7), e11805.
• Costa, M., & Corazza, L. (2006). Aesthetic phenomena as supernormal stimuli: The case of eye, lip, and lower-face size and roundness in artistic portraits. Perception, 35(2), 229-246.
• Darwin, C., & Prodger, P. (1998). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. Oxford University Press, USA.
• DePaulo, B. M., Lindsay, J. J., Malone, B. E., Muhlenbruck, L., Charlton, K., & Cooper, H. (2003). Cues to deception. Psychological Bulletin, 129(1), 74–118.
• Duran, N. D., Dale, R., Kello, C. T., Street, C. N., & Richardson, D. C. (2013). Exploring the movement dynamics of deception. Frontiers in Psychology, 4, 140.
• Farris, C., Treat, T. A., Vilken, R. J., & McFall, R. M. (2008). Perceptual mechanisms that characterize gender differences in decoding women’s sexual intent. Psychological Science, 19, 348–354.
• de Gelder, B. (2006). Towards the neurobiology of emotional body language. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 7(3), 242-249.
• Harrigan, J. A., & Taing, K. T. (1997). Fooled by a smile: Detecting anxiety in others. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 21(3), 203-221.
• Iacoboni, M. (2009). Imitation, empathy, and mirror neurons. Annual Review of Psychology, 60, 653-670.
• Kleinsmith, A., & Bianchi-Berthouze, N. (2012). Affective body expression perception and recognition: A survey. IEEE Transactions on Affective Computing, 4(1), 15-33.
• Kret, M. E., Pichon, S., Grèzes, J., & de Gelder, B. (2010). Similarities and differences in perceiving threat from dynamic faces and bodies. An fMRI study. Neuroimage, 54,  1755–1762.
• Linehan, M. (2014). DBT skills training manual. Guilford Publications.
• Martinez, L., Falvello, V. B., Aviezer, H., & Todorov, A. (2016). Contributions of facial expressions and body language to the rapid perception of dynamic emotions. Cognition and Emotion, 30(5), 939-952.
• Meeren, H. K., van Heijnsbergen, C. C., & de Gelder, B. (2005). Rapid perceptual integration of facial expression and emotional body language. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(45), 16518-16523.
• Montagne, B., Kessels, R. P., Frigerio, E., de Haan, E. H., & Perrett, D. I. (2005). Sex differences in perception of affective facial expressions: do men really lack emotional sensitivity? Cognitive Processing, 6, 136–141.
• Phutela, D. (2015). The importance of non-verbal communication. IUP Journal of Soft Skills, 9(4), 43-49.
• Porter, S., & ten Brinke, L. (2010). The truth about lies: What works in detecting high-stakes deception? Legal and Criminological Psychology, 15(1), 57-75.
• Rose, D., & Clarke, T. J. (2009). Look who’s talking: visual detection of speech from whole-body biological motion cues during emotive interpersonal conversation. Perception, 38, 153–156.
• Sokolov, A. A., Krüger, S., Enck, P., Krägeloh-Mann, I., & Pavlova, M. A. (2011). Gender affects body language reading. Frontiers in Psychology, 2, 16.
• Stromwall, L. A., Granhag, P. A., & Hartwig, M. (2004). Practitioners’ beliefs about deception. In P. A. Granhag, & L. A. Stromwall (Eds.), The Detection of Deception in Forensic Contexts (pp. 15–40). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.​