Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in
Book cover

Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences pp 1–5Cite as

Body Language

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:

  • 153 Accesses

Synonyms

Nonverbal communication

Definition

Body language refers to the aspect of communication that is transmitted nonverbally (and automatically) through body movements.

As such, body language strictly speaking refers only to behaviors such as facial, vocal and postural expressions, touch, proxemics, and gaze but not to stable features such as physical attractiveness and facial morphology or (conscious) behavioral choices such as hair style, clothing, and adornment. Yet, these elements of nonverbal behavior often interact with elements of body language, and hence the two terms are often used interchangeably.

The study of body language has a long tradition in psychology. In his seminal book on The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals, Darwin (1872/1965) already commented extensively on body language in humans and animals. His goal was to demonstrate the evolutionary continuity between emotion expressions in humans and animals, and he focused therefore on the many...

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.

References

  • Ambady, N., & Rosenthal, R. (1992). Thin slices of expressive behavior as predictors of interpersonal consequences: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 256–274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambady, N., Hallahan, M., & Rosenthal, R. (1995). On judging and being judged accurately in zero-acquaintance situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 518–529. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.69.3.518.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Atkinson, A. P. (2013). Bodily expressions of emotion: Visual cues and neural mechanisms. In J. A. P. Vuilleumier (Ed.), The Cambridge handbook of human affective neuroscience (pp. 198–222). New York: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Banse, R., & Scherer, K. R. (1996). Acoustic profiles in vocal emotion expression. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 70, 614–636.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bente, G., Leuschner, H., Al Issa, A., & Blascovich, J. J. (2010). The others: Universals and cultural specificities in the perception of status and dominance from nonverbal behavior. Consciousness and Cognition, 19(3), 762–777.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Berry, D. S., & McArthur, L. Z. (1986). Perceiving character in faces: The impact of age-related craniofacial changes on social perception. Psychological Bulletin, 100, 3–10.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Birdwhistell, R. L. (1970). Kinesics and context: Essays on body motion communication. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • van der Borg, J. A., Schilder, M. B., Vinke, C. M., & de Vries, H. (2015). Dominance in domestic dogs: A quantitative analysis of its behavioural measures. PloS One, 10(8), e0133978.

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  • Bull, N., & Gidro-Frank, L. (1950). Emotions induced and studied in hypnotic subjects: Part II: The findings. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 112, 97–120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Burgoon, J. (1991). Relational message interpretations of touch, conversational distance, and posture. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 15, 233–259.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chartrand, T. L., & Lakin, J. L. (2013). The antecedents and consequences of human behavioral mimicry. Annual Review of Psychology, 64, 285–308.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Clynes, M. (1977). Sentics: The touch of emotions. New York: Doubleday and Company.

    Google Scholar 

  • Darwin, C. (1872/1965). The expression of the emotions in man and animals. Chicago: The University of Chicago Press. (Originally published, 1872).

    Google Scholar 

  • Duncan, S., Jr. (1969). Nonverbal communication. Psychological Bulletin, 72(2), 118–137. doi:10.1037/h0027795.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Efron, D. (1972). Gesture, race and culture. The Hague: Mouton.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hall, E. T. (1963). A system for the notation of proxemic behavior. American Anthropologist, 65, 1003–1026.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J. A. (1996). Touch, status, and gender at professional meetings. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 20(1), 23–44.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hall, J. A., & Veccia, E. M. (1990). More “touching” observations: New insights on men, women, and interpersonal touch. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 59(6), 1155–1162. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.59.6.1155.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hareli, S., & Hess, U. (2010). What emotional reactions can tell us about the nature of others: An appraisal perspective on person perception. Cognition and Emotion, 24, 128–140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Henley, N. M. (1973). Status and sex: Some touching observations. Bulletin of the Psychonomic Society, 2, 91–93.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hertenstein, M. J., Keltner, D., App, B., Bulleit, B. A., & Jaskolka, A. R. (2006). Touch communicates distinct emotions. Emotion, 6, 528–533.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, U., & Fischer, A. (2013). Emotional mimicry as social regulation. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 17, 142–157.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, U., & Fischer, A. (2014). Emotional mimicry: Why and when we mimic emotions. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 8, 45–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess, U., & Fischer, A. (in press). The role of emotional mimicry in intergroup relations Oxford Encyclopedia of Intergroup Communication. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hinde, R. A. (1972). Non-verbal communication. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Iverson, J. M., Tencer, H. L., Lany, J., & Goldin-Meadow, S. (2000). The relation between gesture and speech in congenitally blind and sighted language-learners. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 24(2), 105–130.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Juslin, P. N., & Scherer, K. R. (2005). Vocal expression of affect. In J. A. Harrigan, R. Rosenthal, & K. R. Scherer (Eds.), The new handbook of methods in nonverbal behavior research (pp. 65–135). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Keating, C. F., Mazur, A., & Segall, M. H. (1981). A cross-cultural exploration of physiognomic traits of dominance and happiness. Ethology and Sociobiology, 2, 41–48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kita, S. (2009). Cross-cultural variation of speech-accompanying gesture: A review. Language and Cognitive Processes, 24(2), 145–167. doi:10.1080/01690960802586188.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kita, S., & Essegbey, J. (2001). Pointing left in Ghana: How a taboo on the use of the left hand influences gestural practice. Gesture, 1(1), 73–95.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knutson, B. (1996). Facial expressions of emotion influence interpersonal trait inferences. Journal of nonverbal behavior, 20, 165–182.

    Google Scholar 

  • Leary, T. F. (1957). Interpersonal diagnosis of personality. New York: Ronald Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, A. A., Ambady, N., & Kleck, R. E. (2005). The effects of fear and anger facial expressions on approach- and avoidance-related behaviors. Emotion, 5, 119–124.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McDaniel, E., & Andersen, P. (1998). International patterns of interpersonal tactile communication: A field study. Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 22(1), 59–75. doi:10.1023/a:1022952509743.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mehrabian, A. (1969). Significance of posture and position in the communication of attitude and status relationships. Psychological Bulletin, 71(5), 359–372. doi:10.1037/h0027349.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Miller, R. E., Murphy, J. V., & Mirsky, I. A. (1959). Nonverbal communication of affect. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 15, 155–158.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Morris, D., Collett, P., Marsh, P., & O’shaughnessy, M. (1979). Gestures. New York: Stein & Day.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rantala, J., Salminen, K., Raisamo, R., & Surakka, V. (2013). Touch gestures in communicating emotional intention via vibrotactile stimulation. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 71(6), 679–690. doi:10.1016/j.ijhcs.2013.02.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rule, N. O., Ambady, N., & Hallett, K. C. (2009). Female sexual orientation is perceived accurately, rapidly, and automatically from the face and its features. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 45, 1245–1251.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, K. R. (1978). Personality inference from voice quality: The loud voice of extraversion. European Journal of Social Psychology, 8, 467–487.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Schneider, S., Christensen, A., Häußinger, F. B., Fallgatter, A. J., Giese, M. A., & Ehlis, A.-C. (2013). Show me how you walk and I tell you how you feel – A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study on emotion perception based on human gait. NeuroImage., No Pagination Specified. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.07.078.

  • Schuller, B., Batliner, A., Steidl, S., & Seppi, D. (2011). Recognising realistic emotions and affect in speech: State of the art and lessons learnt from the first challenge. Speech Communication, 53(9–10), 1062–1087. doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.specom.2011.01.011.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senior, C., Phillips, M. L., Barnes, J., & David, A. S. (1999). An investigation into the perception of dominance from schematic faces: A study using the world-wide web. Behavior Research Methods, Instruments and Computers, 31, 341–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tracy, J. L., & Matsumoto, D. (2008). The spontaneous expression of pride and shame: Evidence for biologically innate nonverbal displays. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 105(33), 11655–11660.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Weisfeld, G. E., & Beresford, J. M. (1982). Erectness of posture as an indicator of dominance or success in humans. Motivation and Emotion, 6(2), 113–131. doi:10.1007/BF00992459.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wiener, M., Devoe, S., Rubinow, S., & Geller, J. (1972). Nonverbal behavior and nonverbal communication. Psychological Review, 79(3), 185–214. doi:10.1037/h0032710.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zebrowitz, L. A. (1997). Reading faces: Window to the soul? Boulder: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zebrowitz, L. A., Fellous, J., Mignault, A., & Andreoletti, C. (2003). Trait impressions as overgeneralized responses to adaptively significant facial qualities: Evidence from connectionist modeling. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 7, 194–215.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychology, Humboldt University of Berlin, Berlin, Germany

    Ursula Hess

Authors
  1. Ursula Hess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Ursula Hess .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Virgil Zeigler-Hill

  2. Oakland University, Rochester, USA

    Todd K. Shackelford

Section Editor information

  1. Department of Psychology, Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    John F. Rauthmann

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG

About this entry

Cite this entry

Hess, U. (2017). Body Language. In: Zeigler-Hill, V., Shackelford, T. (eds) Encyclopedia of Personality and Individual Differences. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_647-1

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28099-8_647-1

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-28099-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Behavioral Science and PsychologyReference Module Humanities and Social SciencesReference Module Business, Economics and Social Sciences

Publish with us

Policies and ethics

Search

Navigation