Body language is a form of mental and physical ability of human non-verbal commu

nication, consisting of body posture, gestures, facial expressions, and eye move
ments. Humans send and interpret such signals almost entirely subconsciously. (B
ody language, in this sense, should be distinguished from sign language.)
James Borg states that human communication consists of 93 percent body language
and paralinguistic cues, while only 7% of communication consists of words themse
lves;[1] however, Albert Mehrabian, the researcher whose 1960s work is the sourc
e of these statistics, has stated that this is a misunderstanding of the finding
s[2] (see Misinterpretation of Mehrabian's rule). Others assert that "Research h
as suggested that between 60 and 70 percent of all meaning is derived from nonve
rbal behavior."[3]
Body language may provide clues as to the attitude or state of mind of a person.
For example, it may indicate aggression, attentiveness, boredom, relaxed state,
pleasure, amusement, and intoxication.
Contents
1 Understanding body language
1.1 Physical expression
2 Prevalence of non-verbal communication in humans
3 Proxemics
4 Unintentional gestures
5 See also
6 References
7 External links
[edit]Understanding body language
The technique of "reading" people is used frequently. For example, the idea of m
irroring body language to put people at ease is commonly used during interview s
ituations. Body language can show feelings to other people, which works in retur
n for other people. People who show their body language to you can reveal their
feelings and meanings. Mirroring the body language of someone else indicates tha
t they are understood.[citation needed] It is important to note that some marker
s of emotion (e.g. smiling/laughing when happy, frowning/crying when sad) are la
rgely universal,[4][page needed] however in the 1990s Paul Ekman expanded his li
st of basic emotions, including a range of positive and negative emotions, not a
ll of which are encoded in facial muscles.[citation needed] The newly included e
motions are:

A study in body language.

Amusement
Contempt
Contentment
Embarrassment
Excitement
Guilt
Pride in achievement
Relief
Satisfaction
Sensory pleasure
Shame
Body language signals may have a goal other than communication. People would kee
p both these two in mind. Observers limit the weight they place on non-verbal cu
es. Signalers clarify their signals to indicate the biological origin of their a
ctions. Verbal communication also requires body language to show that the person
you are talking with that you are listening. These signals can consist of; eye
contact and nodding your head to show you understand. More examples would includ
e yawning (sleepiness), showing lack of interest (sexual interest/survival inter
est), attempts to change the topic (fight or flight drivers). Rudolf Laban and W
arren Lamb add much to this about dancers. Mime artists such as Booff Show utili
ze these techniques to communicate entire shows without a single word.
[edit]Physical expression
Physical expressions like waving, pointing, touching and slouching are all forms
of nonverbal communication. The study of body movement and expression is known
as kinesics. Humans move their bodies when communicating because, as research ha
s shown[citation needed], it helps "ease the mental effort when communication is
difficult." Physical expressions reveal many things about the person using them
. For example, gestures can emphasize a point or relay a message, posture can re
veal boredom or great interest, and touch can convey encouragement or caution.[5
]
One of the most basic and powerful body-language signals is when a person crosse
s his or her arms across the chest.[6] This can indicate that a person is puttin
g up an unconscious barrier between themselves and others. However, it can also
indicate that the person's arms are cold, which would be clarified by rubbing th
e arms or huddling. When the overall situation is amicable, it can mean that a p
erson is thinking deeply about what is being discussed, but in a serious or conf
rontational situation, it can mean that a person is expressing opposition. This
is especially so if the person is leaning away from the speaker. A harsh or blan
k facial expression often indicates outright hostility.
Consistent eye contact can indicate that a person is thinking positively of what
the speaker is saying. It can also mean that the other person doesn't trust the
speaker enough to "take their eyes off" the speaker. Lack of eye contact can in
dicate negativity. On the other hand, individuals with anxiety disorders are oft
en unable to make eye contact without discomfort. Eye contact can also be a seco
ndary and misleading gesture because cultural norms about it vary widely. If a p
erson is looking at you, but is making the arms-across-chest signal, the eye con
tact could be indicative that something is bothering the person, and that he wan
ts to talk about it. Or if while making direct eye contact, a person is fiddling
with something, even while directly looking at you, it could indicate that the
attention is elsewhere. Also, there are three standard areas that a person will
look which represent different states of being. If the person looks from one eye
to the other, then to the forehead, it is a sign that they are taking an author
itative position. If they move from one eye to the other, then to the nose, that
signals that they are engaging in what they consider to be a "level conversatio
n" with neither party holding superiority. The last case is from one eye to the
other and then down to the lips. This is a strong indication of romantic feeling
s.[citation needed]
Disbelief is often indicated by averted gaze, or by touching the ear or scratchi
ng the chin. When a person is not being convinced by what someone is saying, the
attention invariably wanders, and the eyes will stare away for an extended peri
od.[citation needed]
Boredom is indicated by the head tilting to one side, or by the eyes looking str
aight at the speaker but becoming slightly unfocused. A head tilt may also indic
ate a sore neck, trust or a feeling of safety (part of the neck becomes uncovere
d, hence vulnerable; It's virtually impossible to tilt our head in front of some
one we don't trust or are scared of) or Amblyopia, and unfocused eyes may indica
te ocular problems in the listener.[citation needed]
Interest can be indicated through posture or extended eye contact, such as stand
ing and listening properly.[citation needed]
Deceit or the act of withholding information can sometimes be indicated by touch
ing the face during conversation. Excessive blinking is a well-known indicator o
f someone who is lying. Recently[when?], evidence has surfaced that the absence
of blinking can also represent lying as a more reliable factor than excessive bl
inking.[7]
Some people use and understand body language differently, or not at all.[citatio
n needed] Interpreting their gestures and facial expressions (or lack thereof) i
n the context of normal body language usually leads to misunderstandings and mis
interpretations (especially if body language is given priority over spoken langu
age). It should also be stated that people from different cultures can interpret
ate body language in different ways.
[edit]Prevalence of non-verbal communication in humans
Some researchers[who?] put the level of nonverbal communication as high as 80 pe
rcent of all communication when others[who?] state the figures could be at or ar
ound 50-65 percent. Different studies have found differing amounts, with some st
udies showing that facial communication is believed 4.3 times more often than ve
rbal meaning, and another finding that verbal communication in a flat tone is 4
times more likely to be understood than a pure facial expression.[citation neede
d] Albert Mehrabian is noted for finding a 7%-38%-55% rule, supposedly denoting
how much communication was conferred by words, tone, and non-verbal language (fa
cial expression in this case). However he was only referring to cases of express
ing feelings or attitudes.

Diagram of Edward T. Hall's personal reaction bubbles (1966), showing radius in

feet
[edit]Proxemics
Main article: Personal space
Introduced by Edward T. Hall in 1966, proxemics is the study of measurable dista
nces between people as they interact with one another.[8] The distance between p
eople in a social situation often discloses information about the type of relati
onship between the people involved. Proximity may also reveal the type of social
setting taking place.
Intimate distance ranges from touching to about 18 inches (46 cm) apart, and is
reserved for lovers, children, as well as close family members and friends, and
also pet animals.
Personal distance begins about an arm's length away; starting around 18 inches (
46 cm) from the person and ending about 4 feet (122 cm) away. This space is used
in conversations with friends, to chat with associates, and in group discussion
s.
Social distance ranges from 4 to 8 feet (1.2 m - 2.4 m) away from the person and
is reserved for strangers, newly formed groups, and new acquaintances.
Public distance includes anything more than 8 feet (2.4 m) away, and is used for
speeches, lectures, and theater. Public distance is essentially that range rese
rved for larger audiences.[9]
Proximity range varies with culture.
[edit]Unintentional gestures
See also: Proteans (body language)
Beginning in the 1960s, there has been huge interest in studying human behaviora
l clues that could be useful for developing an interactive and adaptive human-ma
chine system.[10] Unintentional human gestures such as making an eye rub, a chin
rest, a lip touch, a nose itch, a head scratch, an ear scratch, crossing arms,
and a finger lock have been found conveying some useful information in specific
contexts[which?]. Some researchers[who?] have tried to extract such gestures in
a specific context for educational applications.[citation needed] In poker games
, such gestures are referred to as "tells" and are useful to players for detecti
ng deception clues or behavioral patterns in opponents.
There is also a huge interest in learning to avoid any unintentional gesture tha
t might leave a negative impression on the onlookers. A large number of people a
re starting to attend special sessions on controlled body behaviour and take adv
ice from expert sociologists. Learning good body-language, such as living styles
of foreign people, is important during interaction in any sort of global commun
ity.
Scientific Portal on Body Language, Kinesics, and Nonverbal Communication#
Reading Body Language - Proxemics
We have seen that how clusters and congruence are basics of reading body languag
e. Now we move towards understanding the importance of interpersonal distance in
body language and nonverbal communication. The science of interpersonal distanc
e is called as PROXEMICS. Most of us don t realize that interpersonal distance rea
lly affects on communication and relationship. So let's take a real life example
so it clearly makes sense of closeness.
It's an usual day in company and you start routine work. Suddenly, team leader i
nforms that some newly recruited members are joining your team. You are asked to
gather at some place for introduction with them face-to-face. Until this moment
both parties might not have seen each other so little amount of nervousness cou
pled with excitement lurks inside everyone's mind. While looking at each other,
both parties smile nervously and avoid prolong eye contact. Formal hand shake, e
xchanging few words and mutual introduction takes place at a safe distance from
each other.
At the beginning, getting face-to-face is filled with anxiety. Glancing at eithe
r side, looking down, hovering gaze, putting hands in pocket, giving nervous loo
k - smile, grabbing things in palms, moving torso away or crossing arms over che
st can be observed being unconsciously done by both parties. New joiners form th
eir own group. They don't come close or interact voluntarily like seniors or exp
erienced colleague. Accidental touch is regretted.
Some days pass and regular interactions take place between you and new joiners.
Apart of work, everybody shares and complement with each other. It gives opportu
nity for judging and knowing each other consciously or unconsciously. We natural
ly tend to figure out mutual strengths, weaknesses, likes and dislikes. Also, it
's not necessary that every member of team become close companion of other. Some
personal reservations, threats or complexes motivate us to form bod with more l
ike minded persons.
Initial awkwardness, shyness and disorientation slowly fades. Interactions happe
n at close distance as compared to earlier days. Touching, seating closer, whisp
ering, handling person stuff or prolonging eye contact becomes normal. Everybody
starts looking at each others faces. Strong rapport establishes by time. Meetin
g and greeting each other brings excitement and freshness at workspace.
It seems like a magic - gradual shrink of interpersonal space and development of
new relationship. Why we tend to stay away from new people and get closer gradu
ally (or drift away) ? Certainly, it's worth interesting to know.
Interpersonal space or distance is crucial factor for judging how a person or ob
ject is favorable to our interest. It's the survival mechanism of subconscious m
ind of gathering visual clues and letting us to decide whether to move towards i
t, let it to move towards you or step back and run away from it. When space requ
ired to watch (hear and smell also) and decide the strategy is invaded or trespa
ssed without unknown intentions, we feel very uncomfortable or stressed. Limbic
system starts sending flight or fight signals to body.
Dr. Albert Meharabian, the leading proxemist has defined four different zones ar
ound body. Each zone is a circular area in which we let other to enter or stay d
epending upon kind of relationship we want with them.
1) Intimate Zone (from 6 to 18 inches): This is the zone a person guards as indi
vidual property. Only romantic partner, close friends and relatives are allowed
to enter in it.
2) Personal Zone (from 18 to 48 inches): This is the distance we keep from other
s during friendly interactions, social gatherings or parties.
3) Public Zone (from 4 to 12 feet): This is the distance we keep from strangers
or persons with little acquaintance.
4) Social Zone (above 12 feet): This is the comfortable distance we maintain whi
le interacting or addressing to large group of people.
Radius of each zone may vary culture, society or geography wise.
Related Articles:
1) Courtship and Dance 2) Cabin of chief 3) Making true friends 4) Positive Body
Language 5) Secret of Metropolitan nervousness 6) Elevator Etiquettes 7) Readin
g Body Language - Context 8) Reading Body Language - Clusters 9) Reading Body La
nguage - Congruence 10) Reading Body Language - Context 11) Reading Body Languag
e - Micro Expressions 12) Reading Body Language - Para Language 13) Body Languag
e - Common Postures 14) Reading Body Language - Common Hand Gestures 15) Inside
Interrogation Room

Introduction: Proxemics is what brings us together, today. The term ``proxemics'

' was coined by researcher Edward Hall during the 1950's and 1960's and has to d
o with the study of our use of space and how various differences in that use can
make us feel more relaxed or anxious.
Proxemics comes in two flavors,
physical territory, such as why desks face the front of a classroom rather than
towards a center isle, and
personal territory that we carry with us, the "bubble" of space that you keep be
tween yourself and the person ahead of you in a line.
I plan to examine two aspects of proxemics and the important role they can play
in our interpersonal communication. These two areas are the use of color in our
environment, and how cultural differences in the use of personal territory can m
ake us feel discomfort.
Body:
Let's begin with colors. As we briefly discussed in class, colors can have a maj
or impact on our comfort level in a given situation.
You would not, for instance, take a business client out to lunch at McDonalds, d
ue at least in part to the bright reds and yellows used in their color scheme. T
hese colors cause people anxiety and cause them to rather rush in, consume their
food, and rush back out, than stay and chat.
You would be more likely to take that client to Denny's with its muted color sch
eme, or better yet to Marie Callender's where you can relax in a homey pastel co
lored environment.
Furthermore, studies have shown that bright colors are disturbing not only to re
staurant patrons, but also to their employees. Restaurants with brightly colored
interiors such as Taco Bell and McDonalds have the highest employee turnover in
the food service industry.
Another important aspect of proxemics is the use of Personal territory. Let me b
riefly outline the four areas of personal territory; public, social, personal, a
nd intimate, that we Americans intuitively respect and use.
Public space ranges from 12 to 25 feet and is the distance maintained between th
e audience and a speaker such as the President.
Social space ranges from 4 to 10 feet and is used for communication among busine
ss associates, as well as to separate strangers using public areas such as beach
es and bus stops.
Personal space ranges from 2 to 4 feet and is used among friends and family memb
ers, and to separate people waiting in lines at teller machines for example.
Finally, intimate space ranges out to one foot and involves a high probability o
f touching. We reserve it for whispering and embracing.
Personal territories, however, can vary both culturally and ethnically.
Take Saudi Arabia for example, you might find yourself almost nose to nose with
a business associate because their social space equates to our intimate space. Y
ou would probably find yourself backing away trying to regain your social space
while your associate persues you across the floor trying to maintain his. Finall
y, you would come away from the encounter thinking he was "pushy", and he thinki
ng you were "standoff-ish."
If, on the other hand, you were visiting a friend in the Netherlands, you would
find the roles reversed, you would be doing the chasing because their personal s
pace equates to our social space.
As a final example, let me examine our use of public transportation. We American
s tend to pull in our elbows and knees and try not to touch or even look at one
another while riding the bus. In Japan, a country with a population half the siz
e of the United States cramed into an area half the size of California, subway p
assengers are literally pushed into the cars until not even one more person will
fit. You cannot help but be pressed against someone else's sweaty body.
Conclusion: As you can see by the examples I have given, cultural differences an
d the use of color in our physical environment can have a great impact upon our
interactions with others. But these are only two of more than twenty major aspec
ts of proxemics such as eye-contact, facial expression, smells, body warmth, gen
der, number of people involved, subject matter, and goals of the communication,
for which we continuously and automatically adjust our use of space. In conclusi
on, it is my hope that I have made you more aware of the ways in which proxemics
can affect the success of our interpersonal communication.

Proxemics
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Diagram of Edward T. Hall's personal reaction bubbles (1966), showing radius in

feet
Proxemics is a subcategory of the study of nonverbal communication along with ha
ptics (touch), kinesics (body movement), vocalics (paralanguage), and chronemics
(structure of time).[1] Proxemics can be defined as "the interrelated observati
ons and theories of man's use of space as a specialized elaboration of culture".
[2] Edward T. Hall, the cultural anthropologist who coined the term in 1963, emp
hasized the impact of proxemic behavior (the use of space) on interpersonal comm
unication. Hall believed that the value in studying proxemics comes from its app
licability in evaluating not only the way people interact with others in daily l
ife, but also "the organization of space in [their] houses and buildings, and ul
timately the layout of [their] towns.[3]
In animals, Swiss zoologist Heini Hediger had distinguished between flight dista
nce (run boundary), critical distance (attack boundary), personal distance (dist
ance separating members of non-contact species, as a pair of swans), and social
distance (intraspecies communication distance). Hall reasoned that, with very fe
w exceptions, flight distance and critical distance have been eliminated in huma
n reactions, and thus interviewed hundreds of people to determine modified crite
ria for human interactions.
In his work on proxemics, Edward T. Hall separated his theory into two overarchi
ng categories: personal space and territory. Personal space describes the immedi
ate space surrounding a person, while territory refers to the area which a perso
n may "lay claim to" and defend against others.[1] His theory on territoriality
has been applied to animal behaviors as well; defending territory is said to be
a means of "propagation of the species by regulating density".[1]
Contents [hide]
1 Personal Space
1.1 Cultural Factors
2 Territory
3 Proxemics in applied research
4 Proxemics and cinema
5 See also
6 References
7 Further reading
8 External links
[edit]Personal Space
Body spacing and posture, according to Hall, are unintentional reactions to sens
ory fluctuations or shifts, such as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a p
erson's voice. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with physic
al distance, as are intimate and personal distance, according to the delineation
s below. Hall did not mean for these measurements to be strict guidelines that t
ranslate precisely to human behavior, but rather a system for gauging the effect
of distance on communication and how the effect varies between cultures and oth
er environmental factors.
Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering
Close phase less than 6 inches (15 cm)
Far phase 6 to 18 inches (15 to 46 cm)
Personal distance for interactions among good friends or family members
Close phase 1.5 to 2.5 feet (46 to 76 cm)
Far phase 2.5 to 4 feet (76 to 120 cm)
Social distance for interactions among acquaintances
Close phase 4 to 7 feet (1.2 to 2.1 m)
Far phase 7 to 12 feet (2.1 to 3.7 m)
Public distance used for public speaking
Close phase 12 to 25 feet (3.7 to 7.6 m)
Far phase 25 feet (7.6 m) or more.
In addition to physical distance, the level of intimacy between conversants can
be determined by "socio-petal socio-fugal axis", or the "angle formed by the axi
s of the conversants' shoulders".[1] Hall has also studied combinations of postu
res between dyads (two people) including lying prone, sitting, or standing. Thes
e variations in positioning are impacted by a variety of nonverbal communicative
factors, listed below.
kinesthetic factors
This category deals with how closely the participants are to touching, from bein
g completely outside of body-contact distance to being in physical contact, whic
h parts of the body are in contact, and body part positioning.
touching code
This behavioural category concerns how participants are touching one another, su
ch as caressing, holding, feeling, prolonged holding, spot touching, pressing ag
ainst, accidental brushing, or not touching at all.
visual code
This category denotes the amount of eye contact between participants. Four sub-c
ategories are defined, ranging from eye-to-eye contact to no eye contact at all.
thermal code
This category denotes the amount of body heat that each participant perceives fr
om another. Four sub-categories are defined: conducted heat detected, radiant he
at detected, heat probably detected, and no detection of heat.
olfactory code
This category deals in the kind and degree of odour detected by each participant
from the other.
voice loudness
This category deals in the vocal effort used in speech. Seven sub-categories are
defined: silent, very soft, soft, normal, normal+, loud, and very loud.
[edit]Cultural Factors
Hall notes that different cultures maintain different standards of personal spac
e. The Lewis Model of Cultural Types indicates the variations in personal intera
ctive qualities, indicating three poles: "linear-active" cultures, which are cha
racterized as cool and decisive (Germany, Norway, USA), "reactive" cultures, cha
racterized as accommodating and non-confrontational (Vietnam, China, Japan), and
"multi-active" cultures, characterized as warm and impulsive (Brazil, Mexico, I
taly).[4] Realizing and recognizing these cultural differences improves cross-cu
ltural understanding, and helps eliminate discomfort people may feel if the inte
rpersonal distance is too large ("stand-offish") or too small (intrusive).
[edit]Territory
There are four forms of human territory in proxemic theory. They are:
public territory
a place where one may freely enter
interactional territory
a place where people congregate informally
home territory
a place where people claim their individual territory
body territory
the space immediately surrounding us
These different levels of territory, in addition to factors involving personal s
pace, suggest ways for us to communicate and produce expectations of appropriate
behavior.[5]
[edit]Proxemics in applied research
Much research in the fields of Communication, Psychology, and Sociology, especia
lly under the category of Organizational Behavior, has shown that physical proxi
mity enhances peoples' ability to work together. Face-to-face interaction is oft
en used as a tool to maintain the culture, authority, and norms of an organizati
on or workplace.[6][7] An extensive body of research has been written about how
proximity is affected by the use of new communication technologies. The importan
ce of physical proximity in co-workers is often emphasized.
In developing new communication technologies, the theory of proxemics is often c
onsidered. While physical proximity cannot be achieved when people are connected
virtually, perceived proximity can be attempted, and several studies have shown
that it is a crucial indicator in the effectiveness of virtual communication te
chnologies.[8][9][10][11] These studies suggest that various individual and situ
ational factors influence how close we feel to another person, regardless of dis
tance. The mere-exposure effect originally referred to the tendency of a person
to positively favor those who they have been physically exposed to most often.[1
2] However, recent research has extended this effect to virtual communication. T
his work suggests that the more someone communicates virtually with another pers
on, the more he is able to envision that person's appearance and workspace, ther
efore fostering a sense of personal connection.[8] Increased communication has a
lso been seen to foster common ground, or the feeling of identification with ano
ther, which leads to positive attributions about that person. Some studies empha
size the importance of shared physical territory in achieving common ground,[13]
while others find that common ground can be achieved virtually, by communicatin
g often.[8]
[edit]Proxemics and cinema
Proxemics is an essential component of cinematic mise-en-scne, the placement of c
haracters, props and scenery within a frame, creating visual weight and movement
.[14] There are two aspects to the consideration of proxemics in this context, t
he first being character proxemics, which addresses such questions as: How much
space is there between the characters? What is suggested by characters who are c
lose to (or, conversely, far away from) each other? Do distances change as the f
ilm progresses? and, Do distances depend on the film's other content?[15] The ot
her consideration is camera proxemics, which answers the single question: How fa
r away is the camera from the characters/action?[16] Analysis of camera proxemic
s typically relates Hall's system of proxemic patterns to the camera angle used
to create a specific shot, with the long shot or extreme long shot becoming the
public proxemic, a full shot (sometimes called a figure shot, complete view, or
medium long shot) becoming the social proxemic, the medium shot becoming the per
sonal proxemic, and the close up or extreme close up becoming the intimate proxe
mic.[17]
A long shot -- the public proxemic

A full shot -- the social proxemic

A medium shot -- the personal proxemic

A close-up -- the intimate proxemic

Film analyst Louis Giannetti has maintained that, in general, the greater the di
stance between the camera and the subject (in other words, the public proxemic),
the more emotionally neutral the audience remains, whereas the closer the camer
a is to a character, the greater the audience's emotional attachment to that cha
racter.[18] Or, as actor/director Charlie Chaplin put it: Life is a tragedy when
seen in close-up, but a comedy in long shot. [