Reading Body Language - Emotions

s exemplified by happiness, emotions have qualities that allow us to perceive not only their particular nature but to assess them to know if they are congruent with the environment. This means we could even quantify them. For this to be possible one needs an almost atomistic approach to emotions, to find the building blocks of them. How much is subjective and how much is objective. So I'll give here some working concepts on the subject.

Amount: The perfect example of excesive happiness comes to us in the form of manias. A person becomes overly optimistic, with infectious joy, selfconfidence. Is not strage for them to risk their life savings, drive 100 m.p.h to a sexual encounter with a potentially dangerous encounter.^[2]

Timing: Happiness is counterprodcutive in scenarios where you are trying to compete. It has been shown that happy people underperform in the same task when compared to othertem being in other states like anger.^[3] Another circumstance is during loses. Without emoting as a signal, people will find it odd and it causes social impairement.

Way: The pursuit happiness can lead to mania, as an overcompensation for having high standards. This can be in private but is mostly a social endeavor.^[4]

lthough there are many definitions of what is known as emotion, I'll use the working definition that ascribes to a sign.^[5]

This is opposed to other notions like a mood (long-lasting, no eliciting object, diffuse), a feeling (subjective internal representation of an emotion). The brain circuits that process emotion are about high-speed processing and analogical summation, particularly the parts of the brain that are older in evolutionary history like the thalamus and amygdala.^[6]

The discrete approach comes from the work of people like Charles Darwin, who theorized in his book "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals"^[7] about the behavioral shared movements used by some animals to signal a subjective or physiological state. Giving a referent for further study on the evolutive nature of emotions.^[8] Later the work of Paul Ekman and Silvan Tomkins gave a framework for universality among humans^[9] (and many animals) with the masurement of descrete signs. Later to be complemented with the idea of the dimensional approach assinging valence to it in the works of Wilhrlm Wundt, James Russel (although this one was previous) and Lisa Feldman Barret.^[5],[6]

Out of the many approaches to emotion, this one can be used although not without training and in the future, A.I. software will be able to outperform modern experts.

The attentive look at tension at every movement reveal congruence if analyzed through the lens of the dimensional and discrete approach to emotions. At the moment we use scales like the FACS (Facial Action Coding System) or the more recent SPAFF (Specific Affect Coding System)^[10] _{others include the -sit up/forward, increase in vocal pitch and volume, laughter-.}

Laughter is one of the most indicative emotions. It can go into uncontrollable bursts. The same areas of the brain that compell you to take your hand off a hot stove also make you laugh without you being able to hide it.

t the moment the laboratory protocols for this study employ the compilation of techniques compiled in the Hand book of Emotion Elicitation and Assessment by James A coan and John J.B. Allen.^[11]

The first type of measurement is reactivity - This is the type, magnitude and duration of responses in response to internal or external environment and have significance for personal goals.^[12]- Second is regulation -This is the processes by which individuals influence which emotion they have, when they have them, and how they experience and express these emotions^[13])-. Third is understanding - Knowldge about wheter we or other people are experiencing emotions-^[12].

You can use different resources to evaluate this responses, one of them is film clips.^[14] An example of this is the widely used Sarah Hughes recording of ther winning the olympic gold medal. After completing an impressive routine you can see her face, and with a camera you can see yourself probably smiling as a response to it.

In the lab setting you use more refined tool for direct measurement like the acoustic startle reflex , startle eyeblink modulation, directed facial action, or listening to music and singing (particularly useful in eliciting selfconcious emotions).

That quote is not about body language. Is about drawing. In order to pick the appropiate details of what constitutes an image. A person learning to draw needs to retrain their eye to pick the gesture, the foundamental emotive message in a drawing. Artists need to learn not only to see but to observe. This is true of any field that requires expertise. The fact that some fields deal with subjects experienced daily gives rise to misconceptions of false skill (dunning-kruger effect). The work of a scientist is identifying such prejidiced views and to challenge them.

A full scope on every single detail would require several posts but we can give generalities and give resources for exploration.

In this video on the Body language of the king of Spain during a speech addressing the situation of Catalunya. You can observe the reading description done by someone proficient in reading body language. Particularly interesting is how by using directed facial action -previously described- you find the latent rage. Is more than a fairly accurate reading in my opinion. You can easily check things people give for granted in the combination of concealed subtle movements of his face.

That channel is a great resource. Of course the person in there has political views and viewer's discrecion is advised. One of the main ideas is how you need to check for many tells since not a single movement is reliable enough to give a hint to for instance, someone lying (a famous one is the idea of someone lying if they look up to the left, which would mean they are accessing their creative brain. Leaving out the fact that sometimes doing such a thing is part of natural articulation)

By employing the scientific tools used in the research of emotion a person can see when someone is manipulating (excessive tension to stress emphasis, like putting your head down and looking up to give the puppy eyes, is more common than you would imagine) or when someone tells a sad story but doesn't emote. Even hiding or controlling your emotions have particular sets of movements like clenching your hands to control yourself of overspeaking or tightening you lips after finishing a controlled sentence.

You can't tell if someone is lying or not, but you can tell if they are being congruent. If their actions are excessive or lacking. If their body is rigid, they are comforting themselves or building a barrier with their hands.

I would dare to say is a skill that helps you to improve your trust. As an extra layer, it doesn't make you a cynic. It shows you that bling empathy is dangerous and opens a path to compassion.