Man's Silent Signals

THE BODY

Your face, my Thane, is as a book where men may read strange matters. --Macbeth

Even in absolute silence, animals are able to communicate with each other by an almost infinite variety of gestures and motions. In lower forms of life, such nonvocal expressions are often vital to the survival of the species. Man, of course, has the gift of speech. Yet he too is able to signal his moods and thoughts with a nonverbal vocabulary of gestures and expressions. These signals constitute a powerful silent language that is often as effective and direct as speech itself. The unspoken lexicon is becoming a subject of increasing interest to specialists in the new science of ethology (the biology of behavior); it is also providing new views into man's hidden emotional world.

Minimal Place. Among the explorers of this uncharted corner of human interaction is a team of ethologists at work under Dr. Michael Chance in Birmingham, England. In a recent issue of the British journal New Scientist, two of them, Christopher Brannigan and Dr. David Humphries, report that the team has isolated and catalogued no fewer than 135 distinct gestures and expressions of face, head and body. This human semaphore system, they explain, is not only capable of expressing an extraordinary range of emotions but also operates at a lower--and sometimes different--level of consciousness than ordinary speech.

Examples of such nonverbal language are most easily observed in children under the age of six. Far less inhibited or restrained than adults, the nursery-school toddler operates largely by means of expression and gesture; talk occupies only a minimal place in his limited culture. If, for example, a four-year-old thinks his favorite toy is about to be snatched away by another child, he probably will tense his lips and scowl, thrust out his chin and then raise his hand, as if to strike the offender with an open palm. In the ethological jargon of the Birmingham investigators, the child is in a "defensive beating posture." The more forward he holds his hand, however, the more likely he is to deliver the blow. Recognizing this change to an "offensive beating posture," the other child may well decide to retreat, even though not a threatening word has been exchanged.

Subtle traces of this vivid posturing are still evident years later in adulthood. Like the angered child, grownups often turn an open palm toward those who happen to pose a verbal threat, although the gesture may be quite inconspicuous and unconscious. Women, for example, tend to make a rapid hand-to-neck movement when they are agitated, disguising it as a hair-grooming gesture. Men also exhibit similar signs of stress. Embarrassed by such a driving miscue as accidentally cutting off another motorist, they will frequently make a seemingly irrelevant sweep of their hair. Actually, the gesture represents a very real surge of inner tension or conflict. "If you find yourself doing this," Brannigan and Humphries explain, "examine your motivation honestly--you will be feeling very defensive."

Under ethological examination, even ordinary smiles take on new wrinkles. One of the most common is what the Birmingham scientists call the "simple smile," a mere upward and outward movement at the corners of the mouth. It indicates inner bemusement; no other person is involved. The "upper smile" is a slightly more gregarious gesture in which the upper teeth are exposed. It is usually displayed in social situations, such as when friends greet one another. Perhaps the most engaging of all is the "broad smile." The mouth is completely open; both upper and lower teeth are visible. It is typically seen in relaxed adults and children at play.

Yet, without other facial movements, particularly around the eyes, smiles would not really mean what they seem to. For appropriate warmth, the upper smile is usually enhanced by slight changes around the outer corners of the eyes. Even the broad smile is not always an entirely convincing expression of surprise or pleasure unless it is accompanied by an elevation of the eyebrows, or what the researchers call a "raise." Other emotional expressions also depend on a delicate use of the eye area. In a sad frown, the eyebrows will ordinarily be drawn down at the outer ends. By contrast, they will be depressed on the inside in an angry frown.

Analytical Tool. The most immediate practical application of ethological research is in the area of mental health. When ordinary verbal communication is partially impaired or breaks down entirely, as in the case of autistic children and schizophrenic adults, knowledge of man's nonverbal language can be an extremely useful analytical tool. By reading such unconscious gestures as movements of the fingers and hand, the Birmingham scientists point out, the psychiatrist is in a position to discover important new clues to the patient's inner turmoil. Even when the patient seems to be able to communicate verbally, a doctor may get more valuable information on the progress of the therapy from the silent signals than from the spoken words.

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