Report ID 2245678

Author: Dr Krill

Published: Journal of Xenobiology and Behavioral Science

It is estimated that 70-93% of human communication is done nonverbally. This is not simply an estimation that has been made by nonhuman scientists, but a figure that the humans themselves purportedly support. Evolutionary evidence suggests that humans developed their extreme reliance on nonverbal communication primarily because of how dangerous their original environment used to be. In order to survive, humans had to hunt in packs to take down even the most simple of prey, not even considering the larger and more dangerous animals they often hunted. In these cases, going up against animals with superior hearing, humans relied heavily on their ability to communicate nonverbally and without sound.

Today there are entire languages based upon the use of bodily movements rather than verbal communication. These languages were developed primarily for use in those without the ability to hear, but even those humans who do not use sign language as their primary source of communication still use nonverbal behaviors in excess amount.

If one is to understand humans, then they must understand the basics of nonverbal human communication.

As a caveat, I must inform the reader, that nonverbal communication can vary person to person, and from culture to culture. Not all humans will demonstrate the same pattern of nonverbal behavior as other humans, in fact nonverbal behavior in humans is extremely individualized, and this paper will only cover generalities. Even humans have struggled with this particular understand, and have fought to develop techniques of lie detection based on nonverbal cues, though the research has yet to support any such technique, as nonverbal behavior tends to be so varied.

The eyes

1. Human eyes are an important source of nonverbal communication. In fact, it is known that dogs, specifically bread by humans for humans, and evolved along side humans for thousands of years, have developed the ability to read and understand human facial expression, including eye movement.

2. There is some controversy regarding the eyes when it comes to nonverbal behavior. Out of all the species on their planet, humans are known to have the most visible difference between sclera and iris. Many animals have brown sclera, while human sclera is dominantly white, and takes up a large portion of the eye. Some researchers believe that this development resulted as an evolutionary change which made it easier for humans to give each other nonverbal cues. For instance other humans can tell in what direction another human is looking, based on the orientation of their iris and sclera.

a. Unlike Vrul, humans know when someone is looking at them, increasing social understanding

b. Humans often use eye rolling as a nonverbal technique to demonstrate annoyance or displeasure

c. Human eye contact is also purported to be important in mating rituals. The human pupil is said to dilate in response to cues it finds attractive or interesting, this being a subtle nonverbal indicator of interest between two humans

3. Cognitive effort can cause changes in human eye movement. For instance when a human is thinking hard about a specific subject, the eyes tend to drift upwards and towards different corners of the eye.

4. In many cases you may be able to detect when a human intentionally or unintentionally unfocused their vision out of boredom or illness, or intoxication. This is a term humans have coined as "Glassy"

Note: The existence of visual impairment or blindness may negate the usefulness of eye contact, and or social cues stemming from the ability to see eyes all together.

Face

1. It is not simply the eye itself that demonstrates nonverbal cues, but the entirety of the face itself, and the muscles which surround the eyes. The brows are a great example of this. Some researchers believe that the existence of eyebrows resulted as a way to keep sweat and other particles out of the eyes, while others believe that eyebrows were useful in nonverbal communication. Eyebrows and the muscles around the eyes can be indicative of many expressions.

a. Eyebrows are very versatile in the way they communicate information. A raised eyebrow on only one side might indicate a question, or even a playful mockery. If you say soemthing that is inherently stupid and a human raises an eyebrow at you, it is a nonverbal indication that someone is making fun of you. The eyebrow raise has many meanings depending on context, it can be playful, mocking, disgusted or even flirtatious. The rest of the face will have to be taken into consideration when dealing with the raising of an eyebrow.

b. When the brows are both lifted, surprise, startling or fear might be the caus. Even delight can cause the brows to raise

c. Eyebrows brought close together and angled downward towards the center might involve confusion or even anger

d. Eyebrows that come together and peak up in the middle, may be a result of pain either physical or psychological

2. Eyes paired with brows are more important indicators and may give context.

a. Fear will result in raised brows and wide eyes, this may be from the human's desire to show more sclera, and make their surprise or fear easier to see for more humans. Humans are a social species so many of their nonverbal behaviors will be with their social nature in mind.

b. Narrowed eyes are generally a sign of displeasure, mistrust or anger. However laughter may also cause the narrowing of eyes. It is important in this case to look at the eyebrows. And the rest of the face for context.

3. The human mouth is extremely mobile, however it is also one of the piece of the face, a human is most likely to control knowingly, so expression may not come across obviously.

a. For humans showing teeth, or a smile, is considered a good thing and is a way to indicte to other humans happiness. However humans may smile when they do not mean happiness, so it is important to look at the forehead and the eyes. A wrinkled forehead, and wrinkles around the sides of the eyes are a good indication of a real smile, where a smile without eye involvement is indicative of a fake smile.

b. A downturned mouth is associated with negative feelings like anger or sadness. However some humans frown when thinking, so this is not always the case. Always remember to take the entire face in context when looking at nonverbal expression. This will be hard for you to learn. To humans it is innate, but to aliens it is learned.

c. One corner of the mouth upturned. This is a nonverbal behavior I have found confusion in the past. Humans who exhibit this behavior could be showing signs of either, smugness or disgust. Disgust is usually an upturned mouth corner paired with the wrinkling of the nose. A human is also likely to turn their head away from undesired stimulus, and that includes you.

d. Do not confuse a snarl for a smile, a smile generally includes a lifted chin and moderate amounts of teeth, a snarl will involve a lowered chin, a locked jaw, and may expose more of the teeth than usual. A snarl will be paired with angry eyes. This is generally a very easy expression to spot.

4. The chin is a very hard bone I the human body. In fact the jaw is one of the strongest bones as it is used in mastication and is historically the location in which a lot of humans hit each other in the face, so it needs to be tough. Furthermore the chin resides over the neck, which is a vulnerable and exposed area of the human body.

a. An upturned chin may be an expression of trust or pride. A human who nods to you with their throat exposed, probably respects and trusts you, either that or they are challenging you and do not consider you a threat. Be sure to look at the eyes in such cases as angry eyes will pair with the latter

b. A lowered chin is an expression of wariness to protect the throat from attack. A lowered chin human is a wary human

5. Shoulders

a. A shrug is generally an indication of something noncommittal. If a human shrugs they don't know and they don't care.

6. Chest.

a. Humans use an exposed or puffed up chest as a sign of confidence. In many cases the puffing up of the chest is also a technique for flirting in both males and females. Humans may cover their chest and other vital organs if threatened.

7. Torso

a. The torso is full of vital organs, and will be covered if a human is uncomfortable or threatened. A human that is curled into a s small ball with their organs covered is uncomfortable in a social situation. Outside of social situations this may just be for comfort sake.

b. An human with an open posture will expose their chest and torso to others as a sign of comfort

8. Legs

a. Human legs tend to be oriented I the direction of those things they are interested in, specifically feet. If a human does not want to talk to you, their feet will probably be facing the door. Furthermore crossed legs and ankles MAY be an indication of discomfort though many humans simply find crossing their legs or ankles comfortable or polite, this occurrence is more common In females.

b. Humans don't generally like to face each other directly, look at the feet of two humans speaking and you will often see their feet faced at an angle so neither is directly facing the other. Often times standing directly face to face with a human can be considered uncomfortable.

9. Arms

a. Humans may cross their arms as a sign of discomfort, anger, or otherwise, but they may also do it because they are cold, or it is simply comfortable.

b. Hands in pockets may signify similar things

10. Hands are some of the most important indicators of human body language.

a. Humans often preform self soothing techniques with their hands which include rubbing their legs, or arms, touching the base of their throat, their face, or rubbing the back of their necks. Humans often use self soothing touches in times of stress or anxiety

b. Grooming is a form of self-soothing, and may include running fingers through their hair, picking lint from their clothing, or examining their nails

c. Humans often talk with their hands, something that they call illustrators to emphasize their point. Open and upturned palms are a sign of trustworthiness, while balled fists may be an indication of displeasure

11. Self-soothing can be body wide- or include large portions of the body.

a. Lots of humans rock subtly when sitting or standing. This behavior is extremely common in the large population and may result as a way of self comfort or to take stress off of a leg they have been standing on for a long time. Tapping fingers and a bouncing leg may serve the same purpose. While these behaviors are very common in the average population, they may be expressed with greater intensity by humans with certain neurological or emotional conditions.

To be very clear this is by no means an extensive list of human body language. Nor is it widely accurate. These are just general rules for average populations, and ma not be accurate among differing culture. It is also important to note that certain neurological conditions in humans may result in the inability to read body language accurately. While this makes communication more difficult for certain humans, it does not make communication impossible. Therefore, non human populations should be encouraged to know that while nonverbal human behavior is common, and useful, it is not necessarily required to have and form good relationships.

Though that by no means suggests one should ignore it outright