Communication can be divided into verbal and non-verbal language. Body language (can include facial expressions, postures, eye movement, and gestures) refers to the conscious and unconscious NON-VERBAL signals we use to communicate our feelings.
It is thought body language plays a significant role in our everyday communication, even more so than verbal language. Dr Albert Mehrabian who completed several studies on non-verbal behaviour in the 1960/70s suggested up to 55% of the way we communicate is conducted via body language!
We are a shop window
When displaying emotions our body language often acts like a shop window to our feelings (you can see whats happening inside). E.g., it's pretty obvious that the athletes in the picture below are in a positive state of mind.
The positive aspect of body language refers to positive feelings such as happiness, confidence, enthusiasm, and excitement. Smiling, puffing your chest out, holding your head up, and having your shoulders up and open are all behaviours typically associated with positive body language.
Whereas negative body language reflects negative feelings such as sadness, depression, and anger. Athletes displaying negative body language such as frowning, head shaking, hunching of their shoulders, and hanging their heads down, typically indicate that they are unhappy, disappointed, and stressed.
It's part of our DNA
Tracy and Matsumoto (2008) completed a study looking at how congenitally blind (blind from birth), and seeing athletes, reacted to victory and defeat. Athletes, who were competing in the judo event of the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games, were photographed repeatedly for 15 seconds directly after the completion of the match. The footage was then analysed to determine the types of body language displayed.
The researchers discovered that after victory, both blind and seeing athletes displayed proto-typical expressions of pride, i.e. arms raised above their head, mouth open, head tilted up, and with an expanded chest. After a loss, a shared similar response was also found, i.e. slumped shoulders, head tilted down, and a narrowing of their chests. These findings suggest that the body language we display to indicate pride and shame, is a trait we are born with, as congenitally blind athletes couldn't have learned these behaviours from watching others.
Blind and seeing athletes raise their arms in response to victory.
Dominance can serve a purpose
Scientists believe non-verbal displays of dominance serve a functional purpose within the animal kingdom. Within a social group there can be limited access to essential resources such as food, shelter, and mates. Fighting is one method to establish the pecking order of who gets access to what, but this can cause injury. The constant need to fight would be a problem. To avoid this situation, a hierarchy can be formed via communication instead.
For example, when two animals confront each other they may display dominant body language (e.g. a chimpanzee holds his breath until its chest bulges; a cat arches its back and 'puffs up') to make themselves look bigger and scarier to show each other who is more likely to win a fight. Consequently, to avoid possible injury, one of the animals may choose to submit as they think they will lose, and as such the hierarchy is formed without any necessity to fight, and life can continue in relative harmony.
Dominant body language is a strategy that can be used to intimidate the opposition into submission. This could explain why humans (who share similar DNA with a number of animals) display dominant body language in times of conflict/competition. Body language that depicts power, pride, and dominance is typically displayed through expansive postures, essentially poses that make the body seem larger. In contrast, a lack of dominance is characterised by inward and closed postures that make the body seem smaller.
A great example of this in sport, is the stare-down before a boxing match, where boxers seemingly try to assert their authority and intimidate their opponents. The act of making yourself big can be seen throughout sport. E.g., when a tennis player wins an important point (fist pump) or when an athlete crosses the line in first place (arms raised) are examples of an 'expansive' posture.
A real life example
I recall watching a young unknown golfer playing in a small pro-am event in New Zealand many years ago. I remember it well as I was watching him warm-up and thinking, who is this guy? He walking around like he owned the place (e.g. displaying dominant body language), even though he probably wasn't even ranked in the top 10 at the event.
From memory, I don't think the player was close to winning the event, but because of his demeanour I long remembered the player. In the coming years, he improved immensely, and developed a successful career on the world stage, winning tour events and at one time being ranked near the top 100 players in the world.
Body language is an often overlooked strategy in sport. Outlining the benefits that positive body language can have on your thoughts, feelings, and behaviour is at the heart of this module - and how these changes impact upon your performance.