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Are we able to detect when a couple is attracted to each other just paying attention to their nonverbal cues? Nonverbal Communication Blog

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Nonverbal Communication Blog, this week we present the paper  “Can third-party observers detect attraction in others based on subtle nonverbal cues?” by Samara, I.; Roth, T. S.; Nikolic, M.; Prochazkova, E. and Kret, M. E. (2022), in which authors carry out three experiments to know if a third observer person is able to know, through nonverbal cues, whether both sides of a couple feel attraction between them. 

Human beings quickly produce and infer emotional states through facial or body expressions in everyday life. 

Although some emotions are easier to recognize than others, people can communicate them efficiently using nonverbal cues. 

One of these most important emotional states is attraction, which is crucial for the choice of a partner. 

Observing and deciphering subtle nonverbal messages, such as blushing or smiling slightly, could make it easier to answer the question of whether a person is interested in seeing another person again. However, it has not yet been examined whether such nonverbal signals can be detected as accurately as other emotions. 

In the study that is the subject of this paper, authors investigate whether external observers can detect attraction between strangers during speed dating using video clips. 

This topic is of particular interest to authors because attraction is a very powerful emotion. It can guide our behavior during social interactions, drawing us closer to or away from people. Like other emotions, attraction also influences others. In particular, the experience of attraction is related to increased arousal, which can even be observed with physiological processes.

Previous research has shown that, in speed dating, a person can indicate whether they would like to meet their date again just three seconds after looking at them. This suggests that attraction can arise quickly and guide behavior during social action. 

Humans are able to hide their feelings or convey something contrary to what they feel in order to direct their social interactions as desired. However, despite our best efforts, there are specific cues over which we have no control. For example, upon seeing someone we are sexually interested in, our pupils may dilate and a distinct blush may appear on our cheeks. 

Although there is no clear expression, there are subtle nonverbal signals that when expressed indicate interest and availability. However, they can be ambiguous. It is important to keep in mind that there are many factors that can influence the detection of attraction.

In a series of three experiments, authors study whether observers can detect attraction in a dating stranger couple by attending only to small portions of that interaction. Specifically, they examine whether this is influenced by age, phase of the interaction, and/or duration of the stimulus. 

The videos were collected during a blind dating study conducted in the Netherlands in 2021. In it, participants sat at opposite ends of a table and were informed that they would have three separate interactions with their partner: a first impression phase, an eye contact phase (as they were initially blindfolded), and a verbal phase. 

The observers in the article’s study were instructed to watch the videos, with no specific instructions as to what specifically they should pay attention to. At the end, they were asked whether they thought the people in each date would want to repeat it. 

Ultimately, authors found no strong evidence to support the idea that people can reliably detect attraction or lack of attraction through watching snippets of dating videos, and based on nonverbal cues.

However, it appears that accuracy increased when people in the videos did feel attraction, and decreased when people did not. 

Given that previous findings have emphasized the importance of subtle nonverbal cues in communicating attraction, it is worth asking whether the observed low accuracy in attraction detection may be due to an absence of attraction-associated behaviors. That is, would there be enough information present for observers to collect it? 

The conclusion is that people cannot detect with certainty when there is attraction between two people based on nonverbal cues alone, but it seems that when people are attracted to each other, it is easier to perceive it, which, the authors point out, may be very interesting for future research.

If you want to know more about nonverbal behavior and how it affects personal relationships, visit our Master of Science in Nonverbal and Deceptive Behavior, which you can take in English or Spanish, with special grants for readers of the Nonverbal Communication Blog.

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In Emotions

Can facial expression help us know if a potential romantic partner is going to reject us? Nonverbal Communication Blog

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Nonverbal Communication Blog, this week we present the paper “In the name of love: can nonverbal communication serve as a predictor of Acceptance and Rejection of Potential Partners?”, by van den Eijnden, L.; van Telgen, T.; van Viersen, J. and Visser, T. (2022), in which authors carry out a couple of studies to know whether nonverbal communication in general and facial expression in particular, may help us predict if a potential romantic or sexual partner will reject us or not.

For many years, researchers have agreed that nonverbal communication plays a very important role in the process of sending and receiving messages by conveying relevant information that goes beyond words. 

Authors’ research focuses specifically on couples, because verbal communication is considered to be a fundamental factor in the transmission of messages and, therefore, of people’s emotions. Since love is based on emotions rather than rationality, it is reasonable to say that nonverbal communication may be especially relevant to love. 

Therefore, authors ask: to what extent does nonverbal communication serve as a predictor in choosing our partner?

To investigate this issue, authors use a Dutch television program, where a group of male farmers are looking for love and go on dates with different female candidates. The current research considers the facial expression that the man who is going to decide, shows before verbalizing his decision. 

Facial expressions are often the means through which many emotions are inferred. People tend to associate certain facial movements with certain emotions and, therefore, it is possible that the nonverbal signals shown on the face of the decision-maker may reveal his response.

One hypothesis of the authors is that, by observing the farmer, it is possible to predict the decision he is going to make before he communicates it.

On the other hand, it is important to find out which are the elements that make us deduce that the farmer will make one decision or another. In other words, which movements tip the balance towards rejection or acceptance. Authors consider four: 1) raising the eyebrows, 2) smiling, 3) nodding and 4) shaking the head. 

Raising the eyebrows has often been associated with sadness and anger, even surprise or fear, depending on the movement. 

Smiling, on the other hand, can express happiness, but there are many types of smiles, such as false, or sad.

Nodding and shaking the head are also important because they can convey agreement and attention or disagreement, reluctance, even anger….

Therefore, authors predict that these elements will be important predictors of acceptance or rejection of the potential partner. 

A total of 40 clips were analyzed where some of the male farmers featured in the program just before rejecting their female candidates.

Unlike expectations, the results did not show support for the idea that we can predict whether the farmer will reject or accept a female candidate. There was also no support for the expectation that facial cues play a role in predicting rejection or acceptance. 

One possible explanation is that visual cues are often subjective. For example, a smile may indicate that someone is happy, but sometimes it can also signal shyness or cynicism. Raising eyebrows can indicate multiple emotions, such as astonishment or concern, which makes it difficult to judge people’s emotional state. 

Therefore, it is especially important to take into account the context and other nonverbal communication channels, as one alone provides us with scarce and unreliable information. 

Authors suggest investigating with more participants in future studies, as well as classifying the videos: on the one hand, those in which the candidate accepts someone, on the other hand, those in which he or she rejects the person. In this way, facial expressions can be contrasted with each other. 

If you want to know more about nonverbal behavior and how it influences our personal relationships, visit our Nonverbal Communication Certificate, a 100% online program certificated by the Heritage University (Washington) with special discounts for readers of the Nonverbal Communication Blog.

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In Emotions

Music and body movement: their influence on romantic dates. Nonverbal Communication Blog

By 4 Mins Read

Friends of the Nonverbal Communication Blog, this week we present the paper “Body sway predicts romantic interest in speed dating” by Chang, A.; Kragness, H. E.; Tsou, W.; Bosnyak, D. J.; Thiede, A. and Trainor, L. J. (2021), in which authors organize a series of speed dates to study how music and body movements influence the participants’ romantic interests.

Love relationships are one of the most essential social bonds for humans and, in addition, they are fundamental for society.

Because of this, many previous studies have investigated the social and personality factors that are related to the formation and maintenance of these relationships, as well as the happiness and outcomes of them.

One of the aspects that has caught most of the attention of experts and also the general public is the first moment of this bond, that is, the origin, the initial romantic interest. To investigate this, speed dating has been used, which is a process in which people have a series of dates lasting a few minutes with potential romantic partners. The reason for the validity of this method is that it allows good experimental manipulation, in addition to the fact that it has the approval of the scientific community.

However, the role of interpersonal interaction and nonverbal behavior in early romantic interest has rarely been studied scientifically, despite being seen as a crucial factor for individuals.

In this particular article, authors focus on the swaying of the body, the interactive body movements of potential partners involved in speed dating, and how these relate to romantic interest.

Body balance is part of people’s nonverbal behavior and serves as an indicator of interactions in many settings. People rarely sit and stay completely still, they rather make subtle head and body movements, usually unconsciously. 

When two or more people are having a conversation, are in a psychotherapy session, or are playing music at the same time, their body swings tend to be coupled.

We have already mentioned that what is studied in this article is the body balance and its relationship with the initial romantic interest. Well, to evaluate it, the coupling ratios between the balance of one person and the other were examined, throughout the 4 minutes that each appointment took place.

In addition, an interesting factor was taken into account: music. Dating environments often include music in the background, yet the effect of music on early romance has rarely been studied.

Many places where people experience romantic interactions, such as restaurants, bars, and parties, have music. It is known that it drives both intentional and unconscious movements, especially styles like soul, funk or jazz, which have a high level of  “groove”. The “groove” would be the instinct that makes us move and that is born from the musical influence.

Empirical studies have shown that certain types of music promote the swaying of the body, therefore, authors hypothesized that musical rhythm could affect initial romantic interest by improving the coupling of the body sway.

To investigate all this, 55 participants were gathered. There were two dating sessions between men and women of legal age. Different background music was selected for each session. Face-to-face contact between potential partners prior to dates was minimized, and participants were instructed to have conversations and interactions only with their partner at the table. After each date, each participant completed a questionnaire about his/her partner.

Body sway directional coupling was found to predict interest in romantic relationships in the long term, but not in the short term. Specifically, participants seemed to have a greater interest in a long-term relationship if their sway dynamics predicted better their potential partner’s body sway.

This is consistent with previous studies that show that interest in short-term relationships is primarily associated with attractiveness, whereas interest in long-term relationships is associated with personality and socially attractive characteristics, such as intelligence, honesty and warmth.

Authors propose the idea that the coupling of body sway reflects the quality of communication in the couple and reveals the degree of compatible personality characteristics.

On the other hand, regarding music, it is shown that it promotes romantic interest during speed dating, which motivates future research on this topic. However, no evidence was found about music being related to greater sway coupling, which was not consistent with the hypothesis. But it is important to mention that other previous studies show that music with “groove” promotes the incorporation of movement to the interaction and therefore it is necessary to delve into whether it benefits the emergence of romantic bonds.

If you want to know more about nonverbal behavior and how it influences our personal relationships, visit our Nonverbal Communication Certificate, a 100% online program certificated by the Heritage University (Washington) with special discounts for readers of the Nonverbal Communication Blog.

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