Kinesics

KinesicsPrachi Bhavesh Sanghvi

M.Sc Clinical Psychology

St. Agnes Centre For Post-graduate Studies And Research

Prachi Sanghvi, M.Sc. Clinical Psychology

Kinesics is the interpretation of body motion communication, that is, nonverbal behavior related to movement of any part of the body or the body

as a whole.


When the client talks and you are confused regarding what is being narrated, pay attention to the body

language of the client. Your reading the body language of the client will help you discern what the truth is.

When the words and body language miss match, then rely on body language, for body never lies.

-Carl Rogers

Only 7% of the message is conveyed through words, 38% is revealed through paralinguistic behaviour like vocal quality and 55% comes through the body.


Criteria for interpretation1. “Cluster gestures”Anger:o Blinks fast and frequentlyo Clenched fistso Crossed arms over the chesto Tapping a chair arm with finger or the floor with

a foot


Anxiety:oTwisting ring around on a finger, removing or replacing itoBiting fingernailsoClearing the throatoLip chewingoTapping a chair arm with finger or the floor with a footoAdjusting tieoHolding an arm behind the back and clenching the hand tightly while the other hand grips the wrist


Impatience:oDrumming the fingersoTapping feet on the groundoWhile sitting with crossed legs, the person twitches the suspended foot up and down.oGathering his belongings, looking at the watch and orienting to the exit

Interest:oMaintains eye contactoInclines his head forwardoHead noddingoSmilingoTilting his head to one side


Lying:oHesitation and long pause before answeringoHigh pitch, fast pace and stuttering voiceoSuppressing facial expressions and maintaining a straight faceoAvoids eye contactoRapid blinkingoConstant swallowing and clearing the throatoPlacing objects like glass of water or books as a barrieroTapping hands or feetoEye-shuttling to find an escapeoRubbing the nose


2. “Congruence between verbal and body language”3. “Context”


4. “Culture”•Certain gestures are purely cultural. They may mean one thing in one culture and another thing in another culture. •Difference in gestures mainly exists relating to territorial space, eye contact, touch frequency and insult gestures.oE.g., Greeting can include handshake, embrace, kiss, bowing and joining hands. Handshake, kissing and embrace are impolite in Japan. o‘OK’ in West, ‘money’ in Japan, insult to Turks and Brazilians. oThumbs-up: ok, insult and good.


SPECIFIC GESTURESUnintentional gestures:Defensive posture (Folded arms, lips pressed together and crossed legs) might arise automatically when you do not like the speech of someone talking too much.

Micro gestures:Flashes of emotions-movements around the mouth, tension at the eye and flaring of the nose. They can occur automatically.


Displacement gestures:oDrumming fingers, fiddling with objects, stroking the chin, running fingers through hair, twisting the ring on the finger. oWhen one feels conflicting emotions, he may engage in gestures which have no relation to his immediate goals. oThey are mostly self-directed and serve to release excess energy and gain a feeling of comfort for a short while. By these, one burns some pent up energy or refocus it. oAlso called ‘adaptors’ as they help us to adapt to our internal tension.

Mirroring:oYou reflect certain behaviour patterns of your clients to make them feel that they are with someone who understands them and who is like them.oIf you mirror the behaviour of a person, it communicates that you are in agreement with that person.oParents’ mirroring responses influence the development and maintenance of self-esteem and self-assertiveness. Parents’ response will mirror back to the child a sense of worth which creates self-respect. oFor a child to have healthy self-esteem it is essential that he feels loved and accepted. Mirroring helps here. If a child does not feel so then he might develop the self that is fabricated in order to get the approval of others.



Kinesics therapy•It attempts to modify observable, maladaptive behaviour patterns by substituting new response or a set of responses to a given stimulus in the place of old responses. •Through behavioural techniques, it reinforces desired behaviors and eliminates undesired behaviors.

Body awarenessBreathing, voice quality, position of the body parts helps them to own their feelings and internal states.


Changing fixed muscular patterns

•If a person goes cringing, bent down and walking slow, ask him to stand straight, hold his head high with chin slightly lifted up and walk fast. These changed patterns alter the way he feels in himself and give corresponding impression to others.

•If you assume an erect posture with your head held high and your chest protruding, then you automatically feel self-confident.


Appropriate eye-contact

•With your eyes you can command attention, display interest, show disapproval, create intimate feelings and demonstrate dominance. •If you maintain eye-contact, you hold the control of the situation. It improves social interaction. •Dilate pupils-attractive or interesting•Constricted pupils-hostility•Looking away while listening will mean that you are not completely satisfied with what the speaker says and so you are having certain reservations; it could also mean that you want to conceal your real feelings from the speaker, especially if the speaker is critical and evaluative.


Head behaviours•Slow nodding shows that you are validating the comments of the other person and encouraging him to continue. •Rapid nodding shows that you are impatient, eager to add something and you want to take over the role of speaker. •When you continue nodding, you indicate that you do not intend to take over the speaker’s role. It encourages the speaker to say more. If you stop nodding, then the speaker thinks that you are not interested and may wind up immediately. •Research has confirmed that nodding while someone speaks prompts the speaker to generate 3 or 4 times more information than when there is no nodding.


Walking:Way of walking betrays your mental state. When you are sad, everything slows down and your walking too. When you feel depressed, you can increase the tempo of your walk and see the difference in your feeling with erect body which is an impression of dynamism and confidence.


Smiling

•when we smile or laugh, the brain releases endorphins which are natural pain killers and enhances ‘feeling good.’ •They have similar a chemical composition to morphine and heroin and have a tranquillizing effect on the body and they help to build the immune system.•One may turn to drugs and alcohol to achieve the same feeling that endorphin-induced laughter produces. Alcohol is known to loosen inhibitions and lets people laugh more, which releases endorphins. One will take alcohol and drugs to try to feel how happy people feel normally.


ReferenceD. John Anthony. Body never lies. 2011. Guru Publications, Tamil Nadu.

Kinesics

Healthcare

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