Does our body language tell us more than what we say verbally? Is our body language learned or does it occur naturally? There are many different ideas about this, with some saying that there is a difference in the meaning of facial expression across cultures, and others saying that it is subjective. I think body language tells us a lot but can be interpreted in different ways. Do we tell people more about ourselves or our thoughts than we intend? We usually know when someone is happy, sad, excited, angry, scared, or surprised by their facial expressions, but what else does their face and the rest of their body tell us? By understanding facial and body movements and positioning, many psychologists and law enforcement trainers tell us we can tell what people are thinking, whether they are being deceptive, bored, or just plain bored. An American Psychological Association article by Matsumoto and Hwang (2011) explains that we have microexpressions over which we have no control. Their article cites Porter and Ten Brinke (2008) who argue that it is when we try to deceive our emotions that these microexpressions usually occur. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Susan Krauss Whitbourne PH. D. (2012) says in a Psychology Today article that simply not combing your hair can say a lot about your emotional state. She goes on to explain how our posture shows that we are confident by simply keeping our heads high and our backs straight. If we are bored or anxious, we tend to fidget with our hands and cross our arms if we are angry. This would be a good example of how body language can be subjective. How do you know if someone is angry or just cold? We might fold our arms for many reasons other than anger. Whitbourne also says that shaking our legs and tapping our feet can show that we are anxious. The eyes also say a lot. Our pupils, which we cannot control, dilate when we are deceptive or attracted to someone. Businessballs.com, along with many other articles, says the way you look during a conversation can indicate whether you are being deceptive or remembering facts. Looking to the right is usually a sign of deception or making something up. If you remember a fact or memory, you look to the left. It is the opposite for left-handed people, so we would need to know whether a person is left-handed or right-handed to be able to make sense of their eye movements. Some say that our feelings are not reflected in our facial expressions. BBC.com and psychologyscience.org both conducted research that showed that a tribe in New Guinea saw facial expressions as threat and aggression that we would consider a fearful facial expression. The article goes on to say that all cultures recognize certain expressions and the feelings that are associated with those expressions. I think we can sometimes tell what people are feeling or thinking by their body language. This is something that can be easily manipulated. The crossed arms example shows how a gesture can mean something that has nothing to do with emotions or what we think, but someone could perceive anger in us when we are simply cold. If we think about what we are doing, we can change our facial expressions, look in one direction.