Are human emotions really universal?

Dongria tribal girl
(Odisha, India)

The English word 'emotion' was adapted from the French word 'émouvoir' (pronounced as 'é-mou-vwa(r)'), back in 1579. The literal meaning of the original French word is "to stir up" or "to move". Emotions have a great power to stir us or move us inside out instantly. Having different emotions is a universal or the single-most common human quality. Expressions of some emotions do magically bridge the huge gaps, cross the international boundaries and bring millions of people together. Hence, we believe that everybody in this world has the exact same emotions as ours. Don't we? Almost everybody does, until an unexpected truth is told.

A few days ago, I watched a presentation on Big Think about human emotions. Among several insights shared by the presenting researcher, three were utterly shocking - 1) (All) Emotions aren't universal i. e. they aren't common across cultures. 2) Facial expressions of emotions aren't universal i. e. they aren't common across cultures. 3) There are no synonymous words for some emotions in the vocabularies of some languages e. g. 'fear'. Indeed, these are entirely upsetting or shocking facts for almost everybody of us who ardently believe in universality, enough to change facial expressions for a long time.

Dr. Paul Ekman (American psychologist) established universality of six basic emotional expressions through his observations with different groups of people, including members of Fore tribe located deep inside the forest of Papua New Guinea. After the same, training programs and tools have been developed on the basis of the same. Especially, those who have built their whole careers, courses, software applications and/or smartphone apps around it would find them very upsetting. Much to their surprise, Dr. Ekman himself agreed about cultural-specific emotions.

Dr. Paul Ekman walking along with
smiling tribal children (1967 - 1968)

These three facts totally disturb what has been taught over the last few decades to millions of people, including law enforcement, intelligence and security professionals around the world. While mentally adjusting with these scientifically proven facts, we need to investigate this deeply 'emotional' subject seriously. Are billions of people really divided into many groups that do experience emotions differently from each other? Or Is it only about the differences in labeling or describing emotions? Or Is it only a translation issue?

After watching the presentation, I started to think really harder over a few days about the three facts. Through this short article, I'm trying to share with you what I've come up with after brainstorming. Especially, if you're a researcher (independent or academic) then I'd kindly suggest to consider the key inputs while conducting further research about this most critical yet complicated subject having global consequences.

Currently, a massive amount of facial data might be getting fed to many Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems for enabling them to recognize different emotions by reading facial expressions. If the same data has been selected by, for and of the members of a specific culture then Emotional AI (EAI) systems might misread the emotions of the members of other cultures by facial expressions. Isn't it totally wrong?

If you could just try to imagine this techno-tragic outcome personally affecting you in the near future then you'd realize exactly how serious are the implications of the belief in 'universality of human emotions (and their facial expressions)'. Actually, the dark rabbit hole goes much farther and deeper inside the ground. Perhaps, only neuroscientists might understand what I'm trying to say.

Facial Expressions of six basic emotions
identified by Dr. Paul Ekman

While trying to swallow the three utterly bitter facts very slowly and painfully, we simply can't deny the following possibilities (or realities?):

1) Some commonly shared experiences or inherited memories of some groups or communities have conditioned their members to experience some emotions more profoundly and frequently, in comparison to other emotions.

2) The neural connections and activation inside brains are slightly different in the people following different cultures, who don't experience, express and/or label the exact same emotional experiences.

3) Members of two entirely different types of cultures (e. g. collectivist vs. individualist) don't share the exact same reasons to invoke the exact same emotion e. g. anger (fight).

4) Some physical environments don't leave any reason to invoke some emotions in those who commonly share them e. g. an abundance doesn't lead to greed, envy or jealousy.

5) Some cultures have gradually succeeded in converting some emotional experiences into nonverbal expressions that don't involve facial muscle movements.

6) Some cultures systematically do encourage or educate their members to express some emotions through facial muscle movements, right from early childhood.

7) Some cultures systematically do train their members to completely suppress the nonverbal expressions of some emotions, right from early childhood.

8) Different cultural groups of people do use slightly different facial expressions to convey the exact same emotion e. g. happiness.

9) Some cultures systematically train their members to express some emotions in certain ways, right from early childhood.

For the languages that don't have the words synonymous to 'fear' in their vocabularies, a further investigation is required to prove or confirm if speakers of those languages really don't at all withdraw themselves nonverbally in the presence of a genuinely fearful stimulus e. g. a male tribal hunter accidentally confronting a tiger, a lion or a leopard in the close proximity while hunting wild animals for food.

Also, there's a great possibility that speakers of such languages have been describing the nonverbal expressions of fear graphically, in greater detail to help everybody in understanding the whole scene. How a person expressed nonverbally while experiencing fear might be worth describing for them than just saying "He was in great fear while encountering a tiger at a close distance".

Actually, it's almost impossible that fear (flight response) isn't a single-most universal or a commonly shared emotion. Hence, they might be expressing fear nonverbally and do recognize it as a genuine emotional response. However, they might not be labeling the same experience as 'fear' just like the speakers of other languages having the words synonymous to 'fear'.

An old shaman (spirit-man) from Waura tribe
living in Amazonian rainforest of Brazil

Try to imagine about people living deep inside a large tropical forest. They strictly follow an ancestral culture that greatly respects the territorial rights of the wild animals living in the same forest. How they do react upon sighting a tiger in a close proximity is labeled as 'a display of respect to the protector of forest'. However, the observers not following the same culture might simply label it as 'freezing in fear'.

Actually, screaming, making rapid body movements and running away does provoke some wild animals (big cats and bears) to chase and kill the runner. Hence, everybody is strictly trained by tribal elders to keep both hands steady, maintain total silence, hide weapons, stand still, keep looking ahead with wide open eyes while bending forward. Tigers don't attack them and just pass them by after doing so.

Some emotions could definitely be common across all cultures. However, other emotions or at least the triggering causes of emotional experiences aren't universal. Differences in cultures, conditioning, local environments and/or shared experiences might have led to shaping, modifying, recognizing, categorizing and/or labeling various emotional experiences slightly differently.

Indeed, emotion triggering causes, intensities of emotional experiences, physiological effects of emotional experiences and nonverbal expressions of emotions may not be commonly shared across cultures. Also, they may not evenly be shared, by all member of a family, a group, a culture, a society or a community. They're entirely context dependent or contextual.

Face masks showing different emotional expressions

As a human being, one of the greatest challenge for you is to recognize the different emotions of the people who matter you the most in your life. If you're doing it accurately and timely then you're a good 'mind reader' already. However, your attention to details, contextual awareness and level of empathy are the factors that determine the accuracy.

[#GLOBAL APPEAL: Irrespective of the slighter differences in our intelligence, perception, emotions, thoughts, priorities, motivations, perspectives and experiences; Compassion is the single greatest and universal human quality. It can ensure the continuation of our species while preventing the disastrous outcomes of our ruthless actions, decisions and creations. However, our passive optimism isn't doing anything for us and it never did. We need an active optimism.

While Artificial Intelligence (AI) systems are still growing, learning and developing within human control (hopefully!), it's a greatest moral responsibility of all whistle-blowers, organizations, governments, politicians, institutions, journalists, philosophers, agencies, academics, researchers, scientists, developers, futurists, influencers, thinkers, leaders and experts to unite for creating boundaries, regulations, rail-guards, brakes, limits, ethics, rules and/or laws.

We won't get a second chance to do the same in future. That's why we all need focused, resolute, unanimous, consistent, collective, committed, coordinated, transparent and accountable efforts taken at a global scale. Are we not at all answerable to our children and next generations?]

Related Articles:
1) Chicken and Egg Paradox 2) Basic Emotional Expressions 3) Would aliens have emotions? 4) Can body language reveal thoughts? 5) Is Human Communication 93% Nonverbal? 6) Artificial Intelligence and Body Language 7) Human Interactions in AI Era

Cultural connection with Gesturing

Rajnikanth: Tollywood Movie
Superstar and Icon

In January 2014, I moved from Pune (India) to Chennai (India) with my wife after choosing a new job from a local IT company. It was very first time of coming into direct contact with native south Indian population since I never traveled this part of the country ever before in my life at all.

I was really excited yet I felt a little bit nervous and challenged too because I didn’t know local language i. e. Tamil (classical one and 5th most spoken language in India), etiquette, mannerism and normal (or socially acceptable) nonverbal behavior before moving to Chennai.

Although I've few Tamil friends living in Pune, facing and interacting with same people in their own territory is very different because they tend to behave, act and express very culturally, naturally and comfortably. Also, some people might dominate, cheat and harass the strangers and visitors too.

Knowing the fact that gestures have different meanings and purposes in two different cultures, I started to investigate one particular hand gesture which I found completely different. I never saw people from any other cultures especially people from other parts of India making this gesture, in exactly the same way.

It’s a typical gesture that Tamil men and women make especially during face to face conversations. One of my colleagues turned close friend makes this gesture a lot of time during conversation so I could pick enough details about same from very close distance.

Questioning Gesture

How this gesture is made? One hand is stretched out, held above torso (upper body), thumb is kept jutting outside partially or fully, other fingers are clenched and finally this whole formation is abruptly shaken 2 or 3 times vertically at elbow. Through a stranger’s point of view, it appears as if a person, who makes this gesture, is trying to hold and shake something quickly by one hand.

I didn’t see my Tamil friends living in Pune (India) making this gesture. Has this gesture any strong connection with local population, culture and geography of Tamil Nadu (or South India) only?

I was very intrigued to observe this gesture at very first time because I really didn’t know that exactly why native Tamil people make this gesture. After few instances, I realized that a Tamil person makes this gesture only while asking (seriously) or emphasizing something.

Finally, true nonverbal purpose behind the gesture was disclosed. Even though I no longer find this gesture as an offensive or weird, as people from other cultures might assume it to be, investigating it further became necessary. Why and how this particular gesture might have evolved in the first place?

‘Shikhara’ gesture

To my surprise, I found that Bharatnatyam (भरतनाट्यम or பரதநாட்டியம் - a classical dance form of Tamil Nadu, India) dancers also use this gesture for exactly the same purpose - asking question or demanding answer in a symbolic way. In Bharatnatyam, this gesture is called as ‘Shikhara’ (शिखर/शिखरा or சிகர், Sanskrit word synonymous to ‘Peak (of a mountain)’) and it’s made in a slightly different way.

Unlike common way of gesturing, dancers don’t shake hand at elbow but just hold it stationary and raise their eyebrows significantly. Bharatnatyam might have adapted this gesture from native people’s nonverbal vocabulary and later modified it.

As per my own speculation, this gesture might have evolved out of a very normal yet an effectively threatening practice which ancestors might have developed. Perhaps, they might have become used to ask questions by holding a tool or weapon e. g. chopper, knife or stick to bring seriousness in conversation (Enough is enough! Now come to the point.). My own strong speculation is that it might be tightly related with agricultural/occupational background of Tamil community.

People carrying and using ARUVAL (a handy chopping tool or a large sickle with a long, thick and high carbon steel blade which is curved at its outer end) can be watched to shake their clenched fist over the tool (by jutting out thumb) same way during conversation to emphasize or put stress on something during face to face conversation.

Aruval: A tool and a weapon

Even today, we make many gestures in absence of same or similar kind of objects which our ancestors might have used to hold in or handle by their hands. One very good example is ‘beat you with stick’ gesture which is made by wagging an index finger in front of the person to be warned off.

Also, both thumbs up and thumbs down gestures are used to convey OK (Positive) or Not OK (Negative) respectively but they evolved in such a way that we can’t imagine in today’s context.

In ancient roman Colosseum, spectators used to send signals to winning gladiators for killing (Thumb Down) or letting go (Thumb Up) their loosing opponents. Thumb was representative of a sword so pointing it downward conveyed stabbing and pointing it upward conveyed keeping the weapon into non-harming upright position.

Not only cultural but historical, social, educational and genetic aspects also influence the way certain group of people gesticulates normally and unconsciously (during conversation). There can be many distinctive gestures people from different cultures might be making.

What all we need to do is to pick and analyze them in different contexts than jumping into misinterpretation or misjudging people who make them. So next time you watch any distinctive gesture, please check its cultural, social and geographical background first.

[Special Note: Mr. M. Kalyanaraman (Senior Assistant Editor) from the Chennai office of world's largest English daily Times of India contacted me by an email to write an investigative article on the same subject. I took it as a challenge and did my own research.

This is my only article about body language published in any newspaper. The article was published in the same on 9th June, 2014. Currently, the article doesn't exist anymore on the newspaper's website but you can find its image below (Click to zoom).]

Related Articles:
1) Words and Gestures are alike 2) Basic Gestures: Best Survival Tools for Travelers 3) Gestures: Are they learned or genetic?

Good posture is Healthy

You can conduct seemingly easy experiment on your own after reading this article. Fill a glass with water (on any other liquid) and hold it in one of your hands. You can choose any other (light or moderate weighted) object too for this experiment.

I'm quite sure that you might think that what this fellow is asking me to do is what you do routinely i. e. holding a glass, cup, mug or bottle in hand to drink water, tea, coffee or other beverages. You might be holding or handling these kinds of containers for less than 2 or 3 minutes on average at a single instance.

What’s so different with this so-called experiment then? Complete specifications of this seemingly ordinary and short lasting experiment are not over yet. Please stay with me for next few minutes and you'd understand what am I trying to convey through this lengthy article.

I’m asking you to hold any object by stretching you hand straight and keeping it away from your body. You have to keep your hand steady and not let it bend at elbow. Obviously, you can’t take support of anything and also take breaks. To arrive at a conclusion of the experiment, you should hold the object until you start feeling trembling, pains and tingling sensation in muscles of your hand.

Why supposedly strong muscles, which have been sophisticatedly designed to lift heavy load than that of one you’ve hold in your hand, started to ache after few minutes only? Answer to this question, which you would know after going through rest of this article, is definitely eye-opening.

Before evolving into tree dwelling apes, our remote ancestors used to roam on four limbs. As we can easily observe, vertebral column i.e. backbone or spine of all four legged animals remains horizontal. Standing and walking on four legs (i. e. quadrupedal anatomy) offers them more flexibility, good balancing ability and capacity to attain more speed while running.

That’s the very reason why the fastest animal on earth is cheetah and not us. Also, almost all quadrupedal (four-legged) creatures can achieve balance and walk on their feet within just few minutes or hours after taking birth.

"Human body is more vulnerable due to its bipedal anatomy. We can easily adapt a defensive posture in danger."

On the other hand, we have a unique ability to stand and walk on two hind limbs or legs (i. e. bipedal anatomy) that we feel very proud about. Moreover, it's only the bipedal anatomy which developed broader shoulders in men and wider hips in women.

This kind of anatomy allowed us to lift different things by forelimbs or hands, carry objects, throw stones, climb flexibly and observe much clearly over a large distance with wider visual angle and move from one location to other by spending less amount of energy.

Probably you might knew that our spine is made of interconnected bony segments which are stacked upon each other and called as vertebrae. Also, our spine has four different sections and curves which are Cervical, Thoracic, Lumbar and Sacral.

While standing, taking rest, walking upright or running on four legs; quadrupedal creatures hardly have to pay conscious attention at their body postures and natural curves of their spines. Watch carefully at your dog or cat when it seats, stands or runs.

Only in the condition of not having enough energy and essential body parts unfit or in a bad shape (infested, deformed, amputated or wounded), bad body posture could negatively affect speed of roaming, ability to perform different tasks and their natural spinal curves.

We too are not exception to this but I believe that only we humans suffer from spine related pains, deformities and decay by most. Unlike four legged creatures, we need to maintain accurate balance along with keeping upper body erect to carry our different kinds of static and dynamic tasks.

Types of Posture

To be able to adjust ourselves with various operational demands, we eventually alter spinal curves, distance between two vertebrae and pressure on the whole vertebral column. We twist, jerk, pull or burden it instantaneously, momentarily or over a considerable amount of time.

"Pat your back on your own frequently because it reduces the issue of frozen shoulders. Simple idea but great effect!"

As many anatomists would agree, the lower section of our back is not much perfectly designed (or not ‘evolved’ correctly through millions of years). When it comes to perform activities by adapting an erect posture, this very design defect speaks (and also ‘hurts’) very loudly. Perhaps, only human babies need to learn and also practice to walk on two feet.

Ability to stand and walk with the perfectly erect or upright posture comes only after few years after a baby's birth. We insist on good posture because it’s an inevitable part of influence and impression in society but we hardly relate it with health.

Vertebral column or spine is a bridge of life force that flows between brain and rest of the body. Vertebrae or one of the bony segments of the spinal column that rests on other vertebrae with soft disk or cushion in between, is one of the vulnerable and also complex structures.

Spine connects the whole body with the brain and also provides energy and signals to different body parts through spinal cord. Both stagnant life style and exhaustive workout done by adapting wrong postures accelerate the process of spinal decay and deformation.

Like any other moving body part that is made up of blood veins, nerves, bones, tendons (band of inelastic tissue that connects muscles with bones) and muscles; entire spine or backbone is spring like a long metal spring but a little more complex than it.

One question might be raising in your mind i. e. Why we experience inflammation and pains in back, neck or arms only few minutes after applying pressure or strain? Crucial importance of good posture, workout and physical activities won’t make sense properly until we don’t get answer of this big question.

Bone, tendon and muscles: All tied up together

"Musculoskeletal pains and inflammation, if persisted over a long time, can lead to performance degradation and most importantly - deterioration of self-confidence."

Composed by elastic and fibrous tissues, muscles have their own dynamics and chemical processes. Muscles remain fit and also painless when they are moved in regular intervals because only movements ensure supply of blood and oxygen. Lactic acid gets generated as by-product of exercise but it also needs to get washed out through adequate blood circulation.

Holding any body part in a one position or configuration and putting strain on it in repetition causes contraction of muscles and ultimately disturbance in process of circulation of blood, nutrients and oxygen. You might have heard about an athlete suffering from tennis elbow.

In absence of required nutrition and accumulation of lactic acid, the muscles start to ache, tingle and inflame. If muscular pain is not relived and lactic acid is not excreted within proper time then it badly affects not only muscles but also tendons and nerves in the long run.

Spinal column is also surrounded by muscles, nerves and tissues. Muscle fibres provide support and stability to it. Muscles help us in adapting different postures by bending and twisting the spinal column at different curves. Weaker and injured muscles led to improper postures.

Which posture you think is the correct one?

"Incorrectly lifted load of only 5 kilos puts an enourmous pressure of 80 kilos on lumbar area i. e. 15 times higher than the original weight."

While sitting at one place for a long time in any particular posture, we put pressure on our whole spinal structure and thus kicking off the vicious process of musculoskeletal decay. Upper body weight also adds to the pressure on lower body, which is felt in lower back and abdominal region.

If posture isn’t changed or any body movements are not made to re-establish sufficient blood supply then not just spine but all related body parts get exhausted and start to ache and inflame. Over a considerable amount of time (in months or years), person working  stagnantly starts to feel lack of energy, enthusiasm and lightness from inside.

"Nearly more than 80% of today's youngsters in cities suffer from pains in shoulders, back, neck, arms, wrists, palms and feet. Only reason is stagnation and spending a of time with motorbikes, computers, cell phones and television."

Although we all love luxury and relaxation, it's crucial that our body is moved and not kept stagnant for a long time. In fact, stagnation deteriorates it much faster as compared to a lifestyle filled with regular movements and actions. While sitting, walking or doing different tasks; only good body posture ensures spinal health and continuity of liveliness.

Try to remain in a good and upright posture as much as possible because it’s not just healthy but impressive too. Respect your body and pay attention at your posture. Be smart and stay fit, healthy and performing for a long time!

Good and impressive sitting body posture with and without computer

"Stagnant lifestyle coupled with bad static and dynamic postures make situation worse or nightmarish."

Between year 2008 to 2013, I've gone through worst health and performance conditions. Pains, swelling, inflammation of muscles and tendons in back, neck, shoulders and wrists was about to put me out of action permanently. However, my own excruciating conditions and ordeal has taught me a great lesson in life.

I've successfully recovered from severe pain in back and neck only by adapting a proper posture, changing it frequently and doing rigorous exercise on regular basis. Good posture is a health insurance and a very impressive too. It has changed my life completely and also how people perceive me socially.

Would you still like to conduct or continue the experiment, mentioned in first two paragraphs? Certainly not I guess. If you want to test that how your muscles and tendons respond to long lasting stagnation, go ahead and try it out carefully.

It would end in ailing but I'm sure that you would become more conscious about your body and its dynamics. Also, you'd become more conscious about your overall body language and especially posture while sitting, walking and standing.

Related Articles:
1) Postures 2) Positive Body Language 3) Confident Body Language 4) Conscious shift in body language 5) My posture discovery 6) Power Postures

King Shivaji: Superior in Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal Communication is not at all limited to body language, facial expressions, gestures, postures, vocal tones, para-language, cultural norms, etiquette, impressionism and attire only. It’s the unimaginably broader area that includes different entities, techniques, operations and methods to convey messages, indications, signals, hints and clues from source to destination without words.

Without any doubt, tactical rewards are assured after thoroughly studying, discovering potentials of and applying various elements of nonverbal communication in practical life. After successfully exchanging nonverbal messages and decoding them accurately in lesser amount of time, many stories of unbelievable successes and victories could be written. World's history of warfare and tactics is full of the same.

You might know that torches can be used to send messages or signals especially in darkness by waving or moving them in a pre-specified or a particular pattern. Perhaps, you’ve might seen people doing the same in movies only. What if a King utilizes smoke and cannons to convey encoded messages for achieving something incredible which his enemies cannot think about same in the first place? This is what was exactly happening during 17th century in Maratha Empire of medieval India.

The great Indian king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj (छत्रपती शिवाजी महाराज) intelligently studied and utilized different entities, tools and methods for spreading encoded messages or signals to the troops and allies scattered over a large geographical area and many miles away from the locations where the messages were initiated.

This was really one of the greatest technological or technical achievements at the time when a strategic or tactical exchanges taking place among the officials located at different geographical locations were not safe, rapid, secured and efficient.

Human messengers who were capable of covering larger distances on their feet or by riding horses and other animals were employed to exchange written and oral messages. Messages were also used to be sent by employing pigeons, hawks or eagles. Still, it used to take hours, days and sometimes months for successful passage and exchange of a message from one point to another.

Along with same, there were many hurdles, hazards, time constraints, climatic challenges, and physical limitations for exchanging an ordinary message by the aforementioned methods. Nevertheless, it was not assured that the message makes to its destination and the person for which it is intended due to chances of interception, loss and theft. Also, impairment, murder or death of message carrier was highly likely.

Only way was to send some encoded visual or auditory (sounds) messages or signals from one location. Torches can be used to send encoded signals from one point to another but over a certain distance due to limitation of visibility. So what King Shivaji and his men did to convey messages that let them to excel in tactical communication?

They might have used other entities, ways, methods, tools and techniques but any written evidences haven’t found yet. Let’s see how they used colored smoke and sounds generated by firing cannons for signaling.

1) Signals given by firing cannons: King Shivaji and his army fought many wars but the battle of Paawan Khind (Khind - a narrow passage way in the mountainous terrain) became legendary in the whole history of warfare for Maratha Empire. Also, it’s really interesting to know that how exactly Shivaji could send a crucial encoded message to his fighting men much quickly in that critical and demanding situation.

During the secret escape from Panhalgad (a mountainous fort situated near Kolhapur, Maharastra), he and some 600 soldiers headed towards Vishalgad (another mountainous fort, few kilometers away from Panhalgad) through the thick forest at a night with the full moon above in the sky. On their way, they eventually came of know that the enemy troops of Adil Shah has were pursuing them upon getting intelligence of Shivaji's escape and they were getting closer to Shivaji and his companions progressively.

King Shivaji had to reach on Vishalgad at any cost so Bajiprabhu Deshpande (a legendary warrior and one of his commanders) and few men decided stay at Paawan khind, fight with the approaching enemy and let Shivaji reach to the destination safely. He kindly requested Shivaji and other men to keep moving towards Vishalgad. With heavy heart, Shivaji had to keep moving on by leaving 300 committed men behind him to fight with some 3,000 enemy soldiers.

Unlike most of the other self-centered kings, Shivaji was deeply concerned about those men who had decided to create barrier between him and the approaching enemy troops. After reaching at the destination safely, Shivaji couldn’t waste time in attempt of saving lives of his gallantry warriors. Paawan Khind was located few kilometers away from Vishalgad so he could send messengers on horseback to convey the message.

A cannon: Fastest way to send sound across miles

He told them to keep on fighting until he doesn’t reach at Vishalgad and fires few rounds of cannon as signal of his successful and safe appearance at the destination. He asked his men to retreat and run away from enemy soldiers immediately after hearing the sound. Why did he choose only cannons to send them the signal?

Crisscrossing hills, thick forest and tight valleys of Western Ghats of Maharastra were the greatest barriers for sending visual signals. Hence only large and bustling noise could travel the larger distance efficiently and cross the terrain much quickly. That was a ingenuously, instantly and tactically delivered nonverbal message during highly tense time.

Even though they were fatally wounded, Shivaji's gallantry soldiers kept fighting with high spirit and great energy until they heard the roaring sound created by the cannons fired at Vishalgad upon Shivaji's order. Finally, all 300 men including Bajiprabhu Deshpande scarified themselves happily to safeguard the great Maratha Empire.

This is first example of his Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) tactics.

2) Signals given by colored smoke: King Shivaji conquered, built and repaired more than 300 forts as the guarding posts of his vast and growing empire that was constantly being spied, invaded and attacked by rivals, kings and emperors. As forts were separated from each other over miles, sending audio signals or messages quickly wasn’t possible. Hence, he came up with an excellent idea.

He ordered the men who were guarding the forts to use smoke for sending signals among different forts spread over a larger geographical are of his empire's heartland. Going further, he invented an encoded messaging system by generating colored smoke. His men discovered trees, bushes and shrubs that could generate smoke in different colors.

A colored smoke: Easily visible from a long distances

As it has been found in many historical documents, white colored smoke was used to convey positive messages e. g. victory, conquer, allying or expansion of the empire. On the other hand, black colored smoke was used to convey negative messages e.g. defeat, retreat, betrayal or death.

After watching colored smoke rising upward from a fort, guards at different forts used to generate smoke with same color to pass on the message to other forts. Just within few hours, a message initiated from one fort could reach to another which was located hundreds or thousands miles away from the first one.

This is another example of his Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) tactics.

3) Intelligence Department and Super Spy: Along with his famous gurilla tactics, his intelligence department was perhaps the best in contemporary India. Its head was Bahirji Naik (बहिर्जी नाईक). He was skilled in putting on different disguises and playing convincing roles to be able to intrude enemy camps, roam freely in enemy territories and gather key information or intelligence.

The intelligence gather by him and his team greatly helped King Shivaji for battles, invasions, escapes and covert operations. He can be called as the best 'shape shifting' super spy. For most of the times, it was only King Shivaji who could quickly identify him in the crowd.

4) Prescribed codes for bodily conduct: King Shivaji asked his delegates, representatives and messengers to adapt an upright seating posture in meetings. He also asked them to avoid doing uncontrolled and immature body movements, facial expressions, gestures and eye contacts.

According to him, any message to the servants should be conveyed through subtle gestures, expressions or emblems only to accomplish the intended tasks.

[Special Note: This article is dedicated to the great King Shivaji Maharaj (Maharaj - a Sanskrit word synonymous to 'King'), his gallantry soldiers, close companions, secret agents and intelligence officers. His visinory mother JijaBai sowed seed in his mind.

Shivaji was not only a brave Indian warrior to succeed in carving out a sovereign pan-Indian subcontinental empire out of the mighty and persecuting Mughal Empire but also a great visionary, engineer, entrepreneur and strategist to inspire millions of people.

His his qualities, his achievements and his managerial skills are openly appreciated, accredited and respected by many world famous leaders, statesmen, historians, tacticians, travelers, generals, politicians, researchers, academics and experts.]

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1) What is Nonverbal Communication?

Recognizing emotional expressions: Scientific viewpoints

It is said eyes are window of the soul but actually entire face convey emotions and psychological state. Reading facial expressions is considered as a pinnacle of emotional nonverbal communication. Not only emotional signals but also physical states and cognition related clues are conveyed by human face. What is science behind this?

Seven basic emotional expressions and
a neutral face (in bottom right corner)

Until we don’t understand different theories and factors related with emotions and their expression, it’s really hard to be able to recognize them in different contexts. Neuroscience and social psychology have great impact on our ability to express and also pick emotional clues from somebody’s face (and body).

Pioneers and their discoveries

Sir Charles Darwin initiated the study of emotional expressions in humans and animals. Through his book The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals, he gave us a great insight about emotions, their origin and corresponding facial expressions. According to him, emotional facial expressions are ancient remnants of different physiological states that our ancestors might have gone through.

Different facial expressions might have benefited them in past so we kept inheriting them through generations. He believed that nonverbal expression of emotions is species specific and not cultural specific. Darwin emphasized greatly on decoding emotions by detecting combination of movements by different (facial) muscles. He also succeeded in creating codes for muscular movements related with different emotional expressions.

In 20th century, Prof. Dr. Paul Ekman and Wallace Friesen traveled to Papua New Guinea to prove ground breaking theory i. e. Universality of facial expressions related to basic emotions. According to them, there are some specific cross-cultural patterns of facial muscular movements corresponding to Fear, Anger, Disgust, Surprise, Sadness, Happiness and Contempt.

They studied and analyzed seemingly primitive population which was totally cut off from modern world. Despite of geographical and cultural isolation, those preliterate people expressed emotions on their faces in almost same way other people do in their own cultures. Moreover, people from other cultures could easily pick emotions on faces of Papua New Guinean people. Indeed, it was an amazing discovery.

Advantageous Expressions and Facial feedback

According to later theorists, expressions related with difference emotions might have offered us three distinct advantages during social interaction: honest communication, deceptive communication and regulation of emotions by through facial feedback.

A) Honest communication of emotion in which facial expressions are result of genuine neurological (or limbic) processes that take place when we’re exposed to sensory stimulus. Honest emotional communication is crucial for survival of any creature and not us. It alters physiological symptoms involuntarily and guides to act or behave according to reflexes that guarantee or multiply opportunities of survival.

For example, if our ancestors wouldn’t have run away after watching a tiger approaching them then they would have died or got seriously injured. Even today, if a child doesn’t omit distasteful thing out of its mouth by making disgusted face then probably it would pose harm to child.

B) Deceptive communication is mode in which sender tries to mislead receivers about its true psychological state. It definitive would have given certain advantages to our ancestors throughout evolutionary history. For example - a leader of tribe portraying anger on his face could derogate sub-ordinates and kept them under control without engaging into physicality and wasting energy.

We experience that a child can easily draw attention of her mother through fake weeping. However, deceptive emotional expressions can easily be detected because they are not congruent with context.

C) Emotional regulation by controlling facial expressions helps us to alter the severity of emotional perception. On the other hand, conscious movement of facial muscles can induce same emotion in mind of subject (the person who does it) and other people. In one experiment, it has been found that people who controlled painful expressions felt less pain as compared to those who let their faces express pain in natural and uncontrolled way.

Social or polite smile is a good example of facial feedback theory because it helps in creating favorable environment for person who initiates it. There's no surprise that a smile is the most commercially capitalized aspect of the overall body language.

It’s highly observable that we tend to express both genuine and fake emotions more intensely in presence of other people as compared to solitary mode. We need receivers or audience for conveying our psychological states because expressing them would be useless and wastage of energy in absence of people.

On the other hand, we also try to conceal true emotions or mask them by expressions of more socially acceptable emotion as part of display rules that are either inherited or learned.

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Body Language cues of Chess players

Recently, my three colleagues and I appeared in a quiz competition. It was based on general knowledge in area of science, geography, history and sports. There were three rounds and there were entirely different querying formats in each round. Most of them were really wonderful and challenging which I never heard about before.

Even if we were recalling our memory to tackle different sort of questions, we had to keep ourselves in a control and remain coordinated to avoid giving wrong answers in both excitement and uncertainty. Our faces and bodies were giving out some clues that we and others could easily pick.

Stroking chin, scratching head and touching different part of face was obvious.However, in such kind of team activities, it’s really hard to keep each other in sync for better performance. Both win and loss is shared by each team member so personal stakes are quite less. Throughout the competition, it gets reflected through body language of whole team members.

We all know that being in a team is really good to compete but what about competing on your own, all alone? In this situation, individual's own body language speaks at great volume. Those who are good observer can easily pick both distress and delight clues given away by the players.

Yesterday, I went to watch a chess competition organized by my company. It was a small competition and many friends were competing to make their challenge to the next round. Watching chess matches on television (which I never did yet) and in still photographs is entirely different than watching players in a close proximity.

When people you know from several years participate in any competition and face any challenging situation, it definitely occupies some space of your mind due to the relations developed with them over the period. It affects the emotional resonses of an observer and ultimately - its body language.

Probably, you might know that the game of chess was originally invented by Indians, during Gupta Empire (early 4th century CE to late 6th century CE). In ancient era, people of India used to call it as Chaturang(चतुरंग) which means means 'four-limbed' or 'four arms', referring to ancient army divisions of infantry, cavalry, elephantry, and chariotry.

It can be entirely mythical that Chaturang or Chess was used to be played with the real men in different characters standing on a large board (painted or marked on ground) and two competitors controlling their moves. Perhaps, today's chess board and pieces might be an exact replica of the same arrangement. Unlike poker or card game, playing chess takes lot of mental energy because both competitors can watch each other’s move.

Vishwanathan Anand (India)

Chess board has 64 houses and each player has to compete with the help of 16 pieces belonging of different characters and having various tactical abilities. Players have to keep their emotions under control (which is really a hard part) to remain into game without loosing concentration and tactical edge.

What exacly our brain needs to in the face of intellectual challenges? It direly needs more supply of blood, oxygen and suger to keep working until we win or give up. Body makes its arrangement itself by adapting a perticular posture to increase their supply to the brain.

We can easily figure out that a player is paying the great attention at chess board and also sitting (or choosing to seat) in a shrunken or submissive posture i. e. narrowed shoulders, one or both hands touching the face, leaning forward by torso (upper body) and the legs entwined at ankles.

Players has to engage themselves into getting visual clues wiz current location of pieces of its own and of the competitors and the number of pieces available (alive) for competition. We can call it as the Tactical Thinking posture. Players submit themselves to the game, keep anticipating next move of an opponent and juggling with tactics.

Mature and veteran players show very less emotions on their faces because they think an opponent might take unfair advantage by knowing their emotional responses. However, body gives away certain clues through alteration in posture, eye ball movements, self-touching, scratching of different body parts and face.

They unconsciously make macro, micro and subtle muscular movements on their faces which an experienced observer can easily pick and decode in given context. Since players have to concentrate on the positions and the tactics, they seem to pay less attention towards an emotional body language of their opponent. Audience not only watch the game but try to make predictions.

As players age and becomes mature, they give away less obvious clues. Their clues remain miniaturized, subtle and complex, often intermixed with displays related with cognitive or physical processes. Hence, it becomes really hard for both opponents to gauge or judge each other on expressional basis.

However, a seasoned or trained observer can systematically observe both players and accurately predict that who's going to win or loose the game. As players are deeply submerging in game, an observer has to pick both obvious and not so obvious clues by burying its eyes in their moves.

Related articles:
1) Observation is the key 2) Micro Expressions

The ways woman provokes her man to be protective

The women who seek a long term (romantic) relationship have a large arsenal of nonverbal clues to woo their desired male partners. However, some questions are equally puzzling to both men and courtship experts such as What exactly makes a man go weak in the knees for a woman (over a longer period)? Why testosterone fueled guys do fall flat for the women they strongly like? What expressional and biological signals are given away by women?

Most of the men reading this article might have gone crazy once or many times for the women they got attracted to. Also, most of the women reading this article may not have any idea about why they change dramatically in appearance, expressions and behavior while wooing the desired men. During courtship, both men and women appear completely changed over a considerable amount of time.

Its secret is hidden deeply inside the physical and psychological features of the fairer sex. Courtship signals are a mixture of signals, clues and hints of attraction, availability, fertility (vigor) and compatibility. However, women have a large arsenal of expressional and biological signals which most of them do use while attempting to turn their desired males very gooey and softer towards them.

No matter if you're a man or a women reading this article but it might sound extremely funny yet equally childish to you to know that women try to provoke protectiveness or protective feeling in their desired/targeted men both during and even after courtship through a range of both unconscious and deliberate nonverbal, body language and behavioral clues.

Most of the men and women are naturally inclined to protect and nurture the harmless, innocent and helpless babies. This gives very pleasant feelings and deep satisfaction. It’s the only physical, psychological and motor (movement related) characteristics of the newborns and adolescents that most people even fight with any odds, risk their own lives and even sacrifice themselves to protect them.

Actually, watching, cuddling and playing with babies is a great stress relieving and delighting experience in which only good hormones are secreted. Most of us feel very happy, fulfilled, relaxed and positively charged after spending time with babies. Don't we?

Babies have a considerable amount of body fat, curvy physique, very soft skin, nearly hairless body, fair complexion (as compared to grown-ups), soft vocal tone (with low volume), fewer defensive tactics, uncoordinated body movements, a lot of energy, enormous curiosity and playful disposition. Their defenselessness silently motivates the elder people to protect them.

As famous biologist Dr. Desmond Morris has rightly mentioned, (most) women retain juvenile (or child like) features throughout their reproductive age (fecundity). This is not typically found in (most) men because secretion of testosterone multiplies in their bodies after puberty. They become more muscular and rough.

Across the board, (fertile) women have considerable amount of body fat, curvy physique, juvenile faces, soft hair, soft skin, sweet vocal tone, animated facial expressions, attractive body movements and appealing sympathetic and parasympathetic displays e.g. blushing.

Most of the women themselves may not at all ever realize it consciously but they subconsciously, tactically or wisely capitalize their juvenile (or child like) vocal, physical, psychological and intellectual features over a longer period in their life-time to attract, to court and also to retain the desirable men.

After observing a woman giving away such signals, a man unconsciously feels an urge to protect her i. e. the ‘child like’ lady. Also, the man engages himself in complementary displays to portray a hero, a hunter, a warrior, a guardian or even a virtual father who tries to protect and nurture her. These mutually beneficial expressional and behavioral adaptations by both men and women attracted towards each other underlines traditional roles of both genders.

After attracting attention of the desired man and assuring that he's watching or looking at her, she tries to act as a playful and curious infant. Smiling, talking in a soft and melodious voice, giggling, gesticulating in a playful manner, palming face, putting fingers in mouth, making silly mistakes, walking joyfully, fumbling and animating facial expressions is enough to entice protective favors from the man. Her coy smile conveys harmless intentions and the chin down face expresses her submissiveness.

Increased circulation of blood inside the facial skin or blushing of upper body (especially cheeks and neck) conveys innocence, emotional excitement and an urge of covering like an unprotected child. Have you seen babies with the maximum blood circulation in the outer layer of skin (epidermis), right after a few moments of their birth?

By applying makeup on face, she tries to appear appealing, youthful and more specifically - baby like. She draws man's attention towards her most attractive and appealing features i. e. eyes, cheeks and lips. By doing hair in such a way that face looks smaller in size, she tries to imitate a child seeking nourishment, affection and protection.

By wearing vividly colorful (tight) outfits, fidgeting with them and playing with her hair quite often; she tries to draw attention of the man towards herself and at her face and eyes. This act is similar to how the cute little babies trying to attract strong attention from the adults around them.

By repetitively capitalizing a few body language cues like smiling, shrugging shoulders, showing open palms, deflating body posture and showing inner side of the wrist; women do convey their vulnerable and friendly side to men so that it could provoke them to be protective.

Through all these acts and expressions, she tries to seek the assurance that if the man she is attracted to is really able to protect her. After giving away signals, clues or hints of availability and compatibility; these ‘juvenile’ signals are intermixed with the signals, clues or hints of fertility.

It has also been found that women with greater amount of estrogen and progesterone in their bodies tend to have and display more child like facial, physical, para-linguistic and motor (related to movements) features. To complement with the same, the men having higher levels of protective feelings and who are ready to risk themselves do tend to feel more attracted towards 'juvenile' women.

In other words, juvenile characteristics and its display is a way to examine the men for their will, preparedness, resourcefulness and capability to protect and nurture women. Such inherent physical and mental qualities in most men help both of them in succeeding in romance, reproduction, child care and also the long term relationship. A human child needs a stable, a loving and a long-term parental care.

The evolutionary purpose behind this kind of attraction could be basically straightforward and simple i. e. the men having greater protective capabilities and resources should take care of and pair with 'infantile' women. Also, women themselves are attracted to 'juvenile' looking men and women because of their deep biological impulse or desire to nurture the babies.

In today's modern, technological and economically liberal world; the women who attract attention of their desired men give away signals, clues or hints that are quite similar to what ancestral women might have given thousands and millions of year ago to gain attention of the hunting men. Moreover, these acts, signals and clues are almost universal.

Protecting the Damsel in distress

Even after forming a strongly romantic or a committed relationship, these kinds of signals are given away by her almost throughout the life because she needs affection and/or protection from her man.

Related Articles:
1) Women are body language experts 2) Courtship and Dance 3) Woman's Courtship Body Language (Part 1) 4) Woman's Courtship Body Language (Part 2) 5) Man's Courtship Body Language 6) Why women apply makeup on face?