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What you do speaks so loud that I cannot hear what you say.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Before Email and Facebook, Tweets and Instagram, Charles Darwin set out to prove that human expressions were much like those of an animal. The furrowing of brow, baring of teeth and flaring of nostrils are actions that are displayed in both humans and animals alike. Picture a hungry wolf defending its cubs. The head is lowered, the eyes are narrowed and the teeth are bared. Now think of actor in a play or movie or on television portraying a violent man demanding acquiescence of a victim during a crime. His postures, the eyes, the nostrils, the teeth, are much the same as an animal. Darwin had the strong inclination that emotions are tied to physical changes in the body. These expressions evolved as man evolved. This was a finding that changed minds to see the importance of expressions in understanding man. In the nineteen twenties, Darwin’s book, “The Expressions of the Emotions in Man and Animals” began the concept of internal feelings being expressed through visual signs displayed on the face.
Around that same time, a French physician and physiologist, Guillaume Duchenne believed that different facial muscles were responsible for various facial expressions. Duchenne conducted an experiment showing the affects of facial muscles being probed with external electrical probe. Because of the recent introduction of photography, he was able to capture the results and share them with a wide audience. Darwin used these photographs to “stimulate” after dinner conversation amongst several of his quests from time to time. After seeing the photographs, the guests were asked to describe what facial expression the subject was showing. Without exception, eve...
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...led to “express ourselves”, right? We all do this; we judge a person by what they are wearing. If the pants or tops are too low or too tight, we immediately form an opinion. What are some of the things that our clothing choices are saying? They can say something about our personality, our mood, our culture, our economic status, our age, religion, authority, values or our sexual identity. Studies have shown that for women in particular, the amount of clothing we’re wearing or not wearing sends off signals to the opposite sex. In this study, it was shown that the levels of sex hormones directly correspond with the types of clothing being worn. Thus, clothing speaks volumes in regards to initial assumptions made about who we are. Think about that the next time you’re trying to impress or elevate your status in this ever rigorous, highly competitive society we live in.
Ekman, P. (2009). Darwin's Contributions to Our Understanding of Emotional Expressions.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society.
scientists about how the heart rate and the blood flow to the face went together, but gives a different opinion and discovery. Reading about other scientists’ discoveries is intriguing, but Darwin’s specific discovery really does give perspective on the thoughts of scientists in the 1900s. An increase in heart rate is argued over whether or not it causes blush, but it happens when one is embarrassed, which makes scientists believe it is a cause of blushing.
The researchers’ hypothesis is premised on a theory first proposed by Charles Darwin called the “facial feedback hypothesis” (Finzi et. al., 2014). Darwin suggested that the feedback our brains receive from the contraction of our facial muscles plays a casual role in cont...
Furthermore, as Marie Kondo supports, with clothing comes the confidence that a person needs to be true to who they are and to think highly of him or herself as an individual. In general, one’s style of clothing can influence favorable feelings.
According to Behaviorinfluence.org, this new thought process is reflecting in the fashion trends of today, which further impact what women and men prefer to wear today. This trend is often times executed by the women of the society. This style of dressing is to show off the body to the opposite sex and sometimes the same sex. Sex appeal is a prominent theme in women’s
Gruber, Howard E. Darwin on Man: A Psychological Study of Scientific Creativity. The University of Chicago Press: Chicago, 1974.
Darwin in 1872 put forth the notion that emotional expressions are inborn and involuntary displays of one’s inner state (1). Darwin developed this ideology further and proposed what is now known as the Inhibition hypothesis (1). This two pronged theory describes the relation of emotion to facial muscle activation, more commonly known as facial expressions (1). The theory states that (a) specific facial muscles can not be intentionally engaged when the genuine emotion is lacking and (b) certain muscles can not be inhibited when a genuine emotion is experienced - it has been noted that this emotion must be particularly intense (Porter and ten Brinke, 2008; Porter, ten Brinke, & Wallace, 2011).
While communicating with another human being, one only has to examine the other’s face in order to comprehend what is being said on a much deeper level. It is said that up to 55 percent of a message’s meaning can be derived from facial expression (Subramani, 2010). These facial manipulations allow thoughts to be expressed in ways that are often difficult to articulate verbally, with the face demonstrating “the thoughts of the mind, and the feelings of the heart” (Singla). Many expressions are said to universal, particularly those showing happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and...
Initially, Landis’ experiment to discover whether all humans are prone to project the same facial expressions that coincide with such emotions as surprise, happiness, anger, and disgust after being exposed to different situations seemed pretty harmless. In order to test his experiment, Landis brought in some of his fellow graduate students into a laboratory and drew marks on their faces, so that their facial expressions could be made more visible when presented with different stimuli. At first, Landis’ subjects were presented with a variety of strange, but relatively mild tasks that they were asked to do that included smelling ammonia, watching pornography, and putting their hand into a bucket containing frogs. While completing the tasks, Landis would take pictures of the students to take note of their reactions. The controversy, though, existed in the last task that Landis’ had his subjects complete, which involved decapitating a live rat so that the facial expression for disgust could be recorded. Unsurprisingly, many resisted. However, after being told to do so many...
Ever since their invention many centuries ago, clothes have been used as a way of communicating. The message communicated relies on a number of factors including the social background of both the communicator and the receiver, and the context in which the message is communicated. Although at times the exact message or symbolism one is trying to portray may not be clear, it is evident that clothing has long been embraced as one of the best ways to project one’s desired personal image to those around them.
Lewis, C.S. Till We Have Faces; A Myth Retold. New York: Harcourt Brace, 1984. Print.
Fletcher, Ben C. "What Your Clothes Might Be Saying About You." Psychology Today. Sussex Directories, Inc., 20 Apr. 2013. Web. 3 Dec. 2013. .
Clothing is something that defines a person, and allows society to have an outlook on an individual’s lifestyle and beliefs. Unlike criticizing other material things like a car, a home or even something as simple as a television set, criticism of clothing is very personal. This suggests that there is a high correlation between clothing and personal identity and values. (Breward, pg.1) Clothing in a sense has the ability to communicate thought. However, similarly to art interpretations, this does not mean that any two people will perceive these visual aesthetics similarly.
Before the spoken word was commonly used to communicate, there was body language. Body language allowed people to effectively communicate with one another. Non-verbal gestures, facial expressions, and movements were used to express thoughts and feelings when the mouth was not. Later in history, a famous philosopher, politician, and scientist by the name of Francis Bacon stated that “as the tongue speaks to the ear so the gesture speaks to the eye.” Even though spoken l...
In conclusion, fashion will speak out a person’s social signal, people dress on designs that blend with their social class. Just as population, social activities and fashion are changing with time. Fashion has made clothing to be convinient, everything needs to be done with the least effort and spend the least time.