In the everyday world, it is common for people to be experiencing two (sometimes competing) emotions simultaneously. This phenomenon is known as emotional dissonance. Yesterday, Tom Cruise appeared on "Late Night with Jimmy Fallon" to promote his new movie "Oblivion". In the above video Cruise provides a great example of emotional dissonance. Near the end of this clip, when Fallon reveals a "raw egg challenge" for Cruise - Katie Holmes' ex shows us three rapidly overlapping nonverbal displays. These are highlighted in the images below:
Beginning at 5:28,
just after Jimmy says, "... raw egg ..." Tom's jaw juts out. This is a strong and reliable signal of anger. We also can see an inward lip roll (ILR). The inward lip roll is one body language signal our subconscious reveals when it is trying to prevent the outward display of emotions. While the ILR is usually associated with negative emotions, it is also often seen when a smile and/or laughter is being suppressed.
A few seconds later, we see Cruise's Jaw still jutting out - with the inward lip roll (ILR) from a front/oblique view. Cruise is experiencing two emotions during the moment of this image. While his jaw jut continues to display anger, he is also displaying a sincere, but suppressed smile. Search your memory you probably can recall being angry and laughing at the same time. The most telling signal of Cruise's sincere smile is his partially closed eyes with a dynamic lower lid, concave-up furrow - which is ALWAYS required if the smile is sincere. The actor's forehead is also relaxed - also an absolute during a true smile. Tom's mouth however is not open - consistent with his jaw jut & inward lip roll; however if you look at his cheek muscles, they are bunched up (contracted) - which contributes to and coexists with the eyelid changes of a sincere smile.
Here, the jaw jut is waning as is the inward lip roll - although they both can still be seen. Cruise's suppressed mile is still very evident as well. This image is captured during a prolonged lid closure and is one body language signal of emotional processing. This is a sign that although the intellect understands - the emotional brain is still playing catch-up and trying to grasp the situation.
See also:
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2039: Fight Outside Florida Courtroom - Jaw Jut Prior to Violence
Nonverbal Communication Secret # 47: Jaw Jut and Mid-face Tightening - Pete Carroll
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2268: Amy Poehler, Tina Fey, Kathryn Bigelow & Jessica Chastain - Body Language at the 2013 Golden Globe Awards
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2365: Lindsey Vonn & Tiger Woods - Body Language at the Masters
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2210: Body Language Signaling of an Attempt to Control Emotional Escalation & Display - The Inward Lip Roll
Flirting and Romance Secret # 39: Cameron Diaz & Tom Cruise - Affectionate vs. Non-Affectionate Hug
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1916: Katie Holmes & Tom Cruise are getting a Divorce - What Body Language Metric could have Predicted this Back When They Were Dating?
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1921: Who was More Dominant - Tom Cruise or Katie Holmes?
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2332: Instinctive Body Language, Comforting an Infant & Empathy
Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2327: What is meant by "Eye Contact"? A Body Language Fundamental
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