Thursday, September 18, 2014

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2955: Adrian Peterson - a Telling Body Language Cluster (PHOTO)























Pending the resolution of the allegations of child abuse, Adrian Peterson has been deactivated by the Minnesota Vikings. The star NFL running back has been indicted for "reckless and negligent injury" of his four-year old son after he disciplined his son with a tree branch.

In this image we see a cluster of several nonverbals indicative of a heightened anxiety state. Mr. Peterson's central forehead is contracted (CFC), his eyes are opened wider than baseline with tension in his lower eyelids, he's biting his bottom lip with a mild-to-moderate dilation of his nostrils along with a mild tightening of his "mustache area" (termed so regardless of facial hair or gender). In this moment, Adrian Peterson is certainly worried and more specifically - he has a significant amount of emotional pain and mild-to-moderate fear.

Often such expressions only last a fraction of a second (e.g. microexpression or near-microexpression). However it is amazing how many otherwise socially-adept professionals mislabel these and other emotions. 

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2954: Attempted robbery at gunpoint caught on GoPro

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2945: Roger Goodell's Interview regarding Ray Rice - Denies NFL saw Video before Monday - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2904: Roger Goodell's Defending the NFL's Punishment for Ray Rice - Bad Crisis Management & Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2881: LeBron James and What He Learned About the Way He Switched Teams

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2858: Hope Solo, Domestic Violence, Arrests and Wedding Rings - Body Language Tells 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2831: "Walking Contest", Anxiety, Mirroring and False Intimacy 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2281:  Inaugural Luncheon Anxiety  Barack Obama's Body Language  Michelle's Mirroring 
 
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