Tuesday, December 23, 2014

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3046: Chris Pine Dials Up His Alpha - "Into the Woods" (VIDEO, PHOTOS)




Chris Pine was a guest last night on "The Tonight Show" promoting his latest film, "Into The Woods". From a body language perspective, it's always very illustrative to see actors interviewed. For even though they may be very good or even excellent at their craft, they are still human - AND within the interview setting actors are not "in character" (rather they're being themselves). Thus, even though actors are used to being on-camera and in front of audiences, they still show many nonverbal signals which, if we were directors on a movie set, we should want a re-take (although a fair amount of directors often mismatch body language with the emotion they're wanting the actors to project).

There were many examples of nonverbal nuance in this video, however four great body language examples in particular show Pine "Dialing Up His Alpha". While it may seem ironic to some, the up-regulation of alpha qualities are very commonly seen in people who already have a healthy amount of assertiveness - yet these individuals get to where they're at by not shrinking with anxiety stimuli, but by hitting the ball back over the net.




Alpha Up-Regulator No. 1

When asked about Meryl Streep, "Cinderella's Prince" exhibits a shirt-cuff adjust. This alpha-regulator is seen more commonly in males from higher socioeconomic classes. 









Alpha Up-Regulator No. 2

Pine pulls up his socks. This is a very commonly seen nonverbal signal.












Alpha up-regulator No. 3

Chris tucks in his shirt - this is the least common of the three and is a good example of just how unaware most people are when they are deviating significantly from their emotional baseline.






All three of these body language examples are signs of anxiety (fitting into a subcategory of displays known as "MAP Surrogates" [Manipulators, Adaptors, Pacifiers]) - and yet when we thin-slice these moments we see the actor is meeting his anxiety with a positive response (which is of course is not always the case in such moments). What other body language/facial indications of anxiety did you see in his interview with Jimmy Fallon?

Although there are certainly female-analogs of these behaviors, the three alpha up-regulators exampled here are much more typically seen in men. What are some equivalent nonverbal behaviors of this same emotional tone which are more prevalent in women? There was another body language alpha up-regulator (also more common with men) in the video which was not isolated in a photo or discussed - did you catch it?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3045: How Vladimir Sits - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3028: Chris Rock's (and other Comedians) Body Language Trick that Gets You Laughing Easier

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2952: Kmart's "Not a Christmas Commercial" - No Place for Arrogance

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2848: Iliza Shlesinger, Hair Adjust Behind Ear, Dialing Up Your Alpha & Comedy - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2914: François Hollande, Anxiety and Dialing up his Alpha

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

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