This morning, President Trump criticized Lisa Murkowski - a Republican Senator via a tweet.
In the video above, Senator Murkowski responded to Trump's tactic (beginning at 0:26), "I am in, ahum, in a position where I'm not looking to a re-election until 2022. That's a long time away - and, quite honestly, I don't think it's, it's wise to be operating on a daily-basis thinking about what a statement, or, or ahum, a response, ah, that, that, causes you to be fearful of, of - of your electoral prospects. We're here to govern."
In the entire second half of her statement, beginning at 0:38, Senator Murkowski displays a "Self-Righteous Head Wiggle" (aka "High Confidence Head Wiggle"). A Self-Righteous/High Confidence Head Wiggle (SRHW/HCHW) is a rapid, side-to-side shaking of the head and neck. An analog behavior can sometimes also be exhibited with the torso and/or jaw (with motions existing in isolation or superimposed with the more common head and neck oscillation).
Sometimes a SRHW/HCHW will be very evanescent (a microexpression or near-microexpression), but often times (as with this example) it can last much longer.
A Self-Righteous/High Confidence Head Wiggle is displayed during hyper-alpha moments of very high confidence when particularly strong opinions are being expressed. It's very much a type of nonverbal swagger.
Please watch the video, as the SRHW/HCHW is a dynamic process, and is not able to be captured via a still image.
Although not always present - in this example, the SRHW/HCHW is accompanied with an additional superimposed backward vectoring of the head and neck. This is seen when there are emotions of contempt, disgust, and/or disbelief are also present. This variation is seen beautifully, during 0:50, as Senator Murkowski says, "... fearful ..."
In other examples (not seen here), there may be an overlapping forward motion (with coexisting condescending emotions or arrogance).
Fascinatingly, the vocal pitch often temporarily grows higher during the Self-Righteous Head Wiggle. In this example, this phenomenon is heard during the same moment when the Senator from Alaska says, "... fearful ...". This is a fantastic example of congruity of body language and paralanguage.
Another detail in this exchange is Lisa Murkowski's two displays of Lip-smacking (during both 0:29 and 0:54). Lip smacking is also a signal of high confidence.
Summary: Senator Murkowski exhibits very high confidence with her response to President Trump's criticism of her. She's in disbelief at Donald Trump. She's not afraid nor intimidated by him.
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See also:
Body Language Analysis No. 4009: Donald Trump regarding Jeff Sessions - "Time Will Tell"
Body Language Analysis No. 4007: Donald Trump, Robert Mueller, and Anthony Scaramucci's First Press Conference
Body Language Analysis No. 4005: O.J. Simpson's Parole Board Hearing
Body Language Analysis No. 4003: Donald Trump, "Let Obamacare Fail"
Body Language Analysis No. 4001: Jodie Whittaker, Dr. Who, and Flirting from a TARDIS
Body Language Analysis 3988: Kim Jong-un, ICBMs, False Joy, and Fake Laughter
Body Language Analysis No. 3978: Keanu Reeves, Chuck Spadina, Sincerity, and Empathy
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3929: Marine Le Pen and Emmanuel Macron
Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3905: Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid, and Deep Joy
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