Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3071: Twins Come Out to Dad - The Rhodes Bros - Body Language of Mirroring (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Austin and Aaron Rhodes have become YouTube personalities in the last six months and now have a considerable following. Yesterday the Rhodes Bros uploaded a particularly important video. The twins are gay and they had already come out to everyone in their family - except for their Dad who lives in another state. While they didn't want their father to find out via the Internet - this was the way they chose to tell the rest of the World. So they recorded the call to their dad along with their reactions to telling him.

There is a myriad of nonverbals tells during this 8:36 video. Many of these body language signals fit into a class of behaviors known as MAPs (an acronym for Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) - which were mostly facial touching and hand/arm touching. In the context of this video & emotional conversation, most of these MAPs are general anxiety indicators (although very often and certainly several MAPs contained here can be more correlated with more specific emotions).

What is extremely interesting in this video interaction, is that as the emotional tension crescendos, not only do the MAPs of course increase in frequency (as expected), but the frequency and exactitude of their mirroring increases dramatically.

Mirroring is seen when people like each other and are of similar emotional mindsets - so it's not surprising at all that family members and especially twins mirror each other. The Rhodes Bros however mirror each other much more often than is typically seen. The closer they get to the point of telling their father pulls their entire mind-brain-bodies into increasing degrees of synchronicity - so that some moments almost seem choreographed (although they're not).

1:04

Near-mirroring

1:49

Near-mirroring








 

2:09

Near-mirroring

Note Aaron's (our right) central forehead contraction

2:09.5

Same side near-mirroring

Aaron touches/rubs tip of his nose

2:10

Austin almost touches his nose - thus mirroring Aaron from 1/2 second earlier (partial mirroring and slightly delayed)

2:20

Strong Mirroring

Both brothers turning away and down

2:25.5

Austin's Central Forehead Contraction
(CFC) - and (together with his mouth configuration) is highly consistent with high sincerity, high empathy and emotional pain

2:28

Mirroring head/neck configurations

Each turning away and down

2:41

Mirroring very closely with both their head/necks and hands/arms

 2:51

Same side Mirroring

3:08

Near-Mirroring

3:45

Just after Aaron (our right) told their Dad that he and Austin are gay

Strong Mirroring

 3:50

Near perfect mirroring

3:51

A second later they simultaneously each reached to rub the opposite eye vs. what they each were touching one second earlier (see above 3:50)

As many may expect, as soon as they told their father they were gay, the frequency and degree of MAPs decreased dramatically (not quite as much with Austin).







See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3070: George Zimmerman's Latest Mugshot - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2394:  Three Brothers from Cleveland  Onil, Pedro and Ariel Castro -  Kidnapping, Innocence, Guilt & Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2901: Sadie doesn't want her brother to grow up - Body Language of Sincere Affection

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2055:  Three Wise Monkeys - Hear no evil, See no evil, Speak no evil - Body Language Interpretation vs. Traditional Symbolism

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2811: Jason and David Benham are Dropped from HGTV - Body Language of Subtle Contempt, Anger & Disgust

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3061: Jimmy Fallon Blew a Chance to Date Nicole Kidman


___________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Quiz-Analysis No. 2902: How Sincere was Ray Rice's Apology? (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Ray Rice apologized today in a press conference for allegedly assaulting his then fiancée (and now wife), Janay Palmer. A video showing Rice allegedly dragging Palmer out of an elevator in an Atlantic City, NJ Casino has been widely circulated (see below). NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell has been widely criticized for his mild punishment (in relative and in absolute terms) of the Baltimore Ravens Running Back.

When you view this video of the press conference, do you think Ray Rice is sincere?

When it comes to an apology, do you believe sincerity is an "all or nothing" emotion - or are there degrees of sincerity? If so, on a scale of 1 to 10 - how sincere is Ray Rice in this apology?

Do you believe that Rice is mad, sad, or regretful for his actions - or for the fact he was caught?

Do you see Nonverbal Communication signals in this video which signify Anger?
Is there Body Language of Regret?
What signs of Sadness do you see?
What is Ray Rice's "Empathy Quotient"?

When assessing a person's sincerity - always take note of their words, paralanguage and their body language. Ask yourself - are they all in agreement? Are Ray Rice's words, tone of voice and other vocal qualities as well - as his nonverbal signals congruent or are they in disparate? All three must be consistent with each other in order for high sincerity to be present.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2901: Sadie doesn't want her brother to grow up - Body Language of Sincere Affection

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2441:  Paula Deen's Apology - What Does Her Body Language Say?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2839: Jonah Hill's Apology on Jimmy Fallon - Sincere or Insincere? - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2296:  Penelope Soto Apologizes & Avoids 30 Days in Jail -  Body Language Accompanying Sincere Tears & Apology

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2512:  Matthew Cordle's YouTube Confession  and the Death of Vincent Canzani  "I Killed a Man" - What His Body Language Tells Us ...  It's NOT what you think!

__________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1822: President Obama's Stand on Same-Sex Marriage - Is he Sincere?

Ten days ago, during an interview with ABC's Good Morning America's Robin Roberts, U.S. President Barack Obama made an open declaration in support of same-sex marriage. Is he sincere? - Or is the President using this issue as a political tool during an election year? The vast majority of people answer this question based on their political bias. If this was another issue, and this were another man/woman - and you were sitting across the table from him during a crucial negotiation, could you tell if he was bluffing? If you were a defense attorney, and your client (the defendant) was gay, and you were selecting a jury (voir dire) - would you pick him to serve on the jury? What OBJECTIVITY TOOLS do you have at your disposal? 

Body language is a tool to enhance your objectivity when, as human beings, we are all inherently biased.

What does the President's head position tell you in this video?

What about the direction of his eye movements?

Did his forehead contractions suggest sincerity or insincerity?

What did his rate of blinking tell you?

Are his hand gestures (illustrators) consistent with deception or truth?

What MAPs (Manipulators, Adaptors, Pacifiers) did you spot?

What does the President's foot/leg position tell you?

If you were the President's body language/speech coach, what would you advise him to change in this video if he had a "do-over"?

Do you allow your personal biases to color your judgment as to guilt vs. innocence, sincerity vs. insincerity or truth vs. deception? OF COURSE YOU DO. The question is what are you doing to become more objective?

Fifty-five to Eighty percent of all direct human communication is Nonverbal. If you're not skilled in both the nuance of interpretation body language - as well as how you present yourself, moment to moment, in context - then you're placing yourself at a massive disadvantage. It's as if you would put ear plugs in - and pretend that you're listening.

___________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1697: George Zimmerman in Shackles - How does this Alter His Body Language, Testimony and Our Perception?

From a body language point-of-view, Mr. Zimmerman should not have his arms or hands bound while in court. If he had the full use of these, any facial touching or other Manipulators, Adaptors or Pacifiers (aka MAPs) would signal anxiety - and along with many other nonverbals, these would give greater insight into any guilt or innocence. A significant portion of the value of an in-person testimony is lost by shackling him. 

Additionally, we are placing anyone who testifies in hand-cuffs, shackles, etc. - in a situation which would cause any person to have great anxiety. By making Zimmerman, or anyone else testify in such a state, we engender anger, contemptuousness, fear, etc. - all of which he manifested in short video in yesterday's post (see Secret # 1696: George Zimmerman's Testimony). This premise is true of an innocent man as well as a guilty one. Thus we alter the situation causing someone to look more guilty than they otherwise would.

The opposite scenario is true as well. During the swearing-in process, if one is not allowed to lift their left hand high, rather only a third as high as they normally would (seen in this video during the 0:54 - 0:58 marks) - he/she will feel less obligated to tell the truth. It's the equivalent of a child's behavior of crossing their fingers behind the back when making a promise. 

Keeping people partially bound changes the way people behave and are perceived - and it's a dis-service to the legal process in both directions. If we strive to keep the justice system truly impartial, these are important considerations.

See also:

Secret # 1491 Barack Obama on Trayvon Martin ...."If I had a Son, He'd look like Trayvon"


Secret # 1548: Trayvon Martin's Death - George Zimmerman's First Court Room Appearance

___________________________________________________________________________________