Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2438: Sincere Surprise Body Language - Three Year Old (Grayson) Receives Brain Stem Implant and Hears for the First Time (Video, Photos)

After a cochlear implant failed to work, three year old Grayson Clamp received an auditory brain stem implant at University of North Carolina. In the video above we witness a miracle of modern medicine as the gift of hearing is given to this sweet child. It is empathy evoking. What follows is a brief analysis of some of his body language.

Like all emotions, surprise is often feigned, but not so here.

When sincere surprise is significant, it is always accompanied by a wide opening of the eyelids (most notable on the upper eyelids) along with a wide vertically elongated opening of the mouth.

Another angle of the same moment of surprise.

Surprise is often accompanied by a covering of the mouth. This signals emotional processing. The emotional brain is trying to "take in" the ramifications of a new and very significant event.






See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2418:  Startle vs. Surprise  Body Language in the Yankees & Red Sox Dugouts

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2170:  The San Francisco Giants, Surprise, Bird Poop and Body Language

Negotiation Secret No. 56:  Seeing Bill Clinton, Surprise with a Touch of Fear

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 1914:  Sincere Surprise - Often Faked & Difficult to Capture, Spain Beats Portugal in Euro 2012

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1261:  IMF Director Christine Lagarde, True Surprise - Rarely Captured

Negotiation Secret No. 387: Surprise and Disbelief - Missy Franklin 

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret No. 1171:  Not So Fast Swift ....  Taylor's False Surprise

Negotiation Secret No. 269: I Just Remembered + Surprise, Milla Jovovich

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2263:  A.J. McCarron's Body Language  as hears about his Girl Friend's  (Katherine Webb's) new found Twitter Popularity

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1834: Signals of Emotional Processing & Emotional Overwhelm

Sammie Hicks is a ten year old girl who lost her hearing in both ears as a toddler. Recently she underwent a cochlear implant which has allowed her to hear in a near-normal capacity. This video shows the moment when the implant was switched-on and her body language-emotional response immediately afterwards. Her tears are met with a sudden mouth covering and eye covering - first to a lesser degree and then more dramatically. When people experience or witness something dramatically good or ill, it takes a while to emotionally process this new information. This is often nonverbally expressed with mouth and bilateral eye covering (a variation of a Manipulator, Adaptor or Pacifier aka MAP). In Sammie's case this is experienced directly, but it can be experienced secondarily via empathy. In fact, when you watched/listened to video for the first time you probably covered your mouth in a similar fashion, with your eyes tearing-up, contracted your central forehead, tilted your head/neck to one side and touched your upper chest/neck with your dominant hand - all clustered signals of strong empathy.

See also:

Secret # 1212: Sudden Mouth Covering

Secret # 221: Spontaneous Mouth Covering & Empathy

Secret # 21: Surprise + Fear + Empathy

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