Body Language Analysis No. 4317: Scott Pruitt Confronted in Restaurant by Kristin Mink - Nonverbal and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Scott Pruitt was recently confronted by Kristin Mink in a D.C. area restaurant. Ms. Mink is a sixth-grade teacher and mother. While holding her two-year-old son, she spoke briefly to the chief administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency.

What follows is a partial analysis of Scott Pruitt's nonverbal behavior.

Beginning at 0:00 Kristin Mink says to Scott Pruitt, “Hi. Ah, I just wanted to urge you to resign, um, for what you’re doing to the environment in our country. This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air. He loves clean water. Meanwhile, you’re slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks for the benefit of big corporations. Ah, you’ve been paying um, fifty bucks a night to stay in a D.C. condo that’s connected to an energy lobbying firm, while approving their dirty-sands pipeline. Um, we deserve to have somebody at the EPA who actually does protect our environment, somebody who believes in climate change and takes it seriously for the benefit of all of us, including our children. Um, so I would urge you to resign before your scandals push you out.”

During 0:07, just after Ms. Mink says, "... I just wanted to urge you to resign, um, for what you’re doing to the environment in our country...", Scott Pruitt displays a Tongue-in-Cheek nonverbal. In this context, a tongue-in-cheek sign is associated with smugness, arrogance, and the thought-emotions of "I won"/"I beat you"/"You just lost".

Please watch this video at regular and 1/2 speeds on a larger screen to more fully appreciate the dynamics of this behavior.

During 0:10, just after Kristin Mink says, "This is my son. He loves animals. He loves clean air.", Pruitt's mid-face takes on a display of Disgust. Note the momentary tightening of the area between his nose and upper lip (the mustache area) and the flaring of his right nostril (Because we can't fully view his left face from this angle, it's also possible that this expression is only present on his right side - and therefore is representative of Contempt).

Notice that Pruitt's right forehead muscles are contracted and elevated. Again, we cannot view his full left forehead, but if this dynamic is unilateral, it represents feelings of Disbelief/Incredulity (Because his center forehead muscles are not contracted, either this is indeed an incredulity tell [right side only] - or the EPA chief has undergone rather heavy Botox treatments of his mid-forehead).

During 0:17, we see Mr. Pruitt display a second, more overt, tongue-in-cheek display, just after Ms. Mink says, "... you’re slashing strong fuel standards for cars and trucks ...", This is representative of additional smugness, arrogance, and thought-emotions of "I won"/"I beat you"/"You just lost".

Simultaneously, Pruitt is also closing his eyes in a prolonged blink. This is a blocking behavior - his psyche is attempting to shut-out and distance himself from what he's witnessing/receiving.

At 0:25, just after Ms. Mink says, "... you’ve been paying um, fifty bucks a night to stay in a D.C. condo that’s connected to an energy lobbying firm ...", Scott Pruitt sits back, reorienting his torso farther from Kristin Mink in an additional attempt at distancing himself from her and the ramifications of her statements.

During 0:28 - 0:29, just after Ms. Mink says, "... while approving their dirty-sands pipeline ...", Scott Pruitt displays an amalgam of the emotions of Disgust, Bitterness, Regret, and Anger.

It's important to point out that, although the EPA Administrator's regret may be arising from several sources - the most obvious cause of Pruitt's regret in this moment is the fact that he's being confronted in public while being filmed.

After the 0:25 mark, Scott Pruitt covered his right hand with his left hand. In this context, this dynamic is symptomatic of his psyche trying to down-regulate his strong feelings. In addition, Pruitt's ring finger and middle finger can be seen repeatedly contracting and partially extending. His finger twitching is indicative of his anxiety and more specifically, his impatience for Ms. Mink to finish.

SUMMARY: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt displayed smugness-arrogance, incredulity, disgust (and/or contempt), bitterness, regret, impatience, anxiety, and anger - while Kristin Mink confronted him in a D.C. area restaurant. 

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See also:

Body Language Analysis No. 4316: Sarah Paulson, The Met Gala, and Madonna

Body Language Analysis No. 4314: Donald Trump, The Supreme Court, Abortion, and Punishment

Body Language & Emotional Intelligence - Analysis No. 4106 (Reposting with Addendum): Jordan's Queen Rania meets with Rohingya Refugee Children & Melania Trump's Visit to Children's Shelter/Detention Center

Body Language & Emotional Intelligence - Analysis No. 4310: Donald Trump signs order stopping his policy of separating families at the border

Body Language Analysis No. 4303: Donald Trump, the G7 Summit, Women's Empowerment, and Rage

Body Language Analysis No. 4293: Why is Harvey Weinstein Smiling?

Body Language Analysis No. 4278: Jaws - "You're Gonna Need a Bigger Boat" - vs. A Real Shark Encounter on a Paddleboard

Body Language Analysis No. 4248: My Extended interview re: Security Video of Stephen Paddock (1 October Las Vegas Shooter) - KTNV • Channel 13 Las Vegas

Body Language Analysis No. 4100: Bryan Cranston and The Eyelid Pull

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3874: EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt Denies that Carbon Dioxide is the Cause of Global Warming - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

On Thursday morning, 9 March 2017, during an interview on CNBC's Squawk Box, Scott Pruitt made his most dramatic on-camera climate-denying statement since his Senate confirmation (17 Feb. 2017) as the Chief US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Administrator.

A portion of the interview (contained in the video above) provides several excellent nonverbal teaching examples which are included for analysis here, along with the transcript of the two men's exchange.

JOE KERNEN (beginning at 0:01): Let me ask you one other thing - ta, ta, to get to the nitty-gritty, do you believe, that it's been proven that CO₂ is the primary control knob for climate?

SCOTT PRUITT: [Loose Tongue Jut]

JOE KERNEN: Do you believe that?

SCOTT PRUITT: No, I - No, I think that, that, measuring with precision - ah, human activity on the climate is something very challenging to do and there's tremen [stutter] tremendous disagreement about the, the degree of impact - ah, tha so, so no I would not a-gree, ahhh [suppressed smile], that it's a primary contributor, ah, to the, to the Global warming that we see [Loose Tongue Jut].

JOE KERNEN: Okay.

SCOTT PRUITT: [Loose Tongue Jut]

JOE KERNEN: Alright [inaudible] -

SCOTT PRUITT (over-talking): But we don't know that yet - as far as, we, we need ta, we need to continue the debate and continue to review the analysis [suppressed smile].

JOE KERNEN: It's, it's, it's, it's a-, I, I agree tha- when I hear the science is settled, it's like I, I never heard that science actually gotten to a point where [Backwards Butt Adjustment by Kernen] - what's that's, that's the whole point of science, is that, that, you keep asking questions, you keep asking questions, but I don't want to be called a denier - so [Loose Tongue Jut], ah-um, you know - it scares me - t-, it's a terrible thing to be called - anyway Administrator Pruitt, I know you don't want to be called that either - ah-um, thanks for being with us this morning, I appreciate it.

SCOTT PRUITT: Than-, thank, thank you very much

During 0:09, just after Kernen says,"Do you believe that?", Scott Pruitt displays what is known as a "Loose Tongue Jut" (aka "Lizard Tongue"). This specific variety of tongue jut (not to be confused with a "Tight Tongue Jut) is highly indicative of the thought-emotion of "I've been bad (or I'm about to be bad)" and "I got caught" (Navarro).

During 0:23, as Mr. Pruitt says, "... so no I would not a-gree, ahhh, that it's a primary contributor ...", when he says, "... ahhh ...", he displays a partially suppressed smile (Please watch the video several times during this portion - as the dynamic nature of this near-microexpression is not illustrated as well with a still image).

A suppressed smile is always suspect. This example is highly consistent with what is known as "Duping Delight" (Ekman). The term is derived from the well-established phenomenon that those who display it are enjoying some level of true pleasure (joy-happiness) in lying - and thus are believing, that on some level, they are successfully deceiving their audience.

During 0:28, just after he says, "... to the Global warming that we see." and Kernen answers, "Okay" - Pruitt then displays another loose tongue jut.

During 0:33, just after he says, "... continue to review the analysis", Mr. Pruitt displays another example of duping delight. Because of its considerable brevity, this is also an example of a true microexpression. Even on the still image (immediately above), one can easily the left corner of his mouth is up-turned - while his right corner is down-turned (However, as with the example above, this is best studied by watching the dynamic example in the video).

During 0:41 - 0:42, Mr. Kernan displays a "Backwards Butt Adjustment", as he says, "... actually gotten to a point where ..." which is a high-anxiety nonverbal display and, more specifically, heightened anxiety leading to the feeling of needing to dial-up one's alpha qualities. This is one variation of the centuries-old idiom, "Squirming in his chair".

During 0:52, just after Mr. Kernan says, "... I don't want to be called a 'denier' " - and then as Kernan says, ".... so ....", Mr. Pruitt yet again displays a tongue jut.

Whenever the body language does not agree with the verbal language - it's the body language which is telling what the person truly believes.

There are also numerous paralanguage examples displayed in this video which are consistent with deception. Neither man suffers from chronic stuttering, yet rarely will you ever hear two adults, who are both very accustomed to appearing on TV, stutter which such frequency. Their syntax/sentence structure was also significantly amiss.

Conclusion: While Mr. Pruitt's body language demonstrates that HE ACTUALLY DOES BELIEVE the rise in human-generated Carbon Dioxide (CO₂) is the primary cause of climate change - he says the opposite - and is therefore not telling the truth.



See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3873: Brie Larson's Eyes, The Bachelor, and the Edge of Consciousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3871: Emma Watson's Old Habit, Harry Potter Outtake and Anxiety

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3869: James Clapper regarding Alleged Wiretap of Trump

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3860: Ian McKellen, The Oscars and a spot-on Maggie Smith Impression

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3833: Samuel L. Jackson, Magic Johnson and a Yacht

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3790: Senator John McCain Believes Russian Election Interference Could 'Destroy Democracy'

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3772: Mitt Romney Meets with Donald Trump

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3739: Hillary Clinton's Statement regarding FBI Probe


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