Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2515: Eliot Spitzer vs. Scott Stringer - Insincere Smile with Anger Component - Body Language and the NYC Comptroller Race (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Scott Stringer (left), Manhattan Borough President and Eliot Spitzer (right) former Governor of New York are in a dead heat for the Democratic nomination for the Comptroller of New York City. This primary will be held tomorrow.

In the photo above (with high magnification shown below) Eliot Spitzer displays an insincere smile. While Spitzer does have a prominent jaw, he does not have an under-bite. Note his jaw is jutting significantly forward - which is known as a "Jaw Jut" and is a strong nonverbal signal which is NEVER seen in the context of a sincere smile. Indeed the jaw jut is highly consistent with anger.

In addition Spitzer's lower teeth are exposed. When the bottom teeth are visible, the smile is also NOT a Duchenne smile.

There are a good many types of "false smiles" (how many do you know?). People tend to have a favored species of these "social smiles". This jaw jut with lower teeth exposed variety is Eliot Spitzer's default feigned smile.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2474:  Mayor Bob Filner's False Smile - Insincerity, Body Language and San Diego

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 1003:  Obama's Dropped Jaw Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2424:  Giada De Laurentiis on Conan O'Brien  Beautiful Teeth but Insincere Smiles and Some Body Language Signals of Waning Love

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2093:  Ann Curry's Tearful Goodbye -  Matt Lauer's Classic "Tongue-in-Cheek" and Duplicitous Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2501:  Bashar al-Assad, Chemical Weapons and a  Body Language Signal of a Sociopath

Negotiation Secret # 119: What's Wrong with this Smile?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2191:  Anne Hathaway's Impersonation of Katie Holmes on SNL -  "Norming" Katie and Variations on a Theme

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication # Analysis 1492:  Ben Bernanke's Duping Delight &  Partial Emblematic Slip

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2476: Scandal, Perception and The Bitter "Smile" Weiner, Spitzer and Sanford

In each of these three photos (Top to bottom) Anthony Weiner, Eliot Spitzer and Mark Sanford all are to varying degrees, displaying examples of what is known as a "Bitter Smile". Some refer to them as "Upside-Down Smiles". As it name implies, it is significant for the emotion of bitterness - the majority of which is usually self-directed.

We all display this nonverbal, not just politicians caught in sexual scandal.

The concave-down curvature of the mouth in this particular expression is perhaps one of the greatest examples of the lack of objectivity we all experience for our faces and bodies when we under the influences of strong emotions or moods.

When the bitter smile is made, those expressing it believe in real-time that their mouth is configured in a slight concave-up shape - that is, a weak social smile. And yet their perception wrong. It is just the opposite.

In addition, each of these examples has the additional nonverbal component of an Inward Lip Roll (ILR). The inward lip roll is significant for the psyche attempting to suppress a strong emotion from being displayed and thus also simultaneously keeping it from growing in the mind as well.

What other significant body language-facial expressions do you see in these three politicians?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2475:  Anthony Weiner & Huma Abedin Part IV  More Sexting Will Surface (Video, Photos)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2473:  Anthony Weiner & Huma Abedin Part III  When Shoulder-to-Shoulder is broken (Video, Photos)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2470:  NYC Mayoral Candidate Anthony Weiner &  His Wife Huma Abedin - Body Language Tells, Part II  (Video, Photos)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2469:  Anthony Weiner, Huma Abedin and the NYC Mayoral Race  Body Language & the Five Burroughs, Part I  (Video, Photo)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2405:  Anthony Weiner's Running For Mayor of New York  His Body Language & His Sincerity Quotient  (Video, Photos)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2459:  Was Eliot Spitzer Sincere? Apology, Sincerity and Body Language (Video, Photo)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2455:  Eliot Spitzer's Running for Office  Asymmetry in the Facial Expression, Sincerity & Norah O'Donnell's Not Just Another Pretty Face  (Video, Photos)

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2383:  Elizabeth Colbert Busch vs. Former Gov. Mark Sanford  Body Language in Last Night's Debate

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2459: Was Eliot Spitzer Sincere? Apology, Sincerity and Body Language (Video, Photo)

Now that he is running for public office again (Comptroller for the City of New York), Eliot Spitzer is back in the spotlight. Was he sincere when he resigned as Governor of New York back in 2008? How do you judge a person's sincerity?

Did the governor choose the correct words? - From the point of view of speech writer perhaps. He would much better advised though to speak from his heart. Apologies which are read from a script are almost never interpreted by anyone as sincere.

Is Spitzer's tone of voice sincere? Absolutely not. He is reading with tone, cadence, volume and rhythm of a campaign speech - not an apology. There is nothing humble or apologetic in his tone.

What about Spitzer's body language? Although Spitzer repeatedly looks up to the audience, he does so as if he's a nervous sixth grader running for school treasurer. Any public speaker of reasonable experience and certainly a governor should recognize a crucial difference between repeated glances at the audience and taking the time to make eye contact with those in the audience for two or three seconds. Care should be taken to not look repeatedly at the same person - but rather to look in a random pattern around the audience. Of particular importance is when Spitzer says the word "apologize" he looks down at his notes (1:00 mark).

Note how Spitzer's hands never leave the side of the lectern. If we don't see a person's hands we tend not to trust them. In a sincere apology there is often a full palm contact over the sternum or left chest - thus being "heart felt". This is done subconsciously. A much less sincere variation is when only the fingertips make contact. Spitzer never gave us either of these nonverbal examples though. He would even have been perceived as much more sincere if he had used no lectern at all. The more that is seen of a person, the more they are trusted. Think about it. Would you trust someone who's wearing a mask? In the context of an apology - scrap the lectern.

On no occasion in this video did Spitzer's central forehead contract (CFC). A contraction of the central forehead is seen when one is experiencing physical or emotional pain - and if an apology is sincere. The absence of a CFC in the context of an apology indicates it is feigned. With the exception of heavy Botox bilateral stroke or bilateral trauma and a few other rare conditions, there are no exceptions to this rule.

Incredibly Spitzer displays a "Self-Righteous Head Wiggle" in this apology/resignation. Did you spot it?

If an apology or any statement is sincere, the paralanguage, verbal and nonverbal language must all be congruent. This example is far from it.

What other highly significant body language did you see in this video example?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2455:  Eliot Spitzer's Running for Office - Asymmetry in the Facial Expression, Sincerity &  Norah O'Donnell's Not Just Another Pretty Face

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2428:  Stephen King & "Under the Dome"  A Glimpse into One's Mind and  A Signal of High Sincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2207:  Body Language, Sincerity and Mahmoud Abbas  United Nations grants Palestine "Nonmember Observer State"

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2:  Body Language of Blake Lively and Penn Badgley  Strongly Suggests an Impending Break-up in Near Future

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1923:  Hillary Clinton's Body Language re: Syrian Government -  The Self-Righteous Head Wiggle

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Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2455: Eliot Spitzer's Running for Office Asymmetry in the Facial Expression, Sincerity & Norah O'Donnell's Not Just Another Pretty Face (Video, Photos)

Eliot Spitzer, former Attorney General and Governor of New York who resigned in 2008 in a prostitution scandal, announced yesterday he is running for Comptroller of New York City. In the above video he appeared on CBS This Morning.

Of particular note is a common nonverbal phenomenon seen in those who are insincere. In the first photo - and appearing repeatedly in the above video - the former Governor has an asymmetric mouth. While all asymmetric mouth displays are not insincere in nature (e.g. contempt, regret) a repeated facial expression of this type is highly suspect.

As a profession, asymmetric mouth displays are seen much more often in politicians compared with the general population.

In this same interview, Spitzer in addition to his asymmetric mouth - also shows his audience an asymmetric forehead contraction. This one-sided forehead muscular action is indicative of incredulity and doubt. When someone is trying to sell you something - or solicit your vote, such an expression should raise a bold red flag.

Early in the video clip, Norah O'Donnell asks the former Governor, "...Why do you think people should trust you or like you?" her face displays a very brief but distinctive expression of both disgust and contempt. Her momentarily partially closed upper eyelids are a signal of contempt and indeed amplify the effect of her mid-face tightening and her subtle nostril dilation. There is also mild tension of Ms. O'Donnell's mid-face and her head-neck-torso are tilted away from Spitzer. In addition her head is extended even further in relationship to her neck giving the "up-turned nose" that is strongly associated with disgust.

In this photo-capture Norah O'Donnell displays a facial expression of anger. Notable is the foreshortening of her mouth (left to right width is temporarily shortened). Greater tension is present and contraction is also seen in the area above her upper lip and below her nose. Ms. O'Donnell's eyelids are opened slightly wider than her baseline normal and her inner (medial) eyebrows are also lowered in this moment. Both images of Ms. O'Donnell are very brief and are missed by most.


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2130:  Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Helping Syria - Interview with Charlie Rose and Norah O'Donnell

Nonverbal Communication Analysis #2223:  Dick Armey's Body Language and the Fiscal Cliff

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2329:  Sheryl Sandberg (COO of Facebook) on 60 Minutes AND a bit of Mark Zuckerberg - Two Crucial Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2167:  Colin Powell Endorses President Obama - His Body Language Display of Anxiety, Contempt & the  Self-Righteous Head Wiggle

Negotiation Body Language Secret # 457:  A Contempt Amplifier - Salman Rushdie

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 2371:  Barack Obama & Anger in the Rose Garden - POTUS's Body Language & the Gun Laws

Nonverbal Communication Analysis # 1858:  What the Eyes Do - Transitioning from Mild to Severe Anger

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What is Emotion is former New York Governor Eliot Spitzer feeling?

This facial signal is an example of what class of behaviors? What are some other possible signals you may see with this emotion?

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