Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3867: What Makes the Twinkle in Her Eye? Emma Stone, Romance and Flirting - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (PHOTOS)

What makes Emma Stone's Eyes Twinkle? The etiology of "Twinkling Eyes" is a multifactorial and fascinating phenomenon.
 
The first, and by far the most important, component for a sparkle in the eye - is that of a smile, and it must be a sincere smile.

A "high sincerity quotient" smile must have eyelids which are partially closed - it's an absolute requirement. It's also a profoundly important distinction that all "partial eyelid closure" does not necessarily yield smiles - and the remainder of the face must always be taken into account. Recall Clint Eastwood in "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly". His acting expression was often that of mild to moderate anger.

When there is a momentary partial closure of the lids, this action squeezes the very thin layer of fluid on the surface of a healthy cornea and conjunctiva (the "tear film") onto a temporarily smaller surface - ergo this thin fluid becomes a bit "deeper" for a few moments. This extra fluid "depth" acts as a more efficient mirror and reflects light with greater efficiency - giving her eyes a "twinkling" effect.

After careful examination of the image below, you will see two light reflections in each of Emma's eyes - one on the cornea, near (over) the center of each pupil - and another just above the margin of each lower lid - where the tear film has a bit more depth - giving us an extra "sparkling" source.

Another requirement for a true, Joy-Happiness Smile is the short-lived, dynamic, concave-up furrow in the lower eyelids.

A Sincere smile must also have a relaxed (non-contracted) forehead. Indeed a forced and insincere smile is easily and often betrayed by an elevated and furrowed forehead.

Another requirement of a sincere smile is that if any teeth are showing (sometimes no teeth are showing during a sincere suppressed smile), they must be only the upper teeth (the exceptions being sincere smile-associated laughing, a high camera/visual angle or a downward tilting of the head/neck).

When sincerity is present, the cheek muscles will primarily vector upward - and not as much out to the sides. False smiles pull the corners of the mouth out laterally, rather than upward. Thus the mouths of fake smiles are often opened wider (left to right) than those of true smiles.

In this image, Emma Stone is outside - therefore her pupils are smaller with the bright sunlight. If she were inside, her pupils would be larger. Large pupils make a larger, darker, highly contrasting background for the light reflection - and make the twinkle more visible (e.g., a lighter color against a darker, larger background is much easier for other people to see).

Besides the relative darkness (which is one reason why dimly lit restaurants feel more romantic) - both affection (of a non-sexual nature) as well as sexual attraction are two other very common causes for larger pupils. Greater attraction equals larger pupils - and larger pupils leads to more sparkling.

Another cause of an increased or decreased "Twinkle Factor" is the angle of the light source. Without light there can be no twinkle - so to get a greater reflection, the light must be positioned behind the observer (e.g., if your partner is looking at you, the light source must be behind them [but not directly, lest it will be blocked by their head]).

Of course it the light is too bright, this will irritate the eyes as well as contract the pupils - which is one reason why candles engender eye twinkling (candles are dimmer than artificial light). Moreover, if a candle is used as a source of light - the constant changing amplitude of the flame (e.g., flickering) will amplify the tinkling effect - giving an extra dynamic quality to the eyes.

The level of love must always taken into account. Frida Kahlo once said, "Take a lover who looks at you like maybe you are magic." The presence or absence of love makes a portion of the "twinkle" subjective. Much like beauty, some of the twinkle depends on the other set of eyes - the eyes of the beholder.

Summary: In short, a "twinkle"/"sparkle" in the eye is influenced by...

1. The eye portion of a sincere smile (which always has partial eyelid closure and greater reflectivity)
2. The mouth portion of a sincere smile (aka "Duchenne" Smile) with upward vectored cheeks
3. A Relaxed Forehead
4. Medically Healthy Eyes
5. The type of light source
6. The angle of the light source
7. Larger vs. Smaller pupils (e.g., the level of ambient light)
8. The presence or absence of Affection and Love


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3865: Jeff Sessions and Al Franken - Senate Judiciary Committee during Sessions' Confirmation Hearing

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3863: Kellyanne Conway, Disrespect and The Oval Office

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3861: Emma Stone, The Oscars and Sincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3858: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart with "Apology"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3672: Jessica Alba, Swass, Body Language and Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3512: Emilia Clarke, "Me Before You" and Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3812: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone & La La Land - Backstage Interview Golden Globes 2017

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle - Body Language Tells


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3862: Oscars Mistake - "La La Land" erroneously named Best Picture over "Moonlight" - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Last night at the Oscars, in the first few seconds while those on stage were realizing the mistake which was made, there were many others who perhaps momentarily believed a tremendous stunt was being staged - but there was no ruse.

From a body language point-of-view, this incident was laden with examples. A particularly illustrative nonverbal signal was displayed by one of La La Land's producers, Jordan Horowitz.

Once Warren Beatty handed the envelope to Faye Dunaway - and she erroneously announced "La La Land", the entire La La Land team, of course, then came on stage. Jordan Horowitz and Marc Platt (also a producer) each gave speeches. That's when The Academy Awards' staff rushed on stage in an effort to fix this awful faux pas.

Jordan Horowitz said, “Guys, guys, I’m sorry. No. There’s a mistake, ‘Moonlight,’ you guys won best picture.”

Marc Platt then added, “This is not a joke. I’m afraid they read the wrong thing.”

The audience collectively and very audibly gasped.

Horowitz then reiterated, “This is not a joke, ‘Moonlight’ has won 'Best Picture.’ ” He then held his left hand to his chest - with his entire hand - including his palm - making full contact (primarily against his sternum but also involving his left, mid-upper chest [0:19 - 0:21]). Next, again with his left hand, he held the correct card high for the cameras and everyone to see and repeated, “‘Moonlight’ - Best Picture.”

Full contact of the entire hand - including the palm of the hand - particularly over the sternum and adjacent left chest - is a strong signal of sincerity. When people touch only with the tips of their digits - or gesture toward their chest without touching during moments of (otherwise) significant emotional content - they are projecting (without knowing it) low levels of sincerity.

We touch over this particular region of our bodies because it is "heartfelt" - for our heart beats just beneath the surface. It's full of emotional impact. Even those who have never held an infant will intuitively hold the child's head over this same area - because it "feels right", more protective and emotionally comfortable.

Thus Jordan Horowitz's body language immediately after he spoke, “This is not a joke, ‘Moonlight’ has won best picture”, told us he was being truthful. Of course after only a few more seconds - no one doubted his words. Yet in many such "everyday" settings, this and a myriad of other nonverbal signals are available for all to look - however, few will see them and know their meaning.

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3861: Emma Stone, The Oscars and Sincerity

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3859: Steve Bannon Touches Reince Priebus' Leg at CPAC

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3857: Taunting a Snowplow Driver - Belleville, Ontario

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3855: Mike Pence regarding Donald Trump and Michael Flynn at NATO Headquarters

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3829: Mary Tyler Moore - Flirtatious, Sexy, Alpha Female Smile

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3785: Hailee Steinfeld and Woody Harrelson "Edge of Seventeen" - Behavioral Contagions, Mirroring and Laughing

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3558: Mila Kunis Nixes Ashton Kutcher's choice regarding Their Baby's Name

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2812: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone & La La Land - Backstage Interview Golden Globes 2017


_________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3861: Emma Stone, The Oscars and Sincerity - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

At the time of this writing, the 2017 Academy Awards have already begun. It's an hour or so before we know if Emma Stone will win an Oscar for "Best Actress in a Leading Role" for her portrayal of Mia Dolan in the film La La Land.

During this recent interview with Lee Cowan, Ms. Stone displays several excellent body language signals.

In the image above, Emma is reunited with a childhood mentor, Bobb Cooper of the Valley Youth Theater in Phoenix. Notice that during their hug, although Ms. Stone is not much shorter than Mr. Cooper, when she hugs him, she elevates up on her toes - with both feet - for an extended period of time. Although, of course, such toe elevation during a hug is not at all required for a sincerity to be present - we can be sure that when it is performed bilaterally (that is, with both feet) and for an extended time, it indeed is a signal that high sincerity and true affection are being experienced (and projected).

In this next image, Ms. Stone and Mr. Cowan are fairly closely mirroring each other. We cannot see most of Cowan's hands - but we can see much of Emma's. She is displaying a good example of an "Alpha-Beta Hybrid". As the categorical name implies, these are a class of nonverbal behaviors which are not too alpha - not too beta, but somewhere intermediate. To slice it even thinner, this particular alpha-beta hybrid is a bit closer to the alpha end of the scale (but certainly not "Hyper-Alpha).

Much of the time when the hands are positioned in the pockets - it does project a beta and sometimes submissive/low confidence emotional tone. Depending on the dynamics, the coexisting verbal cues and the other nonverbal signals with which it may be clustered - hands in the pockets can even be a signal for deception. Yet these examples don't apply to Stone in this scenario - for only her fingers on her right hand (and slightly more on her left) are in her pockets. Moreover, these are her front pockets - allowing a more assertive variation of an "Arms Akimbo" configuration. Her elbows, which are protruding laterally - but not excessively so, is an alpha quality.

Notice too, each of Emma's thumbs are hooked in her belt loops. This is a stronger alpha component adding to this body language cluster, and indeed contains a significant element of sexuality (not for her interviewer, rather that she is "on camera", being herself - rather than a character. This feeling of being "on display", given the right setting and situation, can make a person feel confident and sexy.

This last image is on the set of Saturday Night Live (which Stone has hosted on three occasions). Her "Thumbs Forward Arms Akimbo" is another example of an Alpha-Beta Hybrid body language display. When the thumbs are positioned forward (and thus the palms are directed up), it projects a confident, open-minded and supportive emotional tone. Depending on the other nonverbal signals present, there may also be an inquisitive component present too.

Good Luck Emma Stone!


See also:

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

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3858: Milo Yiannopoulos resigns from Breitbart with "Apology"

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3856: "Belle" Clip - Beauty and the Beast

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3854: Donald Trump's Press Conference - "I am the least anti-Semitic person that you've ever seen in your entire life

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2814: Claire Foy's recounting of Meeting Kate Winslet

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3809: Horse Lays His Head On Coffin As He Mourns The Loss Of His Human Best Friend

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3729: The 3rd Presidential Debate - Donald Trump v. Hillary Clinton - Part I - Vladimir Putin, Body Language & Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3812: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone & La La Land - Backstage Interview Golden Globes 2017 - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTO)

In this interview for the 2017 Golden Globes, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling are being interviewed backstage after the awards. They each won best actress/actor for comedy or musical in La La Land.

Although it is rarely discussed, it's not unusual for several emotions to occur simultaneously. During 4:19 - 4:20 in the above video (captured in the image below), Ms. Stone and Mr. Gosling are both making similar expressions in response to an odd question (although Gosling's is a bit more subtle). On each of their faces we can see a mixture of dismay, disgust, critical evaluation ... and even a bit of anger. In common parlance, one may call this a "WTF?! Facial Expression".

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3811: Hayden Panettiere, Stephen Colbert and Personal Space

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3809: Horse Lays His Head On Coffin As He Mourns The Loss Of His Human Best Friend - Cross-Species Body Language & Emotional Intelligence

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3807: Sarah Paulson's Fear of Flying

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3801: Marion Cotillard, Lip Syncing and Honest Anxiety

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3738: Gary Johnson Loses His Temper

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3703: Debate Advice for Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3637: President Obama's Speech at the DNC, Hillary Clinton and Anxiety - Body Language

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3573: Angela Merkel, the G7, Destroying Rapport and Body Language


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3781: Emma Stone and a Sign of Sincere Laughter - Body Language and Emotional Intelligence (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Last week Emma Stone was a guest on Jimmy Fallon's Tonight Show. During the show, Stone and Fallon played a "What am I Lip-Syncing?" game ("Whisper Challenge").

[Note: The original video has, since the original post, been removed from its online source. The images below however, were captured from this video.]

After guessing Fallon's rendition of Bruce Springsteen's Born in the USA (2:46), stone began laughing, bent far forward - while almost putting her head between her knees.

She eventually sat up and most people would say she appeared to be laughing sincerely. Yet Emma is an actress - so could Stone be fooling us? Could her laughter be feigned?

If we flash back a few seconds earlier (2:53 - 2:55), we notice that Emma Stone's (right) ankle bends inward (medially) in what is known as the "Weak Ankle Sign". This turning or bending in of the ankle is an extremely common behavior during sincere deep laughter. While it is more commonly displayed by women in high-heeled shoes, it is certainly seen in those wearing "flats" and it's also seen in men.

Intriguingly, the weak ankle sign is also displayed during crying (Both laughing and crying are emotional phenomena of "release" - occasions when we [temporarily] let others see feelings which we otherwise "hold in").


See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3780: Donald Trump's Chief Strategist Steve Bannon Time Magazine Pic

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3778: Steve Harvey Recounts His Miss Universe Mistake

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3776: VP Elect Mike Pence Defends Trump's Claim of Voter Fraud

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3759: Nicole Kidman's and Jimmy Fallon's Almost Date Redux

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3710: Filipino President Rodrigo Duterte Compares Himself With Hitler

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3670: Paul LePage's Voicemail Rant

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 3690: Stan Wawrinka beats Novak Djokovic to win US Open

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle


_____________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2808: Andrew Garfield, The Spider Man Theme Song and Anxiety - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Andrew Garfield was recently on "The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon" plugging his recent film, "The Amazing Spider Man 2". Jimmy surprised Andrew with a guitar and then asked him to play a song. Emma Stone's boyfriend responded with a pretty fair rendition of the Spider Man Theme.

There are several nonverbal anxiety tells in this short video displayed by the 30 year-old actor. Very early (during 0:05 - 0:07, Note: Unfortunately, since the original writing of this post, the source video has since been deleted from YouTube) - Garfield picked a piece of lint off his shirt and discarded it (preening) while Fallon looks on. In this scenario, this MAP/MAP surrogate nonverbal (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) is highly indicative of anxiety (In other situations clustered with nonverbals - it can have a completely different meaning).

What other body language do signals do you see here?

See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle - Body Language Tells

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2493:  Jewel in Disguise at Karaoke Bar,  Body Language Cues to Lack of Nervousness

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2626: Rashida Jones's Anxiety regarding YouTube Awards on Jimmy Fallon

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2702: Barack Obama - Anxiety and Non-engagement; Body Language Signals

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2807: Barack Obama at 2014 White House Correspondents' Dinner - Body Language




________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2802: Emma Stone & Jimmy Fallon Lip Sync Battle - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Emma Stone was recently on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. She was there promoting her most recent film - "The Amazing Spider Man 2". However Emma's Lip Sync Battle with Jimmy was the true highlight of the night - and video of this performance went viral.

Jimmy songs were Iggy Azalea's "Fancy" and Styx's "Mr. Roboto". Emma's countered with "Hook" by Blues Traveler and her second was "All I Do is Win" by DJ Khaled. Emma won hands down.

A very interesting couple of nonverbal signals were seen right after Emma finished "All I Do is Win". Up until then she was "in character". As a skilled actor who uses the Stanislavski method, once she finished and slipped back into her own persona - Ms. Stone first displayed the "Social Etiquette Fear Face".

The social etiquette fear face is a lower level of fear manifested in the mouth and neck (note tightening and retraction of lips - down and with corners pulled back as well as a distinct tightening of Emma's neck muscles) - but not in the eyes.

Here it is a form of self-deprecating behavior - essentially saying "I went a bit wild there - didn't I?"

The lack of eye findings thus connotes significantly less fear. The social etiquette fear face exampled here lasts for about a half second - or perhaps a bit longer - thus it is a microexpression or slightly longer. But this expression may certainly last longer.

If the fear had been true fear, the eyelids would open widely. With social etiquette fear face, the eyelids commonly have a component of a suppressed smile - and given the context this is very expected.

A few seconds later, Stone displays a lateral Tongue Jut. The tongue jut (aka "Lizard Tongue" is of very short duration and is also and example of a microexpression.

The tongue jut may have different meanings depending on the other body language signals which is simultaneous with (or nearly so). These include: "I got away with something", "I've done a foolish thing", "I've been bad" or "I just got caught". It can also be self-deprecation or a sign of extreme excitement. Which of these emotional-thoughts apply in this moment?

________________________________________________________________________________

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2793: Emma Stone, Graham Norton and The Spice Girls - Body Language Tells (VIDEO, PHOTOS)

Emma Stone recently appeared on The Graham Norton Show along with her boyfriend, Andrew Garfield and Jamie Foxx promoting "The Amazing Spider Man 2". What follows is a partial body language analysis.

As she is asked about her reaction to recent reaction to The Spice Girls, Ms. Stone briefly displays a bilateral lower leg rub (0:17 - 0:18). This MAP (Manipulator, Adaptor, Pacifier) is a common anxiety tell. It is more common, but not exclusive in women.

Emma displayed several signals of surprise (and mild shock) - although this one (during 2:15 - 2:16) is the most classic.

Note her eye lids are very widely open (although a moment before they were even more so, e.g.1:58, 2:08 - 2:09) and her mouth takes on a vertically oriented oval and NO TEETH are visible.

After she finds out that Graham was fooling her, Emma displays a classic "Puffer Fish" (2:20 - 2:21). This is very commonly seen before - however more often after a significant event. It is associated with a recent adrenaline surge - then drop off. It helps to down regulate the respiration, blood pressure and heart rate.

Emma's emotional and partial physiologic "collapse" (during 2:24 - 2:27) - although not a complete syncopal episode (fainting) - is common after a dramatic adrenaline surge and speaks to a high sincerity quotient.





See also:

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2647: Vladimir Putin regarding Edward Snowden, What Does the Russian Leader Think?

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2702: Barack Obama - Anxiety and Non-engagement; Body Language Signals

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2522: Jake Gyllenhaal and Jimmy Kimmel, Part II,  Body Language and Anxiety in Hollywood  

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2626: Rashida Jones's Anxiety regarding YouTube Awards on Jimmy Fallon

Negotiation Nonverbal Communication Secret # 1171:  Not So Fast Swift ....  Taylor's False Surprise

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2493:  Jewel in Disguise at Karaoke Bar,  Body Language Cues to Lack of Nervousness 

Nonverbal Communication Analysis No. 2792: The First Woman to Run The Boston Marathon - Katherine Switzer and an Assault Warning Sign - Body Language


_________________________________________________________________________________

Dating & Romance Body Language Secret # 1019: Ladies in Red

Yet another study has demonstrated that men find women more attractive when wearing red. The same study found that men in general believe that women are more sexually receptive to their advances when wearing red compared with other colors. Not surprisingly, women who are perceived to be sexually receptive are also judged to be more attractive. The study also suggests that women tend to wear red more often when interested in sexual encounters.

This nonverbal law of attraction was not lost on Michelle Williams, Natalie Portman and Emma Stone who all looked stunning in their red dresses on the red carpet last night at the 2012 Oscars.

___________________________________________________________________________________