![walking with a girl interlocked arms walking with a girl interlocked arms](https://image.shutterstock.com/image-photo/4-teenage-girls-linking-arms-260nw-39435433.jpg)
#WALKING WITH A GIRL INTERLOCKED ARMS FULL#
"But if the arms crossed are paired with frowns, distancing, and a furrowed brow, then collectively we probably conclude they are not favorable toward us." Getting the full picture is helpful in preventing miscommunication.īody language is one of the main ways we make sense of other people's motivations, intentions, and emotions, Stephens says. "For example, if the person we're talking to has their arms crossed but is smiling at us, leaning forward, and using friendly vocalics, then we likely don't interpret the arms crossed as showing negativity," Dailey says. Knowing that information, people who cross their arms may be attempting to focus or at least create an impression of power and control.īecause of the conflicting and varying interpretations of crossed arms, nonverbal behaviors usually require context to accurately understand. In fact, one study showed that people who crossed their arms before a task were more likely to work longer than those who didn't. "If someone, however, has their arms crossed and is gripping each arm tightly, then this may be a sign of stress," Stephens adds.Īccording to Dailey, research has also linked arms crossing to defensiveness, unyielding attitudes, and perseverance. Creating a physical boundary or barrier can also be an act of self-comfort when someone feels overwhelmed.
![walking with a girl interlocked arms walking with a girl interlocked arms](https://t1.thpservices.com/previewimage/gallil/1faf842a8b9eff1acc84e543bc681e7b/bir-c240613r.jpg)
![walking with a girl interlocked arms walking with a girl interlocked arms](https://st2.depositphotos.com/26815962/44350/i/600/depositphotos_443508546-stock-photo-two-girls-white-shirt-walking.jpg)
"For many, and this can often be the case, the perception is that arm crossing means we are feeling anxious, resistant, tense, insecure, afraid, or responding to distress," Spinelli says. Though it can mean both of those things, sticking with those two interpretations is limiting.Ĭrossed arms can have a variety of meanings. One common body language, which is often lumped into the angry or closed-off categories, is crossed arms. "It can also enhance our communication whether we are excited to share something-which is exemplified in facial expressions-or we are angry, by looking away, scowling, or pointing aggressively." "When we observe body language, we can pick up on signs about how someone is feeling or what they are not saying," Spinelli says. Because it can reveal unconscious thoughts, body language tends to "speak" first and, when words escape us, may even be the only form of communication. "It can include everything that is expressed other than words such as facial expressions, different gestures, pacifying movements and vocal characteristics such as the tone and pitch of the voice."īody language can help reveal a person's authentic emotions and reactions, as well as conscious or unconscious thoughts, says psychoanalyst Babita Spinelli, L.P. "Body language is the way the body communicates and reacts to the environment around it as well as what is happening internally to a person," says David Stephens, a senior mentor at the Body Language Academy by Joe Navarro.
![walking with a girl interlocked arms walking with a girl interlocked arms](https://c8.alamy.com/comp/RET5PA/three-smiling-female-friends-walking-with-linked-arms-along-an-inner-city-street-RET5PA.jpg)
However, the nonverbal can be more ambiguous because they don't have a specific grammar or semantic meaning, she explains. Verbal and nonverbal cues play relatively equal roles in communication, according to René Dailey, Ph.D., a communications professor at the University of Texas at Austin.