Body Language Basics | Page 2

signals
are common to all societies and persist despite the assimilation of many other cultural
gestures.

The basic sounds and gestures of our species have their origin in the early stages of
development of the human being. Crying is not only the first sign we give of our state
of mind, but also the most fundamental one, shared with thousands of other species.

There are certain expressions and standards that vary according to the culture, which
are learned during the years of early childhood. These standards prescribe what
should be done in response to the manifestation of each sensation or feeling in the
different social environments. They vary according to social roles and demographic
characteristics, and they differ from one culture to another.

3 We have to admit that, at the best of times, all social gatherings are a little frightening.
We do not know how the other individual will behave at the moment of meeting.
Smiles and laughter demonstrate the existence of this fear and they are combined
with feelings of attraction and acceptance. If a person we greet does not smile
frankly, and evades our eyes, this can mean one of two things: either we do not
interest him or her; or he/she is an extremely shy, retiring person, and finds the
situation frightening.

Each movement or position of the body has adaptive, expressive, and defensive
functions – some conscious and other unconscious. Our body language can be
partly instinctive, partly taught, and partly imitative, so a person’s culture is an
important factor to bear in mind.


Territorial needs

The space surrounding a person is another important factor in the expression of body
language. Each person has a well-defined bodily space, a territory, a personal space
known as the body buffer zone. That zone is determined personally and conditioned
by the culture.

It is not known exactly how much space each person needs, since it is a kind of aura
that expands and contracts constantly as we approach other people or move away
from them. The important thing is to be aware how essential this personal space is
and respect it; we must also be aware of what happens to an individual when his or
her territory is threatened or invaded.

The following points must be borne in mind:

• Introverts tend to keep a greater distance during conversation than extroverts.
A person who moves away during a conversation is showing his need to set
up greater defenses to ensure his personal space.

• During a multitudinous rally or protest march, however crowded it is each
person tries to keep an inviolable area around him or herself.


Hall has subdivided the territorial needs of the individual into four zones: intimate
distance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance. The distances grow
as the intimacy decreases.

For example, for Americans, the intimate distance can be close, that is in actual
contact, or far from 15 to 45 cm. The close phase of intimate distance is for
lovemaking, being with very intimate friends, and children holding hands with their
parents or with other children.

4 At the close intimate distance, one is fully conscious of the person one is with. The
far phase of the intimate distance is still near enough to hold hands.

The close personal distance is 45-75 cm, and the far personal phase is 75-120 cm
(considered the limit of physical dominance). It is no longer possible to touch the
other person comfortably from that distance, which gives a certain amount of privacy
to any meeting, but the distance is close enough to hold a fairly personal
conversation.


Masking

There are many methods for defending our personal zones; one of them is by
masking. Masking means controlling our body so that it will not give out messages
that the mind wants to hide. Masking includes facial gestures and can involve the
whole body. However, it is not possible to hide involuntary reactions such as
perspiration.

Masking is partly learned or absorbed from one’s own culture, but another part is
specifically taught, such as rules of etiquette, many of which deal with what is
appropriate or inappropriate in terms of body language.

Masking increases as a child approaches adulthood. The masks harden, they
become repressive, and are transformed into elements of protection. The adult may
be aware of the fact that although the mask protects his intimacy and enables him to
avoid associating with someone he doesn’t want to be with, it can also restrict or
prevent other contacts that he does want