is body language learned or is it instinctual?

Question

Just a question posed by a fellow student in class.

Answer 1

I would say some body language is instinctual while other cues are culturally learned. If we look cross culturally, many times we can understand what someone’s body language is telling us. I remember watching a movie that took place in Indonesia, and the character was hunched over, withdrawn, and a sad expression on her face. It was not difficult to tell she was depressed. Other emotions are easy to interpret as well, smile means happy, tears mean sad, etc. Some many argue that other animals feel these emotions as well, these are usually interpreted in a similar fashion (ie. Think reading dog behavior).

Some body language is socially learned (this is not necessarily directly taught). One good example of this is how close we stand to others. (For this example, please remove alcohol consumption from the picture). Americans typically like a lot of personal space, if standing in a group there may be feet between one person and the next. If you look at many other populations, Mexicans for example, people are typically closer. There is a lot more physical contact as well, this is usually interpreted as friendliness and not romance as we would think of it.

Another example is guys holding hands. While in the US it is almost taboo, in other cultures it is a public display of friendship. In these cultures, it is odd not to see men holding hands in certain places (ie market place)

Answer 2

In terms of biology and essential nature, we are still very much the same as our primitive ancestors when Homo Sapiens Sapiens appeared on the seem thousands of years ago. We have the same intellectual capacity, creativity, and social instincts. As well, we have the same baggage in the form of violent tendencies, territoriality, acquisitive tendencies, fear of the "other".... And so forth. This means there will likely always be a tendency towards violence and cruelty under the right stimulus. The other mitigating factor is culture. Some cultures actually celebrate and encourage violence as being an expression of manhood. Others downplay and supress such outbursts. Think of the "hot Latin temper" as opposed to the British "stiff upper lip". This doesn't apply across the board of course, but there is a definite effect. Stephen Pinker, in his latest book, maintains that human beings are indeed becoming less violent overall. The current problems we see in the world pale into comparison with past history when much of the world was at war almost constantly.

Answer 3

Body language is a complex activity that expresses not only the nervous reactions to stimulus from instincts of corporal sources but also the mental reactions both conscious and unconscious to those instincts. Most of this language is unconscious. Some of this language is learned in that it must in some way comprehensively express at the level it is being received and that somewhat has to do with the culture in which it mostly finds comunication. Some of this language is universal in that it is natural. This indicates that it is both natural and nurtured.

Answer 4

If body language were instinctual, then all cultures would have the same gestures with the same meanings. This is not the case. Body language is cultural, and it is learned. Look at an italian versus a Minnesotan.

Answer 5

I would say it's both. There are things that we do, that we don't think about and no one has to tell us to do. Like if you're in a group of people, you will turn your body towards the person you're most comfortable with or most attracted to. It's not learned, no one told you to do that...you just do. When you're nervous, you might wring your hands or bite your nails, it's just instinct. Then there are things that you learn from others...you learn that if you look at a guy in a certain way, it'll catch his attention. You watch a movie and see how they interact non-verbally and you copy it. I say it's both.

Answer 6

I think some of it is cultural, meaning that some of it you learn it in the culture that you grow up in and others are shared by every human on this planet.

Answer 7

Certanly the body language is learned.
Each culture have own body language.

Answer 8

I'm thinking that it is learned behavior based on culture. At least that's what the sociology professor said last term.

Answer 9

it can be learned but different persons have different interpretation thru body language what they want to convey to others.

Answer 10

I'd say both, with the majority of it being learned through observation.