// The Universality of Body Language//

Return back to the post on Paul Ekman’s list of basic emotions, particularly the universal seven.

While it is true that all humans show similar facial signals to exhibit these feelings, almost every other signal is culturally variant - completely dependent on who raises us, where and how.

For example, to indicate ‘yes’, people in the United States will nod their heads. In Bulgaria, people make the same indication by shaking their heads.

Some cultures see the foot as an erogenous zone; others, as the most offensive part of the body.

Japan is also a notorious offender of what we Americans consider appropriate body language. For instance, looking someone in the eyes and smiling is considered disrespectful. Finishing all the food on your plate when you are the guest at somebody’s table is seen as insulting, because in Japanese culture you are telling your host that you were not served enough food to satiate your appetite.

Source: The Definitive Book of Body Language (Allan and Barbara Pease)