[MBTI General] Nonverbal ques and body language

[Lissa]

How perceptive of these are you?

Any particular experiences?

Which type is most sensitive to them?

 

[entropie]

good question and an intresting one.

I am

 

[Lady_X]

very much so...trust it almost more than words.

 

[Jaguar]

Extremely.

A certain type of person will be more sensitive and aware.
Not necessarily an MBTI type.

A lot of it begins in childhood, and certain types of environments will magnify the potential.
Was that vague enough for you?

 

[entropie]

Extremely.

A certain type of person will be more sensitive and aware.
Not necessarily an MBTI type.

A lot of it begins in childhood, and certain types of environments will magnify the potential.
Was that vague enough for you?

I loved it

 

[Fidelia]

I think I'm probably oversensitive to it. As a teacher, it's both a good thing and a bad thing. It helps to be tuned into your audience. However, it can be very distracting and I have had to learn over time that sometimes people give off disinterested or rejecting signals when in fact they are underconfident. By assuming that they need and like you and "imposing" yourself on them, I have been shocked at how much more warmly both kids and adults have responded. I think INFJs have a horror of being where they aren't wanted or missing those signals, and in so doing may sometimes be misinterpreted themselves or miss opportunities that are there.

 

[Spamtar]

Nonverbal communication to be fascinating. Eye ques are my favorite. Then kino and spatial signs are the next. Arms and hands after that.

S's and F's and J's seem to be the most nonverbal-verbal

Kinda enjoy messing with people and seeing what their body language is gonna say to me next...until a middle finger arises to clarify their point of view.

 

[entropie]

Yea, really sounds oversensitive

 

[GHC]

I often try to "read" another persons non-verbal cues and moves when I'm speaking with them...tone of voice, posture, gestures,eyes,etc...A lot of the times I do make a good predictions of the person's character though I have made mistakes and read some other people quite badly.

 

[Virtual ghost]

I think that this thread should contain this link.

 

[Jaguar]

I think that this thread should contain this link.

That's a good thead.
It reminded me of when I was in college giving speeches,
and everyone commented on my body language.
I give a lot of speeches with my arms wide out, and hands open.
One of the psych profs told me how open, honest, and confident I was on stage.
It's funny how we don't realize what we are doing.
The body doesn't lie.

 

[Drezoryx]

lol whats yur type jag

 

[alcea rosea]

I look at a people as a "whole" experience so I cannot separate any nonverbal or body language from the whole impression. It's same with music, I hear the whole, not the parts of the whole.

 

[Jaguar]

lol whats yur type jag

All of them. I'm a synthesist.

 

[Snuggletron]

entj I think

 

[Jaguar]

entj I think

You base-jumping cheater!

 

[Lily flower]

I think INFJs have a horror of being where they aren't wanted or missing those signals, and in so doing may sometimes be misinterpreted themselves or miss opportunities that are there.

Wow! I was shocked when I read this. My whole life I have been so worried that people are just pretending to like me. So I end up being rejecting of them before they can reject me. Even people I am close to I do this with - wondering if all along they have really just been my friend out of pity. What a waste of emotional energy.

 

[Coriolis]

I think I'm probably oversensitive to it. As a teacher, it's both a good thing and a bad thing. It helps to be tuned into your audience. However, it can be very distracting and I have had to learn over time that sometimes people give off disinterested or rejecting signals when in fact they are underconfident. By assuming that they need and like you and "imposing" yourself on them, I have been shocked at how much more warmly both kids and adults have responded. I think INFJs have a horror of being where they aren't wanted or missing those signals, and in so doing may sometimes be misinterpreted themselves or miss opportunities that are there.

To me, it is far too easy to misinterpret body language or other nonverbal cues. On the other hand, I tend to assume people mean what they say. If they didn't, they shouldn't say it. I use great care in choosing my own words, whether written or spoken, and I tend to be resentful of anyone who tries to assume I mean something different based upon something so subjective as nonverbal cues. I also do my best to minimize the nonverbal cues I give unless I choose to do so, and have been told I in fact give very few.

 

[Ingrid in grids]

I think I'm probably oversensitive to it. As a teacher, it's both a good thing and a bad thing. It helps to be tuned into your audience. However, it can be very distracting and I have had to learn over time that sometimes people give off disinterested or rejecting signals when in fact they are underconfident.

I can really relate to this.

I'm both perceptive and sensitive to subtle changes in body language and facial expression. I think I take in much of it subconsciously, receiving it all as kind-of waves or vibes, which I then react to by altering my own mood, and even mirroring the other person's body language. I think with age and experience I've become less sensitive/reactive to the body language, but I still read it all the same.

I was reading an interesting article the other day about BPD and sensitivity to nonverbal cues, esp. facial expression. I tried to hunt it down via Google, and I was only able to find a similar (though not the same) article: Borderline Empathy Revisited.

On the other hand, many have also observed an astute capacity in individuals with BPD to accurately read emotional expressions in others. People can be caught off guard if a person with BPD perceives their current emotional state, which they may not have been fully aware of themselves. Some BPD experts have labeled this acuity "borderline empathy."

When we compared individuals with BPD to healthy volunteers, we found something striking - the BPD group on average was more accurate than the healthy volunteers in discriminating the mental states. The figure below indicates that individuals with BPD get more correct responses (indicated by percent correct on the vertical axis) than healthy volunteers on almost every scale of this test. The individuals with BPD do particularly well on neutral emotional expressions.

 

[Fenekk]

I'm sensitive to non-verbals more than words, certainly. I am always looking at people to see if I can gather more meaning from their non-verbal cues. My sensitivity to them is actually hindering sometimes, for example, I often feel lost in conversations on the Internet where there are no non-verbals like intonation or posture or anything like that.

I was talking to a friend just the other day who is ISTP and is very non-specific. His favorite word is "dunno". Were I talking to him face to face, I would know exactly which he was leaning toward when he says that... but I have no idea when he says it with only the written word. He also likes to use "yes" and "no" when there are multiple questions asked, or if there are rhetorical questions added before he's responded... I know that he has a habit of answering rhetorical questions so I have to guess which one he has actually answered. It's kind of awkward when you have to tell them you don't know what they are saying "yes" or "no" about.