Humans often assume we’ve cornered the market on complex communication. But a new study suggests that another highly social species—the elephant—shares our ability to use intentional nonverbal gestures to influence others’ behavior.

Researchers recently discovered that elephants can deliberately use trunk gestures to ask humans for food, passing behavioral tests typically reserved for primates. It’s the first strong evidence of goal-directed gestural communication in a non-primate species.

For Humintell readers, this discovery opens a fascinating window into the comparative science of nonverbal behavior. It reminds us that many of the communicative principles we teach—audience awareness, persistence, adaptability—aren’t uniquely human. They’re part of a broader, evolutionary story about what it means to connect, signal, and understand.

Elephants with Intent

As Discover Magazine recently reported, scientists from the University of St. Andrews and the non-profit HERD Trust observed 17 semi-captive African elephants interacting with human handlers in South Africa.

During a food-request task, elephants gestured toward humans using their trunks, ears, and head movements—sometimes reaching, sometimes pointing, sometimes shaking their heads in apparent frustration. Across the trials, researchers recorded 313 individual gestures representing 38 gesture types, half of which were shared by multiple elephants.

To test whether these gestures were truly intentional, the scientists applied three well-established behavioral criteria:

1. Audience Awareness – Elephants gestured only when a person was present and paying attention.
2. Persistence – When their goal (getting apples) wasn’t met, they continued signaling.
3. Elaboration – If persistence failed, they changed their gestures—intensifying or switching tactics.

Passing all three tests, the elephants demonstrated what psychologists call goal-directed communication: a deliberate attempt to influence another’s behavior through nonverbal signals.

The Building Blocks of Communication

At Humintell, we define nonverbal communication as “all the ways people transmit information, intentions, and emotions without words.” Our research—like the elephants’ experiment—shows that nonverbal communication is intentional, context-sensitive, and adaptive.

In one of our earlier blogs, The Importance of Nonverbal Communication, Dr. David Matsumoto emphasized that nonverbal signals are not just accessories to language; they are the foundation of human interaction.

The new elephant findings extend that foundation across species, suggesting that the roots of nonverbal intelligence run much deeper in the animal kingdom than once thought.

Just as humans gesture when speaking, nod to indicate understanding, or persist in signaling when misunderstood, elephants appear to use similar principles to achieve shared goals.

Lessons from Comparative Communication

This research invites us to think more broadly about communication itself. When we compare how elephants and humans use gestures, several themes emerge that resonate with Humintell’s core teachings.

1. Audience Awareness

Elephants were selective about when they gestured—only when a human was watching. Similarly, in humans, nonverbal communication depends heavily on recipient design—we tailor gestures, tone, and facial expressions to fit the attention and awareness of our audience.

This mirrors what we’ve discussed in Nonverbal Cues in the 21st Century: that human communicators still rely on being physically seen and heard to make meaning. When that visual feedback disappears—as it often does in text or digital communication—our effectiveness drops.

2. Persistence and Adaptation

When elephants didn’t receive the full food reward, they didn’t give up—they persisted or elaborated their gestures. The same principle applies to human communicators: when a message doesn’t land, we often repeat, adjust, or escalate.

In our post Clusters of Nonverbal Behaviors Differentiate Truths and Lies, we explained that deception researchers observe not one “tell,” but clusters of adaptive behaviors. Like elephants combining trunk reach with gaze or ear motion, humans unconsciously combine signals to increase communicative precision. Both species show behavioral flexibility, an essential marker of communicative intelligence.

3. Context and Feedback

Communication—whether human or animal—relies on feedback loops. Each gesture is both a signal and a test: “Did this work?” When it doesn’t, a skilled communicator adapts.

This adaptability also connects with our observations in How Nonverbal Communication Is Going Digital. As communication migrates to digital platforms, we lose many feedback cues that guide adaptation—eye contact, body shifts, microexpressions. In contrast, the elephant experiment reminds us how vital feedback is. Without it, meaning collapses.

Bridging Species: The Evolution of Intentional Gesture

Historically, intentional gesturing has been considered a hallmark of primate and human communication. The fact that elephants—separated from us by 90 million years of evolution—use similar cognitive strategies suggests convergent evolution.

In other words, when a species lives in a complex social world, intentional signaling becomes useful, even necessary. Elephants live in tight matriarchal families, coordinate travel and caregiving, and exhibit empathy—conditions that favor the emergence of flexible communication systems.

From a comparative standpoint, this aligns perfectly with what Humintell teaches about humans: our nonverbal systems evolved to manage social complexity—to bond, persuade, warn, and coordinate.

Implications for Human Nonverbal Training

So what can humans learn from elephants about reading and sending nonverbal cues?

1. Observe Context First. The same gesture can mean different things depending on situation and relationship. In both elephants and humans, context determines meaning.
2. Look for Persistence. When someone repeats or intensifies a cue, it often signals goal-directed intent. Are they trying harder to be understood?
3. Notice Adaptation. Skilled communicators—like these elephants—adjust strategy when their first approach doesn’t succeed. In humans, this shows flexibility and emotional intelligence.
4. Don’t Over-Rely on Single Cues. Just as elephants combined trunk, head, and ear gestures, human messages emerge from clusters of cues. Interpret patterns, not snapshots.

These lessons echo our work across multiple research programs on nonverbal accuracy, emotion recognition, and deception detection. Whether studying human microexpressions or elephant trunk gestures, the underlying science is the same: communication is about intention meeting perception.

The Bigger Picture

The elephant study doesn’t just expand our understanding of animal cognition—it also offers a mirror for human communicators. It suggests that the ability to intentionally gesture, persist, and adapt is not an evolutionary accident but a universal principle of social life.

At Humintell, our mission has always been to help people become more accurate observers and interpreters of nonverbal behavior. This research reinforces that skill development in humans taps into something deeply natural.

Just as elephants use gestures to connect with us, we use gestures—often unconsciously—to connect with one another. Both acts rest on the same foundation: a desire to be understood.

Final Thought

The next time you raise your hand, nod to a colleague, or gesture to emphasize a point, remember—you’re drawing from an ancient communicative toolkit shared with species far older than ours.

And if an elephant ever waves its trunk in your direction, it might just be saying, “Can you hear me?”—without uttering a sound.

Sources:

Discover Magazine (2024). Elephants Use Non-Verbal Gestures to Ask Humans for Food—A First in Non-Primates.

Scientific Reports (2024). Evidence for Intentional Gestural Communication in African Elephants.

The post What Elephants Teach Us About Intentional Gestures first appeared on Humintell | Master the Art of Reading Body Language.

When it comes to understanding violent or aggressive behavior, we often focus on psychology or environment. But there’s a hidden factor most people overlook: diet.

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Read: Another perspective on understanding anger

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Recent studies suggest that junk food consumption can influence emotional stability, aggression, and even violent tendencies—especially among teens and young adults.

In this article, we explore what the science says about the link between junk food and violent behavior and what you can do about it.

How Junk Food Affects Brain Health and Emotional Regulation

Junk food is typically high in:

• Refined sugar
• Saturated fats
• Artificial additives
• Salt and preservatives

It is low in essential nutrients like:

• Omega-3 fatty acids
• Magnesium, zinc, and iron
• Vitamins B6, B12, D, and folate

These nutrients are critical for brain function and impulse control.

Without them, people—especially adolescents—are more prone to irritability, emotional instability, and impulsive behavior.

Research-Backed Evidence Connecting Junk Food and Aggression

1. Ultra-Processed Foods and Bullying in Teens

A large-scale Brazilian study linked consumption of ultra-processed foods (snacks, soda, packaged sweets) with increased bullying and deviant behavior in adolescents.

“Deviant behaviors accounted for nearly 40% of the psychological aggression observed.”

Study Source

2. Western Diet Patterns and High Aggression Scores

In an Iranian study of teenage girls, adherence to a Western diet (fast food, sugar, soft drinks) was significantly associated with higher levels of aggression.

Study Source

3. Fast Food and Anger: A Two-Way Street

A U.S.-based longitudinal study of young adults (18–28) found that:

• Frequent fast food consumption predicted future anger episodes
• Anger and irritability also predicted future junk food cravings

Study Source

Biological Mechanisms: How Junk Food Can Trigger Aggression

1. Neurotransmitter Disruption

Nutrient deficiencies impair dopamine and serotonin, affecting mood and impulse control.

2. Brain Inflammation

Processed food increases inflammation in the brain, particularly in areas tied to emotional regulation (like the amygdala).

3. Blood Sugar Crashes

High sugar intake causes mood swings, fatigue, and irritability, creating the perfect storm for emotional outbursts.

4. Gut–Brain Axis Breakdown

Diets low in fiber and micronutrients disrupt gut microbiota, reducing mood-regulating short-chain fatty acids.

Junk Food and Violence in Correctional Facilities

Several studies have shown a strong link between improved nutrition and reduced aggression in prisons:

Inmates given better diets and supplements experienced up to a 45% drop in disciplinary infractions.
A UK study published in the British Journal of Psychiatry showed a 26.3% reduction in violent behavior with dietary changes.

Study Review – PMC10888116

Adolescents Are Most at Risk

Teenagers are especially vulnerable because:

• Their brains are still developing
• Emotional regulation centers (like the prefrontal cortex) are still maturing
• They often consume the highest levels of junk food

Combined with academic pressure and hormonal shifts, this makes them more susceptible to aggression linked to poor diet.

What Can Be Done? Solutions and Interventions

1. Promote Whole Foods in Schools

Replace vending machines with fruit, nuts, and yogurt.

2. Nutrition Education

Teach students and parents how food affects behavior, not just physical health.

3. Reform Institutional Food Systems

Prisons, schools, and group homes should integrate brain-healthy meals.

4. Support Further Research

Government and academic institutions should invest in more studies on diet and aggression.

Is Junk Food Making Us Mean?

While junk food doesn’t cause violent behavior on its own, it amplifies emotional instability, especially in already vulnerable populations.

With mounting evidence showing the connection between junk food and violent behavior, it’s time to treat diet as a public mental health issue—not just a physical one.

Dr. Matsumoto’s comments:

As a person who was raised on junk food in the 1960s, I find the recent research that has begun to undercover the possible close connection between diet and what happens in our gut and many different physical and mental health outcomes incredibly interesting and important.

The fact that there may be a link between junk food and how we regulate our emotions and behavior is not surprising to me.

That especially reinforces for me the thought that improving our emotional intelligence and wellness – both physically and mentally – starts with having better wellness baselines.

These wellness baselines revolve around six domains:

No matter what techniques we engage in to improve our emotional intelligence – breathing, meditation, critical incident analysis, whatever – their effects are all magnified by having better wellness baselines in the first place.

Of course making changes in anything we’ve done all our lives is difficult, whether in our lifestyle of emotional styles.

Perhaps we can start by making one small change, like cutting out that soda or bag of chips once a week. Even a journey of a 1,000 miles begins with the first step!

The post Junk Food Fuels Violence? The Science of Diet & Aggression first appeared on Humintell | Master the Art of Reading Body Language.