Social Engineering Blogs

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Dr. Matsumoto Podcast Interview

Communication may be much vaster than we thought.

In a new podcast, Humintell’s Dr. David Matsumoto helps explain the non-verbal world of communication to wider audiences. He emphasizes that non-verbal communication is anything that does not include verbal language, but the varieties of non-verbal communication are almost endless.

One of these is based in the environment. What is the lighting of the conversation? Is music playing or is there a specific sound? This helps communicate something. Similarly, our personal characteristics, such as how we dress, convey something revealing about our personality, without us even opening our mouths.

Dr. Matsumoto also describes “behavioral traces.” Even when we are not in the room, certain aspects of our personality can be conveyed. For instance, if somebody were to enter your house without your presence, they would see how you have laid out your room. They would see what you put on the walls. Each of these things communicates something to that person.

While these forms of communication are not Humintell or Dr. Matsumoto’s focus, they help show how many things we can use to understand people and how vast the potential for communication without words is.

Of particular focus, however, are non-verbal behavior which includes the microexpressions, body language, and other slight activities that we engage in. While words are incredibly powerful, they must inevitably exist within a context of non-verbal behavior, and non-verbal communication more broadly.

In fact, when verbal messages contradict non-verbal messages, most of the information we garner from the conversation come from the non-verbal messages. Even though we are often bad at reading these forms of communication, there is still some instinctive receptivity, according to Dr. Matsumoto.

After discussing non-verbal messages, the conversation shifted to whether expressions are universal, which is of course a major topic of this blog.

Dr. Matsumoto emphasized the biological research showing the presence of expressions, emotions, and behaviors across cultures. This tendency is innate in us from the level of infancy, but it is also quickly modulated and influenced by the culture that we are in. Our cultures helps shape what we would feel emotional about, for instance.

When asked about the impact of globalization and cultural homogenization, Dr. Matsumoto pointed out that this is a significant cultural force and that, especially in urban areas, cultures are increasingly merging. However, it remains unclear what impacts this will have on cultural expression and serves as a potentially fascinating place for future research.

The only preliminary research about homogenization in communication has come at the level of gestures. Traditionally, gestures have been thought to be incredibly specific to cultures, but Dr. Matsumoto’s work has found that people are able to recognize certain gestures, like “thumbs up”, no matter what culture they have come from.

Please stay tuned for a blog on the rest of this fascinating podcast! And let us know what you think about these exciting ideas.

In Dr. Matsumoto’s Own Words

We’ve been talking about new microexpressions research for the last two weeks, so we’ll all benefit from Dr. David Matsumoto’s own insights.

In this new video, Dr. Matsumoto discussed his recent article on microexpressions and the importance of precisely studying microexpressions and their neurological correlates. He emphasizes the striking difference in neurological patterns between expressions at or above 200 ms and those below.

Russian Smiles?

It is almost a cliché, even among Russian-Americans, to joke about how little Russians smile. But does that reflect differing happiness levels?

There is some evidence that Russians are less happy than Americans, but current research suggests that this is not due to huge underling differences. Instead, it can be better explained by differing cultural expectations. While Americans are encouraged to smile in public, Russians are strongly discouraged from doing so.

As Humintell’s Dr. David Matsumoto explains, Russians, like many collectivist societies, live under stricter expectations of emotional control. This is mostly true with strangers, as it helps to emphasize the differences between friends and strangers.

Despite the often frosty demeanor, Dr. Matsumoto emphasized that this does not mean the Russians can never be expressive. You just have to get to know them and wait for them to open up.

In fact, Dr. Matsumoto remarked “Once you’re drinking vodka shots together, they’re more expressive than anyone else.”

This may seem odd to many Americans, where we are encouraged to smile in everyday contexts, but our smiles seem quite strange to other cultures! Many Russians may see our expressiveness as a sign of a disingenuous attitude.

In our blog a few weeks ago, we discussed how Japanese culture encourages smiles in public and with strangers but still in different ways than Americans. Many people from Japan may smile to hide other emotions, rather than to express happiness or cordiality. This is notably different from Russians who will maintain a neutral expression in those contexts.