Social Engineering Blogs

Below is the continuation of the interview with Dr. Matsumoto  about his current research on Triumph vs. Pride by science reporter, Anna Meldolesi, for her Italian Newspaper, Il Corriere della sera:

Q2:  What about defeat behavior in athletes and primates?

Dr. Matsumoto:  Our papers show the behaviors of the defeated to include head down, arms brought to the side or front, eyes gazing down, face covers. These behaviors are consistent with the emotion of sadness and/or shame.

Q3:  Can you comment on behavior and expressions of elite athletes before competition? Think of Usain Bolt for example. Are they kidding or threatening competitors?

Dr. Matsumoto:  Can’t really comment as we have never studied it formally. Anecdotally I think each athlete is different in their optimal “game face.” While there are the Usain Bolt’s of the world, there are other athletes who do very different things yet perform extremely well. It would be a good study.

 Q4:  Marco Balotelli is a talented and eccentric football player often criticized by the media and targeted by racist remarks in Italy.  After scoring twice in a very important match this year, he  took his t-shirt off and posed like Hulk in the middle of the field.  Can you please comment that expression [Below]?

Dr. Matsumoto:  It’s different than what we study because we examine the initial, automatic, and probably unconscious reaction to the win. The expressions you have here occur seconds later where the person is posing and voluntarily expressing behaviors. All in all they all serve to enhance the dominance and success of the person, but these are all unique because they happen after the initial reactions and are voluntarily driven.

Q5:  What can you say about these two photographs [below]?