Social Engineering Blogs

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Tom Brady’s Facial Expression

Tom Brady Facial Expression

If you’re a football fan, you likely heard about Tom Brady’s facial expression that went viral a few weeks ago. The expression (which can be seen in the image above), was shown by Brady after head coach Bruce Arians mentioned something to him at the Bucs vs Panthers game on January 9th.

As mentioned in a past blog post, gestures are an important part of nonverbal communication. They illustrate speech, amplify meaning, and deliver verbal messages. Gestures are categorized as two types, those co-occurring with speech (speech illustrators) and those independent of speech (emblems).

Dr. Matsumoto explains that Brady’s expression is likely somewhat between an emblem and an illustrator. Although it is a spontaneous reaction, it is not a spontaneous emotion. He’s likely referencing the experience of “wow” or “amazing” and keeps the expression on his face to convey this message.

It’s important to remember that expressing emotion is just one thing that faces do. We also know that facial behavior has many other functions such as:  

  • Signaling cognition and cognitive processes
  • Signaling specific verbal words or phrases (what Brady was doing)
  • Articulating speech
  • Signaling physical exertion or physical effort
  • Other idiosyncratic things

All in all the research to date continues to demonstrate the power of faces all around the world.  

So what did Arians say to Brady to elicit that reaction? View the video below to find out:

The post Tom Brady’s Facial Expression first appeared on Humintell.

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Transparent Masks May Improve Nonverbal Communication

The widespread use of masks during the COVID-19 pandemic has posed numerous nonverbal communication barriers, muffling speech and impeding lip-reading.

For deaf or hard-of-hearing (DHH) individuals, masks have made daily as well as clinical interactions especially difficult.

With approximately 72% of people older than 65 experiencing hearing loss, and with this age group having higher hospitalization rates compared to others, the increased availability of transparent masks may be particularly important in health care settings.

Research and Results

A team led by investigators from Brigham and Women’s Hospital and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology evaluated attitudes toward their newly engineered, transparent mask by surveying members of the general population and health care workers, including DHH health care workers.

They reported that 91% of DHH health care workers felt that communication would be easier with a transparent mask, with positive expectations from other health care workers and the general population as well.

The results of their surveys are published in JAMA Network Open.

“Transparent masks have the potential to address or overcome barriers of communication, especially within health care settings,” said corresponding author Giovanni Traverso, MB, BChir, PhD, of the Brigham’s Division of Gastroenterology and the Department of Mechanical Engineering at MIT. “It’s a simple message, but it’s important. Patient interactions are critical and there are measures we can take to improve them.”

When members of the general population and health care workers were shown a video of an individual smiling beneath an opaque N95 mask, only 20%-25% were able to identify the corresponding emotion as “happy.” This number increased to roughly 78%-88% percent of respondents when the model wore a transparent N95 mask.

Social Smiles

This research seems to back up what we have suggested in the past: that masks hinder politeness by hiding social smiles. Social smiles involve the pulling up of the lip corners, but the muscle around the eye generally does not activate.

Below you can see examples of a true smile (left) and a social smile (right).

How Masks Hinder Politeness

Even though social smiles are not emotional expressions, they serve an important purpose in all of our daily interactions and communications. Social smiles serve several different purposes including:

  1. Serving as a note of politeness or courtesy or greeting
  2. Telling you something about the person who is smiling
  3. Commenting on things that we say or other emotions that we show

Transparent Face Masks Key?

Among clinicians, nearly 2/3 of general health care workers and 82% of DHH health care workers felt positively about wearing a transparent mask to communicate with patients, with roughly the same proportions, respectively, stating that opaque masks worsened communication with patients. The 123 general health care workers who responded to the survey were employees of Mass General Brigham and the 45 DHH respondents were affiliates of the the Association of Medical Professionals with Hearing Losses.

To evaluate perspectives on transparent masks within the general population, the researchers polled 1,000 U.S. adults representative of the national population using the online, opt-in survey provider, YouGov. 45% percent of these respondents reported feeling positively about interacting with a health care worker wearing a transparent mask and 36.6% felt neutrally.

Studies with greater sample sizes, including health care workers from multiple systems, are necessary to validate this study’s results. Future investigations can also evaluate respondents’ abilities to detect a range of different emotions.

The study’s authors hope that their results will demonstrate the utility of transparent masks, especially for DHH individuals.

The authors are part of a larger team of Mass General Brigham and MIT researchers who have engineered a transparent, reusable mask called the TEAL Respirator, which they are working to deploy in hospitals through the efforts of Teal Bio.

“Our lab works to develop products that can help people on the ground,” Traverso said. “We’re working hard to make and improve these masks so that they can be available for our hospital workers, and hopefully the general population as well.”

In the meantime…

It’s clear that social smiles are important for every day interaction. Without the ability to see them and until the widespread use of transparent masks (particularly in healthcare), we may have to take some extra steps to compensate.

Here are some helpful tips we suggest when wearing a mask:

  • Nod when you see someone
  • Wave “hello” and using other gestures to communicate
  • Saying “hi” in a pleasant voice

The post Transparent Masks May Improve Nonverbal Communication first appeared on Humintell.

5 Tips to Manage Holiday Stress

Did you know that 88% of Americans feel the holiday season is the most stressful time of the year?

A survey conducted by OnePoll in conjunction with Joy Organics explored the festive stressors and anxiety-inducing moments of the holiday season.

They polled about 2,000 Americans and found that financial concerns actually topped the list of worries when heading into the holiday season — with 56% saying this was one of their concerns.

What other things stress us out during the holidays?

  • 67% of those studied say they try to create the “perfect” holiday — which leads to stress.
  • 47% say they take on more than they can handle during the holiday season.
  • 77% find it hard to relax during the holiday season, which can leave them stressed and worn out.
  • 43% of Americans polled tend to be over scheduled during the holiday season
  • 59% would define the holiday season as “chaotic.”

So what can you do during this stressful time to ease holiday stress?

Psychologist Jelena Kecmanovic recently wrote a piece for the Washington Post where she suggests 5 ways to deal with holiday stress.

1. Temper Expectations

Baby, Child, Girl, PoutingNo matter how many times we have experienced children’s meltdowns, relatives’ faux pas, burned food or canceled flights, we seem to have unwaveringly high expectations for the holidays. Some experts suggests that setting the bar lower would be much better for our mental health.

Finally, moderate your expectations about others’ reactions to your gifts as you are only responsible for thoughtfully choosing gifts — what happens next is out of your control and more a reflection on the gift receiver.

2. Let go of ‘Shoulds’

Lists, To Do, Paper, Checkbox, TasksIt’s easy to get overwhelmed with all the things we should do during the holidays.

We should send emails or cards with season’s wishes. We should deep clean the house, hunt down all the gifts from our wish lists, cook enough different foods to cater to everyone’s taste and restrictions, package enough cookies to distribute at work, and so on. The to-do list invariably becomes your enemy.

Embrace imperfection and simplicity instead, letting everyone know in advance what adjustments you are making to reduce holiday stress.

3. Make Space for all Emotions

four green emoticon ballsKecmanovic explains that one of the most pernicious effects of picture-perfect holidays portrayed in movies, ads and media is an expectation for smiling, joy and happiness, all the time. Although these feelings are common during this season, so are grief, sadness and other negative emotions.

Research shows that, in general, mixed emotions are much more frequent than we realize. And rather than being harmful, they often strengthen a person’s resilience during stressful periods and are related to having a strong sense of purpose or meaning in life.

Moreover, pushing away or suppressing negative emotions ends up making them stronger and more frequent. So allow pain and grief to coexist with the other emotions. Noticing and naming various feelings, talking or writing about them, or expressing them through art can be particularly beneficial.

4. Be Open to New Traditions

Holiday EmotionsResearch suggests that not only does Christmas tend to consist of a relatively static set of universally practiced rituals, at least within a given culture, but many of these rituals are also particularly family-centric.

But if you find yourself a hostage to the holiday traditions that are harder and harder to uphold, it might be time to rethink them.

5. Get Out of Your Head

When, despite everything, holidays get overwhelming and you find yourself stuck in a ruminate-worry-dread vicious cycle, getting outside can provide quick relief. When outside, try to move, even if it means just walking around the block. Three decades of research supports the beneficial effects of movement on our psychological health.

Even a 7 minute yoga practice may make the difference in your day!

The post 5 Tips to Manage Holiday Stress first appeared on Humintell.