Abstract

People's faces show fear in many different circumstances. However, when people are terrified, as well as showing emotion, they run for cover. When we see a bodily expression of emotion, we immediately know what specific action is associated with a particular emotion, leaving little need for interpretation of the signal, as is the case for facial expressions. Research on emotional body language is rapidly emerging as a new field in cognitive and affective neuroscience. This article reviews how whole-body signals are automatically perceived and understood, and their role in emotional communication and decision-making.

Author affiliations

1. Beatrice de Gelder is at the Cognitive and Affective Neurosciences Laboratory, Tilburg University, 5000 LE Tilburg, The Netherlands.
2. She is also at the Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Room 417, Building 36, First Street, Charlestown, Massachusetts 02129, USA, and Harvard Medical School, Charlestown. Email: degelder@nmr.mgh.harvard.edu

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