Body Language: Head posture

[AlexB23]

Hello folks. Approximately 1 year ago, I was quite bad with reading subtle body language cos of my autism. Fast forward to 2024, and now I can read it a bit better. One of the first subtle body language cues noticed by me is head posture. A year ago, I have noticed that some folks hold their head high, so I asked a few people that I knew what it meant, and my former taxi driver says it is confidence, my psychologist sometimes holds his head high to hide his double chin. He explained that some folks hold their heads high for multiple reasons: Regular confidence, overconfidence, hide chin, or when someone wants to avoid making eye contact when walking by others. Short folks such as myself have to hold their heads high when in close proximity to another member of a conversation to make eye contact.

Head Posture	Potential Meaning
Down	Potential sadness (feeling down), method to avoid eye contact, or looks at ground to prevent tripping, convicted, rejection, boredom
Level	Feeling content, neutral emotion
Upwards	Confidence/happiness, proud of accomplishment(s), potential arrogance (nose stuck up), to hide double chin, avoid eye contact with other people by looking upwards, or to make eye contact with a taller person in a conversation, or potentially to look at architecture or objects above

 

[berkeman]

I don't know much about it, but Body Language is a big area of research and knowledge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language

The main body language issues I deal with in my EMS role are related to pain issues or a patient trying to hide pain issues that I'd prefer to know about so that I can help them better.

 

[AlexB23]

I don't know much about it, but Body Language is a big area of research and knowledge:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_language

The main body language issues I deal with in my EMS role are related to pain issues or a patient trying to hide pain issues that I'd prefer to know about so that I can help them better.

Yeah, body language has been researched over the past century or so. A few weeks ago, I asked a vision capable AI model to interpret body language, and it did a good job.

 

[AlexB23]

So, what about you folks? Have you guys noticed this before with different head postures?

I'm only 5'4" (161 cm), so holding my head high is routine when conversing with others, or when trying to grab items from high places. Architects only seem to design cabinets and shelving for 6 ft (183 cm) tall people, never the short folks.

 

[Baluncore]

I wondered why short politicians like Napoleon, Hitler and Putin were selected. Is it because they were short, and so appeared confident?

 

[AlexB23]

I wondered why short politicians like Napoleon, Hitler and Putin were selected. Is it because they were short, and so appeared confident?

I am not sure on that one, but the abstract of a pay-walled article says that short men tend to want to keep more resources compared to their taller counterparts. It could be an inferiority complex. These politicians stepped on other people to get their high (and evil) positions.

Source:
https://www.jstor.org/stable/26957467

 

[DaveC426913]

Head-held-high being a sign of optimism or confidence is certainly a common trope - i.e. you might see an actor or cartoon character with head held high, and that is in indication that they are intended to be seen by an audence as optimistic, and/or confident.

What I'm not sure about is if this really occurs "in the wild" i.e. do real people actually walk down the street like this?

As you note with your own reasons for holding your head high: context is important.

Your example:

certainly seems to be telegraphing someone who is confident and optimistic, but note that it is a staged portrait - it would be pretty hard to walk like this without tripping.

Other reasons:

Head Posture	Potential Meaning
Down	Lost in deep philospohical thought
Upwards	Looking at birds, sunset

 

[AlexB23]

Head-held-high being a sign of optimism or confidence is certainly a common trope - i.e. you might see an actor or cartoon character with head held high, and that is in indication that they are intended to be seen by an audence as optimistic, and/or confident.

What I'm not sure about is if this really occurs "in the wild" i.e. do real people actually walk down the street like this?

As you note with your own reasons for holding your head high: context is important.

Your example:
View attachment 352256
certainly seems to be telegraphing someone who is confident and optimistic, but note that it is a staged portrait - it would be pretty hard to walk like this without tripping.

Thank you, brother. I have noticed this in the wild as well (not staged), and some folks have explained to me that it means confidence, while others may hold their head high to avoid making eye contact with others. Most folks hold their heads level when walking, but I have seen a small percentage of them holding their heads high, mainly indoors where the floor was smooth. Some folks hold their head high when walking past others, which makes it seem that some folks do not want to make eye contact to avoid saying "hi", which is what my psychologist explained.

 

[DaveC426913]

Some folks hold their head high when walking past others, which makes it seem that some folks do not want to make eye contact to avoid saying "hi", which is what my psychologist explained.

Yes, this can happen too. Raising one's chin can be a non-verbal way of distancing oneself from interaction - kind of equivalent to turning one's head or eyes away. It can be an indication of an internal defense mechanism if for example, one is in an altercation, and wants their opponent's words to "bounce" off them.

 

[AlexB23]

Yes, this can happen too. Raising one's chin can be a non-verbal way of distancing oneself from interaction - kind of equivalent to turning one's head or eyes away.

That is almost exactly what Dr. Peyton said. It does seem to be a way of distancing oneself from making any form of interaction. At least it looks better than holding one's head down, which just makes the person appear to look sad such as Eyore from that one classic Disney movie.

 

[DaveC426913]

That is almost exactly what Dr. Peyton said. It does seem to be a way of distancing oneself from making any form of interaction. At least it looks better than holding one's head down, which just makes the person appear to look sad such as Eyore from that one classic Disney movie.

Indeed. If one were to try to navigate this space one might draw the following loose rules:

• When by onesself: head held high suggests confience, optimism, assertiveness or thoughtfulness.
  
  
• When in a close interaction: head held high or head held low (basically, anything to avoid meeting their eyes) suggests a defensive reaction to deflect perceived aggression.
  • Head high suggests one wants to rise above the aggression;
  • Head low suggests one is feeling oppressed by the aggression.
  • However, either can also suggest thoughtfulness but without any defense undertones.

As always, a second cue would help fix the meaning: for example, are they smiling? Are they speaking in moderate, friendly tone?

 

[AlexB23]

Indeed. If one were to try to navigate this space one might draw the following loose rules:

• When by onesself: head held high suggests confience, optimism, assertiveness or thoughtfulness.
  
  
• When in a close interaction:head held high or head held low (basically, anything to avoid meeting their eyes) suggests a defensive reaction to deflect perceived aggression.
  • Head high suggests one wants to rise above the aggression;
  • Head low suggests one is feeling oppressed by the aggression.
  • Either can also suggest thoughtfulness without any defense undertones.

As always, a second cue would help fix the meaning: for example, are they smiling? Are they speaking in moderate, friendly tone?

This is a good way of thinking of this. Let me try making a table of this... If the folks speak in a moderate tone, it could mean confidence, but not overconfidence. However, if one is not smiling, it could mean arrogance or a way to escape the aggression from what I can understand. I have a friend that every time he thinks, he holds his head up for a few seconds. That is my cue that means that he is processing information and that he is ready to formulate a response.

Posture	Alone	Close Interaction
Head Down	Feeling down, contemplative/studious	Oppressed, defeated
Head Up	Confidence, optimism, thoughtfulness	Rising above aggression, Thoughtfulness (processing information)

 

[DaveC426913]

The thing about non-verbal cues is that not only are they hard to interpet on their own, but they can be used to deceive. Someone opposite you may be deliberately adopting a posture to send a false message without having to say it outright, such as "You are beneath me."

 

[AlexB23]

The thing about non-verbal cues is that not only are they hard to interpet on their own, but they can be used to deceive. Someone opposite you may be deliberately adopting a posture to send a false message without having to say it outright, such as "You are beneath me."

That is true as well. Someone could fake a posture to gain a tactical advantage to try and win an argument.