Body Language Action Categories

Let’s take a final in depth look at some of the different types of actions that make up the study of body language.  Every action we take as humans can be divided into one of the following:

Inborn Actions – These are actions that come natural to us and that we don’t have to learn.  Are most of our behaviors genetic or “in-born” or do we learn most of our actions over time?  This has been argued by philosophers and researchers for quite some time but the fact remains that certain actions common to humans do not need to be learned – we are born with them. A lot of these inborn actions are stimulus-response type of actions where a certain stimulus input triggers a reaction output. Actions of this type include smiling, frowning and the suckling action of an infant.  While it is not my intent to catalogue all of our inborn actions here the fact remains that humans are born with a wide variety of inborn behavior patterns and actions.

Discovered Actions – As we grow up from infancy we gradually discover the entire range of possible behaviors and actions offered by our bodies.  These are discovered actions and there are a lot of them.  Discovered actions tend to be universal across cultures and geographies, which makes sense when you consider that we all share the basic anatomical make-up, which limits the way we can express ourselves with and through our bodies.

Assimilated Actions – These are those actions we copy from other people. Observe the actions you routinely engage in everyday; where did you acquire them?  Most of the time we assimilate and mimic the actions of those around us unconsciously, which is why there are actions patterns and gestures unique to specific cultures and areas.  Humans are herding animals so we tend to constantly absorb and integrate the actions of those around us for a variety of reasons.  These lead to specific action patterns that can be learned and interpreted.

Trained Actions – When I think of trained actions I think of the martial artist or a trained athlete.  Unlike assimilated actions, trained actions are deliberately acquired by observation, study and practice.  Not all trained actions are as complex as learning Kung Fu or some specialized athletic discipline.  Actions as simple as tying your shoes or learning the acceptable way to shake hands are also trained actions.

Mixed Actions -Mixed actions, as you might have guessed, as actions learned or acquired through a combination of the above methods.

These categories of actions form the building blocks of human nonverbal behavior and body language.  For the body language expert, these are the macro components of the science of body language.  In future posts we will delve into much more detail.

Tagged as: Body Langauge Expert, Learning Body Language, Understanding Body Language