Are there non-verbal signals of guilt?

PLoS One. 2020 Apr 24;15(4):e0231756. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0231756. eCollection 2020.

Abstract

Guilt is a complex emotion with a potentially important social function of stimulating cooperative behaviours towards and from others, but whether the feeling of guilt is associated with a recognisable pattern of nonverbal behaviour is unknown. We examined the production and perception of guilt in two different studies, with a total of 238 participants with various places of origin. Guilt was induced experimentally, eliciting patterns of movement that were associated with both the participants' self-reported feelings of guilt and judges' impressions of their guilt. Guilt was most closely associated with frowning and neck touching. While there were differences between self-reported guilt and perception of guilt the findings suggest that there are consistent patterns that could be considered a non-verbal signal of guilt in humans.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Female
  • Guilt*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Nonverbal Communication / psychology*
  • Self Concept*
  • Self Report / statistics & numerical data
  • Young Adult

Grants and funding

The studies were funded by a Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant Cultural variation in the social function and expression of guilt awarded to the seventh and fourth authors (RPG-2016-206) and the Leverhulme Trust Research Project Grant Rethinking complexity in facial communication systems awarded to the sixth author (RPG-2018-334). The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.