Missed cues

Whitehouse’s findings pique the interest of Leah Mayo, an assistant professor at Linköping University in Sweden’s Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience.Her research has looked at the typical stress-related facial expressions, and she thinks that people’s responses to our nonverbal signals will change depending on the context.

When someone sees us, for instance, giving a speech or presentation, it is clear why we might be nervous, and this knowledge makes the other person feel more sympathetic.You might get a “tend-and-befriend” response in that case,” she concurs.

Mayo continues, “But if someone saw us scowling and jittery in the office without any clues about the source of our worries, the reaction might not be the same.”In these circumstances, observers may easily mistake stress signals for hostility or rage, necessitating additional explanation to correct their interpretation.