Is innate, inherited or acquired skill?

Lecture



Which hand is on top when you cross your arms over your chest? Most people cannot immediately answer this question without making attempts to test the answer empirically. Cross your arms, and then try to quickly change the position of the hands. One position seems familiar to you, the other causes an acute sense of discomfort. Studies have shown that this is a genetic inherited gesture, which is almost impossible to change.

Seven out of ten people, the left hand is above the right.
A lot of research has been done to establish whether certain non-verbal signals are congenital, acquired, inherited, or otherwise assimilated. Observations were carried out on blind people (who could not assimilate non-verbal signals by visual means) in various countries of the world, as well as on our closest anthropological relatives - apes.
The researchers concluded that various signals and gestures belong to different categories. For example, most primate calves are born with a congenital sucking instinct. So, sucking is a congenital or inherited signal. German scientist Aibl-Eibesveldt found that children born deaf or blind are smiling as often as ordinary children, although they could not learn it visually or by hearing. So, a smile is a congenital signal. Ekman, Friesen and Sorenson confirmed Darwin’s correctness with respect to innate signals, based on studies of facial expressions from various countries and cultures. Scientists have found that the same facial signals are used to express emotions in different cultures. Apparently, such signals are also innate.

Cultures differ in many ways from each other, but the main signals of the body language remain the same everywhere.
Nevertheless, the debate about the nature of some signals and gestures are still ongoing. For example, most men, putting on a coat or jacket, begin to dress with the right hand. Most women start from the left. So, men perform this action under the leadership of the left hemisphere, and women are guided by the right. A man, passing a woman on a busy street, unconsciously turns to face her. A woman just as unconsciously turns away from him to protect her breasts. Is such a reaction innate, or has the woman learned to her subconsciously by copying the behavior of other women?
created: 2014-09-28
updated: 2021-03-13
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Body language

Terms: Body language