The Winter Olympics
Posted on 02/12/10
As we tune into the 2010 Winter Olympics that began today, we'll see many emotions on the faces of the athletes as they journey towards the closing ceremony - anger, joy, sadness, etc. Whether the athletes this winter season are male or female, call China, Australia, the USA, or another country their home, or leave as winners or losers, their emotion will be consistently written across their faces and displayed through their body language. If the way we respond to winning and losing is universal, does this mean we are biologically wired to show the result of the race on our faces?
Assistant Professor Jessica Tracy at the University of British Columbia analyzed the body language of 140 athletes from 37 countries (53 of whom were congenitally blind) by studying photographs taken of them during and immediately after the announcement of the medal results. She found that winners tended to display pride by puffing out their chests, holding their heads high, and raising their arms. Less successful athletes exhibited their shame and disappointment through slumped shoulders and narrow chests.
Interestingly, these results were the same for both sighted and non-sighted athletes, providing evidence for an innate component to how we show emotion. The athletes that were congenitally blind, while having no experience viewing expressions of pride and shame, showed these emotions identically to those who had been exposed to it their entire lives. Furthermore, the blind athletes showed a greater emotional and physical response to losing than did the sighted athletes, suggesting their self-monitoring was lower.
