KINESIS: TYPES AND APPLICATIONS - CULTURE VOCABULARY - 2025

The cinesis, also called kinesthetic, is the study of body movements. The term is used to define movement and to determine or analyze how or why this movement occurs in animals, including humans.

The word kinesis was coined in 1952, by the prominent American anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell, who founded the field of kinesis research.

Facial expressions Photograph by Andrew Imanaka. Taken and edited from

This field of research studies corporeal (bodily) expressions and movements, facial expressions, posture and gait, among many others. The field of kinesis not only conducts studies in humans, it has also been used in the field of ethology (animal behavior).

Ray Birdwhistell and kinesis

Ray Birdwhistell was a prominent anthropologist who was interested in studying other types of human communication beyond verbal and written. Birdwhistell wanted to know how human beings can communicate through gestures, expressions, postures and movements.

Although the term kinesis was coined by this researcher in 1952, it was not until the 1970s that this field of science gained interest among the community and became popular with the book Kinesics and contexts.

Birdwhistell used multiple methods for his kinesis analyzes, however the one he used the most was the filming of people. In these films, postures and body language were analyzed, among other aspects, which led Birdwhistell to determine that movements (non-verbal) have a meaning as complex as grammar.

Types of kinesis

There is a universe of non-verbal body information, which includes kinesis (movement, gestures, postures, eye contact, etc.), the haptic or tactile, and the proxemics (study of distances or the use of space in behavior). Here are some types of kinesis:

-Gestures

Three types of gestures are annealed:

Adapters

These movements are related to arousal and anxiety. They can be projected towards the same person or objects. Examples are the flapping of the legs in meetings or classes, the constant clicking of a pen, and even the use of games with smartphones to relieve tension or anxiety.

Emblems

They are gestures with a specific meaning. The hands star in these types of gestures and although they do not have widely accepted meanings, nor are they part of a sign language system, they are easily understood by a group of people.

An example of this type of gesture is the closed fist and thumb up, as well as the index and thumb fingers forming a circle plus three fingers up. Both expressions mean "all good." They can even have more than one meaning, like a clenched fist and thumbs up which also means "I need a ride."

Emblem-type gesture. Which can mean, everything is fine (OK) or even, I need a ride. Photograph by Sarah Reid. Taken and edited from

Illustrators

This type of gesture is considered one of the most common. The hands play a preponderant role in this type, although the movements or gestures of these do not have a specific meaning as in the emblems.

This type of gesture is used unconsciously (in most cases) during conversations or talks in public. Many times these gestures denote the size of things or objects.

-Position

It denotes the attitude of the person towards the environment. These gestures are considered closed when the person shows postures with crossed arms or legs, or open when they are not crossed.

-Look or eye contact

We can also be communicative through visual or ocular behaviors. The face and eyes are the main ones in this type of kinesis. Eye contact or gaze is related to interpersonal connections, regulates communication and even expresses emotions.

-Face expressions

The kinesis of the face is one of the most studied. Our face is our main tool for non-verbal expression. With these gestures, emotions such as anger, fear, frustration, excitement, happiness and sadness are expressed.

The eyebrows support facial expression, even reinforcing verbal communication, such as a frown.

-Touch and smell

Another type of non-verbal communication that people use is through touch and through the perception of smells, which in turn can be reflected in other forms of expression or body communication.

Kinesis Applications

There are many applications of the study of non-verbal body language in everyday life. However, not all body languages ​​are part of kinesis. For example, sign language is a type of body language, but it is not part of kinesis.

That said, some of the applications of body language related to kinesis are:

Handling of police situations

Part of the police and military training includes the analysis of the bodily expressions of an alleged suspect, and even the possible reactions that an armed person may have. The latter allows the officer to intuit whether the suspect or alleged criminal will attack or surrender without major consequences.

Police interrogations

Many police investigators train to analyze postures, signs and gestures that allow them to detect if a person is lying in an interrogation.

The positions or signs of these researchers can help them to obtain greater empathy with the questioned person and obtain information.

Card games and others

Many famous games like poker or dominoes consist not only of chance, but of keeping the corresponding pieces or cards secret and trying to confuse or deceive the opponent.

Kinesis plays an important role in detecting deception, as players can be on the lookout for any gesture or movement that betrays the opponent.

Marketing or commercial use

Expressions, gestures and postures are generally involuntary behaviors, which according to kinesis have a meaning as complex as grammar. Thus, for several decades the concern to learn more about body language has been gaining more and more followers, not only from a technical and scientific point of view, but also from a social and communicative perspective.

Due to this fact, there are an incredible number of publications and books (not necessarily scientific) that seek to enlighten people so that they use kinesis and other bodily languages ​​for multiple daily and work uses, among others.

References

1. A. García Alcántara (2012). When the body communicates. Manual of non-verbal communication. Polytechnic university of Valencia. Final degree project to obtain a Bachelor's degree in Audiovisual Communication. 86 p.
2. R. Birdwhistell, 1970. Kinesics and Context. University of Pennsylvania Press, Philadelphia.
3. A. Hans, E. Hans (2015). Kinesics, Haptics and Proxemics: Aspects of Non –Verbal Communication. IOSR Journal Of Humanities And Social Science.
4. Kinesics. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org
5. Body language. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org.
6. S. Jolly (2000). Understanding body language: Birdwhistell's theory of kinesics. Corporate Communications: An International Journal.
7. Ray Birdwhistell. Recovered from en.wikipedia.org.