Copyright 2008. The Goodfield Institute. The information contained in the article may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or otherwise distributed without prior written authority of The Goodfield Institute.
Dr. Barry A. Goodfield’s Findings on the Democratic Presidential Debate of February 26, 2008 in Cleveland, OH
What do the candidates’ nonverbal actions mean?
Decoding Hillary Clinton's Nonverbal Messages
- When Obama speaks, Clinton’s mouth is pulled back into an artificial smile. This indicates the aggression she feels at that moment but is unwilling or unable to express.
- When Obama speaks, her tongue comes out and her eyes close. This indicates strong anger which is denied on a conscious level. It says, “I am angry” (tongue comes out); “I deny that anger” (her eyes close).
- When Obama speaks, her breathing blocks. This indicates unwillingness or ambivalence to express what she thinks or feels at that moment.
- When she speaks, she has a psychophysical epidermal reaction around the neck. This basically indicates feeling held down just below her skin. They are strong yet unexpressed emotions. This vascular pressure is a reflection of her repressed emotions.
- Her lips are tighter than in the last debate. Again, this is the physical representation of her repressed emotions.
- There is much more shock in her eyes than in the last debate.
- Her laugh was at times more aggressive than a response to something she saw as humorous.
- In this debate, Clinton was much angrier which showed through her very intense looks at Obama
Decoding Barack Obama's Nonverbal Messages
- When Hillary speaks, Barack blocks his breathing and is in a mild trance. This indicates an unwillingness or ambivalence to express what he thinks or feels at that moment. The trance aspect of this action is to distance himself from the situation in which he finds himself.
- He had very flat affect throughout the debate with very shallow breathing. This is an indication of his basic strategy in dealing with stress and perceived pressure. He removes himself from the situation, so he can formulate a new strategy.
- He has a stance of holding his head up on an upward left angle. This is another example of him distancing himself using 'intellectualization' and basically removing himself from the situation.
- He is left-handed and regularly takes notes. This suggests a pattern of removing himself when he finds that he is in a stressful situation.
- When flair ups happened, Obama physically raised up higher out of his seat. He is in a way incredulous that anyone could react to him this way. He is convinced of his position and the correctness of that position and that is that.
- When Pervez Musharraf was mentioned by Senator Clinton, Senator Obama covered a fist with one hand which shows strong anger.
- Barack presented himself as calm and focused and never raised his voice.
- Questions regarding Rev. Louis Farrakhan brought out two strong concentration lines between his eyes very strong. This showed the great resentment and stress he felt.