Uncontrollable yet predictable, obvious yet inexplicable, blushing can be distressing when it makes you feel embarrassed, ashamed, or just plain self-conscious.
A new study suggests that the primary trigger for blushing is not a cognitive calculation about what others think of us, but rather the heightened self-awareness of feeling seen and exposed.
Good to know: 40 teenagers and young adults in their twenties were made to watch a video of themselves singing karaoke while lying in bed. MRI Machine-based testing: The growing body of evidence linking blushing to self-awareness doesn’t necessarily mean we can stop blushing.
In 1872, Charles Darwin aptly described blushing as “the strangest and most human of all expressions.” Blushing can be intensified when someone points out that you are blushing, and being criticized for the behavior can make you blush whether you are blushing or not. Guilty or Innocent.
The physiological response is simple to explain: blood rushes to the face, causing the cheeks to flush, and sometimes the ears, neck, upper chest, and forehead to flush as well.
but, why Someone blushes, and it’s It’s been puzzling people for years.Is it embarrassment or embarrassment over a clumsy mistake, or is it a well-deserved compliment? A sense of exposure For everyone to see?
Do people blush because they suddenly become concerned about what others think of them and feel criticized, or is it an automatic emotional reaction that occurs before they have time to think things through?
A 2004 study found that blushing One side of the face On the other hand, it does make a big difference in how you perceive someone singing compared to staring at them from the side while they sing. But most of the past studies, including the latest one, have been too small to draw any firm conclusions.
“While the blush caused by fear can be explained by a redirection of blood flow from the skin to skeletal muscles, it is unclear why embarrassment over certain social predicaments is accompanied by increased blood flow to the face,” says psychologist Ray Crozier. Written in 2010for the British Psychological Society.
In the new study, psychology researcher Milica Nikolic of the University of Amsterdam and her colleagues sought to answer some of the questions about blushing by scanning the brains of karaoke singers and showing them footage of themselves or others singing.
Surprisingly, only a handful of studies have mapped brain activity patterns. Embarrassing Or self-consciousAlthough physiological signs of increased arousal have been identified, no studies have specifically measured facial blushing.
Nikolic and his colleagues found that the female volunteers’ cheeks got warmer when watching themselves sing than when watching someone else sing, which isn’t all that surprising.
of Functional MRI The fMRI brain scans revealed even more: blushing activated brain regions involved in emotional arousal and attention, Mentalizing That is, there was a “significant lack” of imagining or thinking about their own and others’ actions, thoughts, and intentions.
“These findings contribute to the ongoing theoretical debate about the nature of blushing and support the idea that higher-order social-cognitive processes may not be necessary for the occurrence of blushing,” Nikolic and colleagues wrote. Conclusion.
but The team presents the results Patterns of brain activity associated with mental processes “as complex and widespread as arousal, attention, and mentalizing” are “not completely distinct” and therefore must be “interpreted with great caution.”
It remains to be seen whether these results can be replicated in larger, more diverse populations than just female college students. Troubled Psychological Research For decades, in part Types of people These studies tend to recruit volunteers.
This study Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.
