Yesterday’s post mentioned the rapid visual
assessment of “attractiveness” from still or video images. Rapid assessment of an individual's mood is an important facility for our survival as well as our happiness. Reading
body language is a skill that is deeply embedded in our past development, even
though our more cerebral evaluations make us doubt our “instincts.” On the
other hand, our dog is very sharp at reading the signals and if it growls, maybe
we should listen.
The most recent variant on the instant assessment front
is covered in a BBC report of a study in the Proceedings of The National
Academy of Science by Kogan et al
(1,2). Here their “lab rats” watched silent
movies of 23 couples. The main movie had one half of a couple telling the other
about their hard times and the lab rats were allowed to watch for a generous 20
seconds after which they came up with a score for prosocial tendencies.
So far, so good, but where’s the real test here?
Well, the film stars had their DNA laid bare. Specifically their OXTR (oxytocin
receptor0r) gene, or at least parts of it. The G or A alleles of the gene were
the focus. The BBC has called it the cuddle chemical (1) so the researchers are
matching up the allele combinations with the perceived empathic estimates.
The top rated empathizers all had a pair of G’s, so
GG means you’re one of the good guys. An AA or AG combo means, well, maybe you’re
not a good listener and won’t offer a handkerchief and a cuddle, but more
likely pithy advice like “get over it”.
It’s a rather scary thought that a glance at your facial
expression lays bare parts of your genetic make up like it’s been tattooed on
your forehead. I wonder what other behavioral/gene/body language patterns will
show up next?
