Open the app
  1. Home
  2. Lessons
  3. GCSE Psychology
  4. Explaining non-verbal communication: Darwin

Explaining non-verbal communication: Darwin

🎬 The doodle video for this lesson is coming soon. Subscribe on YouTube to see it first.

Why do people all over the world smile when happy? Darwin (1872) used his theory of evolution to explain non-verbal communication.

Darwin's theory

In 'The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals' (1872), Darwin argued that facial expressions and other non-verbal signals evolved because they helped our ancestors survive and reproduce.
Because they evolved, they are innate (inborn) and universal: shared by all humans, and similar to some other animals.
Examples: baring the teeth in anger warns others of attack; widening the eyes in fear or surprise lets in more information about danger; a disgusted face helps keep out bad smells or food.

Evidence

Universality: basic expressions such as happiness, sadness and fear are recognised in many different cultures, including people with little contact with the West (Ekman's research).
Blind people: people born blind show the same facial expressions of emotion, even though they never saw anyone else make them. Matsumoto and Willingham (2009) found blind and sighted athletes at the Olympic and Paralympic Games made similar expressions when winning or losing.
Babies: newborns show expressions such as disgust and smiles very early, before much learning.

Evaluation

Strengths: strong evidence that some expressions are universal and innate, such as studies of blind people and babies. It explains why non-verbal signals are similar across cultures and species.
Weaknesses: it cannot explain the many cultural differences in non-verbal communication, such as gestures, eye contact and personal space, which must be learned. Yuki et al (2007) showed culture affects which facial features people use to read emotion. The theory is hard to test directly, as we cannot observe evolution happening.
Worked example

A girl blind from birth smiles when she wins a race. How does this support Darwin's theory?

  1. She has never seen anyone else smile, so she cannot have learned it by watching.
  2. So the expression must be innate, as Darwin's evolutionary theory predicts.

Answer: It suggests facial expressions are inborn, not learned, supporting Darwin's idea that they evolved.

Key idea

Darwin (1872) said non-verbal expressions evolved to help survival, so they are innate and universal. Evidence comes from cross-cultural recognition, blind athletes and babies. It cannot explain learned cultural differences in gestures, eye contact and personal space.

Check you have got it

Answer 6 quick questions with instant marking. If you get one wrong, GCSE-ready shows you why and gives you another go. It is free, and you do not need an account.

Practise this lesson free (6 questions)All GCSE Psychology lessons