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2014-03-11 14:04:07
Claudia Hammond
No-one likes that awful flushed feeling, but is there a plus side to a red
face? Some psychologists think so.
We ve all said something stupid or regretful before, so we know how much worse
it is when you feel that sudden heat in your face and realise your cheeks are
visibly burning red. Blushing is something we fear so much that once we know
that we re doing it, there s a vicious circle. We feel even more embarrassed,
and the blushing gets worse. Researchers have found that simply being told that
you re blushing when you re not really is enough to induce it.
The same study also found that we assume other people will judge us negatively
if we blush, however this is where we might have got blushing all wrong. There
s no doubt that it s unpleasant, and for an unlucky few it can be associated
with social anxiety problems. But research shows that most of us overestimate
the impact it has on us.
When we blush the capillaries in the face close to the surface of the skin
expand, letting the blood rush in for everyone to see, whether it s is a pink
flush in white skin or a less conspicuous, but often still noticeable, darker
flush in black skin. That by itself is not necessarily an issue; lots of us
spend money on blusher, and a rosy redness to the cheeks has long been
considered attractive. Applying blusher to the cheekbones to help shape the
face is arguably different from blushing all over. But when the psychologist
Ian Stephen showed people photographs of black and white faces on a computer,
along with the means to alter the skin tone until it seemed perfect, most
people added in a degree of redness.
Circle of trust
However, the reason we don t like it when we blush is the fact that we can t
control it. And this lack of control is also the reason we might not need to
fear blushing as much as we do. Blushing can t be faked, which makes it an
excellent and trustworthy signal. If you really want to know what someone s
feeling, then look to see whether their skin colour has changed as
psychologists discovered when they made people play the classic test of
co-operation, the Prisoner s Dilemma.
Exact versions of the game vary, but the basic idea is this: you imagine that
you and a friend have been arrested on suspicion of robbing a bank. If you say
it was him, you ll be set free and he ll serve a 20-year jail sentence. If he
tells on you, it ll be you spending 20 years in prison. If you both confess you
get eight years, but if you both stay silent they ll have to set you free. The
question is whether you can trust your friend.
In this version of the study people played against a virtual opponent on a
computer, and could win or lose money instead of going to jail. At first the
virtual opponent co-operated, meaning they both won money, but in the second
round the opponent would defect, taking the winnings for themselves. The player
was then shown a photo of the supposed opponent and asked whether they would
trust them in the future. If the person in the photo was blushing they were
more likely to say yes. It was as though by going red they d acknowledged that
they done wrong, making it less likely they d do it again.
Glow with the flow
There s even evidence that we prefer people who blush. The Dutch psychologist
Corine Dijk gave volunteers a series of photos of people, some blushing and
some not, accompanied by tales of their recent mishaps, ranging from appearing
overdressed at a party to farting in a lift. The blushers were judged more
favourably, despite their indiscretion. Other research has found that if you
blush people are more likely to forgive you, and it can even avert a conflict.
When you re trying to work out who to trust, it makes sense to choose the
people who would feel guilty if they did anything wrong. The ideal person is
someone who would blush and give themselves away.
The act of blushing is about more than straightforward embarrassment. It s
partly about feeling like you re the centre of attention. In one study people
had to sing out loud while someone stared at one side of their face. The blood
flow to the skin and the temperature of their cheeks duly increased, but only
on the side of the face that was being watched. And as Ray Crozier from the
University of East Anglia has found, shame and shyness can cause blushing just
as much as embarrassment does. If someone brings up a topic that s pertinent to
you, even though you are not the centre of attention, nor feeling publicly
embarrassed, you might still blush.
A few people find blushing so tortuous that they re prepared to undergo surgery
in an attempt to stop it. When blushing is very noticeable surgery can make a
difference; when it s not so extreme cognitive behavioural therapy can help by
questioning those beliefs about the consequences of a red face.
For the rest of us, blushing is simply unpleasant. So perhaps we should start
thinking of it as a social asset. The next time you say something stupid and
feel the blood rushing to your face, remember that you re just showing your
friends that you understand your mistake, and that you adhere to the social
values of your group. They ll probably like you all the more for it.