(a) In both expressive movements (movements of limbs, head, facial features, and body) and the manner of performing purposive actions, the movement pattern itself is expressive, that is, it manifests the motivational state. Phenomena that are functionally quite different are usually classed as expressive behavior they vary in the manner in which they manifest motivational states: Actually, the investigation of the relationship of expressive behavior to inner states or other dispositions is one of the main tasks in this area. Some behavior is expressive without the subject’s experiencing the emotions suggested by his behavior, as in a theatrical performance or in an act of deceit. This, again, is not necessarily the case. The term “expressive behavior” is misleading, finally, in that it suggests the presence of something, an inner experience, which is expressed but exists distinct from its expression. Every behavior is expressive when viewed with respect to the motivational state suggested by it. Expression is not a specific category of behavior, but expressiveness is the result of a perspective on all behavior. Labeling some behavior as “expressive” does not imply anything about its function or purpose. The term is misleading, again, since it might suggest an expressive intention or purpose on the part of the subject that in fact is not presupposed. Many behaviors which are not to be classified as “expressions” still have expressive aspects, e.g., the “deliberate” or “determined” manner of performing actions the “hesitant” or “emphatic” in-tonational patterns in speech. “Expressive behavior” is a somewhat misleading term. At present, the main impetus for the investigation of expressive behavior stems from the study of social perception, emotion, and personality. More recently, expressive behavior has been discussed in connection with the philosophical problem of knowing other minds (Bain 1859 Lipps 1905 Scheler 1913). Interest in art and, particularly, in the stage (e.g., Engel 1785) stimulated detailed descriptions of expressive movement. The study of expressive behavior has a dual origin in psychodiagnostics (falsely attributed to Aristotle) and in rhetoric (Quintilian). “Motivational state” is used here to cover emotional attitudes and moods, cognitive attitudes (attention, concentration), activation states (arousal, fatigue), and more-or-less permanent attitudes that are personality attributes. The term “expressive behavior” refers to those aspects of behavior which manifest motivational states.
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