If you are in conversation with somebody and you are both talking about an issue which is not to your liking, sometimes you will show your dislike through your facial expressions. In another words micriexoressions. If you see someone lift their right or left lip slightly upward, this is often a case of contempt.
When someone is talking about losing a sports game sometimes they may lift their right a left lip slightly especially if they are unpleased with the result.
Next time you are a with someone and they raise their lip slightly to the right or the left think about the context and or the situation you are in and make connections as to why they are unhappy or in contempt.
How the Body Shows Contempt
Often the body shows contempt when a person raises their right or left shoulder if they dislike an issue at hand.
The limbic system is composed of structures in the brain that deal with emotions (such as anger, happiness and fear) as well as memories…(Study.com)
There are many parts of the brain which control our emotions. The one which deal mainly with our expression of fear is the amygdala.
The amygdala is responsible for regulating our sense and preparing our body for emergencies. And it also stores our memories in preparation for possible future threats.
The amygdala is involved specifically with the emotion of fear. It can cause extreme emotions and lead to panic and crazed thoughts.
The amygdala gets information from our bodies and processes these accounts to check if they are pleasurable experiences or ones to be feared of. You can see it in the bodily expressions that we display from moment-to-moment, and day to day basis.
The limbic system innately expresses our emotions whether we recognise this or not. For example blind judo wrestlers were studied closely where their body language showed elation when they won matches or shame when they lost. The scientists concluded that blind people who have never witnessed other people’s winning or losing body language have an innate ability to show the same body language as sighted people. This suggests the human biology in terms of pride and shame are innate.
So what does this have to do with body language of contempt? It indicates that when a human being is feeling contempt or intense dislike of someone or something, they show it through facial expressions and or body language. This is carried through our limbic system.
Lifting One Shoulder shows Contempt
I have found through observing and critiquing numerous people in many interviews, sometimes they show contempt through lifting up one shoulder. Lifting up the left or right shoulder can also mean that the person is lying. Depending on the context and situation at hand an observer needs to make the connections to note whether the person is in contempt where they severly dislike something or someone. Sometimes people pretend to feel one way but by the lifting of one shoulder, they portray emotion of distrust, anger or contempt.
The Two Shoulder Lift
Lifting two shoulders at the same time shows that the person is unsure of something or they wish not to deal with an issue. This is not to be confused with the lifting of one shoulder. This often means they understand what’s going on but they just don’t like it for some reason.
The side eye
Coupled with the facial tell of contempt, it is accompanied with another often seen body language; where a person moves the head away from speaker, but keeps their eye on a person of focus. This shows suspicion and untrust. Usually contempt is the underlying emotion and the person is suspicious of what is going on.
The side eye portrays a sense of distrust but interest at the same time. Its either that they don’t trust you or that it is them not to be trusted. Check on their other body language or clusters of similar emotions to get an accurate picture.
In Conclusion
Contempt displays itself in a number of ways. The slide lip stretch, the one shoulder lift and the side eye. These body language tells as a cluster show contempt. Is up to you how you would manage and navigate around the person’s emotions, but at least forewarned is forewarned.
The Dialogue 