Expression and impression

Shyness and embarrassment arise only in real or imagined social situations: They occur in public. Therefore, they have not only social antecedents but also social consequences. When I feel shy, I behave in a certain way; if you notice this behaviour, you may infer that I am shy and adjust your behaviour accordingly. Behaviours that lawfully accompany a certain state or trait and are used by most people to infer that state or trait are commonly called the expressions of that state or trait. Thus, the social consequences of shyness and embarrassment depend upon its expression: If you are able to control your shyness perfectly, I will not notice it, and it will have no consequences for our future interaction so far as I am concerned.

The definition of “expression” given earlier reflects its meaning in common sense, but closer inspection reveals that this is an unduly narrow concept. First, there may exist behaviours that lawfully accompany a state or trait but are not perceived as indicators of that state or trait by most people. For example, shyness may be accompanied by more subtle behavioural cues of which most of us are not aware, or of which no one can be aware during the normal course of social interaction, although these cues can be revealed by a detailed behavioural analysis.

Second, people may consider certain behaviours as expressions of a state or trait, even though they are not.