Barack & Michelle Obama: What Do Non-Verbal Cues Reveal About Them? Part I

Regular readers know that I've been reading a lot about facial coding, microexpressions (quick flashes of emotions) and non-verbal communication. Lying is natural to being human, and the average person tells three lies in 10 minutes. How do now-President Barack Obama and now-First Lady Michelle Obama fare in their November 26 interview with Barbara Walters?



Barack Says: "Michelle Is My Rock, & Her Criticizing Me Is An Important Role"
His True Belief: "Michelle Is My Rock, But I Don't Know If I Like Her Criticizing Me"

Barack has body-verbal congruence when he talks about Michelle being the rock of his life and keeping him grounded (at :25-:28 mark). I.e., that is his genuine belief. As he talks about her being a "constant reminder" of why he does what he does as President, he does a left shoulder shrug (at :41 mark), which means he doesn't believe what is coming out of his mouth. Barack also shrugs both shoulders (indicating “I don’t know”) when he smiles and claims (:55-1:05 mark) that Michelle taking him down a peg is an important function. He actually has ambivalence (but not outright contempt) about Michelle being his reality check.

Michelle Says: "Barack Is Even-Tempered, & Hard To Rattle"
Her True Belief: "He Has A Temper At Times, & I Can Rattle Him"

Michelle shrugs her left shoulder (at 1:35 mark) while pausing to answer the question about whether she thinks Barack is even-tempered, which means she is about to craft a lie. She then does a negative head shake (lying) but then a positive head shake (truthful) while claiming that "generally" he is hard to rattle and the person we see before us is this way at home. After she says he is even-tempered, she then does a body shrug and sign (a lying indicator) as she says he is hard to rattle and then follows it up with a negative head shake (1:41-1:47 mark). She reiterates the point that he's "calm, cool & collected" (at 2:09-2:11 mark)...while doing negative and positive head shakes and a left shoulder shrug. At the 2:20 mark, she shrugs her left shoulder twice while claiming that Barack often says it's not worth it to argue with her and keeps his calm. In reality, Michelle is at least ambivalent about her husband being even-tempered, but she actually does believe he is easy to rattle.

Barack Says: "Michelle Has Gotten More Reasonable Over The Years"
His True Belief: "Michelle Is Still Unreasonable"

Barack does a chin thrust (1:49 mark) while “jokingly” stating that Michelle can make him mad “by being unreasonable”. In actuality, he believes that at least at times, his wife is unreasonable. At the time of this interview, he has anger about it. He does two more chin thrusts and shrugs his left shoulder twice while claiming that Michelle has become more reasonable over the years (at 1:54-2:00 mark). He’s lying, because he does not believe that Michelle has gotten more reasonable over the years and he has anger over it...although he tries to conceal it by smiling.

However, when asked if she is unreasonable, Michelle has body congruence when she says she’s not unreasonable and "I'm usually right." I.e., she genuinely doesn't believe that she’s unreasonable (despite the fact that Barack perceives her to be unreasonable).

Michelle Says: "I Don't Think About Being A Black First Lady, & I Look Forward To Becoming First Lady"

Her True Belief: "I'm Angry About The Extra Burden Of Being A Black First Lady, I Don't Know If I Look Forward To Being First Lady, And I'm Fearful"

When Barbara asks her if she feels an extra burden of being a black First Lady in how she carries out her new role, Michelle claims that she doesn’t think about her responsibility in those terms. She’s lying. Michelle does two chin thrusts: (1) while saying "I don't think about it..." (at 2:36 mark); and (2) while she saying "I think this position has a huge responsibility" (at 2:40 mark). She actually very much feels an extra burden because of her skin color, and she is angry about it. At the 2:42 mark, she does a body shrug and sigh (which together is an indicator of lying) while talking about her new role. Later she says, "Does that feel like a burden?", then does another body shrug and sigh, and follows it up with "Not so much" (at 2:49 mark).

At the 2:51 mark, an interesting microexpression flashes across her face: fear. I don't know if she fears that she will let herself down, Barack down, Black America down, whomever down, but Michelle definitely fears her new role.

At 2:52, Michelle shrugs both shoulders (meaning "I don't know") while asserting that she looks forward to becoming First Lady. Actually, she's not sure. In all, Michelle has a range of emotions - alternating between ambivalence, anger, and fear - about her new role.

Michelle Says: "I Have No Problems Becoming Mom-In-Chief"

Her True Belief: "I'm Sad And Extremely Pissed Off About Putting My Career On Hold For Barack's Political Aspirations"

The most interesting part of the interview is when Barbara asks Michelle about how it feels to put her career on hold to chase Barack’s political dreams. Although she tries her damnedest to conceal it with a smile, her non-verbal cues are off the chain here. Michelle flashes a frown micro-expression (at 3:51 mark) while hearing Barbara read a quote from former British First Lady Cherie Blair's advice to Michelle warning about the difficulty of having to take a back seat and "you will not be able to have any kind of career". Michelle is sad about that point. After Barbara finishes reading the quote and as she is preparing to answer Barbara’s question, the very first micro-expression that Michelle displays is quite interesting: a growl (3:56 mark)! That is an indicator of disdain. She then does a right hand shrug (at 3:57 mark), which means “I don’t believe what I’m saying”, followed by a chin thrust (at 4:01-4:05 mark) - for four seconds - while discussing putting her career on hold. Michelle has a lot of anger about this issue. Michelle defines herself by her career more - a lot more - than she verbally is letting on to viewers.

Michelle does another extended-period chin thrust while saying “devoting your life to his dream” (4:12-4:15), meaning she has anger over having to sacrifice her career and devoting her life for Barack's dream. Another growl (at 4:16 mark) micro-expression - disdain - reinforces her true belief. However, she is verbal-body congruent (i.e., she is telling the truth) when she talks about short-term sacrifice and that she believes in her husband as president. However, she does a body shrug and sigh (together an indicator of lying) as she claims it’s “a small sacrifice” (at 4:33 mark). In actuality, she believes it's been a big sacrifice on her part to help Barack's dream. She even chides Barack (at 4:27-4:30 mark) - "if you do what you're supposed to do", with the finger pointing - about making sure he does his part while discussing sacrificing her career (i.e., believing she has done her part) for the next few years.

When Barbara asks her whether not having her career will keep her fulfilled, Michelle does a negative head shake (at 4:37 mark) while touting the benefits of motherhood. A body shrug/sigh combo shows up as she claims that she enjoys the work-family balance (4:53). Chin thrusts (at 4:48 and 5:06 mark) return while she says that she doesn’t view herself as twiddling her thumbs wondering how she’ll get through the day, when in fact she is angry about stopping her career.

Some people have called her an "Angry Black Woman" for her views on race. However, putting her career on hold for Barack's dream is what remains a very, very sore spot with Michelle.