Why do we blush ? A surprising scientific answer

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Blushing is an involuntary and universal reaction. Whether out of shame, embarrassment, shyness or anger, there are many situations where your face will turn this red/pink toned color. Charles Darwin himself described blushing as “the most peculiar and human expression of all ”. Indeed, apart from rare exceptions in the animal kingdom (certain parrots or primates), this reaction does not exist elsewhere than in the human species, and is not due to the same mechanisms. physiological and is not necessarily linked to the same emotions or social situations.

A study published on July 17 in one of the journals of The Royal Society Publishing reveals that blushing does not & #8217;is not necessarily linked to fear of judgment from others.

The impact of self-awareness

From a purely physiological point of view, the mechanism behind blushing is primarily linked to stimulation of the sympathetic nervous system, a part of the autonomic nervous system that prepares the body to respond to stress. This releases adrenaline, a hormone causing the dilation of blood vessels, particularly those in the face. Blood therefore flows inside the dilated vessels, giving the skin this famous reddish color. This phenomenon is therefore well understood, but the study in question, carried out by Milica Nikolic and her colleagues at the University of Amsterdam, rather leaned on blushing triggers.

For this, they brought together a group of forty teenagers and young adults to ask them to be filmed during a karaoke session. They then invited them to watch their own performances, placed in an MRI machine. The results of this research are particularly enlightening: they highlight the close link between blushing and heightened self-consciousness.

The analysis of functional brain scans (fMRI) revealed pronounced activity in brain areas associated with emotional arousal and attention. However, remarkably, the regions usually involved in mentalizing; process by which we interpret the behaviors, thoughts or intentions of others or ourselves; remained, in the very words of the study, “ manifestly absent ”.

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Nikolic explains: “ These results support the idea that high-level socio-cognitive processes are not necessary for the blushing occurs ”. Thus, contrary to popular belief, the phenomenon of blushing would not necessarily be linked to the apprehension of the gaze of others, but rather to an intrinsic emotional reaction, intimately linked to self-awareness.

The limits of the study

The conclusions of this research nevertheless deserve to be considered with caution. Indeed, the composition of the sample studied, mainly made up of young women, restricts the scope of the inferences that could be drawn from it . This intrinsic limitation raises questions about the possibility of extrapolating these results to a larger and more diverse population.

A selection bias (an important problem in scientific research) which could indicate that we could expect completely different results for men or older people .

Moreover, scientists themselves recognize the complex and multifaceted nature of psychological mechanisms under underlying the phenomenon of blushing. They therefore insist on the need for a “ cautious interpretation ” of their discoveries. With this in mind, the team led by Nikolic is already planning new investigations. Their ambition is to carry out additional studies with more heterogeneous groups, in order to corroborate and refine these initial observations.

• Blushing is thought to be primarily triggered by heightened self-consciousness, rather than fear of judgment from others.
• Brain scans show increased activity in areas linked to blushing. ;#8217;emotional arousal and attention, but not in those linked to mentalization.
• The results, established from ’ a predominantly female sample, still require careful interpretation and additional studies on more diverse groups.

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