Conclusions, what we don't know and future directions for research

Scientists are addressing the blush in a systematic and sustained way for the first time since Darwin’s pioneering chapter on the blush in The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872); we hope that this volume has demonstrated that considerable progress has been made in addressing the issues he raised. Yet in many respects the blush remains a puzzle and we consider these issues in this final chapter on the basis of empirical research that directly bears on the blush and evidence from related fields that is covered in a number of chapters in this volume. The nature of the blush For a long time, the scientific literature about the nature of the blush was heavily dominated by theoretical speculations and anecdotal observations, whereas solid empirical evidence was virtually absent. Clear progress has been made in this respect during the last two decades as is evidenced by the studies reported throughout this volume. Perhaps most importantly, an increasing number of studies has started to measure participants’ actual blushing in ‘live’ social situations, thereby drawing on multiple methods such as collecting self-reports and observer-reports of blushing, and making physiological recordings of vasodilatation, blood flow and temperature changes of the skin.