Signal value and interpersonal implications of the blush

Introduction Blushing is a highly common response and most people blush at least occasionally (Edelmann, 1990). A remarkable feature of the blush is that it may occur in many different types of situations: when spilling coffee on someone’s trousers, when making a stupid remark during a meeting, when construction workers start whistling at you as you’re passing, when being praised by your boss, when getting caught as you are about to leave the shop without paying, when someone bluntly asks if you have had sex lately, when being stared at, or just when the neighbour says hello to you. One may wonder: what is the common factor? And if there is a common factor, what is the meaning of the blush? Does it convey any relevant information about the blushing actor, about his or her traits or state, or about the situation in which the blush occurred? And if so, is the blush consistently associated with a particular mental/motivational state or just loosely coupled? Is it sufficiently consistent (within a particular context) to be useful for observers to infer relevant information about the actor? In an attempt to arrive at some answers to all of these questions, we will first evaluate to what extent the blush can be considered as a meaningful, reliable signal. Subsequently, we will address the issue of what might in fact be signalled by the sudden reddening of the face: what type of information may be provided by a blush, what mental/motivational state can be inferred? Then we will discuss the potential social implications of displaying a blush. In the final section we will critically evaluate the empirical support for the signalling properties of the blush.