Why Do We Blush?

 

     We understand the chemistry, the physical process, of blushing, butwe blush remains an elusive mystery to researchers. The physiology of blushing is quite simple. When you’re embarrassed, your adrenal glands and certain neurons of the central nervous system release the hormone adrenaline. The general effect of adrenaline is to prepare the body for the “fight or flight” response: increasing heart rate and blood pressure, enlarging the pupil of the eye, and increasing blood flow and oxygen to the muscles, among other consequences. When you experience the stress of embarrassment, adrenaline causes the veins in your face to dilate, or widen, allowing more blood to flow through them. The increased presence of blood in your face makes your cheeks feel warm and creates the reddened look that signals to others you’re embarrassed.

    Blushing triggered by embarrassment is a one-of-a-kind phenomenon: It is exclusive to humans, and it does not happen anywhere else in your body. Why is this reaction so specific? Why have humans developed this unique response to embarrassment?

    Science does not yet have all the answers, but recent studies suggest that blushing serves a functional purpose, having evolved as a means of establishing social relationships. In a study conducted in 2009, a team of Dutch psychologists led by Corine Kijk, Peter de Jong, and Made Long Peters discovered that blushing “serves to signal the actor’s genuine regret or remorse over a wrongdoing.” In effect, blushing functions as a nonverbal “I’m sorry” for committing an embarrassing act or breaching a societal norm. It thereby mitigates “the negative social impression that was caused by the infraction.” According to the researchers, your blushing makes others perceive you have acknowledged your blunder and learned from your mistake.

   The Dutch study concluded with some helpful advice: “Our results showed that in the context of transgressions and mishaps, blushing is a helpful bodily signal with face-saving properties. It seems therefore unwise to hide the blush or to try not to blush in these types of contexts.”