What Makes Us Human

Blushing Response

In his book, "The Expression of Emotions in Man and Animals," Charles Darwin said that "blushing is the most peculiar and the most human of all expressions." It is part of the "fight or flight response" of our sympathetic nervous system that causes the capillaries in our cheeks to dilate involuntarily in response to feeling embarrassment. No other mammal has this trait, and psychologists theorize that it has social benefit, given that "people are more likely to forgive and view favorably" someone who is visibly blushing. Since it is involuntary, blushing is considered to be more authentic than a verbal apology, which may or may not be sincere.