The discovery by psychologists suggests that these gestures of pride and shame are hard wired into the human brain, probably because they were universal signs of dominance and submission among our ape relatives and ancestors.



When competitors make these gestures after a competition, they are confirming their place in the pecking order, says a study published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences by Drs Jessica Tracy of the University Of British Columbia and Prof David Matsumoto of San Francisco State University.



The team analysed images taken during judo competition in the 2004 Olympic and Paralympic Games and focused on how the competitors behaved in victory or defeat.