When faced with an embarrassing situation, most people show involuntary reddening of the face, known as blushing. Its origin has long been an 'evolutionary stigma' that had bothered even Charles Darwin for most of his working life because it seemed to differentiate humans from our closest relatives, the apes.
Why Do We Blush?
Blushing refers to the reddening of the skin of the cause due to the dilation of the facial blood vessels that have become engorged with blood. It is triggered by emotions that send blood to the face and cause the cheeks to turn red.
Aside from strong emotions like stress, anger, or embarrassment, blushing can also be triggered by other factors such as alcohol and drug intake. Medical conditions are also characterized by involuntary reddening of the face, like scarlet fever, dermatitis, lupus, rosacea, and eczema.
According to Charles Darwin, blushing is the most peculiar and human of all expressions. This is likely because embarrassment is a complicated emotion requiring understanding others' opinions and related factors.
After recording his first notes on blushing as early as 1838, Darwin devoted an entire chapter to blushing in his book "The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals." He concluded that blushing was a uniquely human characteristic that seemed to defy evolution for several reasons.
There are still some questions regarding the evolutionary advantage of blushing to the person who blushes. For instance, infants do not blush, but children do. Mentally retarded people seldom blush, but blind people always do. We tend not to blush alone but can blush at an embarrassing memory. Darwin's studies on blushing also cannot explain why we find blushing so attractive in others.
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Is Blushing Unique to Humans?
Darwin also concluded that some animals may appear to blush, but their reaction differs significantly from blushing. In a recent study, French researchers claimed that they had observed this phenomenon multiple times in five captive blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara ararauna).
Macaws are known for being incredibly talkative and having complex social lives, matching their colorful, intelligent personalities. In the study "Facial display and blushing: Means of visual communication in blue-and-yellow macaws (Ara Ararauna)?", experts led by ALine Bertin from the Universite de Tours described the facial display cues of the large parrot.
Blue-and-yellow macaws have an area in their cheeks not covered by feathers. The experts noticed that this fair skin would redden during their interactions with their handlers. However, the blushing died down when the caretakers interacted with them regularly, where they turned their backs and ignored the parrots.
Since the experiment was limited to only five birds, scientists cannot say why the macaws appear to blush. Some say that the blushing of the parrots conveys well-being, just like facial expressions indicate a human's emotional state. The blushing in these birds is pretty impressive, considering that they do not have the same facial muscles as we do.
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