1 The study of the blush : Darwin and after

The blush is ubiquitous yet scarcely understood. In the past it has attracted little scientific attention and it is only in recent years that it has begun to attract systematic investigation. We believe that the time is right for a volume that brings together the leading international researchers in this field to review and evaluate this emerging research, to discuss issues that have arisen, to stimulate new theorizing and to map future directions for research. The scientific neglect of blushing is surprising given that the facial expression of emotion has attracted so much research for many years and occupies a central place in the study of emotion. It is all the more surprising in the light of the surge of interest in recent years in the self-conscious emotions of shame, embarrassment, pride and guilt, all of which are associated with the circumstances of blushing. Its neglect would be understandable if the blush was straightforward to understand or was of little psychological or social consequence. However, it presents many puzzles and, as we will show in this volume, has considerable psychological and cultural significance. Why does our reaction to a social predicament or to simply realizing that we are the object of others’ attention take this form at this specific site on the body, particularly as it often results in drawing attention to ourselves just when we would least want it? Why should an expression of embarrassment, shame or shyness be highly visible when these emotions are associated with hiding, keeping in the background and covering oneself up? How does a blush differ from the facial reddening that is brought about by body temperature regulation mechanisms, that accompanies other emotions such as anger and indignation, that is a symptom of the skin condition rosacea or that is experienced by many women during the menopause? How does the blush of embarrassment and shyness relate to the pallor of fear? Why is a blush uniquely human? Are there comparable expressions in other species? When a sample of leading biologists was