Why look of surprise is universal

Experts have found that it's not just disaster that elicits similar responses from people but there are universal gestures for victory, defeat and stress that seem to bypass country and region.

People holding their head in shock are one of the gestures that are often encountered and Chris Ulrich, a senior instructor at the Body Language Institute in Washington D.C., said that by covering their mouth or putting hands on head is a response that helps make people feel safer and smaller from a perceived threat, ABC News reported.

Ulrich said that by covering part of their face people feel hidden from the shocking event, additionally these expressions also served a second purpose by allowing a person to soothe themselves through touch, which is also called a 'pacifier' gesture.

According to Ulrich, wringing hands is a reaction people often have if they're in front of an audience or nervous.

Ulrich said that another common gesture, rubbing neck or head when stressed, helps relieve pent-up stress.

Other two gestures are the victor/loser stance and hand over heart.