Analysis of South Carolina's Governor, Mark Sanford's Press Conference

Role analysis, I believe he is truly sorry for what has happened, but why is he sorry? Is it for his family, for his friend, for his career/job? After reviewing the tape this is the order of importance:

1)Friends
2)Career/Job
3)Family

I based this on his emotional level as he is speaking about these things. Generally there could be a build up as the speech goes on, but in this speech if I had to rank the emotional level it would be 3 for family, 7 for friend, and 5 for job.

00:58 Eye Blocking, is a nonverbal behavior that can occur when we feel
threatened and/or don’t like what we see. In this case he doesn't like seeing the reporters and the media.

01:18 Looking Down, Shame. People who are feeling ashamed, embarrassed, or sad, deliberately look away. Shame is a negative emotion occurring when we evaluate things as going worse than we expected.

01:55 Slight Lip Lick (see below).

01:59 Microexpression Subtle, Sadness, in mouth only.

Generally he doesn't want to look straight ahead.

02:14 Lip Lick, is a pacifying behavior (often referred to as an adapter in academia literature) serving to calm us down after we experience something unpleasant or downright nasty.

03:00 More emotional when speaking about his friend than about his wife and family.

03:47 Lip Lick, pacifying behavior.

05:20 More comfortable speaking about faith, looking more straight on. This is odd because there should be some shame or emotion to convey he is in turmoil with his faith and what he has done. I believe this is a sign that is is most sorry for being caught.

06:15 Eyes Down, Shame.

07:26 Full Shoulder Shrug, this needs to be evaluated in the context of what is being said. The shrug is a universal gesture that is used to show that a person does not know or understand what you are talking about. In this case he doesn't know how this will end.

07:46 Expel Air, Relief.

08:11 Lip Lick, pacifying behavior.

08:20 Becoming more emotional over resignation (not of his governorship).

Voice Analysis


Final Analysis
It appears because of his emotional level, and his conversation with his father-in-law two weeks prior, that his marriage was in extreme jeopardy before this getaway. His last conversation with his father-in-law was not as civil as he portrays it in this speech. Due to his high emotional response when speaking of his friend and political partner, he had higher aspirations than just Governor. I believe he does not want his wife speaking to the media. It may also be that he wanted to get "caught" if his marriage was over, this could have been orchestrated to be as sensational as it was, to control the revelation, gain the upper hand, and receive national exposure. It would have been very messy if this was a drawn out divorce, that his career would not be able to handle. His resignation (not of the state) is an attempt to convey punishment.◦

Analysis of South Carolina's Governor, Mark Sanford's Press Conference