Why do people clench their teeth, press their lips together, stick out their tongue...?

when they are petting/patting a dog or other small animal? Obviously not when they are petting lightly, but when they are heartily petting or patting an animal...





ALSO- why do people stick out their tongues/make funny faces while playing guitar?Why do people clench their teeth, press their lips together, stick out their tongue...?
Your tongue is a muscle and maybe it reacts to the pressure our other muscles are under. It almost seems like a balancer to me. We make funny faces cause we are expressing ourselves with everything we can to get the point across. Sticking our tongue out and crossing our eyes or squinching up our face just help paint the picture we are wanting others to see or feel.


I don't think its a conscience thing it just seems to happen. I have my tongue between my teeth a lot and sticking out of my lips while I'm working on patients...under a mask of course. I catch myself doing it when I'm really concentrating and working hard. I don't really have an exact answer for you, just sharing my thoughts.Why do people clench their teeth, press their lips together, stick out their tongue...?
I've never noticed anyone doing that when petting an animal unless they're playing with the animal, then the funny faces and the like are just part of the play, kind of acting like the animal.





As for the guitar, it usually means the player is concentrating hard on what they are doing. Just like people often grimace or make faces when they are concentrating on something. I'm a photographer and I know when I'm doing something tricky in Photoshop, I'll bite my lip or purse my lips while working on it.