Cute or Shameful: Why Humans Blush

June 3, 2009— -- For a "blusher," the uncontrollable reaction can seem like nature's cruel trick on a person who's already self-conscious. But researchers who've studied blushing from all angles agree that in most situations blushing can serve a beneficial social purpose.

"It's like a rush. It's like a tide coming in. I can feel the temperature in my cheeks get warm," said Sherry Inskeep, of Westerville, Ohio. "Blushing is a curse. It has negatively impacted my life for as long as I can remember."

Inskeep wasn't blushing as a baby, but according to researcher Dr. Michael Lewis, it's likely that she could have been blushing at a very young age from the time she was able to feel embarrassed.

"At about 18 months children come to have a mental representation of themselves, we know they know that because of their actions in front of a mirror," said Lewis, who is a professor of pediatrics and psychiatry at Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Brunswick, N.J.

Lewis said verbal cues, such as using the words "me" and "mine" also show young children that they are aware and a unique being.

It's once the children have that self-awareness between 15 months to 2 years of age, Lewis said, the blushing can begin.

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"Children may blush if you become the object of attention, that is people pay attention to you both positively -- if they ask you to perform, if they ask you to do a little dance, none of these are really because you are bad," he said.

Although humans start out blushing only when they are the center of attention, Lewis says by school-age children start to blush more during social situations, similar to adults.

"Some people are embarrassed but don't blush," said Lewis. But all researchers agree embarrassment is the first trigger for a blush.

Depending on the social situation that triggers them; self-proclaimed "blushers" say turning beet red can seriously interfere with their lives.

"Over the years I have tried to contain it, find an off button for it, especially for job interviews. I walk in, sit down, they look at me and immediately I can feel my face going red before they can even say the first word. All I can think about is "not now, not now, oh no why me"!," Lisa Jones of Pensacola, Fla. wrote to ABCNews.com. "This is more entertaining for them than for me, some have even busted out laughing and ask me why am I blushing, they haven't asked me anything embarrassing yet."

Ellen Davis, of Tallahassee, Fla., said she can't help but blush at work.