Chapter 6

1. Chapter 6 Nonverbal Communication

2. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal Skills are important • Encoding and decoding of nonverbal behaviors predict popularity, attractiveness, and socioemotional well-being. • Good NV communicators are more persuasive and have greater chance of success a variety of settings (e.g., romantic, career, poker, etc). • Major part of “emotional intelligence”

3. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • All behavior has communicative value • Even if you don’t talk, you’re NV behavior indicate avoidance. • Imagine yourself reading this chapter. How would people perceive you? • Are you sitting forward? • Are you lounging back? • Some NV behaviors are of course non-intentional • Stammering, blushing, frowning, sweating

4. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal communication is primarily relational • Consider Identity Management (chpt 2) • NV behaviors plays important role in how we present ourselves to others • Attending a party….NV behaviors indicate “I’m friendly, easygoing, etc). • NV behaviors allow us to define the kinds of relationships we want to have with others • Think about when you greet people: Do you wave, shake hands, nod, smile, hug, or avoid the other person. • Each decision sends a message about the nature of the relationship

5. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal relational cont… • Nonverbal behavior can be more powerful than words in defining the kind of relationship you are seeking. • Remember a time in which someone was upset with you • First clues probably came from NV behaviors (e.g., lack of eye contact, decreased touch, etc) rather than direct statements • NV behaviors can convey emotions that we might be unable to express (or even be aware of). • NV behaviors are more suited for expression of attitudes and feelings than ideas.

6. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal relational cont… • Technology now incorporates both verbal and nonverbal components, making communication easier to understand (for ex, web cam, Skype, etc) • Typically, technology makes gauging NV behavior a difficult process • E.g., Is this person being serious or is he/she joking? • Technology also provides linguistic short cuts to indicate nonverbal response (e.g., LOL). • Another way for one to use identity management tools • Is one really laughing???

7. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal Communication Serves Many Functions • Our NV behavior and verbal expressions are connected. • Repeating - When asked about directions, you point to the direction in addition to your verbal directions • People tend to remember comments better when they’re accompanied by gestures • Complementing – NV behaviors match the thoughts and emotions the communicator is expressing • Thank you is accompanied by a smile

8. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal serves functions cont… • Substituting - Instead of verbal communication, one uses NV behavior. • A friend asks, “What’s up?”….you shrug your shoulders • Can be useful when people are unable to express their feelings in words. • A person sighs, rolls their eyes, etc when faced with a disagreeable message • Accenting – We use NV behaviors to emphasize oral messages. • Pointing an accusing finger adds emphasis to criticism

9. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal serves functions cont… • Regulating – NV behaviors can regulate the flow of verbal communication. • People in conversation rely on unconscious take-turns approach when communicating with the other person. • One indicates to another person they’re done talking with a rising vocal intonation pattern or draw out the final syllable. • If another person cuts you off, you might make an audible breath • We can also regulate conversations by nodding (indicating “I understand”), looking away (indicating lack of attention), or moving toward the door (communicating a desire to end conversation.

10. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal serves functions cont… • Contradicting – People can simultaneously express different, or even contradicting, messages in their verbal and NV behaviors. • Mixed Message – Person with red face and bulging veins says (“Angry??? I’m not angry!) • As people get older they become more adept in detecting contradictory messages. • For instance, people are more likely to focus on NV behaviors when judging honesty of a public speaker. • Slightest contradiction between verbal and NV behaviors may indicated dishonesty.

11. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal serves functions cont… • Deceiving – Signals of deception (also known as leakage) can occur in any type of NV behavior. • In consistency is considered to be a strong indicator of dishonesty. • Changes in normal patter of behavior may indicate dishonesty. • There are many NV behaviors to consider: • Voice – An experiment revealed that vocal frequency of a liar’s voice tends to be higher than that of a truth teller. • Following a prepared lie, people tend to react to others more quickly. • Following an unprepared lie, people tend to take longer to respond.

12. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal serves functions cont… • Deceiving cont.. • Self help books tell us that detecting a liar is an easy process; however, scientific research does not support this claim. • People tend to only correct identify a lie (or liar) 50% of the time. • Popular NV behaviors associated with lying can be difficult to follow. • For ex, most people believe that liars avert their gaze when telling a lie • In contrast, liars are more likely to sustain more eye contact and fidget less, because they are they are trying to not look as if they’re lying!

13. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous • Just like verbal communication, NV behaviors can be interpreted in many different ways. • The variety of environments can add more ambiguity of a situation can heighten ambiguity of a NV behaviors. • For instance, does a kiss mean he/she likes or that they want to have sex? • Via a survey of college students focusing on sexual situations, researcher verbal consent was seen as less ambiguous than NV behaviors. • NV cues were far less likely to be to misunderstood when accompanied by a verbal cues.

14. Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication • Nonverbal Communication is Ambiguous • Fortunately, not all ambiguous behaviors are equally difficult to interpret. • People are far better at identifying positive facial expressions like happiness, love, surprise, and interest. • In contrast, people struggled to identify negative expressions like fear, sadness, anger, and disgust. • Some people struggle more than others to decode ambiguous NV behaviors. • For instance, young boys often miss emotional messages that others send them nonverbally (e.g., teacher shows displeasure by arching his/her eyebrows). • Nonverbal Learning Disorder (NVLD) – Due to processing difficulties in right hemisphere of the brain, people with NVLD struggle to identify NV behaviors.

15. Asperger’s Disease • Impairment in social interaction • Marked impairment in use of nonverbal behaviors such as eye to eye gaze, facial expression, body postures, and gesture to regulate social interaction. • Failure to develop peer relationships • Lack of spontaneous seeking to share enjoyment, interest, or achievements with other people. • Restricted and rigid pattern of behavior, interests, and activities • Inflexible adherence to specific, nonfunctional routines or rituals • Repetitive motor mannerisms (e.g., hand or finger flapping or twisting, or whole body movements.

16. Asperger’s cont…. • Different from Autism in that there is no significant delays in cognitive and language skills. • Single words are used by age 2, communicative phrases are used by age 3 • Clip from Community… • How might Aspergersinfluence NV behaviors???

17. Influences on Nonverbal Communication • Gender • Though few of us act like the typical male of female role we see in movies, there are some recognizable differences between genders. • Socialization may provide stronger explanation than biology • For ex, scholars believe that women are more adept in detecting NV social cues because they have traditionally yielded less power than men. • People in subordinate roles have better decoding skills

18. Influences on Nonverbal Communication • Gender cont… • Social Reinforcement: cultural norms in the western world distinguish male and female behaviors. • Women • Women interact at closer distances. • Women make more eye contact than do men during conversations. • Women are more likely to face conversational partners head on • Men • Men are more likely to lean in forward in conversations than women • Men require and are given more personal space compared to women • Men use expansive gestures

19. Influences on Nonverbal Communication • Culture • Some nonverbal gestures vary from one culture to another. • The “OK” gesture has multiple meanings • In America, this is a cherry affirmation (Good Job!) • In France and Belgium, it means “You’re worth Zero!” • In Greece and Turkey, it’s a vulgar sexual invitation, usually meant as an insult. • Culture also influences how we interpret NV behaviors • Researchers had participants of varying ethnic background view 56 photos. • Ethnicity accounted for differences in how subjects gauged other’s emotional states.

20. Influences on Nonverbal Communication • Culture cont… • Differences in Ethnicity cont… • Differences in ethnicity also shape appropriate rules for expressing one’s own emotions. • Caucasian view expression of emotions more positively compared to other groups • In contrast, Asian participants view expression of emotion in a less positive light. • Since we live in a multicultural world, we are often more comfortable interpreting behavior of those from similar backgrounds. • Subtle differences between ethnic groups can disrupt relationships • Americans are comfortable conducting business 4 feet from another person. • People from the Middle East would prefer to be closer