COMS 350 New York University Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction Questions

NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION IN
HUMAN INTERACTION
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NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION IN
HUMAN INTERACTION
±±
±±
±±
±± Mark L. Knapp
±±
±±
±± The University of Texas at Austin
±±
±±
E I G H T H ±±± Judith A. Hall
±±
E D I T I O N ±±± Northeastern University
±±
±±
±±
±± Terrence G. Horgan
±±
±± University of Michigan, Flint
±±
Australia • Brazil • Japan • Korea • Mexico • Singapore • Spain • United Kingdom • United States
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Nonverbal Communication in Human
Interaction, Eighth Edition
Mark L. Knapp, Judith A. Hall and
Terrence G. Horgan
Publisher: Monica Eckman
Development Editor: Daisuke Yasutake
Editorial Assistant: Colin Solan
© 2014, 2010, 2007 Wadsworth, Cengage Learning
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BRIEF CONTENTS
P REFACE
PART I
xv
A N I NTRODUCTION TO THE S TUDY OF N ONVERBAL
C OMMUNICATION 1
CHAPTER 1
Nonverbal Communication: Basic Perspectives
CHAPTER 2
The Roots of Nonverbal Behavior
CHAPTER 3
The Ability to Receive and Send Nonverbal Signals
PART II
3
29
T HE C OMMUNICATION E NVIRONMENT
59
89
CHAPTER 4
The Effects of the Environment on Human Communication
CHAPTER 5
The Effects of Territory and Personal Space on Human
Communication 123
PART III
T HE C OMMUNICATORS
CHAPTER 6
The Effects of Physical Characteristics on Human Communication
91
151
153
v
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vi
BRIEF CONTENTS
PART IV
T HE C OMMUNICATORS ’ B EHAVIOR
CHAPTER 7
The Effects of Gesture and Posture on Human Communication
CHAPTER 8
The Effects of Touch on Human Communication
CHAPTER 9
The Effects of the Face on Human Communication
197
231
258
CHAPTER 10
The Effects of Eye Behavior on Human Communication
CHAPTER 11
The Effects of Vocal Cues That Accompany Spoken Words
PART V
C OMMUNICATING I MPORTANT M ESSAGES
357
CHAPTER 12
Using Nonverbal Behavior in Daily Interaction
359
CHAPTER 13
Nonverbal Messages in Special Contexts
R EFERENCES
421
N AME I NDEX
493
S UBJECT I NDEX
199
295
323
395
508
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CONTENTS
P REFACE
P ART I
CHAPTER 1
xv
A N I NTRODUCTION TO THE S TUDY OF N ONVERBAL
C OMMUNICATION 1
Nonverbal Communication: Basic Perspectives
3
Perspective 1: Defining Nonverbal Communication
8
Processing Nonverbal Information
Awareness and Control
10
9
Perspective 2: Classifying Nonverbal Behavior
The Communication Environment
11
The Communicators’ Physical Characteristics
Body Movement and Position
12
10
11
Perspective 3: Nonverbal Communication in the Total
Communication Process 14
Repeating
15
Conflicting
15
Complementing
18
Substituting
19
Accenting/Moderating
Regulating
19
19
Perspective 4: Historical Trends in Nonverbal Research
21
Perspective 5: Nonverbal Communication in Everyday Life
Summary
25
27
vii
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viii
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 2
29
The Roots of Nonverbal Behavior
31
The Development of Nonverbal Behavior across Evolutionary Time
32
Evidence from Sensory Deprivation
Evidence from Infants
37
Evidence from Twin Studies
40
Evidence from Nonhuman Primates
Evidence from Multicultural Studies
Summary
CHAPTER 3
44
52
57
59
The Ability to Receive and Send Nonverbal Signals
Development and Improvement of Nonverbal Skills
61
Is It Good to Have More Accurate Knowledge of Nonverbal
Communication? 64
Measuring the Accuracy of Decoding and Encoding Nonverbal Cues
68
Standardized Tests of Decoding Ability
Personal Factors Influencing the Accuracy of Decoding Nonverbal Cues
72
Self-Appraisals and Explicit Knowledge of Nonverbal Cues
Gender
73
Age
73
General Cognitive Ability
74
Other Personal Correlates
75
Substance Abuse
77
Culture
78
Task Factors Affecting Nonverbal Decoding Accuracy
Characteristics of Accurate Nonverbal Senders
Putting Decoding and Encoding Together
82
Summary
P ART II
CHAPTER 4
71
78
79
On Being an Observer of Nonverbal Communication
85
The Fallibility of Human Perception
65
83
86
T HE C OMMUNICATION E NVIRONMENT
89
The Effects of the Environment on Human Communication
Perceptions of Our Surroundings
Perceptions of Formality
94
Perceptions of Warmth
95
Perceptions of Privacy
96
Perceptions of Familiarity
96
91
94
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CONTENTS
ix
Perceptions of Constraint
96
Perceptions of Distance
96
Reacting to Environments
Perceptions of Time
97
98
The Natural Environment
100
Other People in the Environment
104
Architectural Design and Movable Objects
Color
108
Sound
111
Lighting
113
Movable Objects
114
Structure and Design
116
105
Regulating Environments and Communication
Summary
CHAPTER 5
121
122
The Effects of Territory and Personal Space on Human
Communication 123
The Concept of Territoriality
123
Territoriality: Invasion and Defense
125
129
The Effects of High Density on Human Beings
Coping with High Density
132
Density and Crowding
133
Sex
137
Age
137
Cultural and Ethnic Background
138
Topic or Subject Matter
139
Setting for the Interaction
140
Physical Characteristics
140
Attitudinal and Emotional Orientation
140
Characteristics of the Interpersonal Relationship
Personality Characteristics
141
131
Conversational Distance
141
Seating Behavior and Spatial Arrangements in Small Groups
Leadership
143
Dominance
144
Task
144
Sex and Acquaintance
145
Introversion–Extraversion
147
Conclusion
147
Summary
142
148
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x
CONTENTS
P ART III
T HE C OMMUNICATORS
CHAPTER 6
The Effects of Physical Characteristics on Human
Communication 153
151
154
Our Body: Its General Attractiveness
Dating and Marriage
156
On the Job
159
Persuading Others
160
Self-Esteem
161
Antisocial Behavior
161
The Power of Physical Attractiveness: Some Important Qualifications
The Effects of Interaction
162
The Effects of Context
163
Stereotypes Are Not Always Valid
Attractiveness over Time
164
Our Body: Its Specific Features
Attractiveness and the Face
165
Judgments of the Face
167
Body Shape
169
Height
174
Body Image
177
Body Color
178
Body Smell
179
Body Hair
182
164
165
Our Body: Clothes and Other Artifacts
Functions of Clothing
188
Clothing as Information About the Person
Effects of Clothing on the Wearer
190
Clothing and Personality
191
Artifacts and Body Decorations
192
Summary
162
186
190
194
P ART IV
T HE C OMMUNICATORS ’ B EHAVIOR
CHAPTER 7
The Effects of Gesture and Posture on Human Communication
Speech-Independent Gestures
197
199
201
211
Referent-Related Gestures
212
Gestures Indicating a Speaker’s Relationship to the Referent
Speech-Related Gestures
212
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CONTENTS
xi
Punctuation Gestures
214
Interactive Gestures
214
Gesture Frequency
216
The Coordination of Gesture, Posture, and Speech
Self-Synchrony
219
Interaction Synchrony
Summary
CHAPTER 8
219
222
229
The Effects of Touch on Human Communication
Touching and Human Development
232
Who Touches Whom, Where, When, and How Much?
Different Types of Touching Behavior
231
234
237
The Meanings and Impact of Interpersonal Touch
Touch as Positive Affect
241
Touch as Negative Affect
241
Touch and Discrete Emotions
242
Touch as Play
242
Touch as Influence
243
Touch as Interaction Management
244
Touch as Physiological Stimulus
244
Touch as Interpersonal Responsiveness
244
Touch as Task Related
245
Touch as Healing
245
Touch as Symbolism
247
241
249
Contextual Factors in the Meaning of Interpersonal Touch
Touch Can Be a Powerful Nonconscious Force in Interaction
Self-Touching
Summary
CHAPTER 9
250
253
256
The Effects of the Face on Human Communication
The Face and Personality Judgments
258
258
259
Channel Control
260
Complementing or Qualifying Other Behavior
Replacing Spoken Messages
260
The Face and Interaction Management
261
Display Rules and Facial Emotion Expression
The Facial Emotion Controversy
266
Measuring the Face
268
260
The Face and Expressions of Emotion
262
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xii
CONTENTS
274
278
Measuring Emotion Recognition
Emotions Inferred from the Face
285
Internalizers and Externalizers
285
Facial Expression and Health
285
Facial Feedback
286
Physiology and the Face
289
The Social Impact of Facial Expressions
Summary
CHAPTER 10
293
The Effects of Eye Behavior on Human Communication
Gaze and Mutual Gaze
295
296
297
Regulating the Flow of Communication
Monitoring Feedback
300
Reflecting Cognitive Activity
301
Expressing Emotions
301
Functions of Gazing
298
Communicating the Nature of the Interpersonal Relationship
309
Distance
309
Physical Characteristics
310
Personal Characteristics and Personality
310
Psychopathology
313
Topics and Tasks
314
Cultural and Racial Background and Racial Attitudes
306
Conditions Influencing Gazing Patterns
318
Pupil Dilation and Constriction
Summary
CHAPTER 11
317
321
The Effects of Vocal Cues That Accompany Spoken Words
The Relative Importance of Channels
324
The Ingredients and Methods of Studying Paralanguage
Vocal Cues and Speaker Recognition
Vocal Cues and Personality
326
330
333
Vocal Cues and Group Perceptions
336
Vocal Cues and Judgments of Sociodemographic Characteristics
Sex
337
Age
339
Social Class or Status
339
Characteristics of Recipients
323
337
339
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CONTENTS
Vocal Cues and Emotion
xiii
341
Vocal Cues, Comprehension, and Persuasion
Vocal Cues, Comprehension, and Retention
Vocal Cues and Persuasion
348
346
347
Vocal Cues and Turn Taking in Conversations
Turn Yielding
350
Turn Requesting
350
Turn Maintaining
351
Turn Denying
351
349
351
Location or Placement of Pauses
352
Types of Pauses
352
Reasons Why Pauses Occur
353
Influence and Coordination within the Dyad
354
Silence
354
Hesitations, Pauses, Silence, and Speech
Summary
355
P ART V
C OMMUNICATING I MPORTANT M ESSAGES
357
CHAPTER 12
Using Nonverbal Behavior in Daily Interaction
359
360
Courtship Behavior
360
Quasi-Courtship Behavior
363
Liking Behavior or Immediacy
364
Being Close in Close Relationships
364
Mutual Influence
367
Communicating Intimacy
Communicating Dominance and Status
369
373
Greeting Behavior
373
Turn-Taking Behavior
375
Leave-Taking Behavior
378
Managing the Interaction
Communicating Our Identity
Personal Identity
380
Social Identity
382
Deceiving Others
379
387
A Perspective for Communicators
Summary
392
393
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xiv
CONTENTS
CHAPTER 13
Nonverbal Messages in Special Contexts
395
396
Advertising Messages
401
Political Messages
Teacher–Student Messages
405
408
High-Contact versus Low-Contact Cultures
Individualism versus Collectivism
409
High-Context versus Low-Context Cultures
Similarities across Cultures
410
Cultural Messages
410
411
Therapeutic Settings
Technology and Nonverbal Messages
Summary
408
414
419
R EFERENCES
421
N AME I NDEX
493
S UBJECT I NDEX
508
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PREFACE
Normally, the final thing authors do in a preface is to thank those who have been
instrumental in the development of their book. We’d like to depart from that
tradition by starting with our heartfelt thanks to the thousands of students and
instructors who have used this book and provided feedback to us during the past
40 years. More than anyone else, you are responsible for the longevity of this
book. With this in mind, we undertook this eighth edition by putting what we
believe to be instructor and student needs at the forefront of our writing. As with
previous editions, we encourage you to let us know whether we have succeeded.
The fact that this book is coauthored is worth noting. One of us represents
the field of communication and the other two social psychology. This collaboration, which requires the blending of two distinct perspectives, is symbolic of
the nonverbal literature we report in this volume. The theory and research
addressing nonverbal phenomena comes from scholars with a wide variety of
academic backgrounds and perspectives—communication, counseling, psychology,
psychiatry, linguistics, sociology, management, speech, and others. Understanding
the nature of nonverbal communication is truly an interdisciplinary enterprise.
In revising this book, we retained the features that students and instructors
valued from the previous editions while adding and changing other things that we
believe will improve the book. One change that we hope students like is the inclusion of text boxes in each chapter. These text boxes cover important, interesting,
or current topics relevant to the field of nonverbal communication. We recognize
how important photographs and drawings are in a book like this, so we have continued to use visual representations to aid comprehension of certain nonverbal
actions. Because an increasing amount of communication is mediated by some
form of technology, we have incorporated new research findings and topics in
that area that are relevant to the lives of students and teachers, such as Facebook,
online dating, and text messaging, to name a few.
In every new edition, we incorporate the most recent theory and research
while retaining definitive studies from the past. Readers will find that some areas
xv
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xvi
PREFACE
of study have fewer recent references than others. This simply means that there
hasn’t been a lot of recent research in that area or that the recent work, in our
judgment, does not substantially change the conclusions from earlier studies. If
something we know about human behavior today was first revealed in a study
from 1958, we want readers to know that, and we will maintain the 1958 reference. Research on a particular topic often has an ebb and flow to it. During the
1960s and 1970s, the fear that a worldwide population boom would create terrible
problems spawned a lot of research on space, territory, and crowding. In recent
years, far less research has been done in this area. The study of gestures, on the
other hand, has gone from an area of relatively little research activity during the
1960s and 1970s to an area that is of primary interest to numerous scholars today.
Unlike past editions in which extensive bibliographies followed each chapter,
we have moved all the references to one bibliography in the back of the book.
Similar to previous editions, though, we have tried to retain a writing style that is
scientifically accurate as well as interesting to the reader. We are honored that our
book serves as both a textbook and a reference work. The Instructor’s Manual for
this book provides the information and imagination necessary for effective classroom
learning in nonverbal communication.
The book is divided into five parts. Part I introduces the reader to some fundamental ideas and addresses the following questions: What is nonverbal communication? How do verbal and nonverbal communication interrelate? What difference
does a knowledge of nonverbal communication make to your everyday life? Are
some people more skilled than others at communicating nonverbally? How did
they get that way? With this general perspective in mind, Parts II, III, and IV take
the reader through the nonverbal elements involved in any interaction: the environment within which the interaction occurs, the physical features of the interactants
themselves, and their behavior—gestures, touching, facial expressions, eye gazing,
and vocal sounds. Part V begins with a chapter focused on how all the separate
parts of an interaction combine as we seek to accomplish very common goals in
daily life—for example, communicating who we are, communicating closeness and
distance, communicating varying degrees of status and power, deceiving others,
and effectively managing the back-and-forth flow of conversation. Chapter 13
examines nonverbal communication in the context of advertising, therapy, the
classroom, politics, culture, and technology. Throughout the book we repeatedly
point out how all interactants involved are likely to play a role in whatever behavior
is displayed by a single individual—even though this perspective is not always
adequately developed in the research we review.
Several helpful online tools are available for use with this text. The online
Instructor’s Resource Manual includes a sample schedule, chapter objectives,
discussion questions, test items, audiovisual resources, exercises, and out-of-class
assignments. The companion Web site features student self-quizzes. In addition,
you can choose to purchase this text with 4 months of free access to InfoTrac®
College Edition, a world-class, online university library that offers the full text of
articles from almost 5,000 scholarly journals and popular publications updated
daily, going back more than 20 years. Students can also gain instant access to
critical-thinking and paper-writing tools through InfoWrite. Your subscription
now includes InfoMarks®—instant access to virtual readers drawing from the vast
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deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
PREFACE
xvii
InfoTrac College Edition library and hand selected to work with your books. You
can access your online resources at www.cengagebrain.com/. For more information
about these online resources, contact your local Cengage Learning representative.
All of us would like to thank Susanna Tippett for the time, energy, and
accuracy she contributed in preparing the bibliography as well as those (Melissa
Grey and Tom Voss) who reviewed a couple of our text boxes. Mark and Judy are
especially thankful for the high-quality and tireless work that Terry Horgan invested
in this edition. He brought a needed fresh perspective, a dynamic writing style,
and a high level of professionalism to this volume. We are honored that such a
fine scholar agreed to share authorship on this textbook.
Each of us would also like to thank following reviewers for their input
during the development of this edition:
Erika Engstrom, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Peggy Hutcheson, Kennesaw State University
Kevin Hutchinson, St. Norbert College
Rebecca Litke, California State University, Northridge
Christine Moore, Boise State University
Teri Varner, St. Edward’s University
Dennis Wignall, Dixie State College
We would also like to acknowledge the skills exhibited by the publishing staff
who helped us develop this edition including Monica Eckman, publisher, and
Colin Solan, editorial assistant. And a special thanks to Daisuke Yasutake
and Pooja Khurana for great patience and timeliness in all our communications
regarding the revision.
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deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has
deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
AN INTRODUCTION
TO THE STUDY OF
NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION
[ PART I]
What is nonverbal communication? How does nonverbal behavior function in relation to verbal behavior? How does nonverbal communication affect our everyday
lives? Do we learn how to perform body language, or is it instinctive? Are some
people more skilled at communicating with these face, voice, and body signals?
The answers to these fundamental questions are the focus of Part I of this book.
1
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deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
Copyright 2012 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has
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Those of us who keep our eyes open can read volumes into what we see going on
around us.
—E. T. Hall
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION:
BASIC PERSPECTIVES
[C
H A P T E R
1]
It may come as no surprise to you that, in everyday life, you are an expert in nonverbal communication even though you have yet to read a page of this book. Consider the following questions:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Have you ever looked at another person in such a way as to communicate
your sexual interest in him or her?
When you enter an elevator full of strangers, do you take a sudden interest in
how those buttons light up as the cage moves from floor to floor?
Do you know when a baby is hungry as opposed to tired, just from hearing
how it cries?
If you cut someone off in traffic, would you have a problem understanding the
other driver’s reaction if he or she showed you only an upright middle finger?
How would you use your right hand when you are introduced to a potential
boss during an interview?
Can you tell when a loved one might be mad, sad, or happy by looking at his
or her face?
Imagine entering a dorm room and seeing two men. One is wearing athletic
shorts and a tank top over a heavily muscled body, and he has posters of
football stars on the wall near his bed and his clothes litter his side of the
room. The other man—thin and bespectacled—appears to be neat as a pin,
with stacks of math and engineering books around his desk. Would you
suspect potential conflict between these two?
3
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4
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Chances are you had no problem answering these questions. That is because
everyone possesses a wealth of knowledge, beliefs, and experience regarding nonverbal communication. These questions bring to mind three aspects of nonverbal
communication that you make use of during your day-to-day interactions with
others. One concerns the sending of nonverbal messages; the second, receiving
them; and the last, the complex interplay between the first two. First, you send (or
encode) nonverbal messages to others—sometimes deliberately, sometimes not. In
the case of the former, your goal is for the other person to understand a particular
message that you have sent to him or her along one or more nonverbal cue channels, such as your tone of voice, posture, and facial expression (“She could tell
I was mad at her”). Sometimes you succeed. If you do not, it could be because
your message was unclear, contradictory, or ambiguous or because the other
person missed, ignored, or misread your nonverbal message. You also may send
nonverbal messages to others that are not deliberate or even intended by you. For
example, you naturally communicate your biological sex to others via a series of
static nonverbal cues that include your body shape and facial features, and you
can burst into tears when sad. You have sent a powerful nonverbal message to
others in each case, even though your goal was not necessarily to do so. There are
times in which important information about your emotional state, attitudes, and
intentions leaks out of you nonverbally. Your bitterness toward a rival’s remarks
might be revealed in a flash of anger across your face despite your best efforts to
conceal it. Such facial cues are dynamic in nature because they change during an
interaction.
As you might have guessed already, you live in a sea of static and dynamic
nonverbal messages. These messages come to you when you are interacting with
others and even when you are all alone (“I start to shake when I think about my
date tonight”). They come to you from other people, such as strangers, acquaintances, neighbors, coworkers, friends, and loved ones. They even come to you
from animals that are part of your world, such as the neighbor’s dog that wags its
tail every time it sees you. They also come to you from the physical structure of,
and objects contained within, the environments that you move in and out of during
your day. These environments are real in a physical sense because you can make
physical contact with them. However, one such environment is not physical in this
sense: cyberspace. While in cyberspace, you can only hear and see nonverbal messages, such as those delivered by others’ profile “pics” and emoticons. These
computer-generated nonverbal messages are probably becoming increasingly
important to you in a world where online interactions are taking the place of some
face-to-face interactions. Indeed, some of you might be taking this class—of all
things, a class in nonverbal communication—online.
Verbal messages are meaningless unless someone is there to interpret them.
Nonverbal communication is no different. The process of receiving nonverbal messages, including our own (“Why is my fist clenched when he’s around?”), includes
giving meaning to or interpreting those messages. (This process will be defined later
as decoding a nonverbal message.) As a receiver of nonverbal messages, you may
focus on one particular nonverbal cue or several in an attempt to understand the
message that another person has sent to you. For example, in an effort to understand the emotional state of your friend James, you might focus on his facial
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
5
expression or his posture, facial expression, and tone of voice. Whether you are
successful at interpreting that emotional message is another matter altogether. If
you succeed, what you think he feels and how he actually feels will be the same.
However, as mentioned earlier, you might have missed or ignored that nonverbal
message. Or, depending on your skill level at reading others’ emotion states, you
might have misinterpreted his nonverbal message. Finally, you might have correctly
interpreted his message but still do not understand how he truly feels because he
used nonverbal behavior to feign a feeling or conceal a particular emotion state
from you.
It is obvious that words can be combined in an infinite number of ways, and
that the meaning of a sentence may depend upon contextual information, word
choice, and the arrangement of the selected words. For example, take the following
sentence fragment: “Mia learned about … She drove to … Charity … with a … in
her hand.” It is unclear what is going on in this situation. Let us see what happens
when we add different contextual information and words to these sentences.
(1) Mia learned about the plight of the children. She drove to the Charity with a
checkbook in her hand. (2) Mia learned about her husband’s infidelity. She drove
to the house where Charity lives with a gun in her hand. In a similar fashion, the
meaning of nonverbal communication is not as simple as knowing what specific
nonverbal behavior, say touching, is seen by you. It depends upon contextual information, the sender (encoder) of the nonverbal behavior, the receiver (decoder) of
that behavior, the relationship between the sender and receiver, the arrangement
of other nonverbal cues, as well as any words being exchanged by the two.
Let us consider an example to illustrate the complexity of nonverbal communication. You see two people hug. What does that hug mean? Now what comes to
your mind when additional information is added?
•
•
•
•
There are other people around dressed in black standing near an open casket
at a funeral, or the two people are at a high school reunion.
What if the setting is a nightclub and the two people are a man and woman in
the early stages of a romantic relationship as opposed to two men who are
there to celebrate their baseball team’s victory earlier that evening?
Would your perception of the hug change if you learned that the setting was a
work party and the person initiating the hugging was known to be very warm
and outgoing versus of high status and a domineering disposition?
How might the inclusion and placement of other nonverbal cues, such as posture, affect your perception of the hug? What if the two people are leaning
toward each other from a distance, touching shoulders only briefly as opposed
to pressing their bodies together and resting their heads on each other’s
shoulders? Would it matter to you if the person being hugged stiffened his or her
body before receiving the hug? Historical and cultural factors are likely to play a
role in your perception of that simple hug as well. If you had lived around the
turn of the 20th century, you would have looked askance at the two people if
you knew that they had just ended their first date, whereas nowadays such
behavior would not even raise one of your eyebrows. If the two were Eastern
European men, you might not be surprised if they began cheek kissing as well,
whereas you would be surprised if they were from the United States.
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6
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
androfroll/Shutterstock.com
CAN PEOPLE READ OTHERS LIKE A BOOK?
beboy/Shutterstock.com
It depends on your definition of like a book. There are book
titles that tell us a lot about what is inside (e.g., How to
Taste: A Guide to Enjoying Wine). Similarly, there are
nonverbal displays that can tell us a lot about what a
person is feeling inside (e.g., red face, eyebrows lowered
and drawn together, shaking fists). Book covers and titles
also allow us to categorize stories (e.g., nonfiction, history,
civil war battles). Likewise, we can categorize people—their
age, gender, and personality traits—by looking at their
head and facial characteristics (see Chapter 6).
However, understanding books and people is generally a far more complicated matter. If you read
Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight series, you had to learn about the characters, the events, the setting, and the
plot to grasp her story. Understanding people is no different. If you were observing another person, you
would want to take into consideration his or her characteristics (physical, social, psychological), his or her
nonverbal and verbal behavior, the setting he or she is in, whom he or she is interacting with and why,
and so on. Importantly, people’s nonverbal cues are only one clue—the meaning of which is dependent
upon a host of other factors—to understanding who they are.
•
Lastly, consideration would be given to any words exchanged between the two
people, as this could significantly alter the meaning of their hug. For instance,
in the funeral setting mentioned earlier, it would matter if, during the hug, one
person said to the other, “Sorry for your loss,” as opposed to “We can now
finally get our hands on our inheritance money!”
Being an expert in using and understanding nonverbal cues, you probably had
no problem understanding how the meaning of that hug changed in these scenarios. On the basis of the hugging scenarios (see Figure 1-1), it might be clear to you
that a particular nonverbal cue has multiple meanings (or maybe even no apparent
meaning at all) and that the particular meaning you settle on depends on a host of
other factors, including the presence and absence of other nonverbal cues. Thus, as
a sender and receiver of nonverbal cues, you have to make some decisions about
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
7
Anton Gvozdikov/Shutterstock.com
the cues you transmit to and pick up from others, which suggests that there must
be some rules that you follow. Some of these rules may be very clear to you, such
as knowing that you should not sniff a member of the other sex when you first
meet him or her. Other rules that you follow are completely unknown to you,
operating outside your conscious awareness. Do you know the array of cues that
you send and receive that allow you and a friend to smoothly and effortlessly take
turns while talking to each other? Finally, other rules occupy the middle ground
between the two; they can be brought to your conscious awareness at times, if
only partially. One such rule concerns not standing too close to others when talking with them. Although you are aware of this rule, you probably do not think
about it much during your day-to-day interactions. However, although the exact
distance of your personal comfort zone may be unknown to you, you certainly
know when it has been violated by someone standing too close. Because these
rules run the gamut from being explicit to completely outside of your conscious
awareness, the decisions you make regarding your use and interpretation of nonverbal cues must as well.
Despite being an expert in the everyday use of nonverbal cues, you are new to
the scientific study of nonverbal communication. The need to formally investigate
what people do in everyday life becomes quickly apparent when you think about
the specifics of nonverbal behavior. For example, how do people’s personal comfort zones vary from culture to culture, and how do people manage to take turns
smoothly in conversation? The purpose of this book is to introduce you to the
scientific study of nonverbal communication, which includes an examination of
how nonverbal cues are used—whether intentionally or spontaneously, consciously
F I G U R E 1-1
What will this hug mean?
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8
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
or not—in human interaction. Of importance, our understanding of nonverbal
communication comes from many different disciplines, including anthropology,
biology, communication, gender studies, psychology, and sociology, which will
become apparent in the chapters to follow.
However, before we get to that, there is a need to discuss five basic perspectives through which we can view these chapters:
1. As with other scientific disciplines, there is a need for a common language for
discussing the topic at hand. Thus, nonverbal communication will be defined.
2. Nonverbal behavior also will be classified (e.g., territoriality, gestures, touching, eye behavior). By classifying nonverbal behaviors, we will be able to
review the relevant research in each area in an organized fashion.
3. Nonverbal behavior that has been defined and classified (e.g., touching behavior) should not be thought of as occurring in isolation from nonverbal behavior that is part of another category (e.g., eye behavior) or, for that matter,
from verbal behavior. Indeed, consideration of the interplay between nonverbal cues and verbal cues is a vital part of understanding the total communication process that occurs between people in daily life and even on social
networking sites.
4. The scientific roots and historical trends in nonverbal communication research
will be reviewed, as they provide the foundation and framework, respectively,
for exploring the current research in this domain.
5. The potential relevance of this scientific endeavor to our everyday lives will be
discussed, as many of its findings have implications for our personal lives and
can be applied to the various settings in which we work.
Each of these basic perspectives will be covered in greater detail in the remainder of this chapter.
PERSPECTIVE 1: DEFINING NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
To most people, the phrase nonverbal communication refers to communication
effected by means other than words, assuming words are the verbal element. Like
most definitions, this one is generally useful, but it does not account for the complexity of this phenomenon adequately. This broad definition should serve us well,
though, as long as we understand and appreciate the following points.
First, we need to understand that separating verbal and nonverbal behavior
into two separate and distinct categories is virtually impossible. Consider, for
example, the hand movements that make up American Sign Language, a language
of the deaf. These gesticulations are mostly linguistic (verbal), yet hand gestures
are often considered behavior that is “other than words.” And for those who can
hear, their own hand gestures may be used to retrieve the words they wish to
speak to others from their mental lexicon (Hadar, Wenkert-Olenik, Krauss, &
Soroker, 1998). McNeill (1992) demonstrated the linguistic qualities of some
gestures by noting that different kinds of gestures disappear with different kinds of
aphasia—the impairment of the ability to use or comprehend words—namely,
those gestures with linguistic functions similar to the specific verbal loss. Conversely,
not all spoken words are clearly or singularly verbal: for example, onomatopoeic
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
9
words, such as buzz or murmur, and nonpropositional speech used by auctioneers
and some people with aphasia.
Second, we need to understand that our definition does not indicate whether
the phrase “by means other than words” refers to the type of signal produced—
that is, its encoding—or to the perceiver’s code for interpreting the symbol—its
decoding. Generally, when people refer to nonverbal behavior, they are talking
about the signals produced, or encoded, to which meaning will be attributed, not
the process of attributing meaning. A first step toward understanding the process
of attributing meaning to nonverbal behavior is to understand how the brain processes nonverbal stimuli.
PROCESSING NONVERBAL INFORMATION
Currently, many brain researchers believe that the two hemispheres of the brain
process different types of information, but each hemisphere does not process each
type exclusively. Nonverbal messages may be processed by either hemisphere, even
though the bulk of the work is probably done by the right side. The left hemisphere
processes mainly sequentially ordered, digital, verbal, and linguistic information.
Nonverbal messages processed by the left hemisphere may involve symbolic gestures
and facial expressions that have a closely linked verbal translation: for example,
speech-independent gestures that have a direct verbal translation, such as thumbsup (see Chapter 7). The right hemisphere of the brain is normally credited with processing visual/spatial relationships and analogic, or Gestalt, information. And it
seems to be the main processing area for some types of gestures as well as spontaneous, expressive displays of emotion in the face and voice (Buck & VanLear, 2002;
Kelly & Goldsmith, 2004). It is important to note, however, that few scientists currently believe that either side of the brain deals exclusively with a particular kind of
information. In fact, the following case illustrates how adaptable the brain can be.
Bruce Lipstadt had the left hemisphere of his brain removed when he was
5 years old (Koutlak, 1976). Few doctors had hope for the development of his
verbal ability, and most thought the operation would paralyze part of his body.
Twenty-six years later, Bruce had an IQ of 126—better than 9 out of 10 people.
He swam, rode his bike, and got an A in a statistics course. Because his speech
was normal, the right hemisphere must have taken over many of the functions
formerly conducted mainly by the left hemisphere. Obviously, this does not always
happen as a result of operations of this type, especially after puberty. But it does suggest that, although the right and left hemispheres seem to specialize in processing
certain types of information, they are by no means limited to processing only one.
Even when information is being processed primarily by one hemisphere, it
is unlikely that the other hemisphere is totally inactive. While someone is reading
a story, the right hemisphere may be playing a specialized role in understanding
a metaphor or appreciating emotional content, whereas the left hemisphere is
simultaneously trying to derive meaning from the complex relations among
word concepts and syntax. Interestingly, the different functions of the two brain
hemispheres do not seem as clearly differentiated in women as in men, and some
left-handed people are known to have hemispheric functions the opposite of those
just described (Andersen, Garrison, & Andersen, 1979; Iaccino, 1993).
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10
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Despite the apparent complexity and adaptability of the brain, much of what is
processed by the right hemisphere seems to be what we call nonverbal phenomena,
whereas much of what is processed by the left hemisphere is what we categorize as
verbal phenomena. However, because some nonverbal behavior is more closely
aligned with verbal behavior than others (e.g., speech-independent gestures), we
might expect to see more left-hemispheric activity in such cases.
AWARENESS AND CONTROL
Thus far, our definition has not addressed the issue of whether the nonverbal behaviors we enact are done with a great deal of awareness or not. Nonverbal behavior,
like verbal behavior, is encoded with varying degrees of control and awareness
(Lakin, 2006). Sometimes human beings have time to plan their responses. Sometimes it is extremely important for them to respond rapidly when a great deal of
information is impinging on their senses. When this occurs, people are unaware,
or only dimly aware, of why they responded as they did. These responses are
linked to a cognitive program that takes place immediately and automatically following the perception of a particular stimulus (Choi, Gray, & Ambady, 2005).
When we use speech-independent gestures, pose for photographs, or select our
attire, a high level of awareness and control is usually present. We know what we
are doing, we take time to respond, and we enact our behavior according to a conscious plan. Nervous mannerisms, pupil dilation, and mimicking the behavior of an
interaction partner are examples of behavior that are often enacted outside of our
awareness and control (e.g., Bargh & Chartrand, 1999). We may even have an
entire array of default verbal and nonverbal behaviors that kick in automatically
when, for example, we are introduced to a stranger. We may enact a given behavior without much awareness on some occasions but may do so with a great deal of
awareness at other times. For example, we may not realize our tone of voice is signaling our dislike for a person we are talking to, but we are very much aware of
using our voice to communicate a sarcastic message.
Decoding nonverbal behavior also may be performed with varying degrees
of awareness. Sometimes we perceive a stimulus, such as a man who looks elderly,
and this automatically triggers the perception that the man is also walking slowly—
whether he is or not. When people say they think a person is lying but cannot
explain what behaviors led them to believe that, it may mean there is an outof-awareness program in their brain that is associated with the deception and
triggered by the perception of certain behaviors.
But responses that are out of our awareness and control need not always be
that way. Feedback on the accuracy or utility of an automatic process may lead to
changing the program or eliminating it. Reading this book may also make you
more aware of certain behaviors you have been encoding and decoding.
PERSPECTIVE 2: CLASSIFYING NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR
Another way of defining nonverbal communication is to look at the things people
study. The theory and research associated with nonverbal communication focus on
three primary units: the environmental structures and conditions within which
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
11
communication takes place, the physical characteristics of the communicators
themselves, and the various behaviors manifested by the communicators. A detailed
breakdown of these three features follows.
THE COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT
Although most of the emphasis in nonverbal research is on
the appearance and behavior of the people communicating, increasing attention is
being given to the influence of nonhuman factors on human transactions. People
change environments to help them accomplish their communicative goals; conversely, environments can affect our moods, choices of words, and actions. Thus,
this category concerns those elements that impinge on the human relationship but
are not directly a part of it. Environmental factors include the furniture, architectural style, interior decorating, lighting conditions, colors, temperature, additional
noises or music, and so on amid which the interaction occurs. Variations in
arrangements, materials, shapes, or surfaces of objects in the interacting environment can be extremely influential on the outcome of an interpersonal relationship.
This category also includes what might be called traces of action. For instance, as
you observe cigarette butts, orange peels, and wastepaper left by the person you
will soon interact with, you form an impression that will eventually influence
your meeting with him or her. Perceptions of time and timing make up another
important part of the communicative environment. When something occurs, how
frequently it occurs, and the tempos or rhythms of actions are clearly a part of
the communicative world even though they are not a part of the physical environment per se.
PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
SPATIAL ENVIRONMENT Proxemics is the study of the use and perception of social and
personal space. Under this heading is a body of work called small group ecology,
which concerns itself with how people use and respond to spatial relationships in
formal and informal group settings. Such studies deal with seating and spatial
arrangements as related to leadership, communication flow, and the task at hand.
On an even broader level, some attention has been given to spatial relationships
in crowds and densely populated situations. Personal space orientation is sometimes studied in the context of conversation distance and how it varies according
to sex, status, roles, cultural orientation, and so forth. The term territoriality is
also used frequently in the study of proxemics to denote the human tendency to
stake out personal territory, or “untouchable space,” much as wild animals and
birds do.
THE COMMUNICATORS’ PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
This category covers things that remain relatively unchanged during the period of
interaction. These static nonverbal cues include a person’s physique or body
shape, general attractiveness, height, weight, hair, overall skin color or tone, and
so forth. Body or breath odors associated with the person are normally considered
part of his or her physical appearance. Further, objects associated with interactants
also may affect physical appearance. These are called artifacts and include things
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12
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
such as clothes, eyeglasses, hairpieces, false eyelashes, jewelry, and accessories
(e.g., an attaché case). Physical appearance also includes the various ways people
choose to decorate their skin: for example, with tattoos, cosmetics, scars, piercings,
and paint.
BODY MOVEMENT AND POSITION
Dynamic body movement and positioning typically include the following: gestures;
movements of the limbs, hands, head, feet, and legs; facial expressions, such as
smiles; eye behavior, including blinking, direction and length of gaze, and pupil
dilation; and posture. The furrow of the brow, the slump of a shoulder, and the
tilt of a head are all considered body movements and positions. Specifically, the
major areas are gestures, posture, touching behavior, facial expressions, eye behavior, and vocal behavior.
There are many different types of gestures, and many variations of these
types, but the most frequently studied are the following:
GESTURES
1. Speech independent. When viewed independently of speech, these gestures
have a well-known verbal translation in their usage community, usually consisting of a word or two or a phrase. The gestures used to represent “okay” or
“peace” (also the “V-for-victory” sign) are examples of speech-independent
gestures for large segments of U.S. culture.
2. Speech related. These gestures are directly tied to, or accompany, speech
and often serve to illustrate what is being said verbally. These movements
may accent or emphasize a word or phrase, sketch a path of thought,
point to present objects, depict a spatial relationship, depict the rhythm or
pacing of an event, draw a picture of a referent, depict a bodily action,
or serve as commentary on the regulation and organization of the
interactive process.
POSTURE Posture is normally studied in conjunction with other nonverbal signals
to determine the degree of attention or involvement, the degree of status relative
to the other interactive partner, or the degree of liking for the other interactant.
A forward-leaning posture, for example, has been associated with higher involvement, more liking, and lower status in studies where interactants did not know
each other very well. Posture is also a key indicator of the intensity of some emotional states: for example, the drooping posture associated with sadness or the
rigid, tense posture associated with anger. The extent to which the communicators
mirror each other’s posture may indicate conversational involvement, which sometimes results in greater rapport between interactants.
Touching may be self-focused or other-focused. Self-focused
manipulations, not usually made for purposes of communicating, may reflect a
person’s particular state or habit. Many are commonly called nervous mannerisms.
Some of these actions are relics from an earlier time in our life, when we
first learned how to manage emotions, develop social contacts, or perform some
TOUCHING BEHAVIOR
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
13
instructional task. Sometimes we perform these manipulations as we adapt to such
learning experiences, and they stay with us when we face similar situations later
in life, often as only part of the original movement. Some refer to these types of
self-focused manipulation as adaptors. These adaptors may involve various manipulations of one’s own body, such as licking, picking, holding, pinching, and
scratching. Object adaptors are manipulations practiced in conjunction with an
object, as when a reformed cigarette smoker reaches toward his breast pocket for
the nonexistent package of cigarettes. Of course, not all behaviors that reflect
habitual actions or an anxious disposition can be traced to earlier adaptations,
but they do represent a part of the overall pattern of bodily action.
One of the most potent forms of nonverbal communication occurs when two
people touch. Touch can be virtually electric, but it also can hurt or comfort. As
you will see later, touch is a highly ambiguous form of behavior whose meaning
often depends more on the context, the nature of the relationship, and the manner
of execution than on the configuration of the touch per se. Some researchers are
concerned with touching behavior as an important factor in a child’s early development, and others are concerned with adult touching behavior.
Most studies of the face are concerned with the configurations
that display various emotional states. The six primary affects that receive the most
study are anger, sadness, surprise, happiness, fear, and disgust. Facial expressions
also can function as regulatory gestures, providing feedback and managing the
flow of interaction. In fact, some researchers believe the primary function of
the face is to communicate, not to express emotions.
FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
EYE BEHAVIOR Where we look, when we look, and how long we look during an
interaction are the primary foci for studies of gazing. Gaze refers to the eye movement we make in the general direction of another’s face. Mutual gaze occurs when
interactants look into each other’s eye area. The dilation and constriction of the
pupils is of particular interest to those who study nonverbal communication because
it is sometimes an indicator of interest, attention/involvement, or deception.
Vocal behavior deals with how something is said, not what is
said. It deals with the range of nonverbal vocal cues surrounding common speech
behavior. Generally, a distinction is made between two types of sounds:
VOCAL BEHAVIOR
1. The sound variations made with the vocal cords during speech that are a
function of changes in pitch, duration, and loudness.
2. Sounds that result primarily from physiological mechanisms other than the
vocal cords: for example, the pharyngeal, oral, or nasal cavities.
Most of the research on vocal behavior and its effects on human interaction has
focused on pitch level and variability; the duration of sounds, whether they are clipped
or drawn out; pauses within the speech stream and the latency of response when
switching speaking turns; loudness level and variability; resonance; precise or slurred
articulation; rate; rhythm; and intruding sounds during speech, such as “uh” or
“um.” The study of vocal signals encompasses a broad range of interests, from questions focusing on stereotypes associated with certain voices to questions about the
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14
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
effects of vocal behavior on comprehension and persuasion. Thus, even specialized
sounds such as laughing, belching, yawning, swallowing, and moaning may be of
interest to the extent that they might affect the outcome of an interaction.
PERSPECTIVE 3: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
IN THE TOTAL COMMUNICATION PROCESS
Even though this book emphasizes nonverbal communication, it is important not to
forget the inseparable nature of verbal and nonverbal signals. Ray Birdwhistell, a
pioneer in nonverbal research, reportedly said that studying only nonverbal communication is like studying noncardiac physiology. His point is well taken. It is
not easy to dissect human interaction and make one diagnosis that concerns only
verbal behavior and another that concerns only nonverbal behavior. The verbal
dimension is so intimately woven and subtly represented in so much of what has
been previously labeled nonverbal that the term does not always adequately describe
the behavior under study. Some of the most noteworthy scholars associated with
nonverbal study refuse to segregate words from gestures; these scholars work under
the broader terms of communication or face-to-face interaction (Bavelas & Chovil,
2006). Kendon puts it this way:
It is a common observation that, when a person speaks, muscular systems besides those
of the lips, tongue, and jaws often become active.… Gesticulation is organized as part of
the same overall unit of action by which speech is also organized.… Gesture and speech
are available as two separate modes of representation and are coordinated because both
are being guided by the same overall aim. That aim is to produce a pattern of action that
will accomplish the representation of a meaning. (1983, pp. 17, 20)
Because verbal and nonverbal systems operate together as part of the larger communication process, efforts to distinguish clearly between the two have not been
very successful. One common misconception, for example, assumes that nonverbal
behavior is used solely to communicate emotional messages, whereas verbal behavior is for conveying ideas. Words transmit emotional information—we can talk
explicitly about emotions, and we also communicate emotion between the lines in
verbal nuances. Conversely, nonverbal cues are often used for purposes other than
showing emotion; for example, people in conversation use eye movements to help
tell each other when it is time to switch speaking turns, and people commonly use
hand gestures while talking to help convey their ideas (McNeill, 2000).
We also need to recognize that the ways we attribute meaning to verbal and
nonverbal behavior are not all that different, either. Nonverbal actions, like verbal
ones, may communicate more than one message at a time. For example, the way
you nonverbally make it clear to another person that you want to keep talking
may simultaneously express your need for dominance over that person as well as
your current emotional state. When you grip a child’s shoulder during a reprimand, you may increase his or her comprehension and recall, but you may also
elicit such a negative reaction that he or she refuses to obey you. A smile can be
a part of an emotional expression, an attitudinal message, a self-presentation, or a
listener response to manage the interaction. And, like verbal behavior, the meanings attributed to nonverbal behavior may be stereotyped, idiomatic, or ambiguous.
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
15
Furthermore, the same nonverbal behavior performed in different contexts may,
like words, receive different attributions of meaning. For example, looking down
at the floor may reflect sadness in one situation and submissiveness or lack of
involvement in another. Finally, in an effort to identify the fundamental categories
of meaning associated with nonverbal behavior, Mehrabian (1970, 1981) identified
a threefold perspective resulting from his extensive testing:
1. Immediacy. Sometimes we react to things by evaluating them as positive or
negative, good or bad, and so on.
2. Status. Sometimes we enact or perceive behaviors that indicate various aspects
of status to us, such as strong or weak, superior or subordinate.
3. Responsiveness. This third category refers to our perceptions of activity as
being slow or fast, active or passive.
In various verbal and nonverbal studies over the past three decades, dimensions
similar to Mehrabian’s have been reported consistently by investigators from
diverse fields studying diverse phenomena. It is reasonable to conclude, therefore,
that these three dimensions are basic responses to our environment and are
reflected in the way we assign meaning to both verbal and nonverbal behavior.
Most of this work, however, depends on people translating their reactions to a
nonverbal act into verbal descriptors. This issue has already been addressed in
our discussion of the way the brain processes different pieces of information.
In general, then, like words, nonverbal signals can and do have multiple uses and
meanings; like words, nonverbal signals have denotative and connotative meanings;
and like words, nonverbal signals play an active role in communicating liking,
power, and responsiveness. With these in mind, we can now examine some of the
important ways verbal and nonverbal behaviors interrelate during human interaction. Ekman (1965) identified the following: repeating, conflicting, complementing,
substituting, accenting/moderating, and regulating.
REPEATING
Nonverbal communication can simply repeat what was said verbally. For instance,
if you told a person he or she had to go north to find a parking place and then
pointed in the proper direction, this would be repetition.
CONFLICTING
Verbal and nonverbal signals can be at variance with one another in a variety of
ways. They may communicate two contradictory messages or two messages that
seem incongruous with each other (see Figure 1-2). In both instances, two messages
that do not appear to be consistent with each other are perceived. It is quite common, and probably functional, to have mixed feelings about some things. As a
result, incongruous verbal and nonverbal messages may be more common than we
realize. But it is the more dramatic contradictions that we are more likely to notice.
Perhaps it is the parent who yells to his or her child in an angry voice, “Of course
I love you!” Or the public speaker, who, with trembling hands and knees and
beads of perspiration on the brow, claims, “I’m not nervous.”
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PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
© Cengage Learning All Rights Reserved
16
a
b
F I G U R E 1-2
(a) Conflicting verbal/nonverbal signals. (b) Is this an aggressive or playful situation? What observations
influenced your decision?
Why do these conflicting messages occur? In some cases it is a natural response
to a situation in which communicators perceive themselves to be in a bind. They do
not want to tell the truth, and they do not want to lie. As a result, their ambivalence and frustration produce a discrepant message (Bavelas, Black, Chovil, &
Mullett, 1990). In other situations, conflicting messages occur because people do
an imperfect job of lying. Suppose you have just given a terrible presentation, and
you ask me how you did. I may say you did fine, but my voice, face, and body
may not support my words. On still other occasions, conflicting messages may be
the result of an attempt to communicate sarcasm or irony, saying one thing with
words and the opposite with vocal tone and/or facial expression. The term coy is
used to describe the display of coexisting signals that invite friendly contact with
those that signal rejection and withdrawal. We live in a complex world, which
makes feelings of ambivalence or mixed emotions a much more common experience than we sometimes acknowledge (Weigert, 1991).
Displays of incongruous or conflicting signals may occur in a variety of ways.
Sometimes two nonverbal signals may manifest the discord (e.g., vocal with visual),
but usually we are more aware of the contrasting verbal and nonverbal signals
(e.g., positive voice/negative words, negative voice/positive words, positive face/
negative words, or negative face/positive words).
How do we react when confronted with conflicting messages that matter to us?
Leathers (1979) has identified a common three-step process:
1. The first reaction is confusion and uncertainty.
2. Next, we search for additional information that will clarify the situation.
3. If clarification is not forthcoming, we will probably react with displeasure,
hostility, or even withdrawal.
It is not unusual for a person perceiving a conflicting message that is ambiguous
to respond with an ambiguous message of his or her own. Some believe that a
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
17
constant barrage of conflicting and ambiguous messages can contribute to a
psychopathology in the receiver. This may be particularly true when the communicators have a close relationship and the target of the conflicting messages has
no one else he or she can turn to for discussion and possible clarification of
the confusing messages. Some research finds that parents of disturbed children
produce more messages with conflicting cues (Bugental, Love, Kaswan, & April,
1971). Other work suggests that the differences are not in conflicting cues but in
negative messages; that is, parents with disturbed children send more negative
messages (Beakel & Mehrabian, 1969). The combination of negativity, confusion,
and punishment can be very harmful if it is a common style of communication
directed toward children. Date rape is another situation in which testimony often
centers around the extent to which the signals of rejection were unequivocal or
ambiguous.
We do not wish to give the impression that all forms of discrepant messages are
harmful. Our daily conversations are probably peppered with instances in which
gestures and speech do not exactly match one another; for example, a speaker telling
a story about someone climbing up a pipe while simultaneously gesturing as though
he or she were climbing a ladder (McNeill, Cassell, & McCullough, 1994). Sometimes these discrepancies go unnoticed, and many are cognitively “resolved” without
overtly discussing the mismatch. Even contradictions with more important implications for conversants may not, in some situations, be considered harmful. Moreover,
as stated earlier, discrepancy is required for achieving certain effects. Sarcasm, for
example, occurs when the words are pleasant but the voice quality is unpleasant,
and when the words are unpleasant but the tone of voice is pleasant, we are likely
to communicate the message that we are only joking.
Finally, some discrepancies may be helpful in certain situations. In an experiment, teachers used mixed messages while teaching a lesson to sixth-grade pupils.
When the teachers combined positive words with a negative nonverbal demeanor,
pupils learned more than with any other combination (Woolfolk, 1978). Similarly,
a study of doctors talking with patients found that the combination of positive
words said in a negative tone of voice was associated with the highest levels of
patient satisfaction with the visit (Hall, Roter, & Rand, 1981). Possibly the positive
verbal/negative nonverbal combination is perceived in classrooms and doctors’
offices as “serious and concerned,” and therefore, makes a better impression on
students and patients alike.
Some research has questioned whether we trust and believe nonverbal signals
more than verbal ones when we are confronted with conflicting messages (Bugental,
1974; Burgoon, 1980; Mehrabian, 1972a; Stiff, Hale, Garlick, & Rogan, 1990). It is
often assumed that nonverbal signals are more spontaneous, harder to fake, less
likely to be manipulated, and hence more believable. It is probably more accurate to
say, however, that some nonverbal behaviors are more spontaneous and harder to
fake than others and that some people are more proficient than others at nonverbal
deception. With two conflicting cues, both of which are nonverbal, we predictably
place our reliance on the cues we consider harder to fake. One research team found
that people tended to rely primarily on visual cues in visual/auditory discrepancies,
but when the discrepancy was great, people tended to rely on the audio signals
(DePaulo, Rosenthal, Eisenstat, Rogers, & Finkelstein, 1978).
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18
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
The credibility of information in messages made up of conflicting signals is also
an important factor in determining which cues to believe. If the information being
communicated in one channel lacks credibility, we are likely to discount it and look
to other channels for the “real” message (Bugental, 1974). Sometimes we are faced
with the dilemma of perceiving the meaning communicated by hard-to-fake cues
that do not seem credible. If a person says, “This is really great,” with a sad tone of
voice upon receiving a birthday gift you know was long desired, you are likely to
search for other explanations (e.g., he or she is bothered about getting older).
Interestingly, young children seem to give less credence to certain nonverbal
cues than adults do when confronted with conflicting verbal and nonverbal
messages (Bugental, Kaswan, Love, & Fox, 1970; Bugental, Love, & Gianetto,
1971; Volkmar & Siegel, 1982). Conflicting messages in which the speaker smiled
while making a critical statement were interpreted more negatively by children than
adults, particularly when the speaker was a woman.
Other work casts an even deeper shadow on the theory that we always rely on
nonverbal cues in conflicting-message situations. Shapiro (1968) found that student
judges differed as to whether they relied on verbal or facial cues when asked to select
the affect being communicated by sketched faces with expressions that were incongruent with the written messages associated with them. Vande Creek and Watkins
(1972) extended Shapiro’s work by using real voices and moving pictures. The
people in the stimulus examples portrayed inconsistencies in the degree of stress in
verbal and nonverbal channels. Again, they found that some respondents tended to
rely primarily on verbal cues, some tended to rely on nonverbal cues, and some
responded to the degree of stress in general regardless of the channels manifesting it.
The cross-cultural research of Solomon and Ali (1975) suggests that familiarity with
the verbal language may affect our reliance on verbal or nonverbal cues. They found,
for instance, that people who were less familiar with the language used to construct
the contradictory message relied on the content for judgments of affective meaning.
Those who knew the language well were more apt to rely on the vocal intonation
for the affective meaning. So it appears that some people will rely more heavily on
the verbal message when verbal and nonverbal cues offer conflicting information.
We do not know all the conditions that affect which signals people look to for
valid information. As a general rule, people tend to rely on those signals they
perceive harder to fake, but this will most likely vary with the situation; so the ultimate impact of verbal, visual, and vocal signals is best determined by a close examination of the people involved in a specific communication context.
Finally, whether people rely more on what a person says or does nonverbally
may depend on what they are trying to figure out about that person. Hall and
Schmid Mast (2007) showed that people turn relatively more to nonverbal cues
when they want to know how a person is feeling and more to verbal cues when
they want to know what a person is thinking.
COMPLEMENTING
Nonverbal behavior can modify or elaborate on verbal messages. When the verbal
and nonverbal channels are complementary, rather than conflicting, our messages
are usually decoded more accurately. Some evidence suggests that complementary
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
19
nonverbal signals also may be helpful when attempting to recall the verbal
message. A student who reflects an attitude of embarrassment when talking to a
professor about a poor performance in class assignments is exhibiting nonverbal
behavior that complements the verbal. When clarity is of utmost importance, as in
a job interview or when making up with a loved one after a fight, we should be
especially concerned with making the meanings of verbal and nonverbal behavior
complement each other.
SUBSTITUTING
Nonverbal behavior can also substitute for verbal messages. It may indicate more
permanent characteristics (sex, age), moderately long-lasting features (personality,
attitudes, social group), and relatively short-term states of a person. In the latter
case, we may see a dejected and downtrodden executive walk into his or her
house after work with a facial expression that substitutes for the statement, “I’ve
had a rotten day.” With a little practice, people soon learn to identify a wide
range of these substitute nonverbal displays—all the way from “It’s been a fantastic
day!” to “Oh, God, am I miserable!”
Sometimes, when substitute nonverbal behavior does not get the desired
response, the communicator tries to verbally clarify the message. Consider the
woman who wants her date to stop trying to become physically intimate with her.
She may stiffen, stare straight ahead, or act unresponsive. If the suitor still does not
stop, she might say something like “Look, Larry, please don’t ruin a nice
friendship.”
ACCENTING/MODERATING
Nonverbal behavior may accent (amplify) or moderate (tone down) parts of the
verbal message. Accenting is much like underlining or italicizing written words to
emphasize them. Movements of the head and hands are frequently used to accent
the verbal message. When a father scolds his son for staying out too late, he may
accent a particular phrase with a firm grip on the son’s shoulder and an accompanying frown. In some instances, one set of nonverbal cues can accent or moderate
other nonverbal cues. For example, by observing other parts of a person’s body
(e.g., a clenched fist), the full intensity of a facial expression of anger is revealed.
REGULATING
Nonverbal behavior is also used to regulate verbal behavior. We do this in two
ways:
1. By coordinating our own verbal and nonverbal behavior in the production of
our messages
2. By coordinating our verbal and nonverbal message behavior with those of our
interaction partners
We regulate the production of our own messages in a variety of ways. Sometimes we use nonverbal signs to segment units of interaction. Posture changes may
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20
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
demarcate a topic change; a gesture may forecast the verbalization of a particular
idea; pauses may help organize spoken information into units. When we speak of
a series of things, we may communicate discreteness by linear, staccato movements
of the arm and hand; for example, “We must consider A, B, and C.” When we
insert a chopping gesture after each letter, it may suggest a separate consideration
of each letter; a single chop after C might indicate either a consideration of all
three as a group or C in particular.
We also regulate the flow of verbal and nonverbal behavior between ourselves
and an interactant. This may manifest itself in the dramatic (e.g., every time one
person gets mad and yells, the other behaves in a solicitous manner) or less obvious
(e.g., the signals of initiation, continuation, and termination of interaction) types of
behavior that two interactants elicit from each other. The way one person stops
talking and another starts in a smooth, synchronized manner may be as important
to a satisfactory interaction as the content. After all, we do make judgments about
people based on their regulatory skills; for example, we are familiar with the
descriptions “Talking to him is like talking to a wall” or “You can’t get a word in
edgewise with her.” When another person frequently interrupts or is inattentive, we
may feel this person is making a statement about the relationship, perhaps one of
disrespect. There are rules for regulating conversations, but they are generally
implicit. It is not written down, but we seem to know that two people should not
talk at the same time, that each person should get an equal number of turns at
talking if he or she desires, that a question should be answered, and so forth.
Wiemann’s (1977) research found that relatively minute changes in these regulatory
behaviors—interruptions, pauses longer than 3 seconds, unilateral topic changes,
and so on—resulted in sizable variations in how competent a communicator was
perceived to be. As listeners, we are apparently attending to and evaluating a
host of fleeting, subtle, and habitual features of the speaker’s conversational
behavior. When children first learn these rules, they use less subtle cues; for
example, they tug on clothing or raise a hand. Children are also less skilled in
accomplishing smooth turn-taking, as you will have noticed if you have conversed
with a young child on the telephone. Conversational regulators involve several
kinds of nonverbal cues. When we want to indicate that we are finished speaking
and the other person can start, we may increase our eye contact with the other
person. This is often accompanied by the vocal cues associated with ending
declarative or interrogative statements. If the other person still does not figuratively pick up the conversational ball, we might extend silence or interject a
“trailer” such as “you know” or “so, ah.” To keep another person from speaking
in a conversation, we have to keep long pauses from occurring, decrease eye contact, and perhaps raise the volume of our voice. When we do not want to take a
speaking turn, we might give the other some reinforcing head nods, maintain
attentive eye contact, and, of course, refrain from speaking when the other begins
to yield. When we do want the floor, we might raise our index finger or enact an
audible inspiration of breath with a straightening of the posture as if ready to
take over. Rapid nodding may signal the other to hurry up and finish, but if we
have trouble getting in, we may have to talk simultaneously for a few words or
engage in stutter starts that we hope will be more easily observed cues to signal
our desire to speak.
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CHAPTER 1 NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION: BASIC PERSPECTIVES
21
Conversational beginnings and endings also act as regulatory points. When we
are greeting others, eye contact indicates that the channels are open. A slight head
movement and an “eyebrow flash” of recognition—a barely detectable but distinct
up-and-down movement of the eyebrows—may be present. The hands are also
used in greetings for salutes, waves, handshakes, handslaps, or emblematic signals
such as the peace or victory sign, a raised fist, or a thumbs-up. Hands may also
perform grooming activities, such as running fingers through the hair, or they may
be involved in various touching activities such as kissing, embracing, or hitting
another on the arm. The mouth may form a smile or an oval shape, as if ready to
start talking (Krivonos & Knapp, 1975).
Saying good-bye in semiformal interviews was shown to elicit many nonverbal
behaviors in one study. The most common included the breaking of eye contact
more often and for longer periods of time, positioning one’s body toward an exit,
and leaning forward and nodding. Less frequent, but very noticeable, were accenting behaviors that signaled, “This is the termination of our conversation, and I
don’t want you to miss it!” These accenters included explosive hand and foot
movements, such as raising the hands and/or feet and bringing them down with
enough force to make an audible slap while simultaneously using the hands and
feet as leverage to catapult the interactant out of his or her seat. A less direct manifestation was placing the hands on the thighs or knees in a leveraging position, as if
preparing to catapult, hoping that the other person picked up the good-bye cue
(Knapp, Hart, Friedrich, & Shulman, 1973).
PERSPECTIVE 4: HISTORICAL TRENDS IN NONVERBAL RESEARCH
The scientific study of nonverbal communication is primarily a post–World War II
activity. This does not mean we cannot find important early tributaries of knowledge; even ancient Chinese, Greek, and Roman scholars commented on what we
today would consider nonverbal behavior. Quintilian’s Institutio Oratoria, for
example, is an important source of information on gestures written in the first century. If we were to trace the history of fields of study—such as animal behavior,
anthropology, dance, linguistics, philosophy, psychiatry, psychology, sociology,
and speech—we would no doubt find important antecedents of today’s work
(Asendorpf & Wallbott, 1982; Davis, 1979; DePaulo & Friedman, 1998; Hecht &
Ambady, 1999). Nonverbal studies never have been the province of any one particular discipline. In the last half of the 19th century, Delsarte, among others,
attempted to codify and set forth rules for managing both “voice culture” and
body movements or gestures (Shawn, 1954). Although Delsarte’s “science of
applied esthetics” and the elocutionary movement gave way to a less formal, less
stylized manner in the 20th century, it represents one of several early attempts
to identify various forms of bodily expression. One of the most influential
pre–20th-century works was Darwin’s The Expression of the Emotions in Man
and Animals in 1872. This work sparked the modern study of facial expressions,
and many of Darwin’s observations and ideas have been validated by other
researchers (Ekman, 1973).
During the first half of the 20th century, there were isolated studies of
the voice, physical appearance and dress, and the face. An unsystematic look at
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22
PART I AN INTRODUCTION TO THE STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
the publications during this period suggests that studies of proxemics, the environment, and body movement received even less attention, and the least attention was
given to the investigation of eye behavior and touching. Two distinct but noteworthy events occurred during this period: The first involved some controversial
scholarship and a scandal; the second concerned a work of extraordinary influence
in the study of nonverbal behavior.
In 1925, Kretschmer authored a book, Physique and Character. This was
followed in 1940 by Sheldon’s The Varieties of Human Physique. These works
were based on the idea that if we precisely measure and analyze a person’s body,
we can learn much about his or her intelligence, temperament, moral worth, and
future achievement. Sheldon’s belief that certain characteristics are associated with
certain body types—the thin ectomorph, the muscular mesomorph, and the fatty
endomorph—is still debated (see Chapter 6). His work was featured on the cover
of the popular magazine Life in 1951. To develop a catalogue of body types,
Sheldon was permitted to photograph fres…