Nonverbal Communication

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Nonverbal Communication

• The language of the Body
• What is its purpose??

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• We define gestures with an extreme alertness and,
  one might say, in accordance with an elaborate
  and secret code that is written nowhere, known by
  none, and understood by all.
• Sapir (1927)

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Canadian League of Underwriters claim that the
following three components and their percentages
go into making a sale

• Nonverbal Communication -- 35
• Paralinguistics -- 55
• Verbal (the message) -- 10

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Elements of Nonverbal Communication

• 1. BODILY CONTACT
• a) grooming
• b) hitting
• c) kissing
• d) touching
• e) holding
• f) etc.

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• 1) All of these indicate a heightened or
  intensified friendly or aggressive relationship.
• E.g., grooming in baboons, native South American
  tribes, encounter groups
• 2) Considerable Cross-cultural Variation
• a) Copper Eskimo vs. Canadian
• b) Handshake origin?
• ? Or s?
• c) Italian and Jewish Grandmothers and pinching
  until it hurts.
• d) touching in San Juan versus London
• e) missionary position

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• 2. PROXIMITY
• The distance between two or more people.
• a) Mehrabian Coat Rack
• b) Hall (The Silent Language)- Diplomat party in
  Brazil
• c) Behaviour on an Elevator
• Watch out for those bubbles!
• d) Sommers study of the Ghost Story
• e) intimacy
• f) territoriality
• 1) Research by Edney
• aa) lab study see overhead
• bb) field study homes with or without fences and
  bushes

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• (territoriality continued)
• 2) Research by Taylor, Altman, Sorrentino
  (1969) of sailors isolated from the outside for 6
  weeks vs. 6 months
• 3) Other examples library, class, distinguished
  professor.
• 3. ORIENTATION
• The angle in which people face each other
• a) Hall again
• b)Pilot and experimental study by Sorrentino
  (1973) (see overheads)
• c) Merhabian again

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• (orientation continued)
• d) Paris Peace Talks, Korean War Peace talks
  critical factors? (see overheads)
• 4. POSTURE
• -Not exactly how you sit up. e.g., How can you
  identify the dominant monkey of the group? (see
  overhead)
• -Posture is also known as display behaviour
• a) dominance legs open, arms free, body relaxed
• b) fear or submission, legs closed, arms folded,
  body tense
• c) affiliation also body free and relaxed
• d) research seminar the lowly undergraduate

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• (Posture continued)
• d. cross-cultural differences--just like
  touching, e.g., North American and English men
  crossing their legs.
• e. behaviour at crosswalks (study by Argyle)
• --try it here!

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• 5. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
• --dress, hair , et cetera
• a) physical attractiveness is important, e.g.,
  jury studies, studies on stigma, and Argyle says
  it is the single best predictor of whether two
  people would like to see each other again.
• b) Research Women find men with beards and
  mustaches more attractive than clean shaven men
  and no one trusts a man with a mustache.
• 6. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS -- not much known, too
  complex (e.g., study by Kendon 5 positions of
  the eyebrow, dozens of mouth positions.

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• 7. GESTURES -hand, feet, head. Same problem
  except for a few rare examples. E.g. Italians ,
  leakage
• 8. The Eye Window to the Soul or The Evil Eye?
• Part 1 The Eye itself
• a) Ethologists and Fixed Action Patterns
• Do you know a character with big pupils and big
  head?
• ET
• b) Jade Dealers
• c) Bedroom Eyes--study by Hess Polt (see
  overhead)
• d) parental love

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• Part 2 Eye Contact
• a) The Eyes have it. (Argyle) Most important
  element of nonverbal communication.
• b) interacts with other gestures
• c) gender differences
• 1) same sex
• 2) mixed sex
• Why?
• Argyle channel control
• d) eye contact and proximity (class demo of
  Argyle and Dean experiment)

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• e. The Stare Affiliation or Dominance?
• 1) Affiliation
• aa) Intimacy--close friends, lovers
• bb) females
• cc)look me in the eye
• dd) your prof as salesperson
• ee) your prof as hitchiker
• 2) Dominance
• aa) Symbol of aggression or hostile intent in
  other animals, especially nonhuman primates who
  are experts
• 11) Go down to the Zoo and imitate your prof.
• 22) See cartoon

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• 33) Research by Exline with Chimps
• 44) Humans and Civil Inattention (Goffman)
• e.g., staring contests, elevator, Old Leonard,
  and study by Elllsworth, Carlsmith, Henson (see
  overhead.
• 9. PARLINGUISTICS
• a) timing
• b) emotional tone
• c) speech errors

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• 10. SMELL
• --pheremones
• chemical agents which transmit information
• A. Research by Stuart (see overhead)
• B. Territoriality
• 1. rabbits
• 2. dogs
• 3. gerbils
• 4. humans
• C. Aggression
• 1. gerbils
• 2. rats
• 3. humans

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• D. SEX
• 1. rats
• 2. chimpanzees
• 3. starfish
• 4. humans
• 5. musk
• 6. sex and synchronization
• a. rats
• b. humans
• 1) nurses, female prisoners, and others isolated
• 2) Michigan study (McClintock, 1971)
• 3) Essence of Genivieve

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• 4) Prell and Doty
• 5) Porkmate
• 6) ads and advice columns
• E. Other
• 1. Von Frischs bees
• 2. Rats schizophrenia
• 3. smells of Eastern and Western people
• 4. colognes, perfumes, deodorants
• 11. Colour ??

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• CONCLUSIONS
• So what is the purpose of Nonverbal
  Communication?
• Argyle Whereas verbal communication deals with
  , nonverbal communication deals with
  the
• 
  s.
• Very much like our non-human brethren who
  communicate very well with regard to liking,
  friendship, and dominance.