NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

1
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

• PHYSICAL
• APPEARANCE

2
IMPORTANCE

• First nonverbal factor to come into play
• Physical appearance may be the major reason two
  people choose to communicate
• Remember attribution theory, also the other areas
  of synchrony, equilibrium, etc.

3
DEVELOPMENT

• Issues of sex-role development
• Educational issues, teacher perceptions, other
  student perceptions

• PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
• As early as 2/3 months, look longer at a person
  defined as attractive
• Guidelines established by six years

4
Teacher behavior

• Attractive --more intelligent, more social adept,
  higher education potential,
• Teachers interact less and less positively with
  unattractive students, as do children
• Unattractive child is more often identified as
  the culprit, the behavior is enduring same
  behavior for attractive is a temporary problem!

5
WHAT/WHO IS LABELED AS ATTRACTIVE?

• No universal standard
• Cultural/sub-cultural impacts
• Recent interesting article
• Defined appearance as symmetry
• Athletes have higher degree
• Defined in terms of success

6
First impressions

• Zone--first 45 seconds to 5 minutes
• You never get a chance to make a second first
  impression
• Make decisions about willingness to communicate
  with the other again
• We respond more favorably to those we consider
  appealingsituationally determined

7

• Appearance/attraction
• What is the definition of attractive?
• Attractive--higher rating of character
  credibility
• Thus, more persuasiveness, esp. on short term
  requests
• Attractive waitresses get better tips (big
  problems with research here!)
• Unattractive defendants are more likely to be
  judged guilty (I can add some to this)
• Question of what you are used to.familiar with,
  equilibrium?
• Attractive can also equal snobbishness, egotism,
  vanity

8
More issues.Uniforms

• Doctors and nurses
• nurses used to wear a hat
• Police officer
• also a question of the color of the uniform
• School uniforms?
• What others?

9
Social desirability

• Success, personality, popularity, sociability,
  sexuality and often happiness
• Higher interpersonal attraction for higher
  attractive, regardless of gender
• Attractive women are more likely to be helped
  more, less objects of aggressive acts, but must
  consider sexual harassment here

10
PERCEPTION

• Attractive women enhance perception of
  unattractive men, perceived as making more money,
  etc.
• Attractive men do not enhance perception of
  unattractive women
• We maximize attractiveness of choice, minimize
  the chance of rejection
• May also impact self-esteem or be a product of
  self-esteem

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ELEMENTS OF APPEARANCE
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BODY SHAPE

• Results of the test?
• Are you
• endomorphic (round) calm, affable
• mesomorphic (athletic) dominant, confident
• ectomorphic (thin) tense, anxious
• We do associate body shape with personality
  traits, see leadership studies on short/tall
• Since 1900, taller candidate has won
  presidential. election, except for Carter in
  1976, also 2 or 3 senatorial candidates

13
BODY SMELL

• culturally determined
• concept of relation to territory
• environmental odors
• potpourri
• bread baking when home is for sale
• cigarette smoke, cigar, pipe

14
BODY HAIR

• Culturally determined
• length of hair
• culturally/time determined
• constantly changing
• facial hair
• males rated males with beards as more
  independent and extroverted
• women rated them as more sophisticated, mature
  and masculine

15
DRESS

• Concept of same, different
• functions include decoration, protection,
  attraction, self-assertion, self-denial,
  concealment, group identification, status or role
• longer acquainted, less impact
• a projection of self image

16
DRESS FOR SUCCESS

• Malloy, 1975 conservative climate in business and
  society in general
• dress can determine a persons ultimate success
  or failure in the business environment
• Trends to today, work place as casual

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Decisions from dress

• economic level
• educational level
• trustworthiness
• social position
• level of sophistication

• economic background
• social background
• educational background
• level of success
• moral character

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Artifacts

• Additional information, more than dress
• Jewelry
• Make-up
• Glasses
• Tattoos, piercings

19
Glasses make people look more intelligent, more
mature, less sexy!