Unit One

Module 2

Non-verbal

communication

amac edu 2011

What is Language?

It would be hard to imagine a world

without language. A working definition

could be:

“A system of communication involving both written and spoken words, which are specific to a group, community, nation or culture”

Viva la

difference,

but Why?

Hello Hola

Bonjour

There are many mysteries about

language: Some examples

Is there a shared ‘Unitary Mother

Language’ from which all human

language developed?

What it means to be ‘polylingual’

(Acquired vs Learned)

The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis

How do we learn our primary

language? ‘The Chinese Room’ experiment

says a lot!

“Can you speak Chinese?”

(2.1) How we communicate ?

1. Make your own definition of communication

2. Differentiate between human and non-human communication

3. Make a list of how humans communicate

4. Make a list of how non-humans communicate

A little task for you…

• Google ‘great apes language

wikipedia’ (and maybe

‘kellogg and Kellogg, 1933)

• Print off article and attach a

paragraph answering:

“Did primates such as

Washoe, Nim Chimpsky*

& Kanzi actually

communicate with

human language?”

KANZI

WASHOE

* Google: Noam Chomsky…. See if you get the joke…

Some definitions:

• Verbal Communication: using spoken words to transmit and/or exchange/evoke shared understanding

• Non-Verbal Communication: using anything but spoken words to transmit and/or exchange/evoke shared understanding (eg. posture, gaze & gesture)

• Paralinguistics: features of vocal sound which embellish or emphasise meaning (eg. tone of voice)

Paralinguistics:

• Tone: conveyed em0tion (eg. Angry voice)

• Emphasis: raising or lowering voice for a particular word

• Intonation (Inflection): modulation (variation) of sound (timbre) eg.

whisper or shout

Communication: How important

are the actual words?

Eye Contact

Body Posture

Facial

Expression

Sound of

voice:

• Tone

• Emphasis

• Intonation

Touch

Hand

Gestures

Personal Space + The

Situation + General

Appearance What have we left out?

The actual words!!!!!

Research suggests shared communication is about:

• 7% The words

(verbal)

• 38% How you say it

(vocal Inflections)

• 55% What you look like Appearance/gesture/gaze, posture (body language) and situational factors (attribution & context of interaction)

Can only receiving 7% of the

communication cause problems?

• Think of two examples:

• How is the problem overcome and how

does it work?

Watch a person on

the telephone, what

do they do with their

hands? What

percentage do you

receive on the

telephone?

How do we know all of this?

Enhanced Verbal Communication: It is all based on research, so do AMRC’s (p25) for:

1. Argyle et al (1971)… tone

2. Davitz & Davitz (1961)… paralinguistics

3. Give one positive and two negative evaluations that apply to both of the above

4. What does ‘et al’ mean?

How do we use eye contact during a

conversation:

Which face is more attractive and any idea

why?

How we use eyes during a conversation: Do AMRC p27: Hess (1963)

1. Evaluate Hess

2. Why are dilated pupils more attractive?

3. Why do women wear eye makeup?

Normal pupil Dilated Pupil

What else we do with our eyes:

Eye Contact/Movement

When we speak face to face the following occurs with our eyes:

• The speaker looks away as they open speech

• The listener looks at the speaker’s eyes

• When speaker about to finish, they flash a glance and the roles reverse

• If process is interrupted (eg. dark glasses), then the conversation becomes disjointed

Eyes control role taking turns in a conversation* (a similar process takes place on the phone using paralinguistics)….

Do AMRC’s: Kendon (1967) & Argle (1968)

* This applies

to both 1-2-1

and a group

conversation

How do we use facial expression to

embellish communication?

Do

exercise

supplied:

Can you identify the emotion and how is the

communication different to the previous ones?

Facial expression plus

‘gesture’ (hand)

Point of interest: Higher order primates have

the same range of emotive faces as humans:

what does this suggest?

Face Expression adds an

emotion to communication

• Facial expression is a human universal (from birth, except ‘Fear’ that comes from 6mths onwards) and therefore they are inherited not learned (nature vs nurture)

• The only other species are Primates

• Facial expressions involve many muscles and are involuntarily connected to how we really feel (we can’t fake it!)

• A smile takes 17 muscles and a frown 47 muscles

The brain and emotional faces

The two halves of a face

are never the same

(asymmetry), which side

do you prefer and which

side is stronger

emotionally?

R L

R L

Cont…..

• The brain has two halves (hemispheres)

• The left side processes structure and the right side processes emotions

• If you look at a picture, when asked what it is, the left side activates and if asked if you like it, the right side activates.

• The brain is contra-lateral (eg. the right side controls the left side of the body and vice-versa)

Do AMRC (plus evaluation) for Sackeim, 1978 p28

Body Language

Some questions:

• Do these three

all know each

other?

• Are two of

them together?

• How do you

know?

We make a lot of assumptions based on body language and they are

often correct!!!

Body Language

• To communicate using our body

• Posture: Open, closed and mirror/echo

• Usually unconscious interaction, but

experts can read and/or take advantage

especially ‘postural echo’ (put a person

at ease)

• Some other interactions… like/lie etc

• Do AMRC: McGinley (1975) + evaluation

Gestures and Touch (gesticulation: to make gestures)

Some hand

gestures work

well without

context or

words!

A

B

C

Watch a person on

the telephone, why

do they do this even

if they can’t be

seen?

Some gestures are rude or

aggressive

Gestures and Touch (gesticulation: to

make gestures)

From the grid

supplied

suggest what

these gestures

might mean:

Then do AMRC Lyn

& Mynier, 1993

(p32) + Evaluation

But beware there are cross-

cultural differences

What does this suggest: nature or

nurture?...think universality

“May I have this

dance?”

A man will be

more successful

If he briefly touches

the girls hand

or arm while

he asks!

Touch to embellish

communication

Touch to embellish communication

• Touch with hand or arm are a

very powerful addition to

communication

• Various types: controlled by

proximity to intimate

erogenous zones and culture

(think of how you formally

greet and how you greet

friends and family etc)

Do AMRC p33: Fisher et al, (1976).. Evaluation

consider inter/intra gender issues

• Consider a concept like personal

space: (Roughly half an arm, within an arm and

over an arm’s length away)

Q) When speaking privately to you, what limit of

closeness to your face would you expect from the

following?

1. An intimate friend

2. An acquaintance

3. A stranger

How do you feel if someone violates your social space? And consider age/gender (own/different)

<0.5m <1 m

>1 m

Personal space

Personal space

Do AMRC’s (and

evaluate):

1. Argyle and Dean

(1965) p34

2. Willis (1966) p35

3. Williams (1971)

p35

• Pavement/corridor avoidance

strategies

Personal space

What would you expect to happen if a

male and female were approaching

each other in a narrow corridor? (and

think other combinations)

• Some cultures stand

much closer to talk…

they think we are

Unfriendly

• Also status: the more

respect the greater

the distance

Do AMRC’s p36: Summer (1969) & Zahn (1991) and evaluate

Personal space and

culture/status

The McGurk Effect

• Silently mouth: Cat

• Overplay sound: Mat

• Claim word was: Cat

Final Thought: The McGurk

Effect and modality hierarchy

How does this impact on

what you have learned

about non-verbal

communication?