Nonverbal Communication
Chapter 6
Nonverbal Communication
Nonverbal Communication: those behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the use of words
Nonverbal Communication
Often accompanies verbal comm. Can clarify or reinforce verbal However, nonverbal can convey
meanings on its own
Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
Present in interpersonal conversations -Use emoticons if necessary
Often conveys more information than verbal 65-70% of meaning from NV
(Burgoon) Uses multiple channels
Usually believed over verbal If messages conflict, we
believe NV
Characteristics of NV Comm. Primary means of communicating emotion
Esp. vocalics and facial expressions Ekman: happiness, fear, disgust, anger,
sadness, surprise
Meta-communicative NV used to communicate about our
communication Used to indicate how someone should
interpret our message Smile and wink to indicate sarcasm Raise eyebrows or furrow brow to indicate
seriousness
Functions of Nonverbal Communication
Managing Conversations Regulates verbal communication Inviting conversations Managing conversations
Turn-taking behavior Ending conversations
Break eye contact Left-positioning—move body in direction
we want to go
Functions of Nonverbal
Expressing Emotions Facial expressions
“Ready revealers” wear emotions on face Vocal expressions
Maintaining Relationships Attraction and Affiliation
Immediacy behaviors—NV behaviors that send messages of attraction or affiliation (flirting)
Established relationships—hug, kiss, change in vocalics, etc.
Functions of NV Comm.
Maintaining Relationships Power and Dominance
Power—potential to affect another person’s behavior
Dominance—actual exercise of that potential
Artifacts—used as status symbols “The look”
Functions of NV Comm.
Arousal and Relaxation Arousal—increase in energy
Could be anxiety (negative) or excitement (positive)
Relaxation—situation of decreased energy Could be contentment (positive) or
depression (negative)
Functions of NV Comm.
Forming impressions “People watching” Demographic impression
Age, ethnicity, sex, voice Sociocultural impressions
Socio-economic status, cultural, and co-cultural groups
Personal appearance
Functions of NV Comm. Influencing others
Creating credibility Project a credible image through dress,
vocalics, etc. Promoting affiliation
More persuaded by people we like Touch is very powerful Interactional synchrony—convergence of two
people’s behaviors—”mirroring”
Concealing information Deception Facial expressions, mouth, eye contact,
vocalics
Channels of Nonverbal Communication
We experience nonverbal communication in many different forms—known as channels
FACIAL DISPLAYS
Also known as facial expressions
Principle of Facial Primacy—face communicates more information than any other channel of NV
Identity—how we know who someone is
Facial Displays
Attractiveness Consistency in what people find attractive
across cultures Symmetry—between left and right sides of
face Proportionality—relative size of one’s facial
features Emotion
Facial expression is main channel of NV behavior
Women tend to decode/read facial cues better Nonmanual signals—facial expressions in sign
language
Eye Contact
Oculesics—study of eye behavior
Signals attraction, credibility, intimidation
Pupil size—can change based on arousal levels, not just light levels
Movement and Gestures
Kinesics—movement
Gesticulation—arm and hand movements
Emblems—direct translation Hello, good-bye
Illustrators—complement verbal “this big,” “about this tall”
Movement and Gestures
Affect displays—communicate emotion Cover mouth when surprised, coincide
with emotion
Regulators—control flow of comm. Raise hand in class, reduce eye contact
Adaptors—satisfy a personal need Self-adaptors—scratch, fidget Other-adaptors—touch another
Touch
Haptics Affectionate Caregiving touch Power and
Control Aggressive Touh Ritualistic Touch
Greetings Athletic Events
Vocalics Vocalics—characteristics of your voice
Paralanguage—”beside language”—goes along with words we speak
Pitch, inflection, volume, rate, fillers, pronunciation, articulation, accent, silence
Olfactics Sense of smell
Considered the sense that is most likely to trigger memory
Olfactic association Memories we connect with specific
smells
Sexual attraction Plays a major role in whom we feel
attracted to Find people more sexually attractive if
their scent is dissimilar to ours—healthier babies
Proxemics
Study of personal space Edward T. Hall, Anthropologist
Focuses on Western culture Intimate Distance”-18” Personal Distance 18”-4’ Social Distance 4’-12’ Public Distance 12’-25’ or greater
Exception—people with disabilities
Physical Appearance
Halo effect Attribute positive qualities to physically
attractive people
What are the costs of a culture that puts so much emphasis on physical attractiveness?
Time Chronemics—the way people use time Sends messages about power Very culturally bound Not in book but of interest—Edward Hall
Molychronic Time (M-Time) Time is seen as being a limited resource which is
constantly being used up. This perspective is oriented to the future.
Polychronic Time (P-Time) Views time in a more "circular" fashion, as the
turning of the seasons, and time is seen as renewing itself each year. Promptness is not considered important. This perspective is oriented to the past and/or present.
Artifacts
Physical environment we inhabit Objects and visual features within an
environment that reflect who we are and what we like
How we adorn ourselves can also be considered part of artifacts (hair, piercing, tattoos, dress style, etc.)
CULTURE INFLUENCES NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Emblems
Affect displays
Personal distance
Eye contact
Facial displays of emotion
Greeting behavior
Time orientations
Touch
Vocalics
SEX INFLUENCES NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Emotional expressiveness Women more expressive: joy, affection, sadness, depression Men more expressive: anger (some studies disagree)
Eye contact Women have increased eye contact in US and Japan Female pairs use more gaze when speaking, listening, and
silence Male-female pairs similar to female-female findings
Personal space Women approached more closely, allow more space
violations, stand/sit closer to others Men more likely to violate women’s space than women are
to violate men’s space
Sex Influences on NV Vocalics
Men use more fillers and pauses than women
Touch Men more likely to touch women than women
touching men (unless it’s a greeting) Same-sex pairs, women touch more than men
(but difference is reduced in close friendships)
Appearance Women and men adorn differently Western culture—women use make-up more
than men Hair and clothing styles generally different
Improving your Nonverbal Skills
Learn to adapt to others’ styles Interpreting skills
Be sensitive to nonverbals Decipher the meaning of nonverbals
Expressing skills Learn from others Practice being expressive