Three aspects of nonverbal communication that you make use of during your day-to-day interactions

with others:

1) The sending (encoding) of nonverbal messages (deliberately – one or more nonverbal cue
channels; inadvertently – static nonverbal cues)
2) Receiving (decoding) them
3) The complex interplay between the first two

COMMUNICATION

-communication is a social activity requiring the coordinated efforts of two or more individuals

-interactive process whereby people seek to induce some form of change in attitude, belief or behaviour

-reciprocal process of speaking with one another that is: language based, embodies, interpersonal,
formally defined, dependent on the situation for meaning

-aspect of the communication process that deals with the transmission and reception of messages that
are not a past of the natural language systems

-aspects of NVC: visual (sight), tactile (touch), auditory (hearing), olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste)

-NVC includes norms and expectations, usually imposed by society, for the expression of experiences,
feelings and attitudes

NV behaviour vs. communication

-communication – only when a receiver has interpreted a message as having some meaning (decoded
the transmission of symbols – messages)

-encoded with varying degrees of control and awareness

-high level vs low level

PROCESSING OF NV INFORMATION

-LEFT HEMISPHERE – VERBAL PHENOMENA

-RIGHT HEMISPHERE – NONVERBAL PHENOMENA

-two hemispheres of the brain process different types of information, but each hemisphere does not
process each type exclusively

-55% emotional meaning of the message – facial expression (NVC)

-38% vocal (voice and pronunciation)

-7% expressed verbally (content)

-the basic triple structure of speech: language-paralanguage-kinesics

-language – verbal (lexical code)

-paralanguage – meta-communication: prosody, pitch, volume, intonation etc.

-kinesics – gesture and other visual systems

-body language ‘non-verbal’ communiations

Classifying non verbal communication

1. THE COMMUNICATION ENVIRONMENT

A) PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
-the furniture, architectural style, interior decorating, lightning conditions, colors,
temperature, additional noises or music
-traces of action – objects that are left somewhere and you make observation based on
those things (messy room)
-perceptions of time and timing
B) SPATIAL ENVIRONMENT – PROXEMICS
--the study of the use and perception of social and personal space
-small group ecology
-territoriality
2. THE COMMUNNICATORS’S PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS
-person physique or body shape, general attractiveness, height, weight, hair, overall skin color or
tone and so forth
-body or breath odors
-artifacts – objects associated with
3. BODY MOVEMENT AND POSITION
-GESTURES  INDEPENDENT AND DEPENDENT
-POSTURE
TOUCHING BEHAVIOUR – SELF FOCUSED OR OTHER FOCUSE
-FACIAL EXPRESSIONS
-EYE BEHAVIOUR
-VOCAL BEHAVIOUR

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

-FUNCTIONS:
-replace/substitute
-support
 -duplicate/repeat
-weaken & accept
-contradict/conflict
-mask

Approaches to NV communication

 Theoretical approaches:

a) nurture approach – NVC is learned

b) nature approach – hereditary & innate
c) functional approach – how we use NV channels to accomplish the function of our
communication encounters
d) structural approach – each variable singled out, looked at separately

 Disciplinary approaches: performance/elocutionary art + nurture view)

Biological science approach: ethologists (compare human behaviour with that of other animals)

HISTORY OF NONVERBAL STUDIES

-Darwin: The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872)- assumed that NV behavior is part
of the genetic structure of human beings as well as of other animals – nature approach, ethological
heritage

-FIRST HALF OF 20TH CENTURY – isolated studies of the voice, physical appearance and dress and the face

-1925 E. Kretschmer: Physique and Character

-study of NVC – earliest reported article under the heading ‘Nonverbal communication’ 1938

-1940 W.H. Sheldon : The Varieties of Human Physique – connecting human physique and character

-SECOND HALF OF THE 20TH CENTURY

-1959 E. Goffman : The Presentation of Self in Everyday Life – people are meaning-making creatures who
develop and alter their sense of themselves and the world through their engagements with others

-specific attention to the interactive functions that nonverbal cues may serve in our ongoing
interactions; interaction management- center on what occurs between people, rather than only
individually

• 1959 Edward T. Hall The Silent Language , variance in nonverbal displays based in culture; idea
of context as imperative for interpreting nonverbal cues

• high-context cultures – (particularly nonverbal- less of their social meaning is encoded in what
they say to one another ) knowing cultural rules and meanings is imperative;
 – cues are available in the larger context, such as each interactant’s status, become a
primary way of understanding behavior and determining what social actions are
appropriate

– become a primary way of understanding behavior and determining what social actions
are appropriate

• Paul Ekman (1965) – Communication through nonverbal behavior: A source of information about
interpersonal relationship

– foundational model of NVC;

– 6 ways in which NV cues interact with spoken words (repeat, conflict, complement,
substitute, accent/moderate, regulate)

– 70s and 80s – peak of NV research

– Interested in how subcodes( variables) of nv communication affect different situations,

types of people, contexts, and the like

• Edward T. Hall (1977) on proxemics, or the use of space as communication relied on extensive
observation to propose that the way we use our personal space and our territories—and how
we come to interpret the meanings for these space uses—is part and parcel of the culture in
which they occur

• Paul Ekman and Wallace V. Friesen (1978) created the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), an
elaborate research tool for the measurement of facial movement

• Burgoon and Hale (1984) relational messages: the ability to be able to define, reflect, and
sometimes change relationships via nonverbal means is one of the most powerful social
capacities nonverbal cues carry

• 90s – contextually bound; multiculturalism, use of noverbal immediacy characteristics,

deception detection, gender differences, gay/lesbian issues in NV comm

• John M. Gottman et al. (1996) built upon the Facial Action Coding System with their Specific
Action Coding System

• 21st century - psychological heritage -investigation of the individual (or the group) and the
ways in which nonverbal cues reflect the person and his or her skills, dispositions, and
motivations

• Today, nonverbal communication skill is believed essential to emotional intelligence and, for
better or worse, to charismatic leadership

• Eg. research on autism, depressions – influence on people’s use of NV skills; power structures;
sex differences; leadership

RHETORICAL HERITAGE
 • Roman orators and teachers- first refined, clarified, categorized and expanded on nonverbal
behaviors to make oration a more persuasive and ethical practice

• made claims about what “good” (i.e., proper, appropriate, persuasive) nonverbal cues used
during public speech should look or sound like

• nv cues are tied exclusively with language

• Confucius, Aristotle, mid-1700 elocutionists, Paul Eckman- decribed nv cues as they funtion to
what is said (repeat,conflict, complement, substitute, accent)

• Visual rhetoric (20th century)- interpretation and critique of images

• Material rhetoric- signification of material things, such as the use of space, structure, and
environment as consequential modes of communication

• Body rhetoric- stigmas (Goffman), Kenneth Burke

• Recognition of nonverbal means of communicating as part of a larger set of actions/larger

communication system

LINGUISTIC HERITAGE

• assumption that certain communication systems are “language-like” and can be described by
their units, their combined units, and the ways that they can be structured together with a
particular syntax

• R. Birdwhistell (1970)- Kinesics and Context: Essays on Body Motion Communication -kinesics
(movements);

• conceptualizing nonverbal cues as structured and identifiable communication system is the

creation of labels that mirror linguistics (haptics- touch cues; chronemics- communicative
features of time, kinesics- movements)

• meaning is created and understood within its context

• Edward T. Hall (1977) The Hidden Dimension– on proxemics-the use of space as communication

• emphasized the impact of proxemic behavior (the use of space) on interpersonal

communication 

SOCIOLOGICAL HERITAGE

• Schleflen (1974)- argued that, ironically, the introduction of kinesics as a language of the body
was distorted elsewhere into the “study” of body language, with the assumption that one’s
behaviors are a direct reflection of that person and/or his state of mind

• Focused on social order and meaning

• Robinson (2006,doctor-patient interactions; gaze)

• Goffman (1963)- Stigma- how ‘problematic ‘bodies alter the social system
 • the ability to be able to define, reflect, and sometimes change relationships via nonverbal
means is one of the most powerful social capacities nonverbal cues carry

CULTURAL HERITAGE

• This heritage focuses on the larger social and cultural systems in which nonverbal cues are
embedded

• assumption that communicative cues both reflect and affect culture. That is, nonverbal cues
become meaningful within their larger cultural context, which typically is the communicative or
speech community that uses—and makes meaning for—those cues

• studying nonverbal cues in their cultural contexts speaks to that culture and what it believes and
finds important

• E. T. Hall (high-context cultures)

• those in which harmony and the well-being of the group is preferred over individual
achievement

• exhibit less-direct verbal and nonverbal communication, utilizing small communication gestures
and reading more meaning into these less-direct messages

• encourages us to think about nonverbal behaviors as learned and as understood largely within
the communicative community in which it is based

• Individualistic vs. B)Collectivist cultures

• A) members depend mainly on themselves and are judged on personal merits (The USA,
Australia, Western European Countries)

• B) members integrated into an in-group that protects them throughout their lives (Latin
America, Asian countries)

• Nonexpressive vs. Expressive cultures

• Expect people to guard their emotions and ideas, value privacy (Japanese, Chinese, Finnish)

• Encourage members to give their opinions, speak their minds, let their feelings show
(Americans, Koreans, French, Italians)

ETHOLOGICAL HERITAGE

• relies on the study of animals, at least to some degree and usually within context, to understand
human behavior

• contemporary research focus on the biological origins of nonverbal cues

• assume that certain nonverbal cues will occur universally, as they are based in who we are as
human

• universal expression of emotions- sensory deprived children- still display universally recognized
emotions
 • Charles Darwin (1872), Ekman, Matsumoto, Burgoon, Guerrero etc.

PSYCHOLOGICAL HERITAGE

• the ways in which nonverbal cues are tied to cognitive structures and processes, with a
particular interest in the degree to which nonverbal cues are processed automatically or with
greater awareness and control

• Subtle persuasive ability of nv cues –(convincing people to do sth that they may otherwise not
have done)

• Sex differences & similarities

• Depression and influence of people’s use of nv skills

• investigation of the individual (or the group) and the ways in which nonverbal cues reflect the
person and his or her skills, dispositions, and motivations

HAPTICS – TOUCH

-the study of touch (also known as tactics)

-‘zero proxemics’

-the most basic and primitive form of communication

-touch occurs when portions of someone’s body touches portion of someone else’s body

-a form of communication we react most strongly when it is violated

ANIMAL STUDIES

-animal studies proved that animals, just like humans, need touch to develop properly

-there are similarities between studies of animals and human studies regarding healthy development
 Harlow and Zimmeran (1958) – studied the physical contact between monkey mother and
her infant

-in experiment, baby monkey was offered fake puppet mothers, one would offer food and one would
offer warmth – infants spent time with the cloth mother for tactile affection rather than with the wire
mother even when ‘she’ provided food

-similarity between human mothers and animal mothers: human mother hold babies at birth,
acclimating them to room temperature, animal mothers engage in licking and gentling at birth as bond
forming interaction

TACTILE DEVELOPMENT

-infants gain knowledge through tactile explorations

-touch was seen as increasingly inappropriate as children grew from toddlers to young teenagers
-physical violence in adults may also be related to deprivation of touch during infancy

TYPES OF TOUCH

-different frequencies and different types of touch

-Heslin (1974) – Classification of touch in five categories

1. Functional/Professional level: nurse, hairstylist

2. Social/Polite level: handshake, hug

3. Friendship/Warmth level – the strongest appreciation of others putting hands on someone’s

shoulders of forearms

4. Love/Intimacy level – longer caressing, holding someone’s hand, touching hair or face

5. Sexual Arousal

FACTORS INFLUENCING TOUCH

1) gender and relationship to others affect the amount of touch you both give and expect to
receive
2) other things that influence touch: the extent to which you like the other person, the type of
touch, culture, and the attractiveness of the other person

IMMEDIACY =the appearance of being approachable

‘responsiveness’ to students in the classroom

Mehrabian (1981)  related the concept of liking to his concept of immediacy

-‘people are drawn toward persons and things they like, evaluate highly, and prefer’

-immediacy in classroom; teachers must use some sort of nonverbal communication as surrogate for
touch

-immediate messages – smiling, forward leans, head nods, open body communication

-non-immediate messages – lack of eye contact. Backward lean, closed arms, unpleasant facial
expressions

COMFORT TOUCH

-Stolte and Frideman (1980) – the type of touch expectant mothers received during labor

-touch was thought to be positive, the most positive touch = husbands and family members

-touch as ‘comforting behaviour’

-females use hugs and others forms of touch to comfort, males use patting more often

GENDER ISSUES AND TOUCH

-women and men perceive touch differently:

  women discriminate where their bodies are touched while men ted to discriminate how they are
touched

 women tend to initiate more touch activities, such as hugging in order to show affiliation (support,
affection and comfort)

 despite women initiating more touch activities, they aren’t the ones who initiate the first contact.
Women usually wait until the male initiates touch for the first time. Once that barrier is broken, women
usually touch more than men.

 the results of the ‘Victorians morals’: women often mention they do not like having men touch their
backs when they are passing through the doors – for men – way of showing politeness

Men tend to use touch to assert control (direct others, interrupt, express sexual interest)

-misunderstandings between the genders: men tend to over infer women’s sexual desire for them when
women are simply touching casually

SAME-SEX TOUCH

-cultural differences

-the reaction to the touch depends on how the person being touched feels about the person who is
touching them

Heterosexist’s view:

-men fear same-sex touches more than women do. This is because men were more homophobic than
women

-the touch relationship between father and son depends on the son. In this situation, son seems to be
the initiator on nonverbal affection. The father simply adapts to the need of the child.

-the amount of touch and the reaction to it depends on one’s feelings towards the person, the type of
touch, the context of that touch and the attractiveness of the other person

FREQUENCY OF CONTACT

-Chinese-educated Chinese seem to have the lowest body contact and see touch as something that is
personal and should be kept secret

-Southern Europeans tend to engage more in touch than northern Europeans: thus, the highest
incidence of touch occurred in Greece, Spain, Italy and Hungary, while lowest incidence of touch
occurred in the Netherlands, Austria, England, Belgium and Germany

VIOLATIONS OF HAPTIC EXPECTATIONS

-we evaluate the touch by its location (on the body), duration and its intensity (location: cheeks,
duration: long, intensity: soft=positive touch)

-accidental touch: when somebody touches someone accidentally, it leads to more positive evaluation
of the toucher
-likeliness of touch: persuader is more likely to touch the persuade, because they are trying to convince
them into thinking something: deep conversations can lead to touch; social settings can cause touch;
when a person is excited or enthusiastic they are more likely to touch someone

SUBSTITUTES FOR ‘REAL TOUCH’

-when we are young we naturally inspect something in the following order of the senses: touch, vision,
hearing

-adults it changes into vision, hearing and then touch – because we are taught not to touch, but first to
think before doing something

-because of this, adults buy ‘touch for hir’ – adults pay professionals to do things for them that includes
touch, e.g. hairdresser, getting a massage…

FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO TOUCH

-touch serves as:

-a way of identification and self-preservation; those people who are ‘touchy-feely’ tend to be looked at
as if being so touchy is their trait. Such people typically stand close to others, make more eye contact
etc.

-touching shows the relationship that the two interactants have

-touch is used to show instructional information – e.g. parents can sometimes lightly slap a child’s hand
in order to suggest that they shouldn’t ouch something

-display of liking. This is because we tend to be more touchy with people whom we like more than with
those who we have neutral opinion of

PROXEMICS (PERSONAL SPACE)

-definitions:

 interrelated observations and theories of man’s use of space as a specialized elaborations of culture

study of personal space and the amount of space people prefer to have when engaging in
conversation with others

-this explains how we use the space around us to communicate our personal comfort or perceived
relationship to the world around us

PROXEMICS ZONES

1. intimate space – zero to 18 inches in US – space reserved for people with whom we are very
close
2. personal space – 18 inches to about 4 feet – we allow our friend and people whom we like into
this range
3. social space (business zone)– 4 to 10 feet – reserved for our business associates and people with
whom we feel little or no interpersonal relationship
4. public space – 10 to about 25 feet
POSTURAL-SEX IDENTIFIERS

-in postural-sex identifiers – sex refers to biological sex (male/female) of two people involved in
interaction and postural refers to whether the interactants are prone, seated or standing

-other factors of proxemics can be:

 the amount of touch (ranging from none to mutual caressing)

 kinesthetic features (parts of the bodies touching)
 the visual code (amount and kind of visual interaction, or what can be seen)
 the thermal code (the amount of heat detected by the people in the interaction, as given
off by the body)
 the olfactory code (identifies the detection of body odor and breath)
 voice-loudness (volume of the oral aspect of verbal language)
PERSONAL SPACE – invisible, flexible bubble that surrounds us or body buffer zone. It expands or
contracts depending on other variables, such as situation, gender, personality and the relationship of
the interactants

Personal spacing is based on the intimacy of the topic of conversation; as it becomes more intimate, we
reduce the space between us

-factors that influence personal spacing: age differences, sex differences, level of attractiveness, cultural
differences, racial differences

Territory purposes

1. our use of space is variable; using space differently at different times

2. the association between territory and aggression is not clear-cut; we do not always increase
aggression as density increases
3. territory aids in providing food, shelter, recreation, and so on
4. people maintain several territories (at work, home)

three factors in the perception of crowding:

-surveillance, behavioral constraint and stimuli overload

Territorial defense – protecting your comfort zone and your territory on different occasions

Six ways of perceiving the environment – formality, warmth, familiarity, constraint, distance

Status

Higher status people expect and receive more interpersonal distance than lower status people. It is
more likely that you will have your space invaded by bosses or professors than that you will invade their
personal space

Personality

- extroverts use less space than introverts

- violent people need more space than nonviolent people
schizophrenics - use and expect others to use space differently, they use more space in virtual social
environments

anxious, neurotic individuals - prefer more space and perceive less space to exist between them and
others

aberrant or deviant personalities (violate social rules and norms) – affect distancing patterns

Liking

- physical attraction - we approach those who we see physically attractive more closely than those
we perceive as less attractive, to demonstrate liking we establish closer physical distances
(Norum, Gergen, Peele, and van Ryneveld, 1977, as cited in Moore et al., 2010)
- degree of acquaintance – we expect closer distances from someone we are acquainted with
than a stranger (D. J. A. Edwards, 1972, as cited in Moore et al., 2010)
- stigmas – we maintain more space between people with stigmas and ourselves (Goffman, 1963,
as cited in Moore et al., 2010)

Seating preferences

- classroom

Students prefer U-shaped classrooms because it directs attention away from immediate neighbours
(Heston and Garner, 1972, as cited in Moore et al., 2010).

- seating arrangements

Studies have shown that people prefer corner or adjacent for cooperative task situations, opposite in
competitive situations, co-acting people (e.g. completing jigsaw puzzle together) prefer greater distance,
side-by-side seating arrangement in bars while having intimate or social conversation, and when dining
preference is larger distances, opposite-seating arrangements, participants tend to divide table into half
for each.

A study about seating preferences in certain situations/ moods.

It showed that participants (80%) tend to sit at end chairs to show leadership and dominance so that
they can control eye contact. To show nonparticipation they (64%) chose corner seats farthest from the
head. To show attraction they chose chairs in the middle, and to show dislike (cold, unfriendly) they
chose farthest seating possible.

Violations of personal space

When someone violates our personal space, we tend to:

1. avoid conversation
2. avoid eye contact
3. place objects between ourselves and the other person
4. focus our attention, body orientation, and eye contact elsewhere

Other violations
Goffman, 1971 (as cited in Moore et al., 2010)

1. spatial invasion: violations of body space

2. inappropriately touching the skin or clothing of another
3. visual violation: glancing, staring, winking (wink brings people together if they perceive the
other person positively)
4. violation of acoustic space (loud music, honking, loud neighbours…)
5. body excreta (food particles, blood, vomit, odors – bad breath, body odor, body heat, plate
leavings on the table)

PHYSICAL APPEARANCE

1) PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
- First non-verbal factor we notice when meeting people
- DIMENSIONS of forming impressions: body shape, body image, physical attractiveness,
clothing, cosmetics, hair, accessories
2) PHYSICAL ATTRACTIVENESS
High level of agreement as to what constitutes PAT
- Attractiveness is a PERCIEVED FACTOR – perception of someone, doesn’t exist on its own
- HOMOPHILY – has major impact on how other people perceive us as similar to themselves
(affects evaluations of credibility, ability to work with others…)
3) SOCIAL INTERACTION
-We DO make judgements about people based on their attractiveness to us

- Interpersonal attractiveness determined by race, age and sex

- PAT increases likeability, but not status

- Lonely men=less attractive; women=no difference lonely or not

- Extroverted = physically attractive

-Impact PAT has on social interaction in general

- Students journaling daily activities  5 conclusions:
1. PAT strongly related to quantity of social interaction for males; not females
2. Both (particularly in cross-sex interaction) satisfaction increased over time when others were
PAT
3. Moderately attractive females enjoy socialization most
4. Attractive males – more mutually initiated interaction with females
5. Attractive males – more time conversing, less in activity
Attractive females – less time in task interactions, more on dates or parties

Sex Appeal
o A result of an individual's experiences, attitudes, and preferences
o Judgement of other's sex appeal (Knapp 1978, as cited in Moore et al., 2010):
a) whether the person is known or a stranger
b) if chances of sucess in a potential sexual encounter are high or low
early love experiences
The Body
o Bodies are to be looked at
o Body type = a prominent natural feature
o The formation of impressions
o Are the stereotypes concerning body shape true?

Body shape
o Bodies can be classified according to their degree of muscularity, height, and weight
o The three main body parts (Cortes and Gatti 1965, as cited in Moore et al., 2010):
a) the endomorph  soft, plump, short, and round
b) the mesomorph  athletic, trim, muscular, and average in height
c) the ectomorph  the tall, thin, frail body type
d) The media play an important role on how we perceive our bodies

Height and personality

e) Height = one of the most important factors influencing how people perceive us
f) Biernat (1993)  wanted to question children's beliefs about gender differences
in height
g) The study supported the original hypothesis – men are generally taller than
women
h) Egolf and Corder (1991)  similar conclusion, managers were perceived to be
taller than nonmanagers
i) This stereotype seems to be normal for most people
BODY IMAGE – concept that deals with the body as a psychological experience
Negative body image – body distortion – people with negative body image
Effects of plastic surgery: need for plastic surgery: need to please others, paranoid
ideations, personal or social ambitions that seem obstructed because of personal
appearance
Stigmas – one possessing an attribute that makes him different from others  psychiatric
patients, ex-convicts, divorced women, obese individuals, wheelchair victims, AIDS victims,
blind people..
PURPOSES OF TERRITORY
Crowding and perception of territory:
Crowded – perceived restrictions on your use of space due to the presence of too many
people/objects
Density – the number of people present in a given area
Richmond and McCroskey (2000) - 3 factors in the perception of crowding: surveillance,
behavioral constraint, and stimuli overload
Environment:
Tells us how we should communicate and behave
Knapp (1978) - environment is perceived in 6 ways: formality, warmth, privacy, familiarity,
constraint, and distance
e.g., an office (formal, cool temperature, private, familiar, fairly easy to leave, puts us in a power
position by distancing us from others)
Room color and aesthetic appreciation:
Red – exciting and stimulating
Blue – secure-comfortable, tender-soothing
Yellow – cheerful, youthful
Environmental structuring:
Korda (1975) and Cooper (1979) - how to structure environment to increase your perceived
power: spacious room, emblems of power, size of desk, comfort of chairs, access to windows
Freeman, Roach, and Gladney (1980) - examined the environmental structuring in a
supermarket: the most expensive items were placed at eye level, vegetables are watered several
times, randomly placing Coca-Cola in the line of vision throughout the store helps sell more soda
Clothing stores: the most expensive items are placed in the front of the store