Course notes CMN 2132:Module 2 - Lecture1

Kinesics is the nonverbal code that uses all body

language(movement and motion base behaviours)

How do we communicate with our faces?

Eyes are very important in facial communication.One of the thing we
do with our eyes is gaze behaviour.
Gaze behaviour
We notice when someone looks at us when we’re walking(We notice
when someone stares at us).Gaze behaviour is a signal that helps us
know when to pay attention in a conversation.
We use our face to display aspects(internal emotion).The display is
somewhat universal for instance we recognise:
● Happiness with Smile and cheek raised
● Sadness with eyebrows raise and drawn together with parted lips
that has depressed corners
● Fear with raised eyebrows and eyelids and stretched lips
surrounding open mouth
● Anger with low eyebrows and raised eyelids with a tight raise
upper lip and a depressed lower lip surrounding an open mouth
● Surprise with raised eyebrows and eyelids and stretched lips
surrounding an open mouth(similar to fear)
● Disgust with raised chin with wrinkled nose where the upper lip is
raised over an open mouth with a tongue sticking out.
Many reasons might explain the universal character of these
expression:
For the:
● universalist:Facial expressions are a result of our biology
● Cultural relativist: Facial expressions are a part of the culture we
were raised in.
 ● Neurocultural theory: Inherit a basic understanding of how to
display emotion through our culture and the way we’re taught to
behave.
How to display emotion in our cultures?
In American culture it is generally accepted that men should display
emotion of anger and should not display emotion of sadness or any
kind of fragility.
The use of eye contact can prove whether an emotion displayed is
true or false.
Microexpressions:
According to Ekman and Friesen when people fake an emotion they
first show their real feelings for a little time before displaying the
emotion they want to show.Micro expressions are not very reliable
when we conduct a lie detection test.
Intermodal matching
Perceiving emotional expressions is a key part of socialization(For
instance infant watch people and learn when to display certain
emotions like when to laugh or cry and us them to communicate)

Faking displays of emotion:

● Fake smiles: Partially closed eyes,crow’s feet, hidden bottom
teeth
How do we use our bodies to communicate?
● Illustrators: The ways in which we use motion with our hands to
communicate a message or to aid in the communication of a
message(Pay attention that this is still different to sign language)
● Regulators: Nonverbal messages that accompany what the
speaker is saying
● Adaptors: Forms of nonverbal communication that often occur at
a low level of personal awareness.Behaviours that are done to
meet a person=ak need or to relieve energy(bite nails for
example)
Body orientation: The kinesic behaviour that uses our entire body to
perform as we move our torso toward or away from interaction
partners