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Nonverbal Cues in Communication and their Interpretation
Nonverbal Cues in Communication and their Interpretation
Literature Review
Daniel Weber
University of Kentucky
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Nonverbal Cues in Communication and their Interpretation
Abstract
Throughout this paper I will discuss nonverbal cues and body language while examining its
importance in the role of communication. For this paper I read research articles from a number of
different authors who conducted several experiments relating to body language and the lasting
impression it leaves. The main points of this paper analyze nonverbal cues such as tone and gesture
when communicating with others as well as how they carry themselves and the messages that others
can pick up on from their display. I conclude this paper asserting that nonverbal communication serves
a high importance in relation to communication.
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“Nonverbal communication plays an important role in how we make sense of one another’s
behavior”- (Adler and Proctor, 2011, p. 188) Nonverbal communication is responsible for over 90% of
communication and some scientists have argued that the majority of emotional impact is derived from
verbal cues. Our body language and the way we portray ourselves through our posture has a lasting
impression on the people around us. People will make inferences about others based on their posture
when they stand, how they walk, and even the tone of their voice. When a person’s nonverbal cues
contradict their spoken words, people will almost always rely on the nonverbal cues as being more
truthful. Although people will rely on body language and nonverbal cues more so than actual spoken
words, these cues can often be misinterpreted. What are the effects of nonverbal communication
expressed through body language and how do these effects portray what others think?
Numerous studies have shown that both facial and bodily cues are reliable markers of gender,
health, and fertility. Humans display a highly effective preference when examining someone they find
sexually attractive. “Human behavior is markedly influenced by communicative signals conveyed by our
conspecifics.” (Nummenmaa, 2011) An experiment to study eye movement was conducted where both
males and females were required to look at members of same and opposite sexes fully clothed as well as
in the nude. More often than not, male and female participants eyes tended to stay focused around the
models chests regardless of sex and whether they were wearing clothes or not.
When people examine others they look for characteristics that they categorize as positive and
would look for in a potential mate. When people are able to pinpoint certain characteristics that they
find attractive a physiological arousal is triggered. People examine facial features such as symmetry,
hairline, and cheek structure. Chest and waist to hip ratio are then examined due to being indications of
fitness. In the experiment people reported having a higher stimuli reaction when viewing models that
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were in the nude. “This confirms that with both genders, nudity is an important attentional cue, which
leads to a more detailed inspection of the human body.”- (Nummenmaa, 2011)
Men and woman will often misinterpret nonverbal cues and can sometimes even believe them
to be more than they truly are. People will often try to de-code sexual intent which is especially hard in
the beginning stages of interaction. One study conducted at a university found that 67% of women had
claimed to have experienced an occurrence where a male had misinterpreted the women’s friendliness
as a sign of expressing sexual attraction and interest. Generally when people misperceive sexual intent
it will usually result in social awkwardness and slight discomfort. This normally happens between people
who are not very familiar with each other and will be considered a miscommunication that will
eventually be forgotten. When people that misread cues of ones they are familiar the relationship can
become uncomfortable and strained. Men and women have a relatively similar understanding of cues
such friendliness, warmth, and likability. According the decisional threshold theory men are said to have
a more lenient threshold which often causes them understand those cues to express sexual intent.
Another theory claims that men misinterpret these cues because they are more desensitized to them
making it more challenging to distinguish platonic from sexual interest.
In another study both male and female students were asked to view pictures of women posing
in multiple stances while wearing different assortments of clothes. The women being photographed
were asked to wear clothes from their personal wardrobe to allow the pictures to as closely resemble
outfits that participants would see on an average basis. After viewing these photographs they were
asked to label the women as sad, friendly, sexually interested, or rejecting based on a scale from one to
seven. The findings of this study showed that men had a higher tendency to wrongly categorize the
photographs than women. Even though specific interest cannot truly be pinpointed men are found to
more likely misinterpret nonverbal cues than women. “Just as in previous research, they made some
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mistakes in perceiving sexual intent in friendly displays, but they also misperceived interest in sexual
intent displays.”- (Farris, 2008) The studies conducted found that while men and women will both
misinterpret nonverbal cues, men have a higher likelihood of misunderstanding those nonverbal cues to
be an indication of sexual interest. When women express interest in a man, the man will be more likely
to believe that the interest is sexual before he believes it to be platonic. Men have been thought to
have trouble distinguishing between platonic and sexual intent. Some say it is because they are more
lenient and open to sexual advancement and others claim that men believe certain cues to have a
different meaning from women. “The present evaluation of gender differences in perception of sexual
intent replicated the long-standing finding that men are more likely than women to misperceive sexual
intent in women’s displays of friendliness and show that gender differences in perceptual sensitivity
accounted for this result.”- (Farris, 2008)
Body language displays important clues about people’s emotions, feelings, and thoughts. It
helps us to understand their behavior and assign meaning and interpretation to their appearance.
Examining nonverbal cues of ourselves is just as or even more important than that of others. People
make inferences about others based off of body language including posture, the mood their face
displays, how they carry themselves and other specifics such as tone or eye contact. One such study
suggests that 55% percent of messages effects come from body language. According to the findings of
this study it is believed that it is not what is being said when conveying a message but how it is said.
When people meet for the first time they will immediately develop an impression of the other person.
They will examine their physical characteristics along with the clothes they are wearing, and even if they
have an accent or not. When people meet others for the first time they immediately examine the other
person and assign meaning to the characteristics they have picked up on. People will always judge
someone based on their outward appearance, the body language they display, and the nonverbal cues
that they display. Assigning meaning to the characteristics that people pick up on in an inherent part of
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human nature therefore being uncontrollable. One study conducted consisted of teachers answering
open ended questions regarding body language and its importance within education. 100% of teachers
agree that body language is an important aspect of education and that it has a direct effect on students.
Positive body language can display a teacher’s enthusiasm grasping student’s attention allowing them to
pay closer attention. “If teacher uses body language in correct and effective ways this will not only
increase student’s interest in teaching material, but also help them comprehend language correctly and
effectively.”-(Benzer, 2012) When students view how interested a teacher is in the subject matter, it
helps to allow them to become more interested as well. Teachers clothing choice is also important
when trying to display positive body language. Professional dress attire shows students that teachers
respect the opinions of their students and want to look presentable for them. “Body language not only
supports verbal language but also host many features not available in verbal language.”-( Benzer,2012)
Gestures and nonverbal cues tend to leave a lasting impression on people by adding emphasis
to the points they are making. When people observe visual cues of one speaking they tend to make
assumptions of what they have observed. They will interpret the assumptions they have made thus
drawing conclusions about the speaker and his message. There has been much research concluding that
gestures and facial expressions contribute to the impression one has on an audience. Studies on source
credibility and/or persuasion respectively have shown that the way in which communication affects an
audience also depend on the composition of audio and visual stimuli.”- (Jackob, 2011) One study to
examine the importance of tone, content, and gestures displayed by a speaker. Participants were
required to listen to three different versions of the same speech, some omitting the tone in the
speaker’s voice or the gestures he previously displayed. People who viewed the speech excluding the
tone of the speaker or the display of hand gestures reported to not feel as strongly about the subject
that the speaker was addressing. Nonverbal cues can leave lasting impressions in people’s heads that
cannot always be achieved through word alone.
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Nonverbal communication is responsible for the majority of communication that takes place on
any given day. People are constantly studying others around them. While listening to what others are
saying, people are constantly picking up nonverbal cues simply by observing. Nonverbal communication
will automatically be associated when meeting others for the first time. People should constantly be
aware of their body language and the messages they are displaying because others are always paying
attention. Posture is an important aspect of body language that displays that people draw off of
immediately. When people observe that one has good posture they will interpret that to show that
person has a well-developed self-concept. Nonverbal cues and body language affect everyone
throughout their lives even when they do not realize it. People will make assumptions before they are
even able to speak. It is important to be conscious of body language and try to not display the wrong
message leading one to misinterpret our actions from our words.
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References
Adler, R.B., & Proctor, R.F. (2011). Looking Out/ Looking In, Thirteenth Edition. Boston: Wadsworth,
Cengage Learning
Benzer, A. (2012). Teachers Opinions About The Use of Body Language . Education, 132(3), 467-473.
Retrieved March 12, 2014, from the Academic Search Complete database.
Farris, C., Treat, T., Viken, R., & McFall, R. (2009). Perceptual Mechanisms That Characterize Gender
Differences in Decoding Womens Sexual Intent. Psychological Science, 19(4), 348-354.
Retrieved March 9, 2014, from the Business Source Complete database.
Jackob, N., Roessing, T., & Peterson, T. (2011). The Effects of Verbal and Nonverbal Elements in
Persuasive Communication: Findings from Two Multi-method Experiments. European Journal of
Communication Research, 36(2), 245-271.
Nummenmaa, L., Hietanen, J. K., Santtila, P., & Hyona, J. (2012). Gender and Visibility of Sexual Cues
Influence Eye Movements While Viewing Faces and Bodies. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 41(6),
1439-1451. Retrieved March 11, 2014, from http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10508-012-9911-0