Download Lecture 3

Nonverbal
Communication
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The language of the Body
What is its purpose??
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We define gestures with an extreme alertness
and, one might say, in accordance with an
elaborate and secret code that is written
nowhere, known by none, and understood by all.
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Sapir (1927)
Canadian League of Underwriters
claim that the following three
components and their percentages
go into making a sale:
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Nonverbal Communication -- 35%
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Paralinguistics -- 55%
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Verbal (the message) -- 10%
Elements of Nonverbal
Communication
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1. BODILY CONTACT
a) grooming
b) hitting
c) kissing
d) touching
e) holding
f) etc.
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1) All of these indicate a heightened or intensified
friendly or aggressive relationship.
E.g., grooming in baboons, native South
American tribes, encounter groups
2) Considerable Cross-cultural Variation
a) Copper Eskimo vs. Canadian
b) Handshake origin?
Romans? Or Chimpanzees?
c) Italian and Jewish Grandmothers and pinching
until it hurts.
d) touching in San Juan versus London
e) missionary position
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2. PROXIMITY
The distance between two or more people.
a) Mehrabian Coat Rack
b) Hall (The Silent Language)- Diplomat party in
Brazil
c) Behaviour on an Elevator
Watch out for those bubbles!
d) Sommer’s study of the Ghost Story
e) intimacy
f) territoriality
1) Research by Edney
aa) lab study: see overhead
bb) field study: homes with or without fences and
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(territoriality continued)
2) Research by Taylor, Altman, & Sorrentino (1969)
of sailors isolated from the outside for 6 weeks vs. 6
months
3) Other examples: library, class, distinguished
professor.
3. ORIENTATION
The angle in which people face each other
a) Hall again
b)Pilot and experimental study by Sorrentino (1973)
(see overheads)
c) Merhabian again
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(orientation continued)
d) Paris Peace Talks, Korean War Peace talks:
critical factors? (see overheads)
4. POSTURE
-Not exactly how you sit up. e.g., How can you
identify the dominant monkey of the group? (see
overhead)
-Posture is also known as display behaviour
a) dominance: legs open, arms free, body relaxed
b) fear or submission, legs closed, arms folded,
body tense
c) affiliation: also body free and relaxed
d) research seminar: the lowly undergraduate
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(Posture continued)
d. cross-cultural differences--just like touching, e.g.,
North American and English men crossing their legs.
e. behaviour at crosswalks (study by Argyle)
--try it here!
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5. PHYSICAL APPEARANCE
--dress, hair , et cetera
a) physical attractiveness is important, e.g., jury
studies, studies on stigma, and Argyle says it is the
single best predictor of whether two people would
like to see each other again.
b) Research: Women find men with beards and
mustaches more attractive than clean shaven men
and no one trusts a man with a mustache.
6. FACIAL EXPRESSIONS -- not much known, too
complex (e.g., study by Kendon: 5 positions of the
eyebrow, dozens of mouth positions.
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7. GESTURES -hand, feet, head. Same problem
except for a few rare examples. E.g. Italians ,
leakage
8. The Eye: Window to the Soul or The Evil Eye?
Part 1: The Eye itself
a) Ethologists and Fixed Action Patterns
Do you know a character with big pupils and big
head?
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b) Jade Dealers
c) “Bedroom Eyes”--study by Hess & Polt (see
overhead)
d) parental love
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Part 2 : Eye Contact
a) “The Eyes have it.” (Argyle) Most important
element of nonverbal communication.
b) interacts with other gestures
c) gender differences
1) same sex
2) mixed sex
Why?
Argyle: channel control
d) eye contact and proximity (class demo of Argyle
and Dean experiment)
e. The Stare: Affiliation or Dominance?
1) Affiliation:
aa) Intimacy--close friends, lovers
bb) females
cc)”look me in the eye”
dd) your prof as salesperson
ee) your prof as hitchiker
2) Dominance
aa) Symbol of aggression or hostile intent in other
animals, especially nonhuman primates who are
experts
11) Go down to the Zoo and imitate your prof.
22) See cartoon
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33) Research by Exline with Chimps
44) Humans and Civil Inattention (Goffman)
e.g., staring contests, elevator, Old Leonard, and
study by Elllsworth, Carlsmith, & Henson (see
overhead.
9. PARLINGUISTICS
 a)
timing
 b) emotional tone
 c) speech errors
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10. SMELL
--pheremones
chemical agents which transmit information
A. Research by Stuart (see overhead)
B. Territoriality
1. rabbits
2. dogs
3. gerbils
4. humans
C. Aggression
1. gerbils
2. rats
3. humans
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D. SEX
1. rats
2. chimpanzees
3. starfish
4. humans
5. musk
6. sex and synchronization
a. rats
b. humans
1) nurses, female prisoners, and others isolated
2) Michigan study (McClintock, 1971)
3) Essence of Genivieve
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4) Prell and Doty
5) Porkmate
6) ads and advice columns
E. Other
1. Von Frisch’s bees
2. Rats & schizophrenia
3. smells of Eastern and Western people
4. colognes, perfumes, & deodorants
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11. Colour ??
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CONCLUSIONS:
So what is the purpose of Nonverbal
Communication?
Argyle: Whereas verbal communication deals with
*** ******, nonverbal communication deals **** ***
******* ******* *** ***********.
Very much like our non-human brethren who
communicate very well with regard to liking,
friendship, and dominance.
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Thankyou and Have a Good Day!