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NON-VERBAL COMMUNICATIONS
BCN 6933
LECTURE 11
DR. E. DOUGLAS LUCAS
• Different studies have shown that between 60% and 90% of
the meaning people get from verbal communications with
others actually comes from non-verbal communication or
body language and not the words themselves.
• If the meaning or intent of communications is unclear in the
spoken word, most all people will get their perceived
meaning or intent from the body language of the speaker.
• Different cultures have differing interpretation for each type
of body language
• Paul Elkman’s study in the 1960s found that certain facial
expressions were universal across all cultures. These
included facial expressions showing anger, disgust, fear, joy,
sadness and surprise.
• During communications, physique, height, weight, hair, skin
color, gender, odors and clothing send non-verbal messages.
A study in Vienna, Austria by Grammer, Renninger, Leann &
Fischer, and Bettina (2004) of the type of clothing worn by
women attending discotheques showed that there was a
correlation between their motivation for sex and levels of
sexual hormones and the sheerness of their clothing and
amount of skin being shown.
• Studies have shown that there is a correlation between the
height of a person and the respect they have as a leader
• Chronemics is the study of the study of the use of time in
nonverbal communications. The way we perceive time,
structure our time and react to time is a powerful
communication tool and sets the stage for communications
• Time perceptions include punctuality and willingness to
wait, the speed of speech and how long people are willing to
listen.
• A study by Gudykunst & Ting-Toomey in 1988 identified two
dominant time patterns:
1. Monochronic Time Schedule (M-Time) –Time is viewed as
being very important and is characterized as linear with an
emphasis on a schedules and appointments. Punctuality is a
golden virtue. Time is viewed as something to be controlled
or wasted. Things are done one at a time. M time is normally
found in North America and Northern Europe.
• Polychronic Time (P-time) – Personal involvement is more
important than schedules. The emphasis is on personal
relationships rather than keeping appointments on time. Ptime is typically found in Latin America and the Middle East.
• Kinesics is the study of body movements, facial expressions,
and gestures. It is a field of study founded by anthropologist
Ray L. Birdwhistell in the 1950s.
• Personal Space (Closeness): This category refers to the
distance which people feel comfortable approaching others or
having others approach them.
1. People from certain countries, such as parts of Latin
America the Middle East , or the Far East often feel
comfortable standing closer to each other, while persons of
Northern European descent tend to prefer a relatively greater
distance.
2. Different distances are also intuitively assigned for
situations involving intimate relations, ordinary personal
relationships (e.g., friends), social relations (e.g., co-workers
or salespeople), or in public places (e.g., in parks, restaurants,
or on the street. (Keltner, 1970).
3. Proxemics is a term introduced by anthropologist, Edward T.
Hall in 1966 to describe the distance between people in
interaction. Body spacing and posture, according to Hall, are
unintentional reactions to sensory fluctuations or shifts, such
as subtle changes in the sound and pitch of a person's voice.
4. Different distances are also intuitively assigned for
situations involving intimate relations, ordinary personal
relationships (e.g., friends), social relations (e.g., co-workers
or salespeople), or in public places (e.g., in parks,
restaurants, or on the street. (Keltner, 1970).
5. Social distance between people is reliably correlated with
physical distance, as are intimate and personal distance,
according to the following delineations for most Northern
European cultures:
5. Intimate distance for embracing, touching or whispering
• Close phase - less than 6 inches (150 mm)
• Far phase - 6 to 18 inches (150 - 450 mm)
6. Personal distance for interactions among good friends
• Close phase - 1.5 to 2.5 feet (450 - 750 mm)
• Far phase - 2.5 to 4 feet (750 - 1200 mm)
7. Social distance for interactions among acquaintances
• Close phase - 5 to 7 feet (1.5 - 2.1 m)
• Far phase - 7 to 12 feet (2.1 - 3.6 m)
8. Public distance used for public speaking
• Close phase - 12 to 25 feet (3.6 - 7.5 m)
• Far phase - 25 feet (7.5 m) or more
• Eye Contact/Eye Movement: This rich dimension speaks
volumes. The Spanish woman in the Nineteenth Century
combined eye language with the aid of a fan to say what was
not permissible to express explicitly. Eye contact modifies
the meaning of other nonverbal behaviors. For example,
people on elevators or crowds can adjust their sense of
personal space if they agree to limit eye contact. What
happens if this convention isn't followed? (Scheflen, 1972.)
This issue of eye contact is another important aspect of
nonverbal communication.
• Modern American business culture values a fair degree of eye
contact in interpersonal relations, and looking away is sensed
as avoidance or even deviousness. However, some cultures
raise children to minimize eye contact, especially with
authority figures, lest one be perceived as arrogant or
"uppity." When cultures interact, this inhibition of gaze may
be misinterpreted as "passive aggressive" or worse.
• Posture: A person's bodily stance communicates a rich variety
of messages. Consider the following postures and the
emotional effect they seem to suggest:
slouching
cringing
legs spread
general tightness
stiff
towering
pelvis tilt
kneeling
slumped twisted (wary)
crouching angled torso
shoulders forward
angle of head jaw thrust
Paralanguage/Sounds: "Non-lexical" vocal communications may
be considered a type of nonverbal communication, in its
broadest sense, as it can suggest many emotional nuances.
This category includes a number of sub-categories:
Inflection (rising, falling, flat...)
Pacing (rapid, slow, measured, changing...)
Intensity (loud, soft, breathy,... )
Tone (nasal, operatic, growling, wheedling, whining...)
Pitch (high, medium, low, changes...)
Pauses (meaningful, disorganized, shy, hesitant...)]
• Facial Expression: The face is more highly developed as an
organ of expression in humans than any other animal. Some
of these become quite habitual, almost fixed into the chronic
muscular structure of the face. For instance, in some parts of
the South, the regional pattern of holding the jaw tight
creates a slight bulge in the temples due to an overgrowth or
"hypertrophy" of those jaw muscles that arise in that area.
This creates a characteristic appearance. The squint of people
who live a lot in the sun is another example. More transient
expressions often reveal feelings that a person is not
intending to communicate or even aware of. Here are just a
few to warm you up:
Gesture/Hand Movements: There are many kinds of gestures:
clenching fist
shaking a finger
pointing
biting fingernails tugging at hair
squirming
rubbing chin
smoothing hair
folding arms
raising eyebrows pursing lips
narrowing eyes
scratching head
looking away
hands on hips
hands behind head rubbing nose
rocking
sticking out tongue tugging ear lobe
waving
These, too, have many different meanings in different
cultures, and what may be friendly in one country or region
can be an insult in another (Morris et al, 1979, Maginnis,
1958).
• Paul Elman and Wallace Friesen suggested that the five
categories of gestures were:
1. Emblems- Gestures with direct verbal translation such as a
goodbye wave.
2. Illustrators – Gestures that depict what is said verbally,
such as turning an imaginary steering wheel while talking
about driving.
3. Affect display – A gesture that conveys emotion like a
smile.
4. Regulators – Gestures that control interaction
5. Adaptor – A gesture that facilitates the release of bodily
tension, such as quickly moving the leg.
• Touch: How one person touches another communicates a
great deal of information: Is a grip gentle or firm, and does
one hold the other person on the back of the upper arm, on
the shoulder, or in the middle of the back. Is the gesture a
push or a tug? Is the touch closer to a pat, a rub, or a
grabbing? People have different areas of personal intimacy,
and this refers not only to the sexual dimension, but also the
dimension of self control. Many adolescents are particularly
sensitive to any touching that could be interpreted as
patronizing or undue familiarity. Even the angle of one's
holding another's hand might suggest a hurrying or coercive
implicit attitude, or on the other hand, a respectful, gentle,
permission-giving approach (Smith, Clance & Imes, 1998,
Jones, 1994).
• Haptics is the study of touching as nonverbal
communications
• Touches that communicate include handshakes, holding
hands, kissing, back slapping, high fives, pats on the
shoulder or back, or brushing an arm.
• Touching oneself while communicating includes licking ones
lips, picking, holding and scratching. These actions are
known as adaptors and may send messages that reveal the
intentions or feelings of a communicator.
• The linguist George L. Trager developed a classification
system for vocal communication that consists of voice set,
voice qualities and vocalization.
1. Voice set – The context in which a person is speaking
including gender, mood, age and culture.
2. Voice qualities are volume, pitch, tempo, rhythm,
articulation, resonance, nasality, and accent.
3. Vocalization – Includes characterizers, qualifiers and
segregates. Characterizers are emotions expressed while
speaking such as laughing, crying and yawning. A voice
qualifier is the style of delivering a message. An example
would be yelling “Hey stop that” as opposed to whispering
the same words. Vocal segregates such as “uh-huh tell the
speaker that the listener is actually listening.
• Locomotion: The style of physical movement in space also
communicates a great deal, as well as affecting the feelings of
the person doing the moving (Morris, 1977):
slither, crawl, totter, walk, stroll, shuffle, hurry, run, jog, spring
,tiptoe, march, jump, hop, skip , climb, swing, acrobatics,
swim, and slink
Pacing: This is the way an action is done.
jerky, pressured, nervous, gradual , graceful, fatigued
tense, easy, shaky, deliberate, furtive and clumsy
A related variable is the time it takes to react to a stimulus,
called "latency of response." Some people seem to react to
questions, interact in conversations, or are slower or faster
"on the uptake" than others.
ANGER
• Usage: Anger may show in a. jaws tensed to a biting position;
b. postures of the broadside display (e.g., hands-on-hips ); c.
cut-off and head-jerk cues; d. fist , hand-behind-head, and
palm-down beating gestures; e. frowning and tense-mouth
expressions; f. growling voice tones; and g. staring.
• Culture. In Italy, the forefinger bite--in which "the knuckle of
the bent forefinger is placed between the teeth and
symbolically bitten"--means, "I am angry" (Morris 1994:81).
ANGULAR DISTANCE
• Usage: Angular distance reveals how we relate to (i.e., feel
about) people sitting, standing, or waiting nearby. Our upper
body unwittingly squares-up, addresses, and "aims" at those
we like, admire, and agree with, but angles away from disliked
persons and people with whom we disagree. In a friendly
conversation, formal interview, or staff meeting, e.g., a
greater angular distance (i.e, turning away) substitutes for
greater linear distance. Angular distance may range from 0
degrees (directly facing) to 180 degrees (turning one's back).
ANTIGRAVITY SIGN
• Usage: We accent our words with authoritative palm-down
cues, and show we mean business by squaring our shoulders,
lifting our faces and chins, and visibly standing tall. Around
the world, antigravity signs are featured in business,
government, and military wear
ARM-CROSS
Usage: Though often decoded as a defensive barrier sign, the arm-cross
represents a comfortable position for relaxing the arms, e.g., while speaking as
well. With arms and elbows pulled tightly into the body (i.e., flexed and
adducted), the gesture may reveal acute nervousness or chronic anxiety. Held
less tightly against the chest, with elbows elevated and projecting outward
(away from the body, i.e., abducted), the arm-cross presents a guard-like stance,
suggestive of arrogance, disliking, or disagreement.
• RESEARCH REPORTS: 1. In conditions of severe crowding, the
frequency of arms crossed in front of the body touching at the
crotch "greatly increased" (Baxter and Rozelle 1975:48). 2. A
report summarizing studies of North American college
students found a. that women use open arm positions with
men they like, but cross-arms with men they dislike (men, on
the other hand, show no difference); and b. that women show
uneasiness by crossing their arms (while men do not; Vrugt
and Kerkstra 1984). 3. "Folding arms may indicate protection
against some sort of verbal or nonverbal attack" (Richmond et
al. 1991:62). 4. Arm-cross is a worldwide posture that means,
"I feel defensive" (Morris 1994:5).
BLANK FACE
Usage: Though "expressionless," the blank face sends
a strong emotional message: "Do Not Disturb." In
shopping malls, elevators, and subways we adopt
neutral faces to distance ourselves from strangers.
The blank face is a subtle sign used to keep others a
polite distance away. (N.B.: A blank face with
naturally downturned lips and creased frown lines
may appear "angry" as well.)
BODY ALIGNMENT
• RESEARCH REPORTS: 1. Direct torso alignment in the face-toface body orientation presents a formal, businesslike posture
(Scheflen 1964). 2. Aiming the upper body conveys greater
feelings of liking (i.e., of immediacy) than when the body is
angled away (Mehrabian 1969). 3. Lean-forward suggests
friendliness (Mehrabian 1974), while lean-backward
expresses a more negative pose (Mehrabian 1969). 4. A nonaligned, parallel orientation discloses neutral or passive
moods which may grade into disliking or disagreement
(Scheflen 1964, Richmond et al. 1991).
• Courtship. Women (and men) unthinkingly
"aim" their upper bodies at partners they like-even while angling their faces and eyes away.
Squaring-up with the shoulders is a nonverbal
invitation to speak.
BODY-BEND
• Usage: As expressive cues, body-bend (i.e., axial-skeleton) postures
are more fundamental as mood signs than are leg and arm (i.e.,
appendicular) postures. Bending the spinal column away from the
person seated beside you at a conference table, e.g., is a reliable-usually unconscious--sign of disagreement, disliking, or shyness.
• Culture. In southern Italy, the buttocks thrust--in which the stiffened
(extended) upper body bends forward and the buttocks thrust
backward, toward another person--is a sign of "obscene disdain"
(Morris 1994:16). According to Morris, "This simple gesture is
essentially an excretory insult, with the message 'I defecate on
you'" (1994:16).
HEAD-TILT-BACK
•
Usage: Lifting the chin and looking down the nose are used throughout the world
as nonverbal signs of superiority, arrogance, and disdain (Eibl-Eibesfeldt 1970,
Hass 1970). Culture. 1. In Greece and Saudi Arabia, a sudden head-tilt-back
movement means "No," and may originate from the infantile head-tilt-back used
to refuse food (Morris 1994:145; 2. In Ethiopia, the same gesture means "Yes,"
and may originate from the backward head movement used as a greeting (Morris
1994:146).