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Unit One
Module 2
Non-verbal
communication
 amac edu 2011
What is Language?
It would be hard to imagine a world
without language. A working definition
could be:
“A system of communication involving both
written and spoken words, which are specific
to a group, community, nation or culture”
Hola
Hello
Bonjour
Viva la
difference,
but Why?
There are many mysteries about
language: Some examples
Is there a shared ‘Unitary Mother
Language’ from which all human
language developed?
What it means to be ‘polylingual’
(Acquired vs Learned)
The Sapir–Whorf Hypothesis
How do we learn our primary
language?
‘The Chinese Room’ experiment
says a lot!
“Can you speak Chinese?”
(2.1) How we communicate ?
1. Make your own definition of
communication
2. Differentiate between human and
non-human communication
3. Make a list of how humans
communicate
4. Make a list of how non-humans
communicate
A little task for you…
• Google ‘great apes language
wikipedia’ (and maybe
‘kellogg and Kellogg, 1933)
• Print off article and attach a
paragraph answering:
“Did primates such as
Washoe, Nim Chimpsky*
& Kanzi actually
communicate with
human language?”
* Google: Noam Chomsky…. See if you get the joke…
KANZI
WASHOE
Some definitions:
• Verbal Communication: using spoken
words to transmit and/or exchange/evoke
shared understanding
• Non-Verbal Communication: using
anything but spoken words to transmit
and/or exchange/evoke shared
understanding (eg. posture, gaze & gesture)
• Paralinguistics: features of vocal sound
which embellish or emphasise meaning (eg.
tone of voice)
Paralinguistics:
• Tone: conveyed em0tion (eg. Angry
voice)
• Emphasis: raising or lowering voice
for a particular word
• Intonation (Inflection): modulation
(variation) of sound (timbre) eg.
whisper or shout
Communication: How important
are the actual words?
Eye Contact
Sound of
voice:
• Tone
Facial
Expression
• Emphasis
• Intonation
Body Posture
+ The
Situation
Hand
Gestures
Touch
Personal Space
What have we left out?
+ General
Appearance
The actual words!!!!!
Research suggests shared
communication is about:
• 7% The words
(verbal)
• 38% How you say it
(vocal Inflections)
• 55% What you look like
Appearance/gesture/gaze, posture
(body language) and situational factors
(attribution & context of interaction)
Can only receiving 7% of the
communication cause problems?
• Think of two examples:
• How is the problem overcome and how
does it work?
Watch a person on
the telephone, what
do they do with their
hands? What
percentage do you
receive on the
telephone?
How do we know all of this?
Enhanced Verbal Communication: It
is all based on research, so do
AMRC’s (p25) for:
1. Argyle et al (1971)… tone
2. Davitz & Davitz (1961)… paralinguistics
3. Give one positive and two negative
evaluations that apply to both of the
above
4. What does ‘et al’ mean?
How do we use eye contact during a
conversation:
Which face is more attractive and any idea
why?
How we use eyes during a conversation:
Do AMRC p27: Hess (1963)
Normal pupil
Dilated Pupil
1. Evaluate Hess
2. Why are dilated pupils more attractive?
3. Why do women wear eye makeup?
What else we do with our eyes:
Eye Contact/Movement
When we speak face to face the following occurs with
our eyes:
• The speaker looks away as they open speech
• The listener looks at the speaker’s eyes
• When speaker about to finish, they flash a glance
and the roles reverse
• If process is interrupted (eg. dark glasses), then the
conversation becomes disjointed
Eyes control role taking turns in a conversation* (a
similar process takes place on the phone using
paralinguistics)….
Do AMRC’s: Kendon (1967) & Argle (1968)
* This applies
to both 1-2-1
and a group
conversation
How do we use facial expression to
embellish communication?
Do
exercise
supplied:
Can you identify the emotion and how is the
communication different to the previous ones?
Facial expression plus
‘gesture’ (hand)
Point of interest: Higher order primates have
the same range of emotive faces as humans:
what does this suggest?
Face Expression adds an
emotion to communication
• Facial expression is a human universal (from
birth, except ‘Fear’ that comes from 6mths
onwards) and therefore they are inherited not
learned (nature vs nurture)
• The only other species are Primates
• Facial expressions involve many muscles
and are involuntarily connected to how we
really feel (we can’t fake it!)
• A smile takes 17 muscles and a frown 47
muscles
The brain and emotional faces
R
R
L
L
The two halves of a face
are never the same
(asymmetry), which side
do you prefer and which
side is stronger
emotionally?
Cont…..
• The brain has two halves
(hemispheres)
• The left side processes
structure and the right side
processes emotions
• If you look at a picture, when
asked what it is, the left side
activates and if asked if you
like it, the right side
activates.
• The brain is contra-lateral
(eg. the right side controls
the left side of the body and
vice-versa)
Do AMRC (plus
evaluation) for
Sackeim, 1978 p28
Body Language
Some questions:
• Do these three
all know each
other?
• Are two of
them together?
• How do you
know?
We make a lot of assumptions based on body language and they are
often correct!!!
Body Language
• To communicate using our body
• Posture: Open, closed and mirror/echo
• Usually unconscious interaction, but
experts can read and/or take advantage
especially ‘postural echo’ (put a person
at ease)
• Some other interactions… like/lie etc
• Do AMRC: McGinley (1975) + evaluation
Gestures and Touch
(gesticulation: to make gestures)
B
Some hand
gestures work
well without
context or
words!
A
Watch a person on
the telephone, why
do they do this even
if they can’t be
seen?
C
Some gestures are rude or
aggressive
Gestures and Touch (gesticulation: to
make gestures)
From the grid
supplied
suggest what
these gestures
might mean:
Then do AMRC Lyn
& Mynier, 1993
(p32) + Evaluation
But beware there are crosscultural differences
What does this suggest: nature or
nurture?...think universality
Touch to embellish
communication
“May I have this
dance?”
A man will be
more successful
If he briefly touches
the girls hand
or arm while
he asks!
Touch to embellish communication
• Touch with hand or arm are a
very powerful addition to
communication
• Various types: controlled by
proximity to intimate
erogenous zones and culture
(think of how you formally
greet and how you greet
friends and family etc)
Do AMRC p33: Fisher et al, (1976).. Evaluation
consider inter/intra gender issues
Personal space
• Consider a concept like personal
space:
(Roughly half an arm, within an arm and
over an arm’s length away)
Q) When speaking privately to you, what limit of
closeness to your face would you expect from the
>1 m
following?
1. An intimate friend
2. An acquaintance
3. A stranger
<0.5m <1 m
How do you feel if someone violates your social space? And consider age/gender (own/different)
Personal space
Do AMRC’s (and
evaluate):
1. Argyle and Dean
(1965) p34
2. Willis (1966) p35
3. Williams (1971)
p35
Personal space
• Pavement/corridor avoidance
strategies
What would you expect to happen if a
male and female were approaching
each other in a narrow corridor? (and
think other combinations)
Personal space and
culture/status
• Some cultures stand
much closer to talk…
they think we are
Unfriendly
• Also status: the more
respect the greater
the distance
Do AMRC’s p36: Summer (1969) & Zahn
(1991) and evaluate
Final Thought: The McGurk
Effect and modality hierarchy
The McGurk Effect
• Silently mouth: Cat
• Overplay sound: Mat
• Claim word was: Cat
How does this impact on
what you have learned
about non-verbal
communication?