Non-verbal Communication Flashcards
Communication
Passing information from one person to another.
Verbal Communication
Conveying messages using words or vocal sounds.
Paralinguistics
Vocal features that accompany speech.
Tone Of Voice
The way words are spoken to convey information.
Emphasis
Giving prominence to some words more than others.
Intonation
Inflection in the voice when speaking.
Non-Verbal Communication
Conveying messages that do not require the use of words or vocal sounds.
Eye-Contact
When two people in conversation are looking at each other’s eyes at the same time.
Pupil Dilation
When the pupils in the eyes expand to look large.
Hemispheres Of The Brain
The human brain is divided into two halves, called the left and right hemispheres.
Practical Implications
Suggestions about behaviour in the real world beyond the research study, based upon what psychologists have discovered.
Body Language
A general term used to describe aspects of non-verbal communication.
Posture
The positioning of the body, often regarded as a non-verbal communication signal.
Postural Echo
Mirroring another person’s body position.
Confederate
An actor or stooge who appears to be a genuine ptp in the experiment but is actually working fort he experimenter.
Closed Posture
Positioning the arms so that they are folded across the body and/or crossing the legs.
Open Posture
Positioning the arms so they are not folded across the body and not crossing the legs.
Gesture
A form of non-verbal communication in which information is conveyed by either deliberate or unconscious movement of parts of the body.
Touch
A form of non-verbal communication in which information is conveyed by physical contact between people.
Personal Space
The distance we keep between ourselves and other people in our everyday lives.
Sex Differences
Differences due to being either male or female these could affect personal space between individuals.
Individual Differences
Factors that made one person not the same as another person, such as personality or age.
Cultural Norms
The range of behaviours that members of a particular social can be expected to show.
Status
A person’s rank or position in society.
Argyle, Alkema and Gilmour 1971
Aim- to see if tone of voice has any effect when interpreting a verbal message.
Method- different groups of ptps listened to either friendly or hostile messages spoken in either friendly or hostile tones of voice. Therefore, some of the ptps heard a hostile message spoken in a friendly tone of voice and others heard a friendly message spoken in a hostile tone of voice.
Results- when ptps were asked to interpret the messages, it was found that tone of voice had about five times the effect of the verbal message itself.
Conclusion- tone of voice is extremely important in how people interpret verbal messages.
Davitz and Davitz 1961
Aim- to see the effect of paralinguistic on the assessment of emotion.
Method- ptps were asked to listen to tape recordings and to assess the speaker’s emotions from the paralinguistic cues: tone of voice, emphasis and intonation.
Results- there was a very high level of accuracy in recognising these emotions: affection, amusement, disgust and fear.
Conclusion- paralinguistics has a great importance when judging emotion.
Kendon 1967
Aim- to see how eye movements affect the flow of conversation.
Method- pairs of ptps were asked to get acquainted. Their conversations were secretly watched by observers through a one-way mirror system.
Results- as one person was about to speak, they looked away from he other person, briefly avoiding eye contact. Then they would give the other person’s face a prolonged look when they were about to finish what they were saying. When the speaker gave the prolonged look, it seemed to indicate to the other person that they could begin speaking. If the prolonged look didn’t happen, there was a pause in the conversation.
Conclusion- eye movements signal turn taking in conversation.
Argyle 1968
Aim- to see how interrupting eye contact affects the flow of conversation.
Method- pairs of ptps were observed having conversation. In half the conversations, one of the ptps wore dark glasses so that the other ptp could not see their eyes, therefore stopping eye contact from happening.
Results- when one of the ptps wore dark glasses, there were more pauses and interruptions than when the glasses weren’t worn.
Conclusion- eye contact is more important in ensuring the smooth flow of conversation.
Hess 1963
Aim- to see the effect of pupil dilation on emotion.
Method- ptps were shown two nearly identical pictures of the same girl and asked which picture was more attractive. The only difference between the two pictures was that, in one of them, the girl’s pupils were dilated, and in the other picture they were not.
results- the majority of ptps said that the picture of the girl with the dilated pupils was more attractive. Strangely though, they could not say why they thought that.
Conclusion- pupil dilation has an unconscious but powerful effect on emotion.
Sackiem 1978
Aim- to look at the relationship between facial expressions and the hemispheres of the brain
Method- pictures of people’s faces showing different emotions were cut down the middle. New pictures were created using each half face and it’s mirrored image. Then each pair of new faces was shown to ptps l. They were asked which picture they liked the best.
Results- the majority of ptps said they preferred the picture of the left half of the face and its reflection. When asked why, the said the the person in the picture looked “warmer”.
Conclusion- the left side of the face seems to express emotions much more that the right side.
McGinley 1975
Aim- to see the effect of postural echo when having a conversation.
Method- a confederate if the experimenter approached individuals in a social setting and had conversations with them. In half of the conversations the confederate echoed the posture of the person they were talking to. In the other half they didn’t. Afterwards, the experimenter approached the individuals and asked them what they thought of the confederate.
Results- when postural echo was used, the people questioned like the confederate and thought they got on well together. When postural echo want used, the confederate was not liked at much and the conversation felt awkward.
Conclusion- postural echo gives an unconscious message of friendliness.
McGinley, Lefevre and McGinley 1975
Aim- to see the defect of open and closed posture when having a conversation.
Method- a confederate of the experimenter approached individuals in a social setting and had a conversation with them. In half of the conversations the confederate adopted and open posture. In the other half they adopted a closed posture. Afterwards, the experimenter approached the individuals and asked them what they thought of the confederate.
Results- when showing an open posture, the confederate was seen as friendly and attractive. When showing a closed posture, the confederate was seen as unfriendly and less attractive.
Conclusion- the posture that someone adopts will make a difference to how much they are liked.
Lynn and Mynier 1993
Aim- to see the effect of gestures used by waiters and waitresses on the tipping behaviour of customers in a restaurant.
Method- while taking orders from seated customers, waiters and waitresses were instructed to either stand upright or squat down near the customer (squatting down makes more eye contact possible).
Results- when the waiters and waitresses squatted down, larger tips were received compared to when they took orders standing upright.
Conclusion- the gesture of squatting down near a seated customer to take an order will have a positive effect on tipping behaviour.
Fisher, Rytting and Heslin 1976
Aim- to see the effect of touch on peoples attitudes.
Method- female students in a library were handed books by the librarian. The librarian was a confederate of the experimenter. Half of the students were. Briefly too chef on the hand by the librarian when the books were handed to them. The other students were not touched.
Results- when questioned later, the students who were touched had a much more positive attitude towards the librarian and the library then those who weren’t touched. The interesting thing was that the students didn’t know that they had been touched.
Conclusion- touch will have an unconscious and positive effect on attitudes.
Argyle and Dean 1965
Aim- to see if sex differences affect personal space
Method- one at a time, ptps were asked to sit and have a conversation with another person who was actually a confederate of the experimenter. Sometimes the confederate was the same sex other time they weren’t. The confederate sat at different distances for the ptps and continually looked into their eyes.
Results- the ptps tended to break eye contact with the confederate of the opposite sex at a greater distance alert than when the confederate was the same sex. Argyle and wan thought that this was the point at which personal space was being invaded.
Conclusion- we prefer to have a greater amount of personal space between ourselves and members of the opposite sex during normal conversation.
Willis 1966
Aim- to see if age has an effect on personal space.
Method- Willis observed almost 800 individuals in different social situations.
Results- those he observed tended to stand closer to people their own age and further away than people that are either much older or much younger than themselves.
Conclusion- age difference affects how close people will stand to one another.
Williams 1971
Aim- to see if personality has an effect on personal space.
Method- college students were given personality tests to see if they were extrovert or introvert. They were then sent to an office one by one to receive their college grades from a tutor. The researches noted where they chose to sit in the office when receiving their grades.
Results- introverts sat further away from the tutor than extroverts.
Conclusions- whether someone is extrovert or introvert will affect their use of personal space.
Summer 1969
Aim- to see if there at cultural differences in the use of personal space.
Method- summer observed groups of white English people and groups of Arab people in conversation.
Results- the comfortable conversation distance for the white English people was 1-1.5m, whereas the comfortable conversation distance for the Arab people was much less than that.
Conclusion- the use of personal space varies between cultures in normal conversations.
Zahn 1991
Aim- to see if social status has an effect on personal space.
Method- Zahn observed people of equal status approaching each other to have a conversation. He also observed people of unequal status approaching each other.
Results- he found that people of lower status did not approach higher-status with the same degree of closeness as those of equal status.
Conclusion- the use of personal space varies with differences in social status when approaching other people.
