nonverbal and verbal communicaiton Flashcards
4 types of animal communication
VACT
V - visual, colour or display
A - auditory, sound used to warn about danger or they are angry
C - chemical, scent and taste danger or mating
T - tactile to comfort or show dominance
4 functions of animal communication
SRTF
S - survival
R - reproduction
T - territory
F - food
Survival funciton examples
velvet monkeys use specific sounds to warn others of dangers, such as snakes and hawks.
Rabbits use visual signals. They lift their tail high, pin ears back and leap forward to communicate danger to other rabbits.
Reproduction function examples
Mating displays
- Peacocks stretch their feathers like an umbrella to attract females (visual)
Territory function example
animals mark territory through spreading scents
- rhinos produce 20-30 piles of dung to communicate the area is occupied
(evolutionary value as it takes less energy than fighting)
Food function examples
animals use signals to show location of food
- ants leave a pheromone trail to communicate the locaiton of a food source
How do humans communicate differently from animals
- plan ahead and dicuss future events
- creativity
- single versus multiple channels
Displacement
the capability of language to communicate about things that are not immediately present
planning ahead (difference between animals and humans)
humans can use their language to plan ahead and dicuss future events
Animal communiation tends to focus on things that are physically present in their environment (food or predators)
creativity (difference between animals and humans)
animal communication involves a closed system as the gestures, sounds and movements only refer to very specific events (like a warning sound for a hawk coming)
In contrast, human language is an open system as words can be combined together in an infinite number of ways.
- human comm has endless potential, is creative
single vs multiple channels (difference between animals and humans)
human language can be expressed using a whole range of different channels, such as: spoken, written or sign language.
This is not a feature of animal comm which tends to use single channels (e.g. pheromones)
verbal vs non verbal communication definition
VC - communication that is written or spoken word
NVC - everything else (not written or spoken word)
types of NVC
facial expressions, body movements and posture, gestures, eye contact, touch, space, voice
eye contact
when two people are looking at each other’s eyes at the same time
(type of NVC)
keeping eye contact shows what
- actively listening
- interested
- paying attention
purpose of eye contact
- regulating flow of convo
- signalling attraction
- expressing emotions
Direct gaze does what to joy and anger
makes the emotion look more intense
avert gaze does what to fear and sadness
more the emotion look more intense
effect of maintaining eye contact
makes you more attracted. suggesting eye contact is an evolutionary behaviour that shows a potential mate you are interested.
Evaluation of eye contact
Positive - issue with autistics, they tend not to use eye contact and struggle to read people’s expressions. Real world application - teaching autistics how to read eye contact better to make them better able to deal with social situations
Negative - research into eye contact uses rating scales to make judgements, however asking someone to rate attractiveness as everyone sees attractiveness differently, prone to subjective bias.
- task are often artificial, lacks mundane realism
Percentages of types of communication
Words = 7%
tone of voice = 38%
body lang = 55%
body language includes
facial expressions, gestures, posture
posture
the positioning of the body (NVC)
postural echo
the copying of another individuals posture
- shows you like the other person (unconscious)
types of postures and what they tend to convey
closed posture tends to convey rejection or disagreement
open posture tends to convey acceptance or approval
with closed posture people seem…
unfriendly and less attractive
touch
physical contact between two people, includes:
- handshakes
- touching someone’s arm
- hugs, a pat
- kissing
It builds emotional connection and is fundamental to social communication
evaluation of body lang research
Positive - real life application, use it to develop better relations with others
Negative - unethical, deception involved during studies (in order for no DCs to occur)
Negative - researcher bias, may behave differently with the experimental group compared to the control
Negative - often field studies, control of EV is made harder
personal space
the distnace we keep between ourselves and others in everyday life where we feel comfortable
levels of personal space (from furthest to closest)
public (7m)
Social (3m)
Personal (1.2m)
Intimate (0.5m)
factors of personal space
Sex
Cultural
Status
intimate level (Personal space)
involves direct physical contact, e.g. hugging and touching, to whispering
personal distance (Personal space)
interaction between family members, friends and good acquaintances take place here
social distance (Personal space)
maintained between colleagues in formal settings, new acquaintances and strangers in public places. if a stranger moves beyond these boundaries, it’s uncomfortable and threatening.
public distance
space for speaking in front of the larger audience (e.g. classrooms, auditorians, theaters etc)
sex differences in personal space
men prefer more distance when interacting with other men, women do not need as much space
- men prefer to sit opposite to eachother
- women prefer sitting side to side
cultural differences in personal space
arabs = prefer being closer
westerners = prefer being further
Arab nations see westerners as unfriendly because that
Status differences in person space
people of higher status are accorded more personal space than those of a lower status (king)
- more likely to stand back and give them space.
Evaluation of personal space research
positive - helps reduce misunderstandings when dealing with people in different SCS
- don’t offend people and helps professionals like doctors learn how to deal with different types of patients
negative - only look at one factor with personal space when severeal factors may be influential (e.g. personality), makes it reductionist
Negative - unrep samples in research into culture, gender and status. gen with caution, e.g. some eng men may prefer closer personal space, arabs the opposite
neonate
name given to newborn babies
sensory deprived
an animal or human who does not have a particular sensory ability
- seeing
- hearing
(blind from birth)
why does evidence about NVC being innate use neonates
they have less time for it to have been learned
social releasers
certain characteristics which elicit care giving
bowlby theory
Babies promote attachment from their caregiver by giving off social releasers, this
increases the chances of bonding and that the baby will be taken care of e.g. fed and
protected by the mother. Therefore more likely to survive and pass on its own genes
features that bowlby believes promote a mothers love to a baby
- snub nose
- big eyes
- big forehead
- laughing
- giving eye contact
natural selection
process by which behaviours which ensure survival are passed down through generations
- bowlby argued babies possess insticts to ensure survival
