NVC Flashcards
Describe what is meant by NVC
NVC is communication without the use of words or symbols for words
Describe the functions of eye contact
To convey interest and attraction, however holding eye contact for too long can also be intimidating.
Describe the functions of facial expressions
To show emotions, i.e. smiling when you are happy
Describe the function of gestures
Gestures are body movements that stand for something or can be used to aid speech. for example waving to emphasise you are saying hello.
Describe the function of posture
To indicate emotions, attitudes or to aid or replace speech. for example open posture can indicate confidence and comfort while closed posture can indicate discomfort or negativity about something/someone.
Describe the functions of proximity
The distance you are from someone can indicate your level of comfort with them. There are four zones of proximity. These are intimate (up to 0.5 metres) - reserved for people we love, Personal (up to 1.2m) - reserved for family and close friends, Social (up to 3.5m)- this is the space used for impersonal business and for casual conversations and public space (3.5-7.5m) - suitable for informal gatherings or public figures.
Describe the aim of Ekman and Friesen (1971)
To find out if facial expressions were universal
Describe the method of Ekman and Friesen (1971)
They did this by studying a tribe in Papua New Guinea which had been isolated for thousands of years. They asked them to look at pictures of people making facial expressions and asked them what they meant.
Describe the results of Ekman and Friesen
They found that the members of the tribe, for the most part, were able to accurately identify facial expressions in the pictures.
Strengths and Weaknesses of Ekman and Friesen (1971)
Strength: The study used a large sample size which makes the results more reliable.
Strength: The researchers made sure the participants used had little to no contact with the western world.
Weakness: Despite the large sample size being used, only 3% of the Fore population was used which makes the results less generalisable to the sample population.
Weakness: This was conducted in 1968, when more areas of the world hadn’t had contact with each other so if the study was conducted today the results would likely differ.
Describe aim of Yuki et al (2007)
To show if how we interpret facial expressions is a product of our culture and socialisation
Describe the method of Yuki et al (2007)
A cross cultural study involving Japanese and American students and compared results. They used 87 American students and 89 Japanese students. Participants were given a questionnaire to rate the emotional expressions of different faces. The pictures were of a person’s face showing different expressions. these pictures were computer generated. The researchers worked out an average rating for each face within each culture.
Describe the results of Yuki et al (2007)
Japanese gave higher ratings to faces with happy eyes than American participants did. Americans gave their highest ratings when the mouths were happy.
Describe the conclusions of Yuki et al (2007)
Japanese and American people do interpret facial expressions differently. Japanese people pay more attention to the eyes while American people focus more on the mouth.
Strengths of Yuki et al (2007)
This was the first study to demonstrate that people from different cultures will focus on different facial cues when interpreting emotional expression.
The study used photos of real people which increases the ecological validity of the study.
There was a relatively equal number of Japanese and American participants which increases the reliability.
