Chapter 6 - Nonverbal Communication Objectives 1) An appreciation for the role of non-verbal behavior in human communication 2) Knowledge about how verbal and nonverbal behavior combine to provide a double-coded communication system 3) An examination of how speech style influences impression formation and marks group boundaries 4) Knowledge about the nature of second language acquisition and its social psychological consequences 1
Chapter 6 Overall Outline Non-verbal Communication Function of nonverbal communication Facial expressions and eye contact Body Language Haptics Proxemics: Personal Space Paralanguage Verbal Communication Language and Gender Do men and women speak differently? Language and Social Interaction Speech Registers and Accommodation Second Language Learning 2
Outline Part 1 Non-verbal Communication Function of nonverbal communication Facial expressions and eye contact Body Language Haptics Proxemics: Personal Space Paralanguage 3
Both verbal and non-verbal signals are involved in almost all communication how a message is said is often more important than what is said non-verbal cues also regulate the form of conversation, in terms of signaling turnyielding and back channel communication (e.g. listener nods from time to time) Specific facial patterns are biologically related specific primary emotions (fear, happiness, surprise, anger, sadness, disgust) Cultural variations in facial displays exist 4
Functions of nonverbal communication Non-verbal communication, such as through gestures or a smile can provide information about: 1) Feelings and intentions 2) can regulate interactions with others 3) can express intimacy 4) can promote social control 5) can facilitate goal attainment 5
Sources of non-verbal signals facial displays gestures and postural cues ( body language ) touching paralanguage = timing, pitch and loudness of speech, as well as pauses, sighs, and grunts personal space 6
Are facial displays of emotion universal? Darwin (1872) Human emotional behavior evolved from lower animals Physical expression of emotion is to some degree innate much research has apparently supported this view by demonstrating the intercultural similarity of facial expressions of emotion 7
Cultural variations in facial displays cultural factors play an important role in determining facial displays of emotion Eye Contact gaze and eye contact are important channels of nonverbal communication within a few days of birth, infants will make contact with the caregiver gaze generally increases as a function of the attractiveness of the stimulus eye contact and its underlying meaning differs across cultures 8
Body Language Certain postures are often perceived by others as reflecting specific feelings Gestures, another form of body language, vary from culture to culture 9
Haptics Communication through touch Touches can be organized into categories: Positive affect: touch that communicates appreciation, affect, interest Playful: touches intended to communicate playfulness and humour Control: touches used to draw attention or induce compliance Ritualistic: touches that occur in ritualized situations, such as greetings and departures Task-related: touches associated with the accomplishment of some task (e.g. when a nurse takes your pulse) 10
Proxemics the study of how we use space to regulate social interactions comfort distance in social interaction personal space varies across cultures 11
Paralanguage Paralanguage refers to the how of speaking, the nonlinguistic aspects of speech (e.g. volume, stress, pitch, speed, tone of voice, pauses) Prosodic elements of language: timing, pitch and loudness are critically important in oral communication Studies have shown that prosodic elements in the expression of emotion are not primarily learned; there is very little variation in this behaviour either among individuals in a given culture or across cultures 12
Paralanguage, continued Why do we still use paralanguage? Easier to use in some situations (e.g. pointing) More powerful and subtle than speech for communicating emotions and moods Less easily controlled, therefore more likely genuine than speech Second communication channel is valuable, especially when it helps to regulate the main channel (speech) Nonverbal communication predates language, and language may be built upon non-verbal behaviour evolutionarily and neurally evidence from prosody, music, gestures for marking clause boundaries, 13
Paralanguage- Conversation Control Words make up content of a communication, but non-verbal signals regulate its form Starts with baby and mother in feeding interactions and turn-taking (feed, rest, feed) Avoids verbal traffic jams Argyle (1975): Turn-taking signals 1) Coming to the end of a sentence 2) Prolonged intonation, for example raising or lowering the voice 3) Paralinguistic Drawl: final syllable is drawn out 4) Body motions relax - hand gesturing ceases, tensions relax. Eyes open wider at last word of a question 5) Verbal cues, I was going to, but, uh, 14
Interruptions If speaker does not wish to be interrupted, can put out attempt-suppressing signals: voice, eyes, head posture don t change speaks louder or faster, may keep hands in mid-gesture at ends of sentences Back-channel communication Not interrupting, but communicating to speaker that the listener is paying attention e.g. nods, okay, mm-hmm Cross cultural differences Gaps between statements or questions and response short in North America, longer elsewhere may lead to misunderstandings Japanese have higher rate of, and desire for, back-channel communication 15
Outline Part 2 Verbal Communication Language and Gender Do men and women speak differently? Language and Social Interaction Speech Registers and Speech Accommodation Second Language Learning 16
Verbal Communication Language evolved in humans because of the survival value to communicate precisely Language and Gender some words that have been traditionally male words (e.g. chairman) may influence social perceptions and status 17
Do men and women speak differently? Research suggests some differences between men and women men tend to use more non-standard forms of speech, such as new terminology (often technical) slang, profanity, and puns Men are likely to talk about sports, business and politics women are said to be more polite, more emotional, more positive and supportive in how they evaluate people, more likely to talk about home and family. Physiological differences between sexes in the paralinguistic aspects of speech e.g. speech qualities in women such as higher pitch, softer volume, more variability, a more relaxed and pleasant tone 18
Language and Social Interaction Language is a crucial feature of social interaction. Speech style reflects the social group in which a person lives Judgements about personality, social class and education of individuals are often based on style of speech Some speech styles, even though arbitrarily chosen, are deemed by a given society to be the most aesthetically pleasing form of the language Language sets groups apart and fosters 19 group identity
Speech Registers and Speech Accommodation Speech register - a particular combination of intonation and pitch e.g. Baby-talk, lecturing or presenting Only appropriate in certain settings; when used elsewhere, perceived negatively e.g. nursing home, personal conversation Speech Accommodation We will often shift (converge or diverge) our speech registers to conform with other s, either upward or downward in status. We do this to fit in, 20 or to emphasis differences.
Second Language Learning Why is this important? Lack of language skills can generate anxiety, and a non-fluent speaker may attribute this anxiety to the other person, and react negatively to the individual, the language, or speakers in general. Most people in the world are bilingual......particularly in European and Asian countries 21
Second Language Learning Misconceptions about learning a second language Myth 1 adults have problems learning a second language research reveals that adults almost always perform better at learning a second language than children, except with regard to pronunciation 22
Second Language Learning Myth 2 learning a second language is quite a different matter from firstlanguage acquisition In reality,studies have shown that children learning a second language follow the same process of acquisition as a native speaker of that language 23