HUMAN COMMUNICATION

The Basic Course, 9/E

2002

Joseph A. DeVito 0-205-35390-8 Bookstore ISBN

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UNIT 8
Nonverbal Messages

Unit Contents
Nonverbal Communication The Channels of Nonverbal Communication Culture and Nonverbal Communication

134 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

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When you smile, nod your head in agreement, or wave your hand to someone, youre communicating nonverbally. In fact, some researchers argue that you actually communicate more information nonverbally than you do with words. In this unit we explore this nonverbal communication system; here youll learn how nonverbal communication works and the various forms it takes how you can use these nonverbal channels to communicate your thoughts and feelings more effectively

NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
Nonverbal communication is communication without words. You communicate nonverbally when you gesture, smile or frown, widen your eyes, move your chair closer to someone, wear jewelry, touch someone, or raise your vocal volumeand when someone receives these signals. Even if you remained silent and someone attributed meaning to your silence, communication would have taken place. If, on the other hand, you gestured or smiled and no one perceived these movements, then communication would not have taken place. This doesnt mean that both sender and receiver have to give the same meanings to the signals (the gestures, the smile). It merely means that for communication to be said to have occurred, someone must send and someone must receive the message signals. Nonverbal messages may communicate specific meanings, just as verbal messages do; they may also metacommunicate, or communicate about other messages. Lets look at each of these functions.

more than smile, and when your voice is without warmth, youre using nonverbal signals to distance yourself from the other person. You can also use nonverbal messages to help. Gently touching an ill persons face, hugging someone whos in pain, or helping an old person walk are common examples. You use nonverbal messages to persuade; for example, when your posture and clothing communicate your self-confidence, when your steady gaze communicates conviction that youre right, or when your facial expression communicates that the advertised product tastes great. Nonverbal messages may also be used to play. Tickling or playing patty-cake with a young child, making funny faces, and drawing cartoons are simple examples.

To Metacommunicate
Much of nonverbal communication, however, occurs in combination with verbal messages and serves a metacommunication function (see Unit 1). That is, nonverbal messages often comment on or communicate something about other messages (often verbal messages). Six general ways in which nonverbal communication blends with verbal communication have been identified and will illustrate the wide variety of metacommunication functions that nonverbal messages may serve (Knapp & Hall, 1997). Nonverbal messages are often used to accent or emphasize some part of the verbal message. You might, for example, raise your voice to underscore a particular word or phrase, bang your fist on the desk to stress your commitment, or look longingly into someones eyes when saying I love you. You use nonverbal communication to complement, to add nuances of meaning not communicated by your verbal message. Thus, you might smile when telling a story (to suggest that you find

To Communicate Meaning
Nonverbal messages may communicate the exact same meanings as verbal messages. The same purposes that were identified for communication in general (Unit 1) are served by nonverbal signals as well. First, nonverbal messages help us to discover to learn, to acquire information about the world and about other people. Nonverbal messagesthe smile, the focused eye contact, the leaning forward, and of course the kissalso help us to establish and maintain relationships. We signal that we like another person first though nonverbal signals; then, usually at least, we follow up with verbal messages. At the same time, of course, our nonverbal messages can help destroy and dissolve interpersonal relationships. When you avoid eye contact and touching, when you frown

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages it humorous) or frown and shake your head when recounting someones deceit (to suggest your disapproval). You may deliberately contradict your verbal messages with nonverbal movementsfor example, by crossing your fingers or winking to indicate that youre lying. Movements may be used to regulate or control the flow of verbal messages, as when you purse your lips, lean forward, or make hand gestures to indicate that you want to speak. You might also put up your hand or vocalize your pauses (for example, with um or ah) to indicate that youve not finished and arent ready to relinquish the floor to the next speaker.

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You can repeat or restate the verbal message nonverbally. You can, for example, follow your verbal Is that all right? with raised eyebrows and a questioning look, or motion with your head or hand to repeat your verbal Lets go. You may also use nonverbal communication to substitute for or take the place of verbal messages. For instance, you can signal OK with a hand gesture. You can nod your head to indicate yes or shake your head to indicate no. An exercise that asks you to look at the functions of verbal and nonverbal messages, How Can You Recognize Verbal and Nonverbal Message Functions? is available at www.ablongman.com/ devito.

COMMUNICATION

@ WORK

Communicating Power Nonverbally

The body says what words cannot.
Martha Graham

f you want to signal power nonverbally, try these suggestions (Lewis, 1989; Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). rushing to meet the expectations of those who have power over you.

Walk slowly and deliberately. To appear hurried is to appear powerless, as if you were Use facial expressions and gestures as appropriate; these help you express your concern for the other person and the interaction and help you communicate your comfort and control of the situation.

Consider standing relatively close to your listeners (even in public speaking); it will
create greater immediacy and is likely to be more persuasive.

Other things being equal, dress relatively conservatively if you want to influence
others; conservative clothing is associated with power and status.

Select chairs you can get in and out of easily; avoid deep plush chairs that you will
sink into and have trouble getting out of.

To communicate dominance with your handshake, exert more pressure than usual and
hold the grip a bit longer than normal.

Use consistent packaging; be careful that your verbal and nonverbal messages do not
contradict each other, a signal of uncertainty and a lack of conviction.

Be sure to respond in kind to anothers eyebrow flash (raising the eyebrow as a way of
acknowledging another person).

When you break eye contact, direct your gaze downward; otherwise you will communicate a lack of interest in the other person.

Thinking about Your Communicating @ Work

Do you recognize these nonverbal cues in the communication behavior of those in power? Do you recognize these nonverbal cues in your own behaviors?

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http://www.ablongman.com/devito steer. But in Italy its an insult that means Your spouse is having an affair with someone else. In parts of South America its a gesture to ward off evil, and in parts of Africa its a curse: May you experience bad times. In the United States and in much of Asia, hugs are rarely exchanged among acquaintances; but among Latins and southern Europeans, hugging is a common greeting gesture, and failing to hug someone may communicate unfriendliness.

THE CHANNELS OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Nonverbal communication is probably most easily explained in terms of the various channels through which messages pass. Here well survey 10 channels: body, face, eye, space, artifactual, touch, paralanguage, silence, time, and smell.

The Body
Two areas of the body are especially important in communicating messages. First, the movements you make with your body communicate; second, the general appearance of your body communicates.

Body Movements
Researchers in kinesics, or the study of nonverbal communication through face and body movements, identify five major types of movements: emblems, illustrators, affect displays, regulators, and adaptors (Ekman & Friesen, 1969; Knapp & Hall, 1997). Emblems are body gestures that directly translate into words or phrases; for example, the OK sign, the thumbs-up for good job, and the V for victory. You use these consciously and purposely to communicate the same meaning as the words. But emblems are culture specific, so be careful when using your cultures emblems in other cultures. For example, when President Nixon visited Latin America and gestured with the OK sign, intending to communicate something positive, he was quickly informed that this gesture was not universal. In Latin America the gesture has a far more negative meaning. Here are a few cultural differences in the emblems you may commonly use (Axtell, 1993):

In the United States, to say hello you wave with

your whole hand moving from side to side, but in a large part of Europe that same signal means no. In Greece such a gesture would be considered insulting. The V for victory is common throughout much of the world; but if you make this gesture in England with the palm facing your face, its as insulting as the raised middle finger is in the United States. In Texas the raised fist with little finger and index finger held upright is a positive expression of support, because it represents the Texas longhorn

Illustrators enhance (literally illustrate) the verbal messages they accompany. For example, when referring to something to the left, you might gesture toward the left. Most often you illustrate with your hands, but you can also illustrate with head and general body movements. You might, for example, turn your head or your entire body toward the left. You might also use illustrators to communicate the shape or size of objects youre talking about. Affect displays are movements of the face (smiling or frowning, for example) but also of the hands and general body (body tension or relaxation, for example) that communicate emotional meaning. Affect displays are often unconscious; you smile or frown, for example, without awareness. At other times, however, you may smile consciously, trying to convey your pleasure or satisfaction. Regulators are behaviors that monitor, control, coordinate, or maintain the speaking of another individual. When you nod your head, for example, you tell the speaker to keep on speaking; when you lean forward and open your mouth, you tell the speaker that you would like to say something. Adaptors are gestures that satisfy some personal need, such as scratching to relieve an itch or moving your hair out of your eyes. Self-adaptors are selftouching movements (for example, rubbing your nose). Alter-adaptors are movements directed at the person with whom youre speaking, such as removing lint from someones jacket or straightening a persons tie or folding your arms in front of you to keep others a comfortable distance from you. Objectadaptors are gestures focused on objects, such as doodling on or shredding a Styrofoam coffee cup.

Body Appearance
Your general body appearance also communicates. Height, for example, has been shown to be significant in a wide variety of situations. Tall presidential

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MEDIA WATCH
egible clothing is anything that you wear that contains some verbal message; its clothing that literally can be read. In some instances the message proclaims status; it tells others that you are, for example, rich or stylish or youthful. The Gucci or Louis Vuitton logos on your luggage communicate your financial status. Your Bulls or Pirates sweatshirt communicates your interest in sports and your favorite team. Items of legible clothing are being bought and worn in record numbers. Many designers and manufacturers have their names integrated into the design of the clothing: DKNY, Calvin Klein, Armani, L. L. Bean, the Gap, and Old Navy are just a few examples. At the same time that youre paying extra to buy the brand name, youre also providing free advertising. T-shirts and sweatshirts are especially popular as message senders. One study surveyed 600 male and female students as to the types of T-shirt messages they preferred (Sayre, 1992). Four kinds of messages were cited most often:

LEGIBLE CLOTHING
Metaphorical expressions, such as pictures of
rock groups or famous athletes, reveal that youre a part of the current trend.

Personal messages, such as statements of

beliefs or philosophies, tell others that youre willing to express your beliefs publicly.

Follow-Up.

Affiliation messages, such as a club or school

name, communicate that youre a part of a larger group.

Trophy names, such as those of a high-status

concert or perhaps a ski lodge, say that you were in the right place at the right time.

Affiliation messages may create problems when they identify the wearer as a member of a gang, because wearing gang colors can contribute to violence, especially in schools (Burke, 1993). And personal messages may create conflict when they insult one gender, group, or popular and cherished belief. For example, the Wall Street Journal reports that boy-bashing slogans (Boys are great. Every girl should own one or I make boys cry or Boys make good pets) are becoming increasingly popular with teenage girls, although they dont have the same sexual harassment connotations that girl-bashing slogans seem to have (Zimmerman, 2000). How do you feel about these types of clothing messages? Do you feel that some clothing messages should be prohibited? If so, which ones? Or do you feel that such messages should be protected by the First Amendment guarantee of freedom of speech?

candidates have a much better record of winning the election than do their shorter opponents. Tall people seem to be paid more and are favored by interviewers over shorter applicants (Keyes, 1980; Guerrero, DeVito, & Hecht, 1999; Knapp & Hall, 1997). Your body also reveals your race (through skin color and tone) and may also give clues as to your more specific nationality. Your weight in proportion to your height will also communicate messages to others, as will the length, color, and style of your hair. Your general attractiveness is also a part of body communication. Attractive people have the advantage in just about every activity you can name. They get better grades in school, are more valued as friends and lovers, and are preferred as coworkers (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). Although we

normally think that attractiveness is culturally determinedand to some degree it isresearch seems to indicate that definitions of attractiveness are becoming universal (Brody, 1994). A person rated as attractive in one culture is likely to be rated as attractive in other cultureseven in cultures whose people are widely different in appearance.

Facial Communication
Throughout your interactions, your face communicates various messages, especially your emotions. Facial movements alone seem to communicate the degree of pleasantness, agreement, and sympathy felt; the rest of the body doesnt provide any additional information. But for other emotional messagesfor example, the intensity with which an

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GOING ONLINE
The Face Recognition Home Page http://www.cs.rug.nl/ ~peterkr/FACE/face.html
This face recognition website provides links to a wide variety of information about the human face, including research groups and books and websites containing additional insights.

emotion is feltboth facial and bodily cues are used (Graham, Bitti, & Argyle, 1975; Graham & Argyle, 1975). So important are these cues in communicating your full meaning that graphic representations are now commonly used in Internet communication. In

graphic user interface chat groups, buttons are available to help you encode your emotions graphically. Table 8.1 identifies some of the more common emoticons, icons that communicate emotions. Some researchers in nonverbal communication claim that facial movements may express at least

TABLE 8.1

Some Popular Emoticons

Here are a few of the many popular emoticons used in computer communication. The first six are popular in the United States; the last three are popular in Japan and illustrate how culture influences such symbols. That is, because Japanese culture considers it impolite for women to show their teeth when smiling, the emoticon for a womans smile shows a dot signifying a closed mouth. Two excellent websites that contain extensive examples of smileys, emoticons, acronyms, and shorthand abbreviations are wysiwyg://5http://www.netlingo.com/smiley.cfm and wysiwyg://3http://www.netlingo.com/emailsh.cfm.

Emoticon
:-) :-( * {} {*****} _This is important_

Meaning
Smile; Im kidding Frown; Im feeling down Kiss Hug Hugs and kisses Gives emphasis, calls special attention to

Emoticon
*This is important* <G> <grin> ^.^ ^_^ ^ o ^

Meaning
Substitutes for underlining or italics Grin; Im kidding Grin; Im kidding Womans smile Mans smile Happy

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages the following eight emotions: happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, contempt, and interest (Ekman, Friesen, & Ellsworth, 1972). Facial expressions of these emotions are generally called primary affect displays: They indicate relatively pure, single emotions. Other emotional states and other facial displays are combinations of these various primary emotions and are called affect blends. You communicate these blended feelings with different parts of your face. Thus, for example, you may experience both fear and disgust at the same time. Your eyes and eyelids may signal fear, and movements of your nose, cheek, and mouth area may signal disgust. You may wish to explore facial expressions with the exercise How Can You Make a Face? at www.ablongman.com/devito.

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ple, to hide certain emotions and to emphasize others. Here are four facial management techniques that you will quickly recognize (Malandro, Barker, & Barker, 1989):

Intensifying helps you to exaggerate a feeling;

for example, to exaggerate your surprise when friends throw you a party, so as to make your friends feel better. Deintensifying helps you to underplay a feeling; for example, to cover up your own joy in the presence of a friend who didnt receive such good news. ple, to cover up your sadness so as not to depress others. Masking helps you to replace or substitute the expression of one emotion for the emotion youre really feeling; for example, to express happiness in order to cover up your disappointment about not receiving the gift you had expected.

Neutralizing helps you to hide feelings; for exam

Facial Management Techniques

As you grew up, you learned your cultures nonverbal system of communication. You also learned certain facial management techniques; for exam-

UNDERSTANDING THEORY AND RESEARCH

Expressions and Attitudes
he facial feedback hypothesis holds that your facial expressions influence physiological arousal (Lanzetta, Cartwright-Smith, & Kleck, 1976; Zuckerman, Klorman, Larrance, & Spiegel, 1981). In one study, for example, participants held a pen in their teeth to simulate a sad expression and then rated a series of photographs. Results showed that mimicking sad expressions actually increased the degree of sadness the subjects reported feeling when viewing the photographs (Larsen, Kasimatis, & Frey, 1992). Further support for this hypothesis comes from a study that compared (1) participants who felt emotions such as happiness and anger with (2) participants who both felt and expressed these emotions. In support of the facial feedback hypothesis, subjects who felt and expressed the emotions became emotionally aroused faster than did those who only felt the emotions (Hess, Kappas, McHugo, & Lanzetta, 1992).

Generally, research finds that facial expressions can produce or heighten feelings of sadness, fear, disgust, and anger. But this effect does not occur with all emotions; smiling, for example, doesnt seem to make us feel happier (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). Further, it has not been demonstrated that facial expressions can eliminate one feeling and replace it with another: If youre feeling sad, smiling will not eliminate the sadness and replace it with gladness. A reasonable conclusion seems to be that your facial expressions can influence some feelings but not all (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996; Cappella, 1993).

Working with Theories and Research. Test out this theory yourself or with a few friends. Do your findings support the theory?

140 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

These facial management techniques are learned along with display rules, which tell you what emotions to express when; theyre the rules of appropriateness. For example, when someone gets bad news in which you may secretly take pleasure, the display rule dictates that you frown and otherwise nonverbally signal your displeasure. If you violate this kind of display rule, youll be judged insensitive.

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EncodingDecoding Accuracy
One popular question concerns the accuracy with which people can encode and decode emotions through facial expressions. One problem confronting us as we try to answer this question is that its difficult to separate the ability of the encoder from the ability of the decoder. Thus, a person may be quite adept at communicating emotions nonverbally, but the receiver may prove insensitive. On the other hand, the receiver may be good at deciphering emotions, but the sender may be inept. For example, introverts are not as accurate at decoding nonverbal cues as are extroverts (Akert & Panter, 1986). Research in 11 different countries shows that women are better than men at both encoding and decoding nonverbal cues (Rosenthal & DePaulo, 1979). It may be argued that because men and women play different roles in society, theyve learned different adaptive techniques and skills to help them perform these roles. Thus, in most societies women are expected to be more friendly, nurturing, and supportive and so learn these skills (Eagly & Crowley, 1986). Accuracy also varies with the emotions themselves. Some emotions are easier to encode and decode than others. In one study, for example, people judged facial expressions of happiness with an accuracy ranging from 55 to 100 percent, surprise from 38 to 86 percent, and sadness from 19 to 88 percent (Ekman, Friesen, & Ellsworth, 1972).

(Argyle & Ingham, 1972; Argyle, 1988). When eye contact falls short of this amount, you may think the person is uninterested, shy, or preoccupied. When the appropriate amount of time is exceeded, you may perceive the person as showing unusually high interest. An exercise, How Can You Make Eye Contact? will allow you to explore further the nature of eye contact and may be found at www.ablongman.com/devito. The direction of the eye also communicates. In much of the United States, youre expected to glance alternately at the other persons face, then away, then again at the face, and so on. The rule for the public speaker is to scan the entire audience, not focusing for too long on or ignoring any one area of the audience. When you break these directional rules, you communicate different meanings abnormally high or low interest, self-consciousness, nervousness over the interaction, and so on. The quality of eye behaviorhow wide or how narrow your eyes get during interactionalso communicates meaning, especially interest level and such emotions as surprise, fear, and disgust.

The Functions of Eye Contact and Eye Avoidance

Eye contact can serve a variety of functions. One such function is to seek feedback. In talking with someone, we look at her or him intently, as if to say, Well, what do you think? As you might predict, listeners gaze at speakers more than speakers gaze at listeners. In public speaking, you may scan hundreds of people to secure this feedback. A second function is to inform the other person that the channel of communication is open and that he or she should now speak. You see this regularly in conversation, when one person asks a question or finishes a thought and then looks to you for a response. And one study found that eye contact was the most frequently noted nonverbal behavior used to tell library users that the librarian was approachable (Radford, 1998). Eye movements may also signal the nature of a relationship, whether positive (an attentive glance) or negative (eye avoidance). You can also signal your power through visual dominance behavior (Exline, Ellyson, & Long, 1975). The average speaker, for example, maintains a high level of eye contact while listening and a lower level while speaking. When people want to signal dominance, they may reverse this patternmaintaining a high level of

Eye Communication
Research on the messages communicated by the eyes (a study known technically as oculesis) shows that these messages vary depending on the duration, direction, and quality of the eye behavior. For example, in every culture there are strict, though unstated, rules for the proper duration for eye contact. In U.S. culture the average length of gaze is 2.95 seconds. The average length of mutual gaze (two persons gazing at each other) is 1.18 seconds

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages eye contact while talking but a much lower level while listening. By making eye contact you psychologically lessen the physical distance between yourself and another person. When you catch someones eye at a party, for example, you become psychologically close though physically far apart. Eye avoidance can also serve several different functions. When you avoid eye contact or avert your glance, you may help others maintain their privacy. For example, you may do this when you see a couple arguing in public. You turn your eyes away (though your eyes may be wide open) as if to say, I dont mean to intrude; I respect your privacy, a behavior referred to as civil inattention (Goffman, 1971). Eye avoidance can also signal lack of interestin a person, a conversation, or some visual stimulus. At times, too, you may hide your eyes to block out unpleasant stimuli (a particularly gory or violent scene in a movie, for example) or close your eyes to block out visual stimuli and thus heighten other senses. For example, you may listen to music with your eyes closed. Lovers often close their eyes while kissing, and many prefer to make love in a dark or dimly lit room.

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ally aroused. When homosexuals and heterosexuals were shown pictures of nude bodies, the homosexuals pupils dilated more when they viewed same-sex bodies, whereas the heterosexuals pupils dilated more when they viewed opposite-sex bodies (Hess, Seltzer, & Schlien, 1965). These pupillary responses are also observed in persons with profound mental retardation (Chaney, Givens, Aoki, & Gombiner, 1989). Perhaps we judge dilated pupils as more attractive because we respond to them as indicative of a persons interest in us. And that may be the reason why both models and fuzzy beanbag toys have exceptionally large pupils.

Space Communication
Your use of space to communicatean area of study known technically as proxemicsspeaks as surely and as loudly as words and sentences. Speakers who stand close to their listener, with their hands on the listeners shoulders and their eyes focused directly on those of the listener, communicate something very different from speakers who stand in a corner with arms folded and eyes downcast.

Spatial Distances
Edward Hall (1959, 1963, 1976) distinguishes four proxemic distances: types of spatial distances that define the types of relationships between people and the types of communication in which theyre likely to engage (see Table 8.2). In intimate distance, ranging from actual touching to 18 inches, the presence of the other individual is unmistakable. Each person experiences the sound, smell, and feel of the others breath. You use intimate distance for lovemaking, comforting, and protecting. This distance is so short that most people dont consider it proper in public. Personal distance refers to the protective bubble that defines your personal space, ranging from 18 inches to 4 feet. This imaginary bubble keeps you protected and untouched by others. You can still hold or grasp another person at this distance, but only by extending your arms; this allows you to take certain individuals such as loved ones into your protective bubble. At the outer limit of personal distance, you can touch another person only if both of you extend your arms. This is the distance at which you conduct most of your interpersonal interactions; for example, talking with friends and family.

Pupil Dilation
In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, Italian women put drops of belladonna (which literally means beautiful woman) into their eyes to enlarge the pupils so that they would look more attractive. Contemporary pupillometrics research supports the intuitive logic of these women; dilated pupils are judged more attractive than constricted ones (Hess, 1975; Marshall, 1983). In one study, researchers retouched photographs of women; in half they enlarged the pupils, and in the other half they made them smaller (Hess, 1975). Men were then asked to judge the womens personalities from the photographs. The photos of women with small pupils drew responses such as cold, hard, and selfish; those with dilated pupils drew responses such as feminine and soft. Interestingly, the male observers could not verbalize the reasons for their different perceptions. Pupil dilation and our reactions to changes in the pupil size of others may function below the level of conscious awareness. Pupil size also reveals your interest and level of emotional arousal. Your pupils enlarge when youre interested in something or when you are emotion-

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TABLE 8.2

Relationships and Proxemic Distances

Note that these four distances can be further divided into close and far phases and that the far phase of one level (say, personal) blends into the close phase of the next level (social). Do your relationships also blend into one another? Or are, say, your personal relationships totally separate from your social relationships?

Relationship
Intimate relationship

Distance
Intimate distance 0 close phase 18 inches far phase

Personal relationship

Personal distance 112 close phase 4 feet far phase

Social relationship

Social distance 4 close phase 12 feet far phase

Public relationship

Public distance 12 close phase 25+ feet far phase

At social distance, ranging from 4 to 12 feet, you lose the visual detail you have at personal distance. You conduct impersonal business and interact at a social gathering at this social distance. The more distance you maintain in your interactions, the more formal they appear. In offices of high officials, the desks are positioned so the official is assured of at least this distance from clients. Public distance, from 12 to more than 25 feet, protects you. At this distance you could take defensive action if threatened. On a public bus or train, for example, you might keep at least this distance from a drunken passenger. Although at this distance you lose fine details of the face and eyes, youre still close enough to see what is happening.

Influences on Space Communication

Several factors influence the way you relate to and use space in communicating. Here are a few examples of how status, culture, subject matter, gender,

and age influence space communication (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). People of equal status maintain shorter distances between themselves than do people of unequal status. When status is unequal, the higher-status person may approach the lower-status person more closely than the lower-status person would approach the higher-status person. Members of different cultures treat space differently. For example, people from northern European cultures and many Americans stand fairly far apart when conversing; those from southern European and Middle Eastern cultures stand much closer. Its easy to see how people who normally stand far apart may interpret the close distances of others as pushy and overly intimate. Its equally easy to appreciate how those who normally stand close may interpret the far distances of others as cold and unfriendly. When discussing personal subjects you maintain shorter distances than with impersonal subjects.

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BUILDING COMMUNICATION SKILLS

How Can You Choose a Seat?
ith your recently acquired sensitivity to nonverbal cues, where would you sit in each of the following situations to best achieve the purposes identified? What would be your first choice? Your second choice? You want to polish the apple and ingratiate yourself with your boss. You arent prepared and want to be ignored. You want to challenge your boss on a certain policy that will come up for a vote. You want to be accepted as a new (but important) member of the company. You want to get to know the person already seated at position number 5. After making your choices, consider why you made them. Do you normally make choices based on such factors as these? What interpersonal factorsfor example, the desire to talk to or get a closer look at someoneinfluence your day-to-day seating behavior?

12 11 10
Boss

1 2

8 7 6 5

Also, you stand closer to someone who is praising you than to someone criticizing you. Your gender also influences your spatial relationships. Women generally stand closer to each other than men do. Similarly, when someone approaches another person, he or she will come closer to a woman than to a man. With increasing age theres a tendency for the spaces to become larger. Children stand much closer to each other than do adults. These research findings provide some evidence that maintaining distance is a learned behavior. The evaluation you make of a person (whether positive or negative) will also influence your space. For example, you stand farther from enemies, authority figures, and higher-status individuals than from friends and peers. You maintain a greater distance from people you see as different from yourself; for example, different in race or in physical condition. Typically, you maintain more distance

between yourself and people you may unconsciously evaluate negatively.

Territoriality
One of the most interesting concepts in ethology (the study of animals in their natural surroundings) is territoriality, a possessive or ownership reaction to an area of space or to particular objects. Two interesting dimensions of territoriality are territorial types and territorial markers.

Territory Types
Three types of territory are often distinguished: primary, secondary, and public (Altman, 1975). Primary territories are your exclusive preserve: your desk, room, house, or backyard, for example. In these areas youre in control. The effect is similar to

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UNDERSTANDING THEORY

AND RESEARCH

Space Violations
xpectancy violations theory explains what happens when you increase or decrease the distance between yourself and another person in an interpersonal interaction (Burgoon, 1978; Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). Each culture has certain expectancies about the distance that people should normally maintain in their conversations. And, of course, each person has certain idiosyncrasies. Together these determine expected distance. If you violate the expected distance to a great extent (small violations most often go unnoticed), then the relationship itself comes into focus. Then the other person begins to turn attention away from the topic of conversation and toward you and your relationship with him or her.

If this other person perceives you positivelyfor example, if youre a high-status person or youre particularly attractivethen youll be perceived even more positively if you violate the expected distance. If, on the other hand, youre perceived negatively and you violate the norm, youll be perceived even more negatively.

Working with Theories and Research. Do your own experiences support this theory of space violations? What do you see happen when space expectations are violated?

the home field advantage that a sports team has when playing in its own ballpark. When youre in these home territories, you generally have greater influence over others than you would in someone elses territory. For example, in their own home or office people generally take on a kind of leadership role; they initiate conversations, fill in silences, assume relaxed and comfortable postures, and maintain their positions with greater conviction. Because the territorial owner is dominant, you stand a better chance of getting your raise approved, your point accepted, or a contract resolved in your favor if youre in your own primary territory (home, office) rather than in someone elses (Marsh, 1988). Secondary territories, although they dont belong to you, are associated with youperhaps because youve occupied them for a long time or they were assigned to you. For example, your desk in a classroom may become a secondary territory if it is assigned to you or if you regularly occupy it and others treat it as yours. Your neighborhood turf, a cafeteria table where you usually sit, or a favorite corner of a local coffee shop may be secondary territories. You feel a certain ownership-like attachment to the place, even though its really not yours in any legal sense.

Public territories are areas that are open to all people, such as a park, movie house, restaurant, or beach. European cafs, food courts in suburban malls, and the open areas in large city office buildings are public spaces that bring people together and stimulate communication. The electronic revolution, however, may well change the role of public space in stimulating communication (Drucker & Gumpert, 1991; Gumpert & Drucker, 1995). For example, home shopping clubs make it less necessary for people to go downtown or to the mall, and shoppers consequently have less opportunity to run into other people and to talk and exchange news. Similarly, electronic mail permits us to communicate without talking and without even leaving the house to mail a letter. Perhaps the greatest change is telecommuting (Giordano, 1989), in which workers can go to work without even leaving their homes. The face-to-face communication that normally takes place in an office is replaced by communication via computer. Territoriality is closely linked to status. Generally, the size and location of your territories signal your status within your social group. For example, male animals will stake out a particular territory and consider it their own. They will allow prospec-

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages tive mates to enter but will defend the territory against entrance by others, especially by other males of the same species. The larger the animals territory, the higher the animal is in status within the herd. The size and location of human territories also say something about status (Mehrabian, 1976; Sommer, 1969). An apartment or office in midtown Manhattan or downtown Tokyo, for example, is extremely high-status territory. The cost of the territory restricts it to those who have lots of money.

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Territorial Markers
Much as animals mark their territory, humans mark theirs with three types of markers: central markers, boundary markers, and earmarkers (Hickson & Stacks, 1993). Central markers are items you place in a territory to reserve it. For example, you place a drink at the bar, books on your desk, or a sweater over the chair to let others know that these territories belong to you. Boundary markers set boundaries that divide your territory from theirs. In the supermarket checkout line, the bar placed between your groceries and those of the person behind you is a boundary marker. Similarly, the armrests separating your seat from those of the people on either side at a movie theater and the molded plastic seats on a bus or train are boundary markers. Earmarkersa term taken from the practice of branding animals on their earsare those identifying marks that indicate your possession of a territory or object. Trademarks, nameplates, and initials on a shirt or attach case are all examples of earmarkers.

crease with red light and decrease with blue light. Similarly, eye blinks increase in frequency when eyes are exposed to red light and decrease when exposed to blue. These responses seem consistent with our intuitive feelings about blue being more soothing and red more arousing. When a school changed the color of its walls from orange and white to blue, the blood pressure of the students decreased and their academic performance increased (Ketcham, 1958; Malandro, Barker, & Barker, 1989). Color communication also influences perceptions and behaviors (Kanner, 1989). Peoples acceptance of a product, for example, is largely determined by its packaging, especially its color. In one study the very same coffee taken from a yellow can was described as weak, from a dark brown can as too strong, from a red can as rich, and from a blue can as mild. Even your acceptance of a person may depend on the colors he or she wears. Consider, for example, the comments of one color expert (Kanner, 1989): If you have to pick the wardrobe for your defense lawyer heading into court and choose anything but blue, you deserve to lose the case. Black is so powerful it could work against the lawyer with the jury. Brown lacks sufficient authority. Green would probably elicit a negative response. If you wish to pursue this role of color in communication, take a look at How Can You Express Meanings with Color? at www.ablongman.com/devito.

Clothing and Body Adornment

People make inferences about who you are, at least in part, from the way you dress. Whether these inferences are accurate or not, they will influence what people think of you and how they react to you. Your socioeconomic class, your seriousness, your attitudes (for example, whether youre conservative or liberal), your concern for convention, your sense of style, and perhaps even your creativity will all be judged in part by the way you dress (Molloy, 1975, 1977, 1981; Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996; Knapp & Hall, 1997). Similarly, college students will perceive an instructor dressed informally as friendly, fair, enthusiastic, and flexible; they will see the same instructor dressed formally as prepared, knowledgeable, and organized (Malandro, Barker, & Barker, 1989). The way you wear your hair says something about your attitudesfrom a concern about being up to date to a desire to shock to perhaps a lack of interest in appearances. Men with long hair will generally

Artifactual Communication
Artifactual communication is communication via objects made by human hands. Thus, color, clothing, jewelry, and the decoration of space would be considered artifactual. Lets look at each of these briefly. Another aspect of artifactual communicationgift giving and the meanings that different gifts can communicate in different culturesis explored in the exercise How Can You Give Gifts in Different Cultures? available at www. ablongman.com/devito.

Color Communication
There is some evidence that colors affect us physiologically. For example, respiratory movements in-

146 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

be judged as less conservative than those with shorter hair. Your jewelry also communicates about you. Wedding and engagement rings are obvious examples that communicate specific messages. College rings and political buttons likewise communicate specific messages. If you wear a Rolex watch or large precious stones, others are likely to infer that youre rich. Men who wear earrings will be judged differently from men who dont. What judgments are made will depend on who the receiver is, the communication context, and all the factors identified throughout this text.

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a short time the child learns to communicate a wide variety of meanings through touch.

The Meanings of Touch

Touch communicates a wide variety of messages (Jones & Yarbrough, 1985). Here are five major ones that will illustrate this great variety.

Touch communicates positive feelings; for example, support, appreciation, inclusion, sexual interest or intent, composure, immediacy, affection, trust, similarity and quality, and informality (Jones & Yarbrough, 1985; Burgoon, 1991). Touch also stimulates self-disclosure (Rabinowitz, 1991).

Space Decoration
The way you decorate your private spaces also communicates about you. The office with a mahogany desk and bookcases and oriental rugs communicates your importance and status within an organization, just as a metal desk and bare floor indicate a worker much farther down in the hierarchy. Similarly, people will make inferences about you based on the way you decorate your home. The expensiveness of the furnishings may communicate your status and wealth; their coordination may convey your sense of style. The magazines may reflect your interests, and the arrangement of chairs around a television set may reveal how important watching television is to you. The contents of bookcases lining the walls reveal the importance of reading in your life. In fact, theres probably little in your home that would not send messages from which others would draw inferences about you. Computers, wide-screen televisions, well-equipped kitchens, and oil paintings of great grandparents, for example, all say something about the people who live in the home. Similarly, the absence of certain items will communicate something about you. Consider what messages youd get from a home where no television, phone, or books could be seen.

Touch often communicates your intention to

play, either affectionately or aggressively.

Touch Communication
The study of touch communication, technically referred to as haptics, suggests that touch is perhaps the most primitive form of communication (Montagu, 1971). Developmentally, touch is probably the first sense to be used. Even in the womb the child is stimulated by touch. Soon after birth the child is fondled, caressed, patted, and stroked. In turn, the child explores its world through touch. In

Consider, as Nancy Henley suggests in her Body Politics (1977), who would touch whom (say, by putting an arm on the other persons shoulder or by putting a hand on the other persons back) in the following dyads: teacher and student, doctor and patient, manager and worker, minister and parishioner, business executive and secretary. Do your answers reveal that the higher-status person initiates touch with the lowerstatus person? Henley further argues that in addition to indicating relative status, touching demonstrates the assertion of superior male status, power, and dominance over women. When women touch men, Henley says, the interpretation that it designates a female-dominant relationship is not acceptable (to men) and so the touching is interpreted as a sexual invitation. What do you think of this argument?

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages

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Touch may control the behaviors, attitudes, or

feelings of the other person. To obtain compliance, for example, you touch the other person to communicate move over, hurry, stay here, or do it. You might also touch a person to gain his or her attention, as if to say look at me or look over here. In some situations touching can even amount to a kind of nonverbal dominace behavior. Ritualistic touching centers on greetings and departures; examples are shaking hands to say hello or good-bye, hugging, kissing, or putting your arm around anothers shoulder when greeting or saying farewell. Task-related touching is associated with the performance of some function, as when you remove a speck of dust from another persons coat, help someone out of a car, or check someones forehead for fever.

5. I like it when members of the opposite sex touch me. 6. People shouldnt be so uptight about touching persons of the same sex. 7. I think it is vulgar when members of the opposite sex touch me. 8. When a member of the opposite sex touches me, I find it unpleasant. 9. I wish I were free to show emotions by touching members of same sex. 10. Id enjoy giving a massage to an opposite-sex friend. 11. I enjoy kissing a person of the same sex. 12. I like to touch friends that are the same sex as I am. 13. Touching a friend of the same sex does not make me uncomfortable. 14. I find it enjoyable when my date and I embrace. 15. I enjoy getting a back rub from a member of the opposite sex. 16. I dislike kissing relatives of the same sex. 17. Intimate touching with members of the opposite sex is pleasurable. 18. I find it difficult to be touched by a member of my own sex.

Touch Avoidance
Much as you have a need and desire to touch and be touched, you also have a tendency to avoid touch from certain people or in certain circumstances (Andersen & Leibowitz, 1978). You may wish to examine your own touch avoidance tendency by taking the self-test below.

TEST YOURSELF
Do You Avoid Touch?
This test is composed of 18 statements concerning how you feel about touching other people and being touched. Please indicate the degree to which each statement applies to you according to the following scale: 1 = strongly agree; 2 = agree; 3 = undecided; 4 = disagree; and 5 = strongly disagree. 1. A hug from a same-sex friend is a true sign of friendship. 2. Opposite-sex friends enjoy it when I touch them. 3. I often put my arm around friends of the same sex. 4. When I see two friends of the same sex hugging, it revolts me.

How did you do?

questionnaire:

To score your touch avoidance

1. Reverse your scores for items 4, 7, 8, 16, and 18. Use these reversed scores in all future calculations. 2. To obtain your same-sex touch avoidance score (the extent to which you avoid touching members of your sex), total the scores for items 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 16, and 18. 3. To obtain your opposite-sex touch avoidance score (the extent to which you avoid touching members of the opposite sex), total the scores for items 2, 5, 7, 8, 10, 14, 15, and 17. 4. To obtain your total touch avoidance score, add the subtotals from steps 2 and 3. The higher the score, the higher the touch avoidancethat is, the greater your tendency to avoid touch. In studies by Andersen and Leibowitz (1978), who constructed this test, average opposite-sex touch avoidance scores were 12.9 for males and 14.85 for females. Average same-sex touch avoidance scores were 26.43 for

148 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

males and 21.70 for females. How do your scores compare with those of the college students in Andersen and Leibowitzs study? Is your touch avoidance likely to be higher when you are interacting with persons who are culturally different from you? Can you identify types of people and types of situations in which your touch avoidance would be especially high? Especially low?

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Is this the face that launched a thousand ships? Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?
Each sentence communicates something different; in fact, each asks a different question, even though the words are exactly the same. All that distinguishes the sentences is stress, one aspect of paralanguage. In addition to stress and pitch (highness or lowness), paralanguage includes such voice qualities as rate (speed), volume (loudness), and rhythm as well as the vocalizations you make in crying, whispering, moaning, belching, yawning, and yelling (Trager, 1958, 1961; Argyle, 1988). A variation in any of these features communicates. When you speak quickly, for example, you communicate something different from when you speak slowly. Even though the words may be the same, if the speed (or volume, rhythm, or pitch) differs, the meanings people receive will also differ.

What will you do?

Are you satisfied with your score? Would you like to change your touch avoidance tendencies? What might you do about them?

Source: From Development and Nature of the Construct Touch Avoidance by Peter Andersen and Ken Leibowitz in Environmental Psychology and Nonverbal Behavior, Vol. 3, 1978, pp. 89106. Copyright 1978 Plenum Publishing Corporation. Reprinted by Plenum Publishing Corporation as publisher.

Based on the self-test presented here, several interesting connections between touch avoidance and other factors have been found (Andersen & Liebowitz, 1978). For example, touch avoidance is positively related to communication apprehension. If you have a strong fear of oral communication, then you probably also have strong touch avoidance tendencies. Touch avoidance is also high in those who self-disclose less. Both touch and self-disclosure are intimate forms of communication. People who are reluctant to get close to another person by self-disclosing also seem reluctant to get close by touching. Older people avoid touch with opposite-sex persons more than do younger people. As people get older theyre touched less by members of the opposite sex; this decreased frequency of touching may lead them to avoid touching.

Judgments about People

Paralanguage cues are often used as a basis for judgments about people; for example, evaluations of their emotional state or even their personality. A listener can accurately judge the emotional state of a speaker from vocal expression alone, if both speaker and listener speak the same language. Paralanguage cues are not so accurate when used to communicate emotions to those who speak a different language (Albas, McCluskey, & Albas, 1976). Also, some emotions are easier to identify than others; its easy to distinguish between hate and sympathy but more difficult to distinguish between fear and anxiety. And, of course, listeners vary in their ability to decode, and speakers in their ability to encode emotions (Scherer, 1986).

Paralanguage: The Vocal Channel

Paralanguage is the vocal but nonverbal dimension of speech. It has to do not with what you say but with how you say it. A traditional exercise students use to increase their ability to express different emotions, feelings, and attitudes is to repeat a sentence while accenting or stressing different words. One popular sentence is, Is this the face that launched a thousand ships? Significant differences in meaning are easily communicated depending on where the speaker places the stress. Consider the following variations:

Judgments about Communication Effectiveness

In one-way communication (when one person is doing all or most of the speaking and the other person is doing all or most of the listening), those who talk fast (about 50 percent faster than normal) are more persuasive (MacLachlan, 1979). People agree more with a fast speaker than with a slow speaker and find the fast speaker more intelligent and objective. When we look at comprehension, rapid speech shows an interesting effect. When the speaking rate is increased by 50 percent, the comprehension level

Is this the face that launched a thousand ships? Is this the face that launched a thousand ships?

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages

149

BUILDING COMMUNICATION SKILLS

How Can You Praise and Criticize?
onsider how paralanguage variations can communicate praise and criticism by reading each of the following 10 statements aloudfirst to communicate praise in each case and second, criticism. Then consider what paralanguage cues you used to convey the praise and criticism. Did you read the statements with different facial expressions, eye movements, and body postures depending on your desire to communicate praise or criticism? Now that looks good on you. You lost weight.

You look younger than that. Youre gonna make it. That was some meal. You really know yourself. Youre an expert. Youre so sensitive. Im amazed. Your parents are really something. Are you ready? Already?

drops by only 5 percent. When the rate is doubled, the comprehension level drops only 10 percent. These 5 and 10 percent losses are more than offset by the increased speed; thus the faster rates are much more efficient in communicating information. If speeds are more than twice the rate of normal speech, however, comprehension begins to fall dramatically. Do exercise caution in applying this research to all forms of communication (MacLachlan, 1979). For example, if you increase your rate to increase efficiency, you may create an impression so unnatural that others will focus on your speed instead of your meaning.

Silence
Like words and gestures, silence, too, communicates important meanings and serves important functions (Johannesen, 1974; Jaworski, 1993). Silence allows the speaker time to think, time to formulate and organize his or her verbal communications. Before messages of intense conflict, as well as before those confessing undying love, theres often silence. Again, silence seems to prepare the receiver for the importance of these future messages. Some people use silence as a weapon to hurt others. We often speak of giving someone the silent treatment. After a conflict, for example, one or

both individuals may remain silent as a kind of punishment. Silence used to hurt others may also take the form of refusing to acknowledge the presence of another person, as in disconfirmation (see Unit 7); here silence is a dramatic demonstration of the total indifference one person feels toward the other. Sometimes silence is used as a response to personal anxiety, shyness, or threats. You may feel anxious or shy among new people and prefer to remain silent. By remaining silent you preclude the chance of rejection. Only when you break your silence and make an attempt to communicate with another person do you risk rejection. Silence may be used to prevent communication of certain messages. In conflict situations silence is sometimes used to prevent certain topics from surfacing and to prevent one or both parties from saying things they may later regret. In such situations silence often allows us time to cool off before expressing hatred, severe criticism, or personal attackswhich, as we know, are irreversible. Like the eyes, face, and hands, silence can also be used to communicate emotional responses (Ehrenhaus, 1988). Sometimes silence communicates a determination to be uncooperative or defiant; by refusing to engage in verbal communication, you defy the authority or the legitimacy of the other persons position. Silence is often used to communicate an-

150 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

noyance, particularly when accompanied by a pouting expression, arms crossed in front of the chest, and nostrils flared. Silence may express affection or love, especially when coupled with long and longing stares into each others eyes. Of course, you may also use silence when you simply have nothing to say, when nothing occurs to you, or when you dont want to say anything. James Russell Lowell expressed this best: Blessed are they who have nothing to say, and who cannot be persuaded to say it. Silence may also be used to avoid responsibility for any wrongdoing (Beach, 199091).

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4. I am able to resist temptations when I know there is work to be done. 5. I keep working at a difficult, uninteresting task if it will help me get ahead. 6. If things dont get done on time, I dont worry about it. 7. I think that its useless to plan too far ahead, because things hardly ever come out the way you planned anyway. 8. I try to live one day at a time. 9. I live to make better what is rather than to be concerned about what will be. 10. It seems to me that it doesnt make sense to worry about the future, since fate determines that whatever will be, will be. 11. I believe that getting together with friends to party is one of lifes important pleasures. 12. I do things impulsively, making decisions on the spur of the moment. 13. I take risks to put excitement in my life. 14. I get drunk at parties. 15. Its fun to gamble. 16. Thinking about the future is pleasant to me. 17. When I want to achieve something, I set subgoals and consider specific means for reaching those goals. 18. It seems to me that my career path is pretty well laid out. 19. It upsets me to be late for appointments. 20. I meet my obligations to friends and authorities on time. 21. I get irritated at people who keep me waiting when weve agreed to meet at a given time. 22. It makes sense to invest a substantial part of my income in insurance premiums. 23. I believe that A stitch in time saves nine. 24. I believe that A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush. 25. I believe it is important to save for a rainy day. 26. I believe a persons day should be planned each morning.

Time Communication
The study of temporal communication, known technically as chronemics, concerns the use of timehow you organize it, react to it, and communicate messages through it (Bruneau, 1985, 1990). Consider, for example, your psychological time orientation; the emphasis you place on the past, present, and future. In a past orientation, you have special reverence for the past. You relive old times and regard old methods as the best. You see events as circular and recurring, so the wisdom of yesterday is applicable also to today and tomorrow. In a present orientation, however, you live in the present: for now, not tomorrow. In a future orientation, you look toward and live for the future. You save today, work hard in college, and deny yourself luxuries because youre preparing for the future. Before reading more about time, take the self-test below.

TEST YOURSELF
What Time Do You Have?
For each statement, indicate whether the statement is true (T) or false (F) in relation to your general attitude and behavior. (A few statements are purposely repeated to facilitate scoring and analysis of your responses.) 1. Meeting tomorrows deadlines and doing other necessary work comes before tonights partying. 2. I meet my obligations to friends and authorities on time. 3. I complete projects on time by making steady progress.

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages

27. I make lists of things I must do. 28. When I want to achieve something, I set subgoals and consider specific means for reaching those goals. 29. I believe that A stitch in time saves nine.

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How did you do?

This time test measures seven different factors. If you selected true (T) for all or most of the statements within any given factor, you are probably high on that factor. If you selected false (F) for all or most of the statements within any given factor, you are probably low on that factor. The first factor, measured by items 15, is a future, work motivation, perseverance orientation. These people have a strong work ethic and are committed to completing a task despite difficulties and temptations. The second factor (items 610) is a present, fatalistic, worry-free orientation. High scorers on this factor live one day at a time, not necessarily to enjoy the day but to avoid planning for the next day or anxiety about the future. The third factor (items 1115) is a present, pleasureseeking, partying orientation. These people enjoy the present, take risks, and engage in a variety of impulsive actions. The fourth factor (items 1618) is a future, goalseeking, planning orientation. These people derive special pleasure from planning and achieving a variety of goals. The fifth factor (items 1921) is a time-sensitivity orientation. People who score high are especially sensitive

to time and its role in social obligations. The sixth factor (items 2225) is a future, practical action orientation. These people do what they have to dotake practical actionsto achieve the future they want. The seventh factor (items 2629) is a future, somewhat obsessive daily planning orientation. High scorers on this factor make daily to do lists and devote great attention to specific details.

What will you do? Now that you have some idea of how you treat time, consider how these attitudes and behaviors work for you. For example, will your time orientations help you achieve your social and professional goals? If not, what might you do about changing these attitudes and behaviors?
Source: From Time in Perspective by Alexander Gonzalez and Philip G. Zimbardo in Psychology Today, V. 19, pp. 2026. Reprinted with permission from Psychology Today magazine. Copyright 1985 Sussex Publishers, Inc.

The time orientation you develop depends to a great extent on your socioeconomic class and your personal experiences. Gonzalez and Zimbardo (1985), who developed the time quiz and on whose research the scoring is based, observe: A child with parents in unskilled and semiskilled occupations is usually socialized in a way that promotes a present-oriented fatalism and hedonism.

UNDERSTANDING THEORY AND RESEARCH

The Social Clock
our culture or, more specifically, your society maintains a schedule of the right times for doing a variety of important things; for example, the right times to start dating, to finish college, to buy your own home, or to have a child. This unwritten schedule provides you with a social clocka clock that will tell you if youre keeping pace with your peers, are ahead of them, or are falling behind (Neugarten, 1979). And although the social clock is becoming more flexible and more tolerant of deviations from the standard timetable, it still exerts pressure on you to keep pace with your peers (Peterson, 1996). On the basis of this social clock, which you learned as you grew up, you evaluate your own

social and professional development. If youre in step with the rest of your peersfor example, you started dating at the appropriate age or youre finishing college at the appropriate agethen youll feel well adjusted, competent, and a part of the group. If youre late, youll probably experience feelings of dissatisfaction.

Working with Theories and Research. How important is the social clock to you? Have you ever felt out of step with your peers in some area? Did your feeling influence your behavior in any way?

152 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

A child of parents who are managers, teachers, or other professionals learns future-oriented values and strategies designed to promote achievement. Not surprisingly, in the United States income is positively related to future orientation; the more future oriented you are, the greater your income is likely to be. Different cultural time perspectives also account for much intercultural misunderstanding, as different cultures often teach their members drastically different time orientations. For example, members of some Latin cultures would rather be late for an appointment than end a conversation abruptly or before it has come to a natural end. So the Latin may see lateness as a result of politeness. But others may see this as impolite to the person with whom he or she had the appointment (Hall & Hall, 1987).

http://www.ablongman.com/devito foods are aided greatly by the smells, which stimulate the appetites of passersby. Memory messages. Smell is a powerful memory aid; you often recall situations from months and even years ago when you encounter a similar smell. Identification messages. Smell is often used to create an image or an identity for a product. Advertisers and manufacturers spend millions of dollars each year creating scents for cleaning products and toothpastes, for example, which have nothing to do with their cleaning power. Theres also evidence that we can identify specific significant others by smell. For example, young children were able to identify the T-shirts of their brothers and sisters solely on the basis of smell (Porter & Moore, 1981).

Smell Communication
Smell communication, or olfactory communication, is extremely important in a wide variety of situations and is now big business (Kleinfeld, 1992). For example, theres some evidence (though clearly not very conclusive evidence) that the smell of lemon contributes to a perception of heath, the smells of lavender and eucalyptus increase alertness, and the smell of rose oil reduces blood pressure. Findings such as these have contributed to the growth of aromatherapy and to a new profession of aromatherapists (Furlow, 1996). Because humans possess denser skin concentrations of scent glands than almost any other mammal, it has been argued that it only remains for us to discover how we use scent to communicate a wide variety of messages (Furlow, 1996, p. 41). Here are some of the most important messages scent seems to communicate.

CULTURE AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

Not surprisingly, nonverbal communication is heavily influenced by culture. Consider a variety of differences. At the sight of unpleasant pictures, members of some cultures (American and European, for example) will facially express disgust. Members of other cultures (Japanese, for example) will avoid facially expressing disgust (Ekman, 1985; Matsumoto, 1991). Although Americans consider direct eye contact an expression of honesty and forthrightness, the Japanese often view this as showing a lack of respect. The Japanese will glance at the other persons face rarely and then only for very short periods (Axtell, 1993). Among some Latin Americans and Native Americans, direct eye contact between, say, a student and a teacher is considered inappropriate, perhaps aggressive; appropriate student behavior is to avoid eye contact with the teacher. Folding your arms over your chest is considered disrespectful in Fiji; pointing with the index finger is considered impolite in many Middle Eastern countries; and waving your hand can be considered insulting in Greece and Nigeria (Axtell, 1993). In the United States living next door to someone means that youre expected to be friendly and to interact with that person. This cultural expectation seems so natural that Americans and members of

Attraction messages. Humans use perfumes, colognes, after-shave lotions, powders, and the like to enhance their attractiveness to others and to themselves. After all, you also smell yourself. When the smells are pleasant, you feel better about yourself. Taste messages. Without smell, taste would be severely impaired. For example, without smell it would be extremely difficult to taste the difference between a raw potato and an apple. Street vendors selling hot dogs, sausages, and similar

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages many other cultures probably dont even consider that it is not shared by all cultures. In Japan, the fact that your house is next to anothers does not imply that you should become close or visit each other. Consider, therefore, the situation in which a Japanese person buys a house next to an American. The Japanese may see the American as overly familiar and as taking friendship for granted. The American may see the Japanese as distant, unfriendly, and unneighborly. Yet each person is merely fulfilling the expectations of his or her own culture (Hall & Hall, 1987). Different cultures also assign different meanings to colors. Some of these cultural differences are illustrated in Table 8.3but before looking at the table, think about the meanings your own culture gives to such colors as red, green, black, white, blue, yellow, and purple.

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Touching varies greatly from one culture to another. For example, African Americans touch one another more than do whites. Similarly, touching declines from kindergarten to the sixth grade for white but not for African American children (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). Japanese people touch one another much less than do AngloSaxons, who in turn touch one another much less than do southern Europeans (Morris, 1977; Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996). In one study students in the United States reported being touched twice as much as did students from Japan (Barnlund, 1989). In Japan theres a strong taboo against touching between strangers. The Japanese are therefore especially careful to maintain sufficient distance. Another obvious cross-cultural contrast is presented by the Middle East, where same-sex touching

TABLE 8.3

Some Cultural Meanings of Color

This table, constructed from the research reported by Henry Dreyfuss (1971), Nancy Hoft (1995), and Norine Dresser (1996), illustrates only some of the different meanings that colors may communicate, especially in different cultures. Before looking at the table, jot down on a separate piece of paper the meanings given by your own culture(s) to colors such as red, green, black, white, blue, yellow, and purple.

Color
Red

Cultural Meanings and Comments

In China, red signifies prosperity and rebirth and is used for festive and joyous occasions; in France and the United Kingdon, masculinity; in many African countries, blasphemy or death; in Japan, anger and danger. Red ink, especially among Korean Buddhists, is used only to write a persons name at the time of death or on the anniversary of the persons death, and creates lots of problems when American teachers use red ink to mark homework. In the United States, green signifies capitalism, go-ahead, and envy; in Ireland, patriotism; among some Native Americans, femininity; to the Egyptians, fertility and strength; and to the Japanese, youth and energy. In Thailand, black signifies old age; in parts of Malaysia, courage; and in much of Europe, death. In Thailand, white signifies purity; in many Muslim and Hindu cultures, purity and peace; and in Japan and other Asian countries, death and mourning. In Iran, blue signifies something negative; in Egypt, virtue and truth; in Ghana, joy; and among the Cherokee, defeat. In China, yellow signifies wealth and authority; in the United States, caution and cowardice; in Egypt, happiness and prosperity; and in many countries throughout the world, femininity. In Latin America, purple signifies death; in Europe, royalty; in Egypt, virtue and faith; in Japan, grace and nobility; and in China, barbarism.

Green

Black White Blue Yellow Purple

154 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

in public is extremely common. Middle Easterners, Latin Americans, and southern Europeans touch one another while talking a great deal more than do people from noncontact cultures such as those of Asia and northern Europe. Even such seemingly minor nonverbal differences as these can create difficulties when members of different cultures interact. Southern Europeans may perceive northern Europeans or Japanese, for example, as cold, distant, and uninvolved. Southern Europeans in turn may be perceived as pushy, aggressive, and inappropriately intimate. In the study of touch avoidance discussed earlier, women said that they avoid touching members of the opposite sex more than do men. This malefemale difference, however, seems to conflict with a study by Jones (1986), who reported that women initiated more opposite-sex touching than did men (especially more opposite-sex touching designed to control). Yet women also report feeling less positive about opposite-sex touching than do men (Guerrero & Andersen, 1994). Opposite-sex friends touch more than do samesex friends. Both male and female college students report that they touch and are touched more by their opposite-sex friends than by their same-sex friends. The strong societal bias against same-sex touching may have influenced these self-reports; people may have reported as they did in order to conform to what they saw as culturally accepted and expected. Not surprisingly, the role of silence is seen differently in different cultures (Basso, 1972). Among the Apache, for example, mutual friends dont feel the need to introduce strangers who may be working in the same area or on the same project. The strangers may remain silent for several days. During this time theyre looking each other over, trying to determine if the other person is all right. Only after this period do the individuals talk. When courting, especially during the initial stages, the Apache remain silent for hours; if they do talk, they generally talk very little. Only after a couple has been dating for several

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months will they have lengthy conversations. These periods of silence are generally attributed to shyness or self-consciousness; but the use of silence is explicitly taught to Apache women, who are especially discouraged from engaging in long discussions with their dates. To many Apache, silence during courtship is a sign of modesty. In Iranian culture theres an expression, qahr, which means not being on speaking terms with someone, giving someone the silent treatment. For example, when children disobey their parents, are disrespectful, or fail to do their chores as they should, theyre given this silent treatment. With adults qahr may be instituted when one person insults or injures another. After a cooling-off period, ashti (making up after qahr) may be initiated. Qahr lasts for a relatively short time between parents and children, but longer when between adults. Qahr is more frequently initiated between two women than between two men, but when men experience qahr it lasts much longer and often requires the intercession of a mediator to establish ashti (Behzadi, 1994). An interesting cultural difference in time orientation is that between monochronic and polychronic time orientations (Hall, 1959, 1976; Hall & Hall, 1987). Monochronic people or cultures (the United States, Germany, Scandinavia, and Switzerland are good examples) schedule one thing at a time. Time is compartmentalized; theres a time for everything, and everything has its own time. Polychronic people or cultures (Latin Americans, Mediterranean people, and Arabs are good examples), on the other hand, schedule a number of things at the same time. Eating, conducting business with several different people, and taking care of family matters may all be conducted at the same time. No culture is entirely monochronic or polychronic; rather, these are general tendencies that are found across a large part of the culture. Some cultures combine both time orientations; for example, in Japan and in some areas of American culture, both orientations are found.

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages

155

REFLECTIONS

ON ETHICS IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION

Interpersonal Silence
ften, though not always, you have the right to remain silent in order to maintain your privacyto withhold information that has no bearing on the matter at hand. Thus, for example, your previous relationship history, affectional orientation, or religion is usually irrelevant to your ability to function in a job, and thus may be kept private in most job-related situations. On the other hand, these issues may be relevant when, for example, youre about to enter a new relationshipand then there may be an obligation to reveal your relationship history, affectional orientation, or religion. In court, of course, you have the right to refuse to incriminate yourself or to reveal information about yourself that could be used against you. But you dont generally have the

right to refuse to reveal information about the criminal activities of others (although psychiatrists, clergy, and lawyers are often exempt from this rule).

What would you do?

Youre the assistant manager of a store that sells high-tech equipment. You discover that over the last several weeks your brother-in-law, who also works in the store, has stolen equipment worth well over $20,000. You wonder if you should say something or remain silent. Would your answer be different depending on whether the store owner or the insurance company had to cover the loss? What would you do in this situation? More generally, what obligation do you have to reveal wrongdoing that youve witnessed?

SUMMARY
In this unit we explored nonverbal communication communication without wordsand considered such areas as body movements, facial and eye movements, spatial and territorial communication, artifactual communication, touch communication, paralanguage, silence, and time communication. 1. Nonverbal messages may communicate meaning by themselves and may be used to serve a variety of functions: to discover, establish and maintain relationships, help, persuade, and play. 2. Nonverbal messages may occur with other messages and metacommunicate (comment on other messages); such messages may accent, complement, contradict, regulate, repeat, or substitute for other messages. 3. The five categories of body movements are emblems (nonverbal behaviors that directly translate words or phrases), illustrators (nonverbal behaviors that accompany and literally illustrate verbal messages), affect displays (nonverbal movements that communicate emotional meaning), regulators (nonverbal movements that coordinate, monitor, maintain, or control the speaking of another individual), and adaptors (nonverbal behaviors that are emitted without conscious awareness and that usually serve some kind of need, as in scratching an itch). 4. Facial movements may communicate a variety of emotions. The most frequently studied are happiness, surprise, fear, anger, sadness, disgust, and contempt. Facial management techniques enable you to control the extent to which you reveal the emotions you feel. 5. The facial feedback hypothesis claims that facial display of an emotion can lead to physiological and psychological changes. 6. Eye contact may seek feedback, signal others to speak, indicate the nature of a relationship, or compensate for increased physical distance. Eye avoidance may help you avoid prying or may signal a lack of interest.

156 PART ONE Foundations of Human Communication

7. Pupil size shows ones interest and level of emotional arousal. Pupils enlarge when one is interested in something or is emotionally aroused in a positive way. 8. Proxemics is the study of the communicative functions of space and spatial relationships. Four major proxemic distances are (1) intimate distance, ranging from actual touching to 18 inches; (2) personal distance, ranging from 18 inches to 4 feet; (3) social distance, ranging from 4 to 12 feet; and (4) public distance, ranging from 12 to more than 25 feet. 9. Your treatment of space is influenced by such factors as status, culture, context, subject matter, gender, age, and positive or negative evaluation of the other person. 10. Territoriality has to do with your possessive reaction to an area of space or to particular objects. 11. Artifactual communication consists of messages that are human-made; for example, communication through color, clothing and body adornment, and space decoration. 12. The study of haptics indicates that touch communication may convey a variety of meanings, the most

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important being positive affect, playfulness, control, ritual, and task-relatedness. Touch avoidance is the desire to avoid touching and being touched by others. Paralanguage involves the vocal but nonverbal dimensions of speech. It includes rate, pitch, volume, rhythm, and vocal quality as well as pauses and hesitations. Paralanguage helps us make judgments about people, their emotions, and their believability. We us silence to communicate a variety of meanings, from messages aimed at hurting another (the silent treatment) to deep emotional responses. The study of time communication (chronemics) explores the messages communicated by our treatment of time. Smell can communicate messages of attraction, taste, memory, and identification. Cultural variations in nonverbal communication are great. Different cultures, for example, assign different meanings to facial expressions and colors, have different spatial rules, and treat time very differently.

13.

14.

15.

16. 17.

KEY TERMS
emblems illustrators affect displays regulators adaptors facial management techniques civil inattention pupil dilation proxemics territoriality artifactual communication haptics paralanguage chronemics social clock

THINKING CRITICALLY ABOUT

Nonverbal Messages
1. Status is signaled not only by the nature of a persons territory but by the unwritten law granting the right of invasion. Higher-status individuals have more of a right to invade the territory of others than vice versa. The boss of a large company, for example, can invade the territory of a junior executive by barging into her or his office, but the reverse would be unthinkable. Do you observe this right of territorial invasion? 2. A popular defense tactic in sex crimes against women, gay men, and lesbians is to blame the victim by referring to the way the victim was dressed and to imply that the victim, by wearing a certain type of clothing, provoked the attack. Currently, New York and Florida are the only states that prohibit defense attorneys from referring to the way a sexcrime victim was dressed at the time of the attack (New York Times, July 30, 1994, p. 22). What do you

UNIT 8 Nonverbal Messages

think of this? If you dont live in New York or Florida, have there been proposals in your state to similarly limit this popular defense tactic? 3. Here are a few findings from research on nonverbal gender differences (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996; Eakins & Eakins, 1978; Pearson, West, & Turner, 1995; Arliss, 1991; Shannon, 1987): (1) Women smile more than men. (2) Women stand closer to each other than men do and are generally approached more closely than men. (3) Both men and women, when speaking, look at men more than at women. (4) Women both touch and are touched more than men. (5) Men extend their bodies, taking up greater areas of space, more than women. What problems might these differences create when men and women communicate with each other? 4. Visit the website of a large multinational corporation. Most corporations have Web addresses like this: www.CompanyName.com. What can you learn about nonverbal communication from such elements as the websites general design, colors, movement, fonts, or spacing? Can you point out any ways the website could be visually improved? 5. Test your ability to identify emotions on the basis of verbal descriptions. Try to hear the following voices and to identify the emotions being communicated. Do you hear affection, anger, boredom, or joy (Davitz, 1964)? This voice is soft, with a low pitch, a resonant quality, a slow rate, and a steady and slightly upward inflection. The rhythm is regular, and the enunciation is slurred. This voice is loud, with a high pitch, a moderately blaring quality, a fast rate, an upward inflection, and a regular rhythm.

157

This voice is loud, with a high pitch, a blaring quality, a fast rate, and an irregular up-and-down inflection. The rhythm is irregular, and the enunciation is clipped. This voice is moderate to low in volume, with a moderate-to-low pitch, a moderately resonant quality, a moderately slow rate, and a monotonous or gradually falling inflection. The enunciation is somewhat slurred. 6. What nonverbal cues should you look for in judging whether someone likes you? List them in the order of their importance, using 1 for the cue that is of most value in helping you make your judgment, 2 for the cue that is next most valuable, and so on down to perhaps 10 or 12. Do you really need two lists? One for judging a womans liking and one for a mans? 7. Researching Nonverbal Messages. How would you go about seeking answers to questions such as these? Do higher-status people touch each other with the same frequency as do lower-status people? Do children who were born blind express emotions with the same facial expressions that sighted children use? Do men and women differ in the way they view time? What is the ideal outfit for a college instructor to wear on the first day of class? Do family photos on an executives desk contribute to the executives credibility? Is the relationship between photos and credibility the same for male and female executives?