Human Behavior in Military Contexts (2008) / Chapter Skim
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Nonverbal Communication--Nicole C. Krämer
Nonverbal Communication--Nicole C. Krämer
Pages 150-188
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. Other aspects of communication are often classified as nonverbal communication, particularly haptics (the use of touch)
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Regardless of specific research foci, however, one development is pervasive: when the research domain of nonverbal communication in the 1960s and 1970s became increasingly important, the explicit goal was to relate specific signals to specific meanings, such as emotional states or personality traits. Early manuscripts tended to suggest that once the meaning of specific cues was known, one might become able to read another person's emotions like a book.
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In contrast to speech, nonverbal behavior does not refer to an explicit semantic code, mainly because nonverbal signals are highly context dependent and involve subtle dynamics instead of static, isolated elements (e.g., postures) (Grammer, 1990; Grammer et al., 1999)
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Besides the modulating effect of different contexts, there seem to be additional aspects affecting the effects of a specific behavior. Interestingly, these aspects seem to lie within the behavior itself: the movement quality and subtle dynamics inherent in every behavior.
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suggests a parallel process model. He criticizes the current procedure of separately analyzing social behavior (production aspect of nonverbal communication, encoding)
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Consistent with the definition of automaticity by Bargh (1994) , nonverbal communication is seen as unaware, efficient, uncontrollable (i.e., cannot be stopped)
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962) aptly state that nonverbal communication is "conversation between limbic systems." Functions of Nonverbal Behavior Functions of nonverbal signals are manifold: They help to structure the course of verbal exchange, they complement speech activity, they determine social impressions, and they affect the emotional climate of conversations.
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For example, co-action usually leads to facilitation of facial expressions, and being observed leads to less facilitation, or to inhibition. If the people present are friends or acquaintances, facilitation emerges; if the people present are merely experimenters or observers, inhibition occurs.
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It first considers two aspects that exert influence on nonverbal communication: culture and setting with regard to status and dominance (in terms of leadership settings)
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5) , there is also ample evidence that there are cultural differences regarding both production and recognition of facial displays.
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Moreover, social context factors modulate these results: participants from individualistic countries (e.g., the United States) consider it more appropriate to mask negative emotions when interacting with an out-group (e.g., business partners)
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(1989) state, simple exposure to another culture does not guarantee more accurate nonverbal communication (see Michael and Willis, 1969, for early results)
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. Nonverbal Communication in Leadership Settings Although it is frequently stated that the analysis of nonverbal behavior is of great importance when studying leadership (Gitter, Black, and Goldman, 1975; Gitter, Black, and Walkley, 1976; Gitter, Black, and Fishman, 1975)
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With regard to influence and persuasion and their connection to nonverbal communication, there is also less research than one would expect. A meta-analysis of 50 studies indicates that gaze, touch (i.e., light touch on a person's upper arm or shoulder)
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They empirically verify the notion that there are strong commonalities between the communication style of socially skilled people and interpersonal dominance by demonstrating that people with greater self-reported social skills are perceived as more dominant. People who are both socially skilled and dominant are better than less skilled and dominant people at expressing themselves verbally and nonverbally, at controlling their presentations to foster a favorable impression, and at conveying confidence, friendliness, and dynamism.
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. In general, there has been extensive research on which nonverbal cues signal dominance, which is summarized briefly below: for comprehensive overviews, see Anderson and Bowman (1999)
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The general result that sensitivity to nonverbal cues can determine social success is described in the next section, on effective communication. Effective and Ineffective Communication If any results on effective nonverbal communication are soundly based, they are largely centered on social skills and rapport.
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, in a review on social competence and nonverbal behavior, show that not only these encoding but also decoding skills can be viewed as a manifestation of social competence. According to various results, sensitivity to nonverbal cues can determine social success: teachers, therapists, and foreign service officers who score higher with regard to decoding ability are more talented at their jobs (Rosenthal et al., 1979)
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Yet it is apparent that detailed knowledge is lacking, for example, with regard to the exact cues and movements that indicate dominance or expressivity. Actually, most research on cultural and social influence, as well as on leadership and effectiveness, has not yet taken into account that nonverbal communication largely relies on subtle, dynamic patterns and specific movement quality (see above)
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have not been studied with regard to single cues, not to mention subtle movement qualities. RESEARCH METHODS AND TECHNOLOGIES Given the complex nature of nonverbal communication, one has to carefully select the research methods capable of capturing all relevant aspects.
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An experimental approach would be the preferred choice but employing confederates or actors who vary particular aspects of their nonverbal behavior is problematic, because most nonverbal behaviors are not consciously controllable. For example, Lewis, Derlega, Shankar, Cochard, and Finkel (1997)
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Current Approaches Three approaches to advance knowledge in the realm of nonverbal communication are described here: (1) the use of protocol-based, computeranimated virtual figures to conduct systematically controlled experimental research; (2)
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. In this approach, in order to be able to produce nonverbal communication, one has to know relevant rules.
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have shown that virtual figures are liable to the same person perception processes as videotaped humans: when the movements of the latter are transferred to virtual figures and presented without speech, person perception ratings do not differ from those of the original humans. Moreover, virtual persons who show social facial expressions, such as smiling or eyebrow raising, lead to an activation of the same brain regions as those triggered by human-human interaction, while meaningless facial movements did not result in their activation (Schilbach et al., 2006)
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Barriers to Advancing Scientific Progress As depicted in the first section of this paper, nonverbal communication is extremely complex; thus its own attributes complicate research. Yet there are adequate methods to study subtle dynamics, movement qualities, interaction patterns, and effects of cues and patterns.
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are considered, but every behavior that might not be produced consciously is excluded from the training. From what is known, several requirements for training that takes into account the specific qualities of nonverbal communication are clear: • realistic setting that requires both decoding and encoding; • immediate feedback (preferably by nonverbal rewarding and coer cive signals by the training partner)
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. Another field of application for findings on nonverbal communication are embodied conversational agents for human-computer interaction or pedagogical agents (Cassell et al., 2000; Moreno, Mayer, Spires, and Lester, 2001)
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CONCLUSION Recent research has demonstrated that nonverbal communication is a complex phenomenon that is characterized by context dependency, the importance of movement quality, and subtle dynamics, as well as automaticity, that is, a production and perception largely outside awareness. However, most research on factors that influence nonverbal communication (e.g., culture, social situation, leadership setting)
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Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 29, 1-15. Bargh, J.A.
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. Nonverbal communication skills.
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Robinson (Eds.) , Handbook of language and social psychology (pp.
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. Nonverbal communication measurement.
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, Nonverbal communication of aggression (pp.
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, The nonverbal communication reader: Classic and contemporary readings (pp.
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Social Psychology Quarterly, 40(4)
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, The nonverbal communication reader: Classic and contemporary readings (pp.
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. Invited article: A parallel process model of nonverbal communication.
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. Business applications of nonverbal communication.
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The Journal of Social Psychology, 79, 285-286. Tickle-Degnen, L., and Rosenthal, R
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