“I could tell by the way she said ‘Hello, welcome,’ it was anything but,” said Professor Ashley Duggan Ph.D and Associate Professor in the Communication Department about an experience meeting a past landlord.
Sure enough, two weeks later Duggan’s instinct proved right about the seemingly not-so-nice landlord. And as it turns out, it’s not uncommon for Duggan to be spot-on when reading body language and other forms of nonverbal communication.
“I’m usually right,” said Duggan, smiling. She once even predicted the divorce of a couple from looking at their seemingly pleasant, smiling Christmas card.
So what is the key to Duggan’s success? Instinct, sure, but also years of research and study of nonverbal communication… she does have a Ph.D, after all.
According to Duggan, nonverbal communication is 90% of the communicated message, and is defined as anything you wouldn’t transcribe. It’s the way the body frames and contextualizes information, what we say, who we are, and how we receive messages.
Often, we make split second judgments about others based off this nonverbal communication. Sometimes our first impressions prove right, but often they are anything but! If we are aware of the common nonverbal codes, however, we can catch ourselves from making subconscious judgments, and moreover, control our own behaviors as well.
So, collegiettes™, I give to you a guide to body language, organized by the five major “codes” that form nonverbal communication: physical appearance, kinestics (body movement), oculesics (eye behavior), proxemics (interpersonal spatial behavior), and haptics (tactile communication.)
Physical Appearance
“The uncertainty reduction theory says that during initial acquaintance, we are highly motivated to increase our certainty and familiarity with a person during interaction (Verger and Calabrese, 1975) and we use every possible cue that provides information about that person. Because physical appearance cues are so obvious, they serve as the primary source of information during the initial reaction to reduce uncertainty.”
– Desmond Morris in Bodywatching
- Although often subconscious, we often judge others instantly based on their appearance. How you present yourself speaks about your person. People make judgments about our attractiveness, competence, moral character, personality, social status, warmth, and friendliness.
- Employers are more likely to see you in a positive light if you have a healthy, clean-cut appearance.
- Tall men are more likely to be hired, are often offered higher starting salaries, and given more prestigious positions.
- Good-looking people are seen as being more talented, kinder, smarter, and more honest. However, often these can be self-fulfilling prophecies. If a good-looking child is treated as being smarter, studies have shown that they very well might act accordingly.
- Studies show that women dress sexier and are more attractive to men during the peak of their menstrual cycle. Also during this time women’s sensitivity to male sexual pheromones is heightened.
Kinesics (Body movement)
“The Face is one of the richest sources of information available to humans. It is the best site for understanding feelings, communicating dozens of emotions between people.” – Peter Anderson
Facial Expressions:
- Happiness, sadness, fear, anger, disgust, and surprise are all emotions that are innately expressed in similar fashions across worldly and cultural boarders.
- Facial expressions are most often only for display. A study was executed examining bowlers, and found that when they did well, they did not show facial expression until they turned around to see their friends. Similarly, when watching hockey fans, facial expressions concerning the happenings of the game were only noticed when in company with other viewers.
- Smiling mostly occurs in company. It does not necessarily show a person’s internal emotions.
Gestures:
“Gestures may be superior to words for communication and problem solving because they are a more direct and embodied form of communication than words.” – Peter Anderson
Three Categories:
- Self-Adaptors: gestures used to comfort, cover or protect yourself, groom your body, send sexual signals, or comfort nerves. These are often responses to being anxious and are more common in women than in men. Examples include playing with hair, scratching an itch, and cracking one’s back.
- Object adaptors: behaviors when one is nervous. Examples include playing with various objects.
- Other adaptors: adjusting or grooming others.
Interactional Synchrony:
This refers to people being “in-tune” with one another. When people act in a similar fashion, or even simultaneously, one can infer that they are in good rapport.
Researchers also found that when someone waves and smiles at you, your brain is activated in the same areas as if you were the one to wave and smile.
Researchers also say that our ability to synchronize interactions is a fundamental way we develop close interpersonal relationships.
Oculesics (Eye contact, pupil dilation, eye movement)
- Eye contact is interpreted as an invitation to communicate, and is often seen as a sign of warmth.
- People’s pupils dilate when they are aroused or attracted to someone.
- Blinking often signals mental activity, nervousness, or flirtation.
Proxemics
We all like to have our own personal space, but how much is appropriate? Researchers say that in North America, our “bubble” has a radius of three feet, is slightly egg-shaped and is larger in the front. If someone breaks this bubble, it is often received negatively. If we wish to create a barrier of personal space, we will often set up some sort of boundary through our body language.
Haptics (touch)
The importance of touch is rooted in infancy. Babies rely on nurturing touch as a form of communication. In fact, researchers say that infants who aren’t touched are vulnerable to suffer from failure-to-thrive syndrome. Furthermore, studies on premature babies showed that the babies who were touched more gained 21 percent more weight and were discharged form the hospital five days earlier than the babies who weren’t touched.
For adults, touch communicates immediacy, warmth, informality, and affection.
One more interesting study: researchers found that American children are touched less than children in other cultures, and correspondingly America has more violence than other cultures.
While touch holds great importance in our culture, some people don’t like to touch or be touched. Researchers say that those who avoid touch are less intimate, open, and expressive. They also say that touch avoiders show lower self-esteem and tend to be more religious.
All in all, Professor Duggan says that if we are intentional about the message we want to send, and are aware of how our voices and bodies alike communicate messages, we are able to more effectively communicate with one another.
Interested in learning more about nonverbal communication? Check out some of the fantastic courses offered in the Communication Department! Professor Duggan teaches nonverbal communication and Professor Lannutti teaches interpersonal communication and human communication theory.
Source:
Peter Andersen’s Nonverbal Communication: Forms and Functions
Photo Sources:
http://www.geoffsnyder.com/verbal-and-non-verbal-communication/