Nonverbal Communication - Chapter 7 - Interpersonal Communication Relating To Others (Beebe, Beebe And Redmond)

Nonverbal cues that have specific, generally understood meanings in a given culture and may actually substitute for a word or phrase are called emblems. When you are busy typing a report that is due tomorrow and your young son bounces in to ask for permission to buy a new computer game, you turn from your computer and hold up an open palm to indicate your desire for uninterrupted quiet. To communicate your enthusiastic enjoyment of a violin soloist at a concert, you applaud wildly. You want your children to stop talking in the library, so you put an index finger up to your pursed lips. (Chapter 7 page 195)

People announce ownership of space with territorial markers—things that signify the area has been claimed—much as explorers once planted flags claiming uncharted land for their kings. When you are studying at the library, for example, and need to hop up to make a photocopy, you might leave behind a notebook or a pencil. In rural areas, landowners post signs at the borders of their property to keep hunters off their territory. Signs, locks, electronic security systems, and other devices secure home and office territories. (Bebe Chapter 7, page 202)

Kinesics is the study of human movement and gesture. Francis Bacon once noted, “As the tongue speaketh to the ear, so the hand speaketh to the eye.” People have long recognized that movement and gestures provide valuable information to others. Various scholars and researchers have proposed paradigms for analyzing and coding these movements and gestures, just as grammarians have codified spoken or written language. (Chapter 7, page 194)

When you are cold, you reach for a sweater or wrap your arms around your chest to keep warm. When it’s 102 degrees Fahrenheit in the shade without a breeze, you may reach for a fan to make your own breeze. These behaviors are examples of adaptors—nonverbal behaviors that help you satisfy a personal need and adapt to the immediate situation. When you adjust your glasses, scratch a mosquito bite, or comb your hair, you are using movement to help manage your personal needs and adapt to your surroundings—and you’re communicating something about yourself to whoever may be present. (Chapter 7 pg 195)

It is generally easier to interpret anger, sadness, happiness, and nervousness from vocal cues alone because these emotions tend to have distinct and recognizable vocal expressions. On the other hand, emotions like disgust, shame, fear, jealousy, love, satisfaction, and sympathy may not have as clear and easily identifiable vocal cues, making them harder to interpret solely based on vocal expressions.

Vocal cues are another category of nonverbal code that we respond to. Vocal cues communicate emotions and help us manage conversations. And even the lack of vocal cues communicates information. Read Chapter 7, page 198 for help with this answer

Nonverbal movements and postures used to communicate emotion are called affect displays. As early as 1872, when Charles Darwin systematically studied the expression of emotion in both humans and animals,39 it was recognized that nonverbal cues are the primary ways to communicate emotion. (Chapter 7 page 195)