Chapter 6
1. During a phone conversation, you are able to infer something about the speaker’s mood and
personality by listening to his or her vocal cues. This fact illustrates which of the following
claims about nonverbal communication?
a. Nonverbal communication is usually believed over verbal communication.
b. Nonverbal communication is present in most forms of interpersonal communication.
c. Nonverbal communication conveys more meaning than verbal communication.
d. Nonverbal communication metacommunicates.
2. Which of the following vocal behaviors is a dimension of nonverbal communication?
a. tone of voice
b. rate of speech
c. loudness
d. all of these
3. Contemporary research suggests that approximately what percentage of meaning is
transmitted nonverbally?
a. 30–35%
b. 45–50%
c. 65–70%
d. 90–95%
4. Why do people tend to believe nonverbal messages even when they contradict verbal
messages?
a. Nonverbal behaviors are completely involuntary and reflect people’s true states.
b. People will only attempt to control their nonverbal behavior when they are lying.
c. It is harder for most people to control their nonverbal communication than their verbal
communication.
d. All the answers are correct.
5. Which of the following pairs of nonverbal channels is particularly useful in communicating
emotion?
a. facial expression and vocal behaviors
b. eye contact and hand gesturing
c. body movement and eye contact
d. vocal behaviors and body movement
6. Which of the following emotional states was NOT identified by Paul Ekman as having a
universal facial expression?
a. happiness
b. disgust
c. jealousy
d. surprise
7. Rick’s manager, Susan, called him into her office one afternoon to discuss his annual
evaluation. As soon as Rick sat down, Susan said, “Rick, your performance is unacceptable
and I’m going to have to let you go.” After a moment of silence, Susan grinned and winked
at Rick, and he knew she was joking. Susan used nonverbal communication to
a. reinforce the interpersonal nature of her message.
b. metacommunicate that she was teasing.
c. convey emotional meaning.
d. give her statement greater impact.
8. According to the text, the face is used primarily to communicate all of the following
EXCEPT
a. identity.
b. emotion.
c. attractiveness.
d. intellect.
9. Which aspect of facial attractiveness refers to the relative size of facial features, such as the
nose or ears?
a. symmetry
b. rhinoplasty
c. proportionality
d. asymmetry
10. Which of the following claims about facial expressions of emotion is FALSE?
a. Extroverts tend to be better than introverts at interpreting nonverbal expressions of emotion.
b. Women are generally better than men at understanding facial displays of emotion.
c. Happiness is the easiest facial expression to decode.
d. Facial expressions are second only to vocal behaviors in their ability to express emotion.
11. The study of how people use movement is called what?
a. haptics
b. kinesics
c. oculesics
d. proxemics
12. Which type of gesture has a direct verbal translation?
a. illustrator
b. regulator
c. emblem
d. adaptor
13. The study of touch behavior is known as
a. haptics.
b. oculesics.
c. proxemics.
d. kinesics.
14. Vocal behaviors that go along with verbal behaviors to convey meaning are known as
a. fundamental frequency.
b. enunciation.
c. paralanguage.
d. paravocalic devices.
15. When people get excited or aroused, what usually happens to their voice?
a. increased articulation
b. decreased loudness
c. reduced inflection
d. elevated pitch
16. According to Edward T. Hall, the range of which type of distance is approximately 1½ to 4
feet?
a. intimate distance
b. personal distance
c. social distance
d. public distance
17. The tendency to assume that attractive people also have other positive qualities is called
what?
a. positive prototyping
b. character assumption
c. principle of facial primacy
d. halo effect
18. While talking to a friend at a party, you notice that your romantic partner has just arrived.
Eager to greet your partner, you angle your posture away from your friend and toward your
partner. That movement
a. is culturally insensitive, especially to members of high-contact cultures.
b. is a form of leave-taking behavior known as left-positioning.
c. incorrectly suggests to your friend that your partner is more important than he or she is.
d. All the answers are correct.
19. Which of the following statements about facial or vocal expressions of emotions is factually
incorrect?
a. Infants are unable to respond to pleasant stimuli before they are 12 months old.
b. Facial expressions of basic emotions are fairly consistent across cultures.
c. Disgust, boredom, and grief are typically accompanied by a lower vocal pitch.
d. People tend to speak faster when they are scared.
20. When Rachel saw her neighbor Harold in the hallway, he quickly flagged her down and
began to speak with her. Throughout their conversation, Harold maintained steady eye
contact, spoke very quickly, laughed frequently, and stood closer to Rachel than he usually
would. Harold’s nonverbal cues indicate that he was
a. nervous or uncomfortable.
b. engaging in deception.
c. excited.
d. content.
21. Which of the following was NOT identified in your textbook as a demographic
characteristic?
a. age
b. ethnic background
c. sexual orientation
d. socioeconomic status
22. When you see someone dressed in very tight, dark clothing with spiky hair and eyeliner, you
infer that this person is into emo punk rock. Your impression is based on which set of cues?
a. demographic
b. sociocultural
c. socioeconomic
d. psychographic
23. Your textbook identifies several ways that speakers can use nonverbal communication to
increase the persuasiveness of their statements. Which of the following nonverbal behaviors
is NOT in line with these prescriptions?
a. speaking softly, slowly, and calmly
b. matching someone else’s nonverbal behavior
c. casually touching someone on the arm
d. maintaining eye contact with someone while speaking
24. Research shows that olfactic cues play a role in mate selection. Which of the following
statements is true?
a. Men prefer women who smell like themselves.
b. Women with more attractive faces smell better to men.
c. Men’s facial attractiveness is unrelated to how they smell.
d. All of the statements are false.
25. Which of the following nonverbal cues is commonly associated with deception, according to
research?
a. decreased smiling
b. increased kinesic behavior
c. increased vocal pitch
d. decreased pupil dilation
26. Effectively interpreting nonverbal communication includes all of the following EXCEPT
a. sensitivity to others’ nonverbal messages.
b. trying to decipher the correct meaning of nonverbal behavior.
c. looking past cultural differences to understand the meaning.
d. asking for clarification when necessary.
27. Which is the term used for textual representations of facial expressions, often used in e-mail
messages?
a. textspressions
b. emoticons
c. e-smiles
d. faceprints
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True/False Questions
28. When nonverbal cues conflict with verbal cues, people usually believe the verbal statements.
29. Most research strongly supports the common notion that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
30. The face communicates more information than any other nonverbal channel.
31. The pupil of the eye contracts when we look at someone we find attractive.
32. Children who are regularly touched develop stronger immune systems than those who are
not.
33. Voices that have low amounts of inflection are said to be monotone.
34. Of all the senses, smell is most strongly tied to memory.
35. People tend to be most attracted to others whose natural body odors are different from their
own.
36. Most Hispanic, southern European, and Middle Eastern cultures are classified as low-contact
cultures.
37. Our use of time can send powerful messages about value and power.
38. Arousal is an increase in energy.
Answer: True
Bloom’s: Remember
Short-Answer Questions
(Answers will vary.)
39. Explain the idea that people believe nonverbal cues over verbal cues when the two conflict.
Give a concrete example and indicate why we give preference to nonverbal cues.
Bloom’s: Understand
40. Choose two of the following forms of gesticulation and describe each, using concrete
examples: emblems, illustrators, regulators, affect displays, adaptors.
Bloom’s: Understand
41. Explain the difference between articulation and pronunciation, and give examples of each.
Bloom’s: Understand
42. Explain the concept of olfactic association. Give 2–3 concrete examples of olfactic
associations that you have.
Bloom’s: Understand
43. Discuss at least two different ways that people use space to communicate relationship status.
Bloom’s: Understand
44. Describe the halo effect and comment on the importance of symmetry and proportionality in
facial attractiveness.
Bloom’s: Understand
Essay Questions
(Answers will vary.)
45. Why is our sense of touch so important for our physical development and survival? For our
emotional development and survival? Your book discusses five major areas in which touch
plays a role in human interaction. Briefly comment on the importance of any three of these
areas. Be sure to include in your response how people use different touching behaviors to
convey these messages.
Bloom’s: Understand
46. Take a position on the issue of how much teachers and school staff should be allowed to
touch children at school. Consider both the benefits of touch as well as the concern that touch
can be abusive or sexually inappropriate. Back up your position with examples, and be sure
to acknowledge the strengths of the opposing viewpoint.
Bloom’s: Analyze
47. One cultural cliché about beauty is that it is “only skin deep,” meaning that it is only
superficial and it doesn’t affect people’s lives in any meaningful way. Many people have
argued that this is a myth and that beauty has many real effects on people’s lives. Which idea
do you think is more accurate, and why? Be sure to offer reasoned arguments and concrete
examples to support your position.
Bloom’s: Analyze
48. Several of the nonverbal channels we’ve discussed are heavily influenced by culture. Using
specific examples when possible, pick at least three different nonverbal channels and
highlight how expectations for appropriate nonverbal behavior vary from culture to culture.
Next, discuss how these differences are likely to impact interactions. Finally, propose at least
two ideas for how people communicating with individuals from other cultures might be able
to potentially avoid embarrassing or offensive situations.
Bloom’s: Analyze
49. Think about the layout of your home. What do the objects, colors, decorations, and
furnishings in your home say about you? In a brief essay, walk through your home and
describe important items that “say” something about the image of you they reflect. Make sure
to incorporate ideas and concepts about artifacts and space from the class and/or text.
Bloom’s: Analyze
50. Imagine that you are giving advice to a friend who is interested in someone else (that you
both know) as a potential romantic partner. Give this friend some guidance about nonverbal
behaviors in romantic relationships. Specifically, what behaviors should your friend focus on
to determine if the other person is romantically interested in him or her? Likewise, what
behaviors should your friend engage in to signal that he or she is romantically interested?
What behaviors (if any) should your friend avoid when talking to his or her prospective love
interest?
Bloom’s: Analyze