CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
CHAPTER 7
NONVERBAL CODES AND CULTURAL SPACE
MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. Stanley shakes his head no and ducks his eyes but doesn’t say anything when his instructor
asks him if he has his essay to turn in. Stanley has used nonverbal behavior to _____ verbal
behavior.
a. contradict
b. substitute
c. complement
d. reinforce
2. Lilly smiles, makes direct eye contact, and touches her partner Dolores frequently. Lilly’s
nonverbal behavior is communicating _____.
a. relational messages
b. status
c. power
d. deception
3. People in _____ cultures stand closer together while talking, have more direct eye contact, and
speak in louder voices than many people in the United States.
a. contact
b. East Asian
c. noncontact
d. Northern European
4. Sufen, an immigrant from Taiwan, feels uncomfortable whenever her boss, an Italian
American, talks to her. She feels that her boss stands too close and talks too loud for the space
they are in. Sufen’s apprehensions are probably a result of _____ cultural differences.
a. collectivist vs. individualist
b. monochronic vs. polychronic
c. contact vs. noncontact
d. verbal vs. nonverbal
5. The “bubble” around us that marks the territory between ourselves and others is known as
_____.
a. an emblem
b. an adaptor
c. personal space
d. a regulator
CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
6. Which of the following is NOT true about the eye contact of most U.S. Americans?
a. They look away from their listeners most of the time.
b. They look directly at the listener to signal a conversation turn.
c. They look at listeners every 10 to 15 seconds.
d. They tend to avert eye gaze during conversation.
7. People with a _____ concept of time tend to regard time as a commodity.
a. polychronic
b. regional
c. capitalist
d. monochronic
8. Casey is obsessed with punctuality. He gets up at 7:30 every morning, goes to basketball
practice at exactly 8:20, takes a one-hour lunch, and comes to class at exactly 12:00 every
Tuesday. He knows that being late to class can be interpreted negatively. Casey is probably from
a _____ culture.
a. polychronic
b. regional
c. capitalist
d. monochronic
9. People with a ____ orientation toward time tend to view time more holistically and will often
interrupt a task to talk to a friend which means that many times things are not finished “on time.”
a. polychronic
b. monochronic
c. capitalist
d. regional
10. Which of the following is NOT typically communicated by nonverbal behaviors?
a. status
b. relational messages
c. deception
d. content information
11. _____ is the particular way in which the meanings of various places is constructed.
a. Prejudice
b. Cultural space
c. Popular culture
d. Home
CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
12. A person from Montreal who might identify more strongly with the province of Quebec than
her country, Canada, demonstrates _____, a form of cultural space.
a. home
b. neighborhood
c. nationalism
d. regionalism
13. _____ is a way of changing cultural space that is fleeting, temporary, and usually desirable.
a. Migration
b. Traveling
c. Reading
d. Regionalizing
14. Which of the following is true of cultural spaces?
a. The influence they have on our identities is static.
b. Generally, cultural spaces are designated by physical markers.
c. Cultural spaces can be accepted or rejected; they are never forced on us.
d. We negotiate relationships to the cultural meanings attached to particular spaces we inhabit.
15. When people are loyal to a particular demographic area that holds significant cultural
meaning, they are _____.
a. building postmodern cultural spaces
b. expressing regionalism
c. utilizing a cultural space
d. creating personal space
16. Jonah tells Katrina that he is glad to see her, but then he doesn’t smile or look at her
frequently and seems preoccupied with something else. Jonah has used nonverbal behavior to
_____ verbal behavior.
a. contradict
b. substitute
c. complement
d. reinforce
17. Nodding our head while saying yes illustrates that nonverbal communication can _____
verbal communication.
a. contradict
b. substitute for
c. complement
CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
d. reinforce
18. Which of the following is NOT true about nonverbal behavior?
a. It can communicate status and power.
b. It must be interpreted using the context in which it occurs.
c. It is possible to gauge meaning from a specific nonverbal behavior.
d. It communicates deception.
19. Which of the following is NOT true about eye contact?
a. Native Americans use a lot of eye contact in place of verbal communication.
b. Direct eye contact shortens the distance between two people.
c. It can be used to regulate interpersonal distance.
d. It communicates meanings about respect and status and often regulates turn-taking.
20. Communication researcher Burgoon and her team (2014) used sophisticated computer-
assisted behavioral observation tools to study nonverbal behavior and found that in a U. S.
sample, deceivers:
a. used less illustrator gestures to redirect conversation.
b. were less creative in their speech.
c. used less lip adaptors, such as biting.
d. were concise and preferred direct eye contact.
21. Brief and everyday slights, insults, indignities, and denigrating messages sent by well-
intentioned people who are unaware of the hidden messages being communicated are referred to
as:
a. innuendos.
b. chronemics.
c. microagressions.
d. signifiers.
22. Identify a true statement about microagressions.
a. They are vocal cues where the intensity or volume of one’s speech plays a significant role.
b. They are insignificant and meek assertions with no long-lasting impact on the target of these
messages.
c. They occur when the information of the talker is misunderstood by the listener.
d. They are communications that are usually outside the level of conscious awareness of
perpetrators.
23. Hiring practices where resumes and applicants with “foreign” or “non-white” names are
routinely rejected, leading some applicants to “whiten” their resumes, are an example of:
CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
a. institutionalized discriminations.
b. relational messages.
c. expectancy violations.
d. exclusionary zoning practices.
24. Which of the following statements is true of postmodern cultural spaces?
a. They are definite and static.
b. They are places that are defined by racial practices.
c. They exist only as long as they are needed in their present form.
d. They are created outside existing places.
25. The classroom building at the Technical University of Denmark where the rooms and walls
are fluid and can be moved to accommodate the needs of any particular day’s activities such as
classes, meetings, and study groups is a typical example of a(n):
a. noncontact culture.
b. relational message.
c. expectancy violation.
d. postmodern cultural space.
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
26. Women are more likely than men to carry their books close to their body and take up less
space when sitting.
27. Direct eye contact can create distance between people because it makes them feel
uncomfortable.
28. When misunderstandings arise, we are more likely to look at the nonverbal communication.
29. Silence is generally not appropriate in social situations where relationships are ambiguous
because the only way to reduce uncertainty is through communication.
30. Prejudice is often based on aspects of nonverbal communication.
31. In hate crimes, the victim’s appearance is more significant than the victim’s specific cultural
heritage.
CHAPTER 7 Nonverbal Codes and Cultural Space
32. Polychronic cultures value punctuality, completing tasks, and keeping to schedules.
33. Among the Finnish people, silence communicates awkwardness and may cause people to feel
uncomfortable.
34. Cultural space influences cultural identity and includes homes, neighborhoods, regions, and
nations.
35. Once determined, cultural spaces are relatively unchanging.
36. Gestures are different from many other nonverbal expressions in that they are accessible to
conscious awareness; they can be explained, illustrated, and taught to outsiders.
37. Human emotion is universally represented by the same set of six distinct facial expression
signals.
38. People narrow down their personal space when they believe they are in control of their own
personal space.
ESSAY QUESTIONS
39. Compare and contrast contact cultures with noncontact cultures. What are the intercultural
40. Compare and contrast monochronic and polychronic time orientations. What are the
41. Discuss the role of neighborhood as a cultural space in U.S. cities.
42. Identify and discuss the ways through which cultural spaces can be changed.
43. What is the role of the Internet in the creation of cultural space? How might this affect
cultural identities?