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Instructor Resources for Chapter 6
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Chapter Outline
Opening scenario: The Embrace Viewed ’Round the World
I. The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
a. What is nonverbal communication?
b. Five characteristics of nonverbal communication
i. Nonverbal communication is present in most interpersonal conversations.
ii. Nonverbal communication often conveys more information than verbal
communication.
iii. Nonverbal communication is usually believed over verbal communication.
iv. Nonverbal communication is the primary means of communicating emotion.
v. Nonverbal communication metacommunicates.
c. Functions of nonverbal communication
i. Managing conversations
ii. Expressing emotions
iii. Maintaining relationships
iv. Forming impressions
v. Influencing others
vi. Concealing information
Learn it, apply it, reflect on it
II. Ten Channels of Nonverbal Communication
a. Facial displays
i. Identity
ii. Attractiveness
iii. Emotion
b. Eye behaviors
c. Movement and gestures
d. Touch behaviors
i. Affectionate touch
ii. Caregiving touch
iii. Power and control touch
iv. Aggressive touch
v. Ritualistic touch
e. Vocal behaviors
f. The use of smell
i. Memories
ii. Sexual attraction
g. The use of space
h. Physical appearance
i. The use of time
j. The use of artifacts
Learn it, apply it, reflect on it
III. Culture, Sex, and Nonverbal Communication
a. Culture influences nonverbal communication.
b. Sex influences nonverbal communication.
Learn it, apply it, reflect on it
IV. Improving Your Nonverbal Communication Skills
a. Interpreting nonverbal communication
i. Be sensitive to nonverbal messages.
ii. Decipher the meaning of nonverbal messages.
b. Expressing nonverbal messages
c. Managing nonverbal behavior in electronically mediated communication
i. Attend to visual and vocal cues while videoconferencing.
ii. Express emotion in text-based communication.
Learn it, apply it, reflect on it
In-text boxes:
a. Got Skills? Communicating emotion nonverbally
b. Fact or Fiction? In the eye of which beholder? Cultures vary widely in perceptions
of beauty.
c. Communication/Light Side: Battling affection deprivation at cuddle parties
d. At a Glance: Ten channels of nonverbal communication
e. Got Skills? Adapting to sex differences
f. Got Skills? Generating interpretations for nonverbal behaviors
g. Assess Your Skills: Sharpening your videoconferencing skills
Key Terms
adaptor
affect display
artifact
chronemics
emblem
emoji
emoticons
facial displays
gesticulation
halo effect
haptics
high-contact culture
illustrator
immediacy behavior
intimate distance
kinesics
low-contact culture
nonverbal channels
nonverbal communication
oculesics
olfactics
personal distance
proportionality
proxemics
public distance
regulator
social distance
symmetry
turn-taking signal
vocalics
Definitions for Key Terms
adaptor: a gesture used to satisfy a personal need
affect display: a gesture that communicates emotion
artifact: an object or a visual feature of an environment with communicative value
chronemics: the use of time
emblem: a gesture with a direct verbal translation
emoji: cartoon depictions of faces and other objects
emoticons: textual representations of facial expressions
facial display: the use of facial expression for communication
gesticulation: the use of arm and hand movements to communicate
halo effect: the tendency to attribute positive qualities to physically attractive people
haptics: the study of how we use touch to communicate
high-contact culture: culture in which people frequently touch and maintain little personal
distance with one another
illustrator: a gesture that enhances or clarifies a verbal message
immediacy behavior: nonverbal behavior that conveys attraction or affiliation
intimate distance: the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with intimate partners;
ranges from 0 to 1½ feet
kinesics: study of movement
low-contact culture: culture in which people touch infrequently and maintain relatively high
levels of personal distance with one another
nonverbal channels: the various forms that nonverbal communication takes
nonverbal communication: those behaviors and characteristics that convey meaning without the
use of words
oculesics: study of eye behavior
olfactics: study of the sense of smell
personal distance: the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with friends and
relatives; ranges from 1½ to 4 feet
IM – 6 | 4
proportionality: the size of facial features relative to one another
proxemics: the study of spatial use
public distance: the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with public figures
during a performance; ranges from 12 to 25 feet or more
regulator: a gesture that controls the flow of conversation
social distance: the distance most people in Western cultures maintain with casual acquaintances;
ranges from 4 to 12 feet
symmetry: the similarity between left and right sides of the face or body
turn-taking signal: nonverbal behavior that indicates when a person’s speaking turn begins
and ends
vocalics: characteristics of the voice that convey meaning in communication; also referred to as
paralanguage
Discussion Questions
• What meanings does the use of space convey? When someone has a larger house, a larger
office, or a larger seat on the airplane than yours, what conclusions do you make about that
person?
• In what ways would you alter your personal appearance if you were trying to look friendlier?
Smarter? More liberal? Wealthier? What aspects of personal appearance convey those
messages?
• What scent or odor evokes a specific, positive memory for you, and why? How about a
specific, negative memory? Is the pleasantness of your memories related to the pleasantness
of the odors?
• How do you feel when someone keeps you waiting? What messages does someone’s use of
time send you?
• Touch is a form of nonverbal communication that is highly affected by social and cultural
rules. What are some of the rules of touch that you perceive?
• Why do you suppose we tend to believe nonverbal cues, even when they contradict what a
person is saying? Can you think of a situation in which you would believe the person’s verbal
message instead?
• The face is very expressive when it comes to communicating emotion. What are some of the
characteristics of a surprised face? An angry face? A confused face? A jealous face?
• People in certain professions, such as baseball umpires and orchestra conductors, create
gestures that only have meaning within that profession. What other examples can you
think of?
IM – 6 | 5
• How would you adapt your nonverbal behavior to electronically mediated forms of
communication when communicating with a friend? How would you alter your approach
when communicating with your boss?
Additional Resources
• Burgoon, J. K., Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2009). Nonverbal communication.
• Ekman, P. (2007). Emotions revealed: Recognizing faces and feelings to improve
communication and emotional life (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Henry Holt.
• Field, T. (2014). Touch (2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
• Guerrero, L. K., & Floyd, K. (2006). Nonverbal communication in close relationships.
Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
• Matsumoto, D., Frank, M. G., & Hwang, H. S. (Eds.). (2012). Nonverbal communication:
Science and applications. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & Hickson, M. L. (2011). Nonverbal behavior in
Learning Objectives in CONNECT for Interpersonal Communication
The Nature of Nonverbal Communication
• Define nonverbal communication.
• Recognize how people can communicate without words.
• Recall that people communicate more information nonverbally than through language.
• Recall that much of what we learn about others comes from observing their nonverbal
communication.
• Explain how nonverbal communication is present in most interpersonal conversations.
• Identify how mediated communication limits nonverbal cues compared to face-to-face
conversations.
• Describe the role of emoticons in nonverbal communication.
• Explain how the importance of nonverbal cues increases as the number of cues decreases.
• Explain why people pay extra attention to nonverbal signals.
• Recall that nonverbal communication often conveys more information than verbal
communication.
• Define nonverbal channels.
• List the various channels of nonverbal communication.
• Explain why nonverbal communication is usually believed over verbal communication.
• Explain the role of nonverbal communication in deception detection.
IM – 6 | 6
• Recall that nonverbal communication is the primary means of communicating emotion.
• Explain why humans are sensitive to nonverbal emotion cues.
• Explain the role of facial expressions to understand a person’s emotional state.
• Recall that facial expressions of basic emotions are interpreted similarly across cultures.
• Explain the role of vocal cues to understand a person’s emotional state.
• Recall that more accurate information may be communicated from vocal cues than from
facial expressions.
• Recall that nonverbal communication is metacommunication.
• Describe how nonverbal behaviors may be used to achieve the goal of communicating
clearly.
• Identify managing conversations as a function of nonverbal communication.
• Explain how nonverbal cues are used to invite conversations.
• Explain how nonverbal cues are used to maintain conversations.
• Explain turn-taking signals during conversations.
• Explain how nonverbal cues are used to end conversations.
• Recall that a function of nonverbal communication is to express emotions.
• Describe how facial expressions communicate emotions.
• Describe how vocal expressions communicate emotions.
• Identify maintaining relationships as a function of nonverbal communication.
• Define immediacy behaviors.
• Explain how power and dominance is communicated nonverbally.
• Explain the role of arousal and relaxation in nonverbal communication.
• Identify forming impressions as a function of nonverbal communication.
• Describe how people form demographic impressions.
• Describe how people form sociocultural impressions.
• Identify influencing others as a function of nonverbal communication.
• Explain the nonverbal persuasive strategy of creating credibility.
• Explain the nonverbal persuasive strategy of promoting affiliation.
• Recall that nonverbal communication can function to help conceal information.
• Describe how smiling and vocal behaviors are used when attempting to conceal information.
Ten Channels of Nonverbal Communication
• Identify the ten channels of nonverbal communication.
• Define facial displays.
• Explain the principle of facial primacy.
• Identify the three functions of facial displays.
• Define symmetry.
• Define proportionality.
• Describe the factors that determine the accuracy of decoding emotions.
• Identify eye behaviors as a channel of nonverbal communication.
IM – 6 | 7
• Recall that the eyes communicate more than any other part of the face.
• Define oculesics.
• Describe the role of eye contact in communicating messages.
• Identify movement and gestures as channels of nonverbal communication.
• Define kinesics.
• Define gesticulation.
• Describe each form of gesture.
• Define emblems.
• Define illustrators.
• Define affect displays.
• Define regulators.
• Define adaptors.
• Differentiate between self-adaptors and other-adaptors.
• Identify touch as one of the channels of nonverbal communication.
• Define haptics.
• Describe affectionate touch.
• Explain the importance of affectionate touch.
• Describe caregiving touch.
• Differentiate between affectionate touch and caregiving touch.
• Describe power and control touch.
• Describe aggressive touch.
• Describe ritualistic touch.
• Identify vocal behaviors as a channel of nonverbal communication.
• Define vocalics.
• Define paralanguage.
• Define pitch.
• Define inflection.
• Define volume.
• Describe average volume.
• Define rate.
• Define filler words.
• Define pronunciation.
• Define articulation
• Define accent.
• Define silence.
• Identify smell as a channel of nonverbal communication.
• Define olfactics.
• Explain how smell can affect communication behaviors by influencing memories and moods.
• Explain olfactic association.
• Explain how smell can affect communication by influencing sexual attraction.
IM – 6 | 8
• Recall that when looking for opposite-sex romantic partners, we are drawn to people whose
natural body scent is the most different from our own.
• Identify use of space as a channel of nonverbal communication.
• Define proxemics.
• Recall that in Western cultures, people use four spatial zones of personal distance when
interacting with one another.
• Define intimate distance.
• Define personal distance.
• Define social distance.
• Define public distance.
• Describe the halo effect.
• Explain the advantages and disadvantages of attractiveness.
• Define chronemics.
• Recall that use of time communicates messages about what is valued.
• Recall that the use of time can communicate messages about power.
• Describe how artifacts and color in an environment may influence nonverbal behavior.
Culture, Sex, and Nonverbal Communication
• Recall that culture and sex influence nonverbal behavior.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of emblems.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of affect displays
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of personal distance.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of eye contact.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of facial displays of emotion.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of greeting behavior.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of time orientation.
• Explain how culture influences the nonverbal expression of haptics.
• Define high-contact cultures.
• Define low-contact cultures.
• Recall that not every nonverbal behavior differs between cultures.
• Recall that sex may affect nonverbal behavior.
• Explain how sex influences emotional expressiveness.
• Explain how sex influences the nonverbal expression of eye contact.
• Explain how sex influences the nonverbal expression of personal space.
• Explain how sex influences the nonverbal expression of vocalics.
• Explain how sex influences the nonverbal expression of touch (haptics).
• Explain how sex influences the nonverbal expression of appearance.
IM – 6 | 9
Improving Your Nonverbal Communication Skills
• Recall the three skills needed to interpret nonverbal communication effectively.
• Explain how to be sensitive to nonverbal messages.
• Explain how to decipher the meaning of nonverbal messages.
• Identify two ways to improve nonverbal message expression.
• Explain how to attend to visual and vocal cues while videoconferencing.
• Describe how to express emotion effectively when texting.
In-Class Exercises
In-Class Exercise A: Consistency in Judging Attractiveness
1. This exercise focuses on how similarly or differently students judge the physical
attractiveness of others, and how symmetry and proportionality contribute to judgments of
attractiveness. To use this exercise, you will need to gather a collection of photos of women
and men. If your classroom has Internet access, you might use the website
www.hotornot.com. This site presents images of women and men and asks visitors to rate
their physical attractiveness. After rating each photo, visitors are informed of the average
rating given to that photo by previous visitors. If your classroom does not have Internet
access, you can gather a collection of photos from magazines or websites and bring them into
the classroom with you.
2. Give each student a copy of the handout (below). Tell students that they will be looking at a
series of photographs of various men and women. For each photograph they view, students
should rate the person’s attractiveness on a 1–10 scale, with 10 being maximally attractive.
Instruct students to make their attractiveness ratings quickly and without consulting each
other. To facilitate rapid decision-making, allow students to see each photo for only a few
moments before moving to the next. Note that the rating form calls for photos to be presented
in alternate order with respect to the sex of the person in the photo, beginning with a female.
3. After students have rated all the photos, begin your discussion by asking students how easy
or difficult they thought the task would be. Did they find it easier to rate men’s attractiveness
than women’s, or vice versa? Did they have an easier time rating the attractiveness of the
opposite sex, as opposed to their own sex, or was there no difference? Have students provide
their initial impressions.
4. If you’re using the “hot or not” website, write down the average ratings for each photo as you
proceed through the exercise. After the exercise, read aloud to students the average
attractiveness ratings for each photo and ask them to see how close their scores were with the
average ratings displayed for each picture. You might discuss whether students were more
consistent with average scores when rating women’s attractiveness than when rating men’s,
as some research would suggest.
IM – 6 | 10
5. The rating form is constructed for an exercise involving 30 photos. Depending on your
specific circumstances, you may elect to have students evaluate a smaller number of photos.
The form also contains a column where students can write in the average scores (if you’re
using the “hot or not” website for the exercise), but students can disregard that column if
necessary.
IM – 6 | 11
Attractiveness Rating Form
For each face in the series, quickly assess physical attractiveness by circling the appropriate
number from 1 to 10. Afterward, your instructor may give you average scores to write in.
Photo
Sex
Not attractive Very attractive
Average
1
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
2
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
3
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
4
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
5
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
6
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
7
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
8
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
9
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
10
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
11
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
12
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
13
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
14
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
15
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
16
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
17
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
18
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
19
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
IM – 6 | 12
Photo
Sex
Not attractive Very attractive
Average
20
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
21
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
22
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
23
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
24
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
25
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
26
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
27
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
28
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
29
F
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
30
M
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
______
In-Class Exercise B: Emotion Encoding and Decoding
1. This exercise focuses on students’ ability to encode and decode facial and postural displays
of emotion. You will need two to four student volunteers to conduct this exercise.
2. On separate slips of paper, write out the 11 emotions listed on the handout: joy, anger,
sadness, surprise, fear, disgust, anxiety, jealousy, determination, amazement, annoyance.
Fold these slips of paper and place them in a box from which your volunteers can draw.
3. Copy and distribute the handout below. Tell students that the volunteers, one at a time, will
be drawing out of the box a slip of paper indicating an emotion that they must enact
nonverbally. For each, students should indicate on their handout the primary emotion being
displayed.
4. Tell volunteers to use their facial expressions and posture to portray the emotion indicated on
each slip of paper they draw out of the box. Ask students to make their assessments of which
emotion is being displayed rapidly and without consulting each other.
5. At the end of the activity, go through each “scene” individually and have your volunteers
indicate which emotion they were portraying. Have students self-correct their forms.
6. Students are likely to be surprised by some of the answers. This is more likely to occur with
complex emotions, such as jealousy or anxiety, than with basic emotions, such as joy or
anger. Ask students to identify features of the “scenes” that caused them to make the
assessments they made about which emotion was being displayed.
IM – 6 | 14
Emotion Decoding Task
You will see a series of photos depicting displays of various emotions. After each photo,
check the predominant emotion you perceive being displayed.
No.
Joy
Anger
Sadness
Surprise
Fear
Disgust
Anxiety
Jealousy
Determination
Amazement
Annoyance
1
_____
_____
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_____
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2
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3
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4
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5
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6
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7
_____
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8
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9
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10
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11
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12
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_____
IM – 6 | 15
Out-of-Class Exercises
Out-of-Class Exercise A: Personal Space Violations
1. In this exercise, students will commit and observe the effects of personal space violations.
This exercise is to be done in pairs.
2. Each pair should go to various public places, such as a store, a movie theater, an airport, the
student union, a bar or restaurant, or a sporting event. On each occasion, one student in the
pair should, as opportunity allows, commit a minor but noticeable personal space violation
with someone in that venue. For instance, a student might sit closer than normal to someone
on a park bench, or stand closer than normal to someone in a grocery check-out line. The
violations should be of sufficient magnitude to be noticed by the “victim” but not so intrusive
as to elicit fear.
3. The other student in the pair should observe unobtrusively. He or she should stand close
enough to witness how the “victim” reacts to the personal space violation but not so close as
to be obvious. This student should watch for facial expressions, postural changes, and
particularly, compensatory action (i.e., moving away from the violator) on the part of the
“victim,” and should record these observations.
4. Each pair should make a specified number of violations/observation, with each student in the
pair performing both roles. The pair should then write up the results of its field experiment,
including descriptions of the settings in which the violations occurred and detailed
descriptions of the victims’ reactions. These reports could also be offered in class, as a means
of stimulating conversation on why people protect their personal space and generally react
negatively to violations.
Out-of-Class Exercise B: Touch on Campus
1. In this exercise, students will unobtrusively observe touch behaviors between other students
on campus. This exercise can be done individually or in pairs.
2. Students should select locations on campus where there are relatively high volumes of people
and where they can observe people relatively unobtrusively. These might include a campus
“mall” or major thoroughfare, the student union, an athletic area, or a busy classroom
building between classes.
3. For a specified period of time (e.g., 30 minutes), students should watch for and record
instances of interpersonal touch. Those might include affectionate touches (such as
handholding, kissing, or hugging), playful touches (such as teasing touches or playful
aggression), task-oriented touches (such as helping someone put on a coat), or even
aggressive touches. You may elect to specify a particular form or category of touch you want
students to concentrate on, or a particular interpersonal configuration (e.g., an opposite-sex
pair) you want students to watch for. In addition to recording instances of touch, students
should also record location and time of day. Students might present their work in class or you
may wish to have them write up their results in a descriptive paper.
