Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publications, 2018
Lecture Notes
Chapter 4: Nonverbal Communication
Learning Objectives
4-1: List the functions of nonverbal communication.
4-2: Give examples of nonverbal misinterpretations for various types of nonverbal
communication.
4-3: Describe Edward Hall’s work with proxemics.
4-4: Give examples of gestures whose meaning varies by culture.
4-5: Give examples of nonverbal communication behavior in one culture that reflects
the values of that culture.
4-6: Explain how nonverbal interpretations can be a barrier in intercultural
communication.
I. Nonverbal Behaviors
A. Facial expressions such as smiles and frowns are biologically determined. Darwin
(1872/1969)
1. Blind and deaf children smile and laugh the same as those children born with
the ability to see and hear adults.
2. Most people are able to identify the facial expressions of anger, disgust,
happiness, fear, sadness, and surprise (Ekman, Friesen, and Ellsworth, 1972;
Ekman et al., 1987).
3. In every culture researchers (Ekman and Heider, 1988) studied people named
facial expressions in those foreign to them. They also named a seventh
universal expression: contempt.
4. Surprise and happiness is the most well-understood expression.
5. In Japan, fear, disgust, and sadness were less easily recognized.
6. Smile—Near universal gesture of friendliness.
a. Southeast Asia a smile may indicate embarrassment.
b. Latin cultures a smile may mean “excuse me” or “please.”
c. Germans smile less often than people in the United States.
d. Appropriateness of the smile (not unfriendly).
B. Behaviors change as we learn about culture
1. Germans find American overly cheerful and Americans find Germans aloof
(Hall & Hall, 1990).
2. Japanese tradition favors emotional expressions, that is, wives smiling at
husbands.
II. Nonverbal Communication Functions
A. Nonverbal Communication
1. Intentional using an unspoken symbol to communicate a specific message
2. A source’s actions and attributes that are not purely verbal
3. Burgoon, Boller, and Woodall (1988) define nonverbal communication as
those actions and attributes of humans that have socially shared meaning
4. Intentionally sent or interpreted as intentional
5. Consciously sent or received and have the potential or feedback
6. The term refers to environment and people’s communicated use of them
7. The color of walls in an interview room and your reaction
8. Color is labeled as a nonverbal element of communication
B. Replacing Spoken Messages
1. Some situations where words cannot be used to communicate.
a. Hand gestures in manufacturing and construction work.
b. Sports signals.
c. No shared language so gestures serve as communication.
d. Utilitarian messages (Knapp, 1990).
e. Police officer directing traffic, flag person, and parking officials.
2. Signs and Symbols can replace spoken messages when used to identify and to
direct attention to designated items.
a. Signs may be arbitrary in character, based on real or fancied analogy.
b. Simpler than symbols, that is, arrows for direction.
c. Symbols based on likeness, metaphor, or comparison.
d. Japan has the cherry blossom as a symbol of the samurai.
e. The color is a symbol for Christian charity and for communism it is
arbitrary.
3. Symbols are independent of language, communicate across language barriers.
5. The Olympics uses symbols extensively.
6. World travel, that is, airports, hospitals, restaurants, schools, and factories.
7. Symbols allow us to find things without spoken words.
8. Not all symbols are universally accepted.
a. Hindu sign of peace for 5,000 years, Germany swastika, fighting to ban
the symbol from the European Union
b. International Committee of the Red Cross, symbol of medics and
ambulances in war zones since 1864, also the red crescent is the symbol of
the Ottoman empire in the Russo-Turkish War of 1976, alienating
Muslims
c. Israeli first aid society insisted on the Star of David as the symbol
d. Red Cross accepted the red crystal. One of the symbols must be used by
medical staff in war zones
e. Jeremy Irons, 1992, AIDS symbol as red ribbon
f. Jamie Lee Curtis explained the meaning of the red ribbon and it is
recognized worldwide
g. Pink ribbons for breast cancer
h. Lavender ribbons abused women, symbols raise public awareness
C. Sending Uncomfortable Messages
1. Some messages are difficult to express in words, but the meaning can be
conveyed with nonverbals.
2. A sense of urgency may be conveyed by walking away as you are speaking to a
friend.
D. Forming Impressions That Guide Communication
1. We attempt to manage impressions, others have of us
2. What to wear to a job interview?
3. We select clothing and grooming to send a message about who we are to an
employee
E. Making Relationships Clear
1. Communication messages have both content and relationship information
2. Relationship between communicators
3. Nonverbal communication removes the threat of uncomfortable
communication
4. In the United States, most nonverbal communication from a boss reinforces
power (Mehrabian, 1981) relaxed posture equals authority
5. Lower status displays more rigid posture
F. Regulating Interaction
• Nonverbal communication regulates people’s interaction, that is, no
interrupting
G. Reinforcing and Modifying Verbal Messages
1. Metamessages that affect decoding of the spoken message
2. Nonverbal messages can reinforce the verbal message
3. Nonverbal messages can modify, even negate, the meaning of the verbal
message
III. Types of Nonverbal Communication
A. Proxemics
1. Edward T. Hall’s (1959)general theory is that we exist inside an invisible
“bubble,” or personal space.
2. the physical distance we want between ourselves and others vary
B. Territoriality
1. Refers to how space can be used to communicate messages
C. Kinesics
1. Refers to gestures, body movements, facial expressions, and eye contact
2. Gestures can be intentional or unconscious
3. A gesture in one region may have one meaning and a very different meaning in
another region
D. Chronemics
1. The study of the use of time. Time in Christian belief that Christ’s birth and
death were unrepeatable events so therefore represent time.
2. Jewish and Islamic believe the day begins at sunset as darkness is followed by
light
3. Hindu believe the day begins and ends at sunrise
4. Sumerians and Egyptians used sundials
5. Equal hours of length was developed by Muslim scholar, Abul-Hasan Ibn al-
Shatir, 1371
6. Clocks indicated minutes in 1475 and the pendulum clock was designed by
Dutch scientist Christian Huygens
7. 1948 began the atomic clock accurate to one second in 300,000 year
8. Calendars include, Hijrah, 354 days and 12 lunar months, Gregorian, Pope
Gregory XIII in 1582, in use today
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publications, 2018
9. Monochronic—Northern Europe and United States, Hall 1983—linear time
10. Polychronic—Latin America and the Middle East—time stresses the
involvement of people and not the completion of transactions—time is fluid
E. Paralanguage
1. Trager (1961), defined paralanguage by categories. Voice qualities, pitch,
range, and distribution including rhythm, tempo, and vocalization.
a. Laughter and sobs
b. Intensity, loud/soft/pitch/low/high and extent, drawl/clipping
c. Vocal segregates, “Uh” “Um” and “Uh–Huh”
d. “Psst” and whistling. In Spain, “psst” is acceptable; in India, whistling is
offensive
e. Thais speak in a soft voice and gentle manner
f. Addressed in the Quran. Modesty and humility (Zaharna, 2009)
g. Thank you as sarcasm (Mandarin Chinese and Vietnamese)
2. Accent as paralanguage
a. “Broken English” as in Spanish speakers of English
b. Job denial in Honolulu as nonfluent speakers of English
F. Silence
1. Either/or we are either communicating or are silent
3. In the United States, a person must speak to participate
G. Haptics
1. The study of our use of touch to communicate
2. The use of touch to communicate varies from culture to culture
3. 12 meanings communicated with touch
a. affection, announcing a response
b. appreciation
c. getting attention
d. compliance
e. departures
f. greetings
g. inclusion
h. playful affection
i. playful aggression
j. sexual interest or intent
k. support
l. as well as hybrid meanings such as departure/affection and
greetings/affection
H. Artifactual Communication
2. how we decorate
a. Our homes and offices
b. Clothing we wear
c. Our physical appearance with jewelry, tattoos, and body piercings
3. Clothing also can reflect subcultural and subgroup identity
I. Olfactics
Jandt, An Introduction to Intercultural Communication 9e
SAGE Publications, 2018
1. The study of communication through smell
2. Scientists also have identified a tiny organ in the nasal cavity that responds to
chemicals known as pheromones
3. Aromatherapy is the use of oils of flowers, herbs, and plants to make people
feel better.
a. It is believed certain scents in the air will enhance efficiency, reduce stress
or put you in a specific mood.
b. It is widely practiced in Belgium, England, France, Germany, Switzerland,
and Japan.
IV. Knowing Culture Through Nonverbal Messages
A. Communication and culture are inseparable
B. Case Study: The Wai in Thailand
1. The wai is a nonverbal gesture used to communicate greeting, bidding farewell,
deep and sincere respect, and appreciation.
2. The first nonverbal teaching the Thai child receives is this gesture of
obeisance.
3. It becomes a regular component of behavior.
4. By understanding the wai, we also can understand part of the Thai culture.
V. Nonverbal Misinterpretations as a Barrier
A. nonverbal expressions vary from culture to culture
B. some nonverbal communication, even in the same culture, is so ambiguous that its
interpretation is mediated by context
C. Case Study: Korean-American Neighborhood Businesses
1. Communication barriers and racial tension can exist among groups within
diverse cultures
2. Difficulty with English phrases, “GO” “Come back later”
3. Groups such as the Korean American Management Association advise
shopkeepers to greet customers as visiting relatives rather than ignoring them
4. Confucian culture that stresses formality
5. Korean-Americans accustomed to reserving smiles are encouraged to smile and
shake hands firmly