Nonverbal Communication

Category: Fields of research

Nonverbal communication is a part of the broader concept of communication (see the entry Communication). Verbal communication is primarily guided by vocabulary and grammar rules (of a particular language), though the precise meaning is usually modified through variations in pitch, intonation, stress, amplitude, rate, rhythm, loudness, and voice quality. On the other hand, nonverbal communication transmits the message without using words. Nonverbal communication can be divided into several categories. 1) Non-lexical vocalizations – vocalizations and pauses that carry meaning, but are not a part of vocabulary and don’t follow grammatical rules. Some of the examples are sounds such as ouch, uh-oh, whew, uh, er, and um. Laughter, coughs, and yawns can also be a part of paralanguage if they are produced voluntarily, as a way to communicate some message (i.e., yawning to indicate that someone is boring you). 2) Facial expressions – authors such as Paul Ekman posit that the facial expressions of primary emotions are identical in all cultures. 3) Body language (kinesics) – it includes body posture, movement of the whole body, hand gestures (gesticulation), head movement, etc. While some forms of body language are universal or almost universal to all cultures, such as head nodding up and down to indicate agreement, other forms are culturally specific. Italians are well known for having over 200 hand gestures that are specific only to them. 4) Visual behavior – eye movements such as blinking, gazing, staring, rolling eyes, etc. in Bodily Communication (1975), Michael Argyle researches the meanings and functions of eye contact. 5) Spatial behavior (proxemics) – physical distance between individuals engaged in communication. Edward Hall, in his The Hidden Dimension (1966), explored how rules governing interpersonal distance differ across cultures.

References:

Argyle, Michael. Bodily Communication (1975);

Birdwhistell, Ray L. Kinesics and Context: Essays on Body Motion Communication (1970);

Crystal, D. & Quirk, R. Systems of prosodic and paralinguistic features in English (1964);

Druckman, Daniel, Richard M. Rozelle, and James C. Baxter. Nonverbal Communication: Survey, Theory, and Research (1982);

Ekman, Paul. “Facial Expression of Emotions: New Findings, New Questions”, in Psychological Science (1992);

Hall, Edward T. The Hidden Dimension (1966);

Key, M. R. Paralanguage and kinesics (1975);

Mead. Mind, Self, and Society: From the Standpoint of a Social Behaviorist (1934);

- The Philosophy of the Act (1938);

Mehrabian, Albert. Nonverbal Communication (1972);

Montagu, Ashley, and Floyd Matson. The Human Connection (1979);