NONVERBAL AND RELATIONAL COMMUNICATION ASSOCIATED WITH RETICENCE

Two experiments examined nonverbal behavior patterns and relational communication perceptions associated with communication reticence. In the first, pairs of friends (N = 90) and pairs of strangers (N = 90) engaged in 9-minute discussions. Ratings by partners and trained observers showed that as level of communication reticence increased, subjects nodded less, showed less facial pleasantness and animation, displayed more anxiety and tension, leaned away more, and communicated greater disinterest. Strangers rated reticents'relational messages as expressing less intimacy/similarity, more detachment, more submissive-ness, and more emotional negativity, and rated reticents as less credible. Friends gave reticents mixed but frequently more positive ratings. In the second experiment, 55 subjects interacted with a male or female confederate interviewer who alternately asked innocuous or highly personal questions. The same patterns of nonverbal behavior emerged as in Study One, with increases in stress (due to privacy-invading questioning) eliciting more pronounced responses. Results are discussed in terms of the cross-situational consistency of reticence syndromes in eliciting dysfunctional communication patterns.     

RELATIVE CONTRIBUTIONS OF VERBAL, ARTICULATIVE, AND NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION TO EMPLOYMENT DECISIONS IN THE JOB INTERVIEW SETTING

Recruiter ratings of 338 on-campus interviews were used in a discriminant analysis procedure to determine the relative importance of the verbal, articulative, and nonverbal dimensions of communication during the job interview. Correlation of seven variables with the discriminant function indicated that appropriateness of content, fluency of speech, and composure were of greatest importance in contributing to a favorable employment decision. These findings were contrary to the recent literature which has emphasized the importance of nonverbal behavior. Implications for job-interview skills training are discussed, and suggestions for a comprehensive workshop model are presented.     

非言语沟通的视觉信息在电视教学中的作用

本研究用社会心理学关于非言语沟通的观点分析电视教学,认为剥夺有关教师非言语沟通的视觉信息可能是影响电视教学质量的一个原因。通过模拟电视教学的实验验证这一假设。在三种条件下对被试进行同样内容的教学:条件Ⅰ为传统课堂教学;条件Ⅱ为呈现教师形象的电视教学;条件Ⅲ为无教师形象只呈现板书图示的电视教学。课后进行所学知识的测验和态度问卷。结果表明,在电视教学中增加有关教师非言语沟通的视觉信息对学习者知识的掌握及对教师、教学内容和教学形式的态度有积极作用。将剥夺互动中非言语沟通的视觉信息的消极影响命名为“屏风效应”。对提高电视教学质量提出了新的建议。     

TO NOD OR NOT TO NOD: AN OBSERVATIONAL STUDY OF NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION AND STATUS IN FEMALE AND MALE COLLEGE STUDENTS

Gender studies show that women and men communicate using different styles, but may use either gender style if there are situational status differences. Considering the universal gesture of head nodding as a submissive form of expression, this study investigated head nodding by observing female and male college students in positions of subordinate and equal status. We observed head nodding ( N = 452) in classroom interactions between professor–student and student–student dyads. Overall, women nodded more than men and students nodded more to professors speaking than peers speaking. In addition, female and male students nodded equally to professors speaking, but men nodded less to peers speaking than did women. Thus, both men and women attended to the status and not the gender of the speaker. Future research using varying contexts should further examine the effects of dominance, context, and gender.     

IMPLICATIONS OF A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR THE STUDY OF A NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

This article reviews the neurophysiological literature as it pertains to nonverbal communication. It provides an overview of research on the function of the cerebral hemispheres as related to communication, with particular emphasis on the right hemisphere where most nonverbal communication is processed. Limitations of the neurophysiological approach are discussed. Finally, implications of the neurophysiological approach are discussed for: (1) defining nonverbal communication, (2) the phylogenetic development of communication in humans, and (3) communication research and theory.     

MEASURING INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES IN THE NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION OF AFFECT: THE SLIDE-VIEWING PARADIGM1

This paper describes the slide-viewing paradigm for measuring nonverbal sending accuracy—the spontaneous tendency to display communicative nonverbal behavior— and nonverbal receiving ability—the ability to accurately decode such behaviors when they occur in others. Sending accuracy has been measured in adults, preschool children, and brain-damaged patients, and suggestive relationships have emerged between sending accuracy and gender, personality, autonomic responding, and presumed site of brain damage. The pattern of results suggests that sending accuracy may be related to both unlearned, temperamental factors and to gender-related social learning experiences. Receiving ability has been measured in adults and preschool children, and relationships with various measures have been demonstrated.     

KIERKEGAARD, INDIRECT COMMUNICATION, AND AMBIGUITY

Notoriously, Kierkegaard claims his project to be one of indirect communication. This paper considers the idea that Kierkegaard's distinction between direct and indirect communication is to be accounted for in terms of ambiguity. I begin by outlining the different claims Kierkegaard makes about his method, before examining the textual evidence for attributing such a distinction to him. I then turn to the work of Edward Mooney, who claims that the distinction between direct and indirect communication is to be drawn in just this way. I argue that Mooney misinterprets the type of ambiguity Kierkegaard holds to be involved in indirect communication, and consequently ends up with an unsatisfactory account of Kierkegaard's method. Finally I seek to cast doubt on the very idea that ambiguity might do justice to the claims Kierkegaard makes about his project, and suggest that what is required to do so is a theological interpretation of his work.     

心理科学的生命力在于超越与容纳

科学心理学19世纪末传入中国。在中国经历了几十年的坎坷历程,直到1978年后,才得到正常的发展。改革开放20年来,心理学参与了国家的发展和建设,也强化了自身,取得了举世瞩目的成绩。但是,心理科学工作者必须超越自己原有知识的局限性,容纳一切自己没有学习过的东西;必须超越自己的视野,走出实验室,走出校门,面向社会,容纳一切个人不熟悉的东西;还必须超越本地区、超越国界,容纳先进地区、发达国家的先进经验,才能使我们的心理科学具有强大的生命力,才能推动心理科学的空前发展。     

SELF-MONITORING,REHEARSAL, AND DECEPTIVE COMMUNICATION

This study examined the effects of self-monitoring and rehearsal on the ability of observers to detect deception and on the behavioral correlates of deception. It was hypothesized that observers would be more accurate at detecting deception perpetrated by low self-monitors than by high self-monitors, with the difference particularly pronounced when messages were rehearsed. In addition, low self-monitors communicating spontaneously were expected to display greater rates of verbal and nonverbal responding than high self-monitors who planned their communications. Sixteen high and low self-monitors both lied and told the truth (either spontaneously or after 20-minute rehearsals) regarding their feelings while viewing slides of pleasant landscapes and of disfigured burn victims. Analysis of the responses of the 151 observers who made veracity judgments supported the hypothesis concerning accuracy of deception detection. Coding of 10 verbal and nonverbal behaviors revealed that unrehearsed low self-monitors displayed significantly greater pause and nonfluency rates than rehearsed high self-monitors. Additional findings are reported regarding the effects of self-monitoring, rehearsal, and truthful versus deceptive communication on the behavioral correlates of deception.     

COALITION AND COMMUNICATION

Based on the premises that communication behavior varies as a function of social relationships and that coalitions in triads are a significant form of social structure, this study explored forms of communication behavior related to processes of coalition formation and termination. As expected, communication accessibility was greater within the coalition than between the excluded person and members of the coalition, but communication content differed only in the relative frequency of expressions of negative sentiment. Accessibility did not differ significantly between coalescing partners prior to, during, and subsequent to their coalition, but there were significantly more “pressure” statements in the negotiations prior to coalition. The utility of a three-person iterated matrix game was demonstrated for studies of communication and coalition, and the implications of the choice of a unit of analysis for the study of communication were discussed.     

COMMUNICATION SATISFACTION,JOB SATISFACTION,AND JOB PERFORMANCE

This field study of 327 hospital nurses investigated the relationship between perceived satisfaction with organizational communication and job satisfaction and job performance. The researcher developed a research model incorporating nine dimensions of communication satisfaction and hypothesized their varying relationships with job satisfaction and job performance. Correlation, multiple regression, and canonical correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction, and communication satisfaction and job performance. The communication satisfaction-job satisfaction link was stronger. The same facets of communication—supervisor communication, communication climate, and personal feedback—were found to be most strongly related to both job satisfaction and performance. Although the importance of the superior-subordinate communication relationship was confirmed, top management communication also was substantially related to job satisfaction and, to a lesser degree, job performance. Rank-order correlation results of this study were compared to several other studies and some congruent patterns were found.     

LEADERSHIP AND NONVERBAL BEHAVIORS OF HISPANIC FEMALES ACROSS SCHOOL EQUITY ENVIRONMENTS

Nonverbal behaviors of Hispanic elementary school students and their peers were examined in a small-group cooperative task with a total of 202 subjects. Thirty-five randomly selected groups were videotaped in ten desegregated schools; each group was gender-homogeneous, with three Hispanic and three Anglo students. Analysis of the videotapes revealed that Hispanic females used less vertical and horizontal space than Anglo females, and were also less likely to verbally interrupt or physically intrude on other group members. They had similar rates of handling the group resource cards and were given similar leadership scores by multi-ethnic trained observers. Among males, Hispanics are significantly more likely to use vertical or upward movements and physical intrusions, while Anglos use more verbal interruptions.
School and social status factors such as high-and low-equity desegregated school programs, ethnic and gender status, and school status variables of academic grades and English word knowledge had varying effects on teacher and peer ratings of leadership. High-equity schools garnered higher leadership scores for Hispanic females from both peers and teachers when all other nonverbal behaviors were controlled. This positive effect of the school on leadership ratings was evident only for males in teacher ratings. Hispanic females and their peers do reflect adult models of nonverbal behavior and leadership, and that leadership is enhanced in the perceptions of teachers and peers when they participate in a high-equity desegregated elementary school.     

COMMUNICATION ROLES AND COMMUNICATION NETWORKS IN A FORMAL ORGANIZATION

This study identified persons in two communication-based roles in a formal organization: liaisons and nonliaison group members. Reported member contacts were mapped onto a matrix so that communication groups could be identified. Separate networks were constructed for each of three message functions and liaisons were identified within networks. Liaisons and nonliaisons were compared on the basis of their perceptions of their own and their frequent contacts' behaviors and attributes. Eight hypotheses were tested regarding self- and other-perceptions of: range of contacts, influence, possession of particular information types, message control, satisfaction with management messages, system openness, and liaison occupancy of formal supervisory roles. Suggestions were made as to the utility of mapping communication networks, identifying communication-based roles, and examining the characteristics of role occupants.     

POSTPARTUM PARTNER SUPPORT, DEMAND-WITHDRAW COMMUNICATION, AND MATERNAL STRESS

The weeks following the birth of a child can be stressful for new mothers. Maternal stress may be increased when mothers are dissatisfied with instrumental partner support (e.g., division of childcare duties and family decision-making power). The purpose of the current study was to determine if there is an association between dissatisfaction with partner support and maternal stress in the postpartum period, and to examine whether that association is mediated by demand-withdraw communication between partners. Participants were 49 women who completed questionnaires about satisfaction with partner support, female demand/male withdraw communication in their relationship, and their own perceived stress approximately 8 weeks after giving birth. Findings support the hypothesis that demand-withdraw communication mediates the association between dissatisfaction with partner support and maternal stress. This finding suggests that fathers' withdrawal in the context of mothers' requests for discussion or change appears to be associated with increased levels of maternal stress.     

COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND ACHIEVEMENT IN A PERFORMANCE-ORIENTED BASIC COMMUNICATION COURSE

The study of communication apprehension (CA) impact in the instructional environment is extended through examination of all three CA levels relative to various performance situations in a basic communication course. Results indicate significant differences in achievement indices between all three CA groups on final course grade and the first two of four performance assignments. Moderate and high CA groups were not significantly different from each other on the third and fourth performance tasks. Low and high CA groups were significantly different in all performance areas. No differences were indicated between CA groups on the final examination. Results are discussed relative to the naturalistic nature of the study.