Modality-specific interference with verbal and nonverbal stimulus information

Subjects recalled both letters and the locations of letters in 2 by 3 and 1 by 6 matrices after either no interfering activity or visual, auditory, or kinesthetic interfering activity. Results for each type of matrix indicated the presence of selective auditory (verbal) interference with the recall of letter identity and selective visual and kinesthetic interference with the recall of letter location. Supplementary correlational analyses indicated that the presence of such a dual encoding strategy was most consistent across subjects for the 2 by 3 matrix. Although the results indicated that use of different modes of representation was related to the verbal-nonverbal nature of the information, it was shown that the structure of the stimulus array also affected the nature of the representation.     

Matched false-belief performance during verbal and nonverbal interference

Language has been shown to play a key role in the development of a child's theory of mind, but its role in adult belief reasoning remains unclear. One recent study used verbal and nonverbal interference during a false-belief task to show that accurate belief reasoning in adults necessarily requires language (Newton & de Villiers, 2007). The strength of this inference depends on the cognitive processes that are matched between the verbal and nonverbal inference tasks. Here, we matched the two interference tasks in terms of their effects on spatial working memory. We found equal success on false-belief reasoning during both verbal and nonverbal interference, suggesting that language is not specifically necessary for adult theory of mind.     

Age-related changes in verbal and nonverbal memory during early childhood

In the present experiment, age-related changes in verbal and nonverbal memory performance by 2- to 4-year-old children were assessed. All children participated in the same unique event, and their memory of that event was assessed after a 24-hr delay. Overall, children's performance on each memory measure increased as a function of age. Furthermore, children's performance on both the verbal and nonverbal memory tests was related to their language ability; children with more advanced language skills reported more during the verbal interview and exhibited superior nonverbal memory relative to children with less advanced language skills. Finally, children's verbal recall of the event lagged behind both their nonverbal recall and their general verbal skill. It is hypothesized that despite large strides in language acquisition. preschool-age children continue to rely primarily on nonverbal representations of past events. The findings have important implications for the phenomenon of childhood amnesia.     

Identifying emergent leaders from verbal and nonverbal communications.

Subject/observers were accurate in identifying emergent leadership hierarchies on four leadership dimensions when provided records of target groups' meetings containing only verbal communications, only nonverbal communications, or both types of behavior. With knowledge of participation rates controlled by covariance, the subject/observers' accuracy scores retained significance in three of the information conditions demonstrating the presence of verbal and nonverbal leadership cues independent of participation rates. The value of verbal and nonverbal communications to identifying leaders varied with the type of leadership hierarchy being identified. The findings are presumed to hold for leader selection as well. The author proposes that the question of why a group member has emerged to fulfill a leadership role in a group be studied from the point of view of group members' selecting leaders or permitting emergence rather than leaders emitting behaviors.     

Dichhaptic hand-order effects with verbal and nonverbal tactile stimulation

The palms of normal right-handed subjects were stimulated dichhaptically, i.e., with competing, bimanually presented tactile stimuli consisting of pairs of letters, pairs of digits, or pairs of line orientations. The subjects were required to identify both stimuli in a particular order, and order of report was compared between hands and across stimulus materials. Results indicated right-hand superiority for letters and left-hand superiority for lines; no hand differences occurred for digits. However, observed differences between hands appeared with second reports only, suggesting that measures of tactile storage are more sensitive to laterality differences than measures closer in time to actual stimulation.     

Acquisition of information from rapidly presented verbal and nonverbal stimuli

Two experiments tested recognition memory for rapidly presented stimuli. In Experiment I 16 words were presented at exposure times ranging from 25 to 500 msec followed by a yes-no recognition test. The results showed a strong dependence of memory performance on both exposure time and serial position. In Experiment II 16 random forms were presented at exposure times ranging from 125 to 2000 msec followed by a yes-no recognition test. Results for random forms showed that memory performance was strongly dependent on exposure time but not on serial position. Taken together, the results of Experiments I and II suggest qualitative encoding differences between verbal vs nonverbal stimuli.     

Deception and truth detection when analyzing nonverbal and verbal cues

In this article, I present my view on the significant developments and theoretical/empirical tipping points in nonverbal and verbal deception and lie detection from the last 30 years and on prospects for future research in this domain. I discuss three major shifts in deception detection research: (a) From observing target persons' nonverbal behavior to analyzing their speech; (b) from lie detection based on differences between truth tellers and liars' levels of arousal to lie detection based on the different cognitive processes or strategies adopted to appear convincing; and (c) from passively observing target persons to actively interviewing them to elicit or enhance verbal cues to deceit. Finally, I discuss my ideas for future research, focusing on initiatives from my own lab. Hopefully, this will stimulate other researchers to explore innovative ideas in the verbal deception research domain, which already has seen so much progress in the last decade.     

Some referents and measures of nonverbal behavior

This paper summarizes some of the measures of nonverbal behavior that have been found to be significant indicators of a communicator’s attitude toward, status relative to, and responsiveness to his addressee. The nonverbal cues considered include posture, position, movement, facial, and implicit verbal cues. In addition to providing criteria for the scoring of these cues, experimental findings that relate to the various cues are summarized.