Relational Message Interpretations of Nonverbal Matching Behavior: An Application of the Social Meaning Model

Abstract

The social meaning model asserts that some nonverbal behaviors have consensually recognized relational meanings within a given social community. According to this perspective, the interpretations made by encoders, decoders, and 3rd-party observers of the same nonverbal behavior should be congruent. The authors applied the model to the identification of relational message interpretations of nonverbal matching behavior. Confederates either matched or did not match the nonverbal behaviors of conversational participants while being watched by nonparticipant observers. All three nonconfederate participants provided interpretations of the confederates' relational messages. As the authors had expected, there were moderate correlations between the 3 perspectives, with observers usually providing less favorable assessments than the conversational participants. The authors also examined the influence of positive and negative stimulus behavior on relational message interpretations.     

Behavioural adaptation and effectiveness of a Forward Collision Warning System depending on a secondary cognitive task

Forward Collision Warning Systems (FCWS) have been designed to enhance road safety by reducing the number of rear-end collisions. Nevertheless, little is known about how drivers adapt their behaviour over time when using this kind of system. In addition, these systems are expected to aid particularly distracted drivers. However, previous research has suggested that the effectiveness of the system could depend on the difficulty level of the secondary task. The objective of this study on driving simulator was twofold. Firstly, it consisted in evaluating the behavioural adaptation to an FCWS as well as analysing the possible consequences of driving without the system after a short period of adaptation. Secondly, it was to evaluate the effectiveness of the system according to two different difficulty levels of a cognitive secondary task. The results showed that drivers adapted their behaviour positively when the system was introduced. Nevertheless, both the effectiveness and the behavioural adaptation in the short term were dependent on the cognitive load induced by the secondary task. These findings suggest that the warning needs some attentional resources to be processed. Finally, no negative or transfer effect was observed following the removal of the system after a short period of adaptation.     

Is the hijab protective? An investigation of body image and related constructs among British Muslim women

Previous studies have reported equivocal findings concerning the impact of wearing a hijab, or Islamic head‐ and body‐cover, on Muslim women's body image. Here, we sought to examine that impact using a larger sample of Muslim women than has been relied upon and a wider range of body image measures. A total of 587 British Muslim women completed a battery of scales assessing their frequency and conservativeness of hijab use, body image variables, attitudes towards the media and beauty ideals, importance of appearance, and religiosity. Preliminary results indicated that 218 women never used the hijab and 369 women used some form of the hijab at least rarely. Controlling for religiosity, women who wore the hijab had more positive body image, lower internalization of media messages about beauty standards, and placed less importance on appearance than women who did not wear the hijab. Among women who wore the hijab, hijab use significantly predicted weight discrepancy and body appreciation over and above religiosity. These results are discussed in terms of the possible protective impact among British Muslim women of wearing the hijab.     

‘Translation’ and ‘transformation’ in the analytic situation: Freud – Bion – Laplanche

Following a short introduction to the core theses of Jean Laplanche’s theory of a ‘general seduction’ the author presents the resultant clinical position of the analyst. In the same way that an adult sends ‘enigmatic messages’ to the child, it is the analyst’s task to reopen this primal situation so that the patient can find new ‘translations’ for these messages. Laplanche distinguishes between the function of the analytic frame – which represents and supports attachment – and the ‘sexual’– which is the repressed and constitutes the unconscious. Only the focus on this unconscious facilitates the deconstruction of ‘incorrect’ translations. Accordingly, the analyst, says Laplanche, should not take part in construction – this is a self‐construction of the patient – but only in reconstruction. The author compares this clinical model with Freud’s notions and the ‘transformation processes’ through the alpha function as described by Bion. She illustrates Laplanche’s model and the interpretation strategy with case material.     

Responsible Gambling Tools: Pop-Up Messages and Pauses on Video Lottery Terminals

The authors examined the effect of messages and pauses, presented on video lottery terminal screens, on erroneous beliefs and persistence to play. At posttest, the strength of erroneous beliefs was lower for participants who received messages conveying information about randomness in gambling as compared to those who received pauses. Pauses also diminished the strength of erroneous beliefs, and there was no difference between the effects of pauses and messages on the number of games played. The authors discuss these results in terms of the use of messages and pauses on video lottery terminals as a strategy for promoting responsible gambling.     

What Animated Cartoons Tell Viewers About Assault

Relying upon a content analysis of one specific type of medium to which young people are exposed beginning at an early age, on a regular basis, and for many years (i.e., animated cartoons), the present study examines what types of messages are provided about violence that takes the form of simple assault. Results indicate that assault is fairly prevalent in cartoons and that this prevalence has diminished over time. Most of the time, cartoons show assaults to “land” on their intended victims, but having done so, to cause few if any adverse effects. Moreover, assaults rarely backfire on the perpetrators. Anger, revenge, and inherent mean-spiritedness are the most common reasons implied for why characters commit acts of violent assault.     

When sad is better than happy: Negative affect can improve the quality and effectiveness of persuasive messages and social influence strategies

Based on recent affect-cognition theories and research on social influence strategies, four experiments predicted and found that people in negative mood produced higher quality and more effective interpersonal persuasive messages than did people in positive mood. This effect was obtained for messages advocating both popular and unpopular positions (Experiments 1 and 2), and arguments produced in negative mood actually induced greater attitude change in naïve recipients (Experiment 3). Experiment 4 replicated these effects in an interactive situation, and mediational analyses showed that mood influenced processing style, resulting in the production of more concrete and thus more effective messages when in a negative mood. The role of negative affect in information processing and the production of interpersonal influence strategies in particular is discussed, and the implications of these findings for everyday interaction strategies, and for contemporary affect—cognition theorizing are considered.     

The enigmatic signifier and the decentred subject

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