PSYC1030 Lecture Notes - Lecture 1: Paul Ekman, Nonverbal Communication, Derren Brown
PSYC1030 Lecture One: Nonverbal Communication
• It was quite popular in the 80s and 90s for people to write about body language. Many
books promised that one could practically read the human mind if they knew the
secrets of body language—something that was clearly overstated
• Nonverbal communication is a major way in which people interact with others, as well
as miscommunicating
• Nonverbal communication is practically everything a person does, excluding speaking.
They include:
-hand gestures
-posture
-touching
-voice pitch
-facial expression
-clothes
• Nothing in the definition indicates that nonverbal communication is verbal
• People generally make assumptions about others based on their nonverbal
communication
• Nonverbal communication happens with or without permission, with or without intent.
Neither is it accurate
Verbal and nonverbal channels
• Some think the amount of communication through different means is:
-38% voice
-7% verbal
-53% face
-2% other
• However, the study conducted by Mehrabian (1972) was criticised due to the artificial
recreation of human interaction—forced communication
• Michael Argyle tried to improve on the study and suggested that nonverbal
communication was 4.3x more powerful than verbal communication. Hsee and his
colleagues agreed too (1992)
• When the intention of the test was hidden to the subjects, however, there was an
overwhelming 56% verbal channel.
• When most are determining the integrity of another, they tend to focus on the
nonverbal cues
• People trust more in nonverbal cues a great deal more than verbal cues
• Most people also let their nonverbal speak for them sometimes, and lying with their
words because we live in a nonassertive, 'polite' world
e.g. Asking if someone is okay, they respond "No." but their nonverbals are screaming
'yes'— agitated tone, arm throwing, etc.
Facial Expressions
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Document Summary
It was quite popular in the 80s and 90s for people to write about body language. Clothes: nothing in the definition indicates that nonverbal communication is verbal, people generally make assumptions about others based on their nonverbal communication, nonverbal communication happens with or without permission, with or without intent. Verbal and nonverbal channels: some think the amount of communication through different means is: Facial expressions: faces (obviously) convey emotion, some people express them easily, unable to hold them back, paul ekman believes there are six basic emotions, other emotions are just blends, and each one has a distinct facial expression. Surprise: the argument is that the brain is hardwired to want to pull certain facial expressions but that doesn"t mean that culture can"t influence it, happiness is generally communicated with a smile or "smiling eyes". Asian gesture for "come here" e. g. "a-okay" refers to female genitalia or "screw you" in central america.
