PSYC 466 Chapter 5: Summary - Chapter 5: Communication
Document Summary
When a sender"s intentions differ from the impact that a message has on the recipient, a couple faces an interpersonal gap nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication serves vital functions, providing information, regulating interaction, and defining the nature of the relationship two people share. Facial expressions are good guides to others" moods, but cultural norms influence expressive behavior. The direction and amount of a person"s looking is important in defining relationships and in regulating interaction. Gestures vary widely across cultures, but the posture and motion of the entire body are informative as well. Different types of touch have distinctly different meanings. We use different zones of personal space - the intimate, personal, social, and public zones - for different kinds of interactions. Information about one"s emotions is transmitted to others by one"s smell. Paralanguage involves all the variations in a person"s voice - such as rhythm, rate, and loudness - other than the words he or she uses.