PSYC 170 Chapter Notes - Chapter 5: College Bowl, Hyperbolic Geometry, Hierarchical Organization
Document Summary
Social perception the study of how we form impressions of and make influences about other people. Nonverbal communication the way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words: nonverbal cues include facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures, body position and movement, the use of touch and gaze. Crown jewel of nonverbal communication is the facial-expressions channel. Facial expressions: darwin"s research he believed that the primary emotions conveyed by the face are universal. All humans, encode (express, or emit nonverbal behavior, such as smiling or patting someone on the back) these emotions in the same way. All human can decode (interpret the meaning of the nonverbal behavior other people express, such as deciding that a pat on the back was an expression of condescension and not kindness) with comparable accuracy. Nonverbal forms of communication were species specific, not culture specific. Vestiges of once useful physiological reactions: fear face enhances perception, disgust face decreases perception.
