Nonverbal Communication
Better at communicating feelings and
attitudes
More convincing than verbal
messages.
We can communicate without saying
anything!
Kinesics
Body Movement
Adapter: tension reliever like fixing
hair, touching nose
Emblems: gestures that mean
something. Pointing
Vocalics
Tone of voice
Often carries more meaning
than the actual words.
Proxemics
Space and Distance
Cultural
Emotion or mood
How well we know someone
Territory and Environment
• Use of space and objects to indicate
ownership
• Invasion: intruding into someone’s
territory.
• Contamination: tagging, graffiti,
leaving trash.
Haptics
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Professional Touch: Doctor touches patient.
Social/Polite touch: Fist bump, hand shake
Friendship: kiss, bro hug
Love/Intimacy: highly personal
Appearance
• What is soma typing?
• Classifying people according to body
type
• What is Halo Effect?
• Physical Attractiveness Stereotype
• Beautiful = Good
What are artifacts?
Facial Expression
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What are the six universal facial expressions?
Anger
Happiness
Surprise
Sadness
Disgust
Fear
• Who is better at reading
someone’s facial
expression? Men or
women?
What is masking?
• Hiding an expression of emotion
and replacing it with a more
appropriate expression.
Triangle of Meaning
Thought (meaning)
ASL for Water
Symbol
Water
Referent
(stands for)
Triangle of Meaning
Thought
(meaning)
Cat
Symbol
Referent
Denotation:
The dictionary definition of a word.
Connotation:
Emotional meaning based on
personal experience and feelings.
Triangle of Meaning
Thought
(meaning)
Teacher
Symbol
Referent
Bypassing:
Two people have
different referents for
the same word but they
think they are thinking
alike.
• Words and symbols are arbitrary,
ambiguous, and abstract.
• Arbitrary:
• for no reason, random
• Ambiguous:
• Confusing
• Abstract:
• Difficult to understand, not concrete
Meaning is in the person,
not the word!
• Social Constructionism:
Humans make sense of their
world. They make meaning
and create their world.
• Language shapes our
relationships.
• Language allows humans to think
hypothetically. We can imagine,
reflect and plan for the future.
• Language allows us to name
things.