F.^^"
SocialCommunication
ConversationalHand Gestures
Editedby
Klaus Ftedler
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NtwvoH( ArlD HOVE
and Facial Displaysin
F ace-to-tr'ace
Dialogue
IANET BAVELASand}ENNIFER GERWING
any scholars have proposed that the primary site of language use
is face-to-face dialogue (e.g., Bavelas, 1990; Bavelas, Hutchinson,
LV tKenwood,& Matheson,1997;Clark, 1996,pp. 8-I0; Fillmore,lg91;
Goodwin,1981;Levinson,1983;Linell, 2005).Whether within the familv. with
triends, at work, or in brief conversations with strangers, the vast majority of
everyday social exchanges, from mundane to important, take place in person.
Moreover, face-to-face dialogue is a child's first language developmentally, and it
is arguably humanity's first language phylogenetically. This format, therefore, is
centrally important to understanding social communication. Face-to-face dialogue
has a combination of affordances that make it different from other language forrnats, such as written text, formal lectures, phone conversations, etc. (Bavelas &
Chovil, 2006; Bavelas,Coates,& Johnson,2002). The present chapter will focus
on combining two of these unique features:(1) Face-to-facedialogue includes an
interlocutor who can respond reciprocally and in real-time; there is both a
requirement to coordinate and the opportunity to collaborate. (2) In face-to-face
dialogue, the participants have visible as well as audible resources for social communication, that is, not just words and prosody, but also hand gestures, facial
displays, gaze direction and timing, body orientation, and objects in their shared
environment.we propose that some non-verbal actsplay an important role in the
participants'collaboration,so that the study ofthese non-verbal acts in dialogueis
a promising way to understand basic processesin social communication.
In 1985, clark chided social psychology for its relative neglect of the social
aspectsoflanguage use. Although the individual processesthat preoccupy linguists
and psycholinguists(e.g., language production and comprehension, syntax, and
semantics)may not be of interest, it is clear that the social interactive aspectsof
communication are within the domain of socizrlpsychology. However, to ilustrate
the intrinsically social nature of communication (e.g., coordination and common
HAND GESTURESANDFACIALDISPTAYS 2A5
CONVERSATIONAL
284 SOCIALCOA/"10N|CAT|ON
lcscarclrbec'nrrse
tlrerc were I'ew
groun(l), Clrrrl<had to rely ltrgely on quirlitativr-r
experirnerrtalexrulplesrrt tlte tirne, virtrrallvrrorrcof tlienr lx'socirl psychologists,
He and his colleagueshave gone on to exrrrnineexperirnentallythe social,collaborative rspe('ts of lrur$rirgr.rrsr..srrch as tlte <llrulic pl'occssof' grounding
and otlrel social influenceson verbal rcf'ercuce(Clarl<,1992. 1996; Schober&
Brennan, 2003). Studies such iLst'heir.shavc hvo irnplicationsfirr expelirncrrtril
social psychologistsrvho ar'eirrterestetl ir.rcorurtrruticirti<ln:Fir-st,vcrhal conrrnunication in dialogue is joint action, something that frvo people clo together. Mornent
by r.nonrent,dialogue is arr inherently social process.Secoud,it is glssible and
desirable t<l advauce our knorvledge ol' tlrese processesrrsing experimental
methods.
havt' lilcrrsc<lon tlrt' n'lnted posOur resc+alclr
group's erTeliruental irrtr.r'trsts
sibilitiesthnt ccrtlirr ttortccrbtilitctsillc alsoirrrirtrpot-tartt
pllt ol' the socialcollatlolationin firc<'-to-firce
<lialogrrc
urrl tlratsrr('hirctsirle urrcrrlblt'to rlrrrntitativc.
lJavclirs.
Chtn'il,Coittt,s,& llrx,, lt)t)5;Ilrrvt'las.
Crlates,
&
ex1>elirtrentirl
strr<11'(r'.g.,
(ierrvirrg& Bavelas,
2004),Tlre ntrtiutltt'rucol'thc pre.scrtt
chapter
Jolrnson,20001
is srtbstitrrtivt,,
rrrlrt-r,r.'r'llerl
irctscan pluyiu
filcrrsiugon the rolc thirt ccrtairts^pet'ific
-flrc
<'ollallcllirti<rrr. $ccrrrrrliuv
tlrr'rnt'isrtrcllrrxkrl<rgic'irl;
corvclrsirtiorrirl
tlrc stuclies
reviewed alscl dem<lrrstratethzrt thern are lruth exernplirrs iurcl lrrinciples from
irr iur rn.ir oli<.rrrrrslricttxlto otlter
which b rltrrr.krlrt'l:rssicalcxlxrrirrxrrrtirl
rl<.sigrrs
methods.
In order to calibrate with the reader atxlut tlre .scaleand kirrd of plrenomena
to be discussed,we will ffrst speciry our perspective on both social communisation and the non-verbal acts we are referring to. Tlren rve Mll review the
growing Iiterature on collaborative functions of conversational hand gestures
and, ftnally, the rnuch smarllerbut promising liteftrture on conversrltionirlfrrcial
displays,
WHATIS "SOCIAL"?
In focusing on face-to-face dialogue as rr sociill pl'oce.ss,it i.s first rleces.silryto
€xplicate some of the rnany possible sensesol' sot:iolanrl to iudicate clt'arly tlxrse
sensestltat we do not address here. l,artguage is socirrlin a srrcietirlsclrtse.For
example,there are clcrarlysocio-crrltulitldift'ererrct'stltat fi'arrrelxrth rerbal and
non-verbiil acts (e.g., fornrs of polite rrddrtssor <lispl:ryt'rrh'slirr lircill cxpressions).This socio-clrlturalfocus is nrrrclrrnore gklllal tlrartours. Artother settsein
c<lStiirrIlrrr,rrr.ol'socill rrrotivirtiorts,
which larrgnrage
is s<lcialis thc rrndorrlltr'<l
tions, or traits, that is, mental processesor characteristics<ll'the individual that
may infuence comrrunication (e.g,, a particular social schenrir,a trait of extraversion, or an intention to deceive). This focus on iudividuals and their intrapsychic processesis not ours either. Instead, we are drawing attenti(nr to a diff'erent
level of social influence, which can be called the nticro-social (Bavelas,in press):
the observable, moment-by-mornent details of comrnunicative acts bet'ileen
the participants in tr face-to-face dialogue, acts that typically occur irt secon&
or less.
A/VIONCNON.VERBALACTS
MAKINGDISTINCTIONS
In a classicarlicle, Ekman and Friesen (1969) outlined a wide and diverse repertoile of rron-verlltrl behirviors, ernphrusizingthe considerable difference.sin the
nrture irnd rrse of behrliors that are often grouped together sirnply becausethey
\ € ilre lirniting our'focuti
irrc"not verllirl."Of Ekrnan iul(l Ffiesen'.sffvecrrtegoric's,
to two: irctions that serve eitlrer to illustrate or to regulate fbce-to-facedialogue,
specificallyconversationalharndgesturesand facial displays.We exclude the other
three categories:emblems, which typically ocrur without speech; true (involuntary)affect clisplays;rurdadaptoru(such as scratchingor blinking) that clearly serve
frurctionsotlrer tharr cornrntrnic'ation.Some of these (as well as possible newer
r-uch ils self-pr<lmptingg<:stures)may also occur in conversation,but
cirtegorie.s
theyare not clirt'ctly tied to the socialcornrnunicativeaspectsof the conversation.
frorn other approachesis our focus on the
Onc of'tlre prinrary diff<-.r'ences
relatiorrshipol' tlre rtorr-vtrrllalact.st<l worrls. The vtrst majority of experimental
studiestreat verbiil arrd nou-verbal lrchaviorsas separrrtetopics; indeed, the main
interestirr rrorr-verbirl
llehirvirlrsis o{ten that they rnayrevealwhat wordscannotor
will not. Wr. pnlposc:tlrat thcrc is a srrbsotol'non-verhall>chtviors- many hand
gesturesand lircirrldispltrysin certain settings- that have a closerelationshipto the
rvordstlr<,yaccornpiuryrtrr<l:trc <ll'irrt<rr<'st
hcctrrsco{'thcir rokr in s<lcirilcommunication nt the rrricro-social level. Although it would be befter to be able to provide a
video example, two transcriptions may clarifr for the reader the phenomena we
rvill be drscusing.r In both cases,the participants were previously unacquainted
volunteersdiscussingassignedtopics in the labonrtory:
Gerwing,
Example 1: Hand Gestures The speakerin this experirnent(Baveltr-s,
Prevost,& Sutton, 2006) wrrs describing a dnrwing of an unusual l8tlr century
dresszto an addresseewho worrkl need to be able to identify this particular dress
later,A plonrinerrt feature of the dresswas the unusually wicle shrt, which jutted
out horjzontally to each side and tlren rnade a slightly curved corner before dr.rping straight to the floor. In the following, the underlining indicates the timing of
eachol'tlre gcsturesto the worrl.s,
Speaker:
"It 'starts HERE, to go out. and d99lsg!-!ke
- 'REALIY EIq,
oK?"
A<l<lrcssr.r':" ,It's got like, orreof tlre POUFY onestlrat'sgot, rlf", ttt"-Qa!.SETin the rrridcllc?"
Sp<.rrli<'r: "lt's ollAZY pouly!"
In gesture I, the speaker placed her hands on either side of her own waist. Her
deixis (the demonstrative pronoun "here") drew the addressee'sattention to the
fact thtrt the loctrtion of "here" would be indicated by her ge$turerather than her
words. She went on to describe the width of the dressby reaching out horizontally
the full length of both arms (gesture2). This gesture was not redundant with the
vrcrdsit accompaniedbecausethe word.s("goesout") were ambiguousas to width,
and the gesture depicted the width speciffcally.At the very end of her reach, she
286 SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
(gt'strrn'll). Tlris gcsture
.shapetla xltrrt<lt'<l
<lorvrltvitrtls
crrnt u'ith lrcr' lriurrl.s
-REALLY
"goirrgorrt" (rrndtlrelelirr'<.
indicateclboth rr4tt'rethe <hessstr4rpc.d
rvhat
BIG" mearrt)rurclthe shapeof tlre contolu'of'the sl<iltat thc hiplirrc'.Agairr,these
detailsdid not al)peal'inher rvords.Horvever,the adclressee
obviouslyuuderstood
them becauseltis gesture(4) r'eachedout thc'same\\'i(lth on his owrrlxxly, arrdthe
'l'hcrr.
rvord "porrfv" catl)tul'e(l
tlte r<rrrndetl.^hrrlte
she hrul tlepic'terl,
rr'ith his re{'er''corset,"
ence to a
(5),
he retunred lris gestureto lris orvns,rUst
inclicatitrgthat he
had alsounderst<nds4rete tlre tlressstartc<lt<lgr orrt.
ANDFACIALDISPLAYS287
HANDGESTURES
CONVERSATIONAL
There are four' deftnirrgcriteria thtrt distinguishthc srrbsetrve art' frrctrsingon
frorn the vast rrn(linterestingtlottrainof othcr norr-r,<'r'llir[
llehariors iur<leven f r<lnr
other furrctionsof lrand or facial ilctions.Thesecriteria set the pirrarnetr.rso[ our
literature reviervand may alsobe usefulftrl irnirgirfng firture strrcliesin tlre irx'ir.
intcn'it'rrtr, or cort{'e<lelrrte
rre rnrlikelyt<lproduceall the detailsof natural .social
recipxrcitv typical ol'I'ace-to-{acedialogue and will almost certairrly preclude colIalmlative behrMors. There is evidence to suggestthat natural behaviors by an
addresseelrre rlx)re subtle and reciprocal than rnere back-channels(Bavelaset rrl.,
2(X)0)uxl tlrirt rr confttlerirteot espt'riurt'rrttl tning to respontlin rr "ueutntl" or
"stanclanl" rll.utrer coukl have ulintended efl'ects(Berrttie& Aboudan, 1994),
Therefore, rrlthorrghthe dvad will probablv be doing a task assiguedbv the
cxpelinrerrtcr,theil cornrnrrrricati(nr
lrust lrc unscril:tetl irrd gerrerirtedin thc,ir'
irrterirctiorr.That is, tl'rereciprrritv anclmuhral influencethat rlrdinaryconver$ati<lr perrrits rnrrstbe frrlll' possillle;<ln11'this
wiy can dirrlogicl)l'ocesses
eurerl4('.
Iu corrtrirst,<lthcrrirrtercstsin gesturervould not rerluire dyadic interaction.
IVlostol'tlrt experinrentson hiurclgestureswithirr both social psychologr and
lrrn,r'lx'<rr<rlgrritive,
cxanriningthrl role of gestrrrein langurrge
llsvr'lrrllirrgrristics
'l'lrt.
ptrxlut'tion.
lrvo rrtitirrcorrtenrporiu"\'rtppl'oaclres
tliffel orrwheregesturcplays
its rrrlt': Intitnl acr:r,s.r
theoric's(e.g., Kriurss,Chen, & Chawla, 1996; Rirn6 &
Sc'ltrirlirlrrlir,
ll)Ul);lnrposr.it pcriltlte'rirl,sclf'-pr<lrrrpting
role, nnrrrely,that in
llrr' lirttcl stirgcsol'lirrt{rtirrlt'
rrtuviussist
prrxlrrr.liotr
ir g<rstrrrc
thr:spt'akcrirr firr<lirrg
tlrt. r'islrtrrrrrtl. McNt'ill'sgnlotlr-;roirrltlrt.rrry(rr.g.,McNeill, 1992;McNeill &
I)rrnc'arr.2(IX)) prrrpo.ses
tlr:rt g('stnft'sreflcct the thinhng bchind lurgrrrge protlttr'lirrn
i t r r ' l f ,s l x t i l i r , r r l l vt l.r r . g L r l r : r l - s v r r l l ri r r. lrircg t ,lsl r : r l< r r r r t l r i r u . w il li lrrr g r r i s l i t '
cirtr.'gorit,s
irr tlrt' ovot rlr.sslgr.,Altlurrrglrtlresr.two irppl'oilchestliiicr regrurling
rvhether gesturesnrerelytusist lexicalrtcressor are evidenceof rnore central cogniti\'(, l)r(x'('ss(,s.
the pfirnurv intcn'st is dr.firritr.lyorr inrlivi<luirlrnt'rrtirlproc('ss('s,
rrot .socirrl
irrtr.r'actiorr,
Tlrt'itlt.rrl scttirrgrvorrldlrr.iur iudivi<hurlspeirkeritlone rlr irt
nronolclgut'witha passivepiutner'(e.g.,the experinrerrteror intervierver),not iu a
reciprocirl <lialogue.Note that, lrccauseof the focus on languageproduction, the
gestureso{'the rrorr-speaking
would not be of interest,although tlrev
adclressee
can l)e inrportant to socialtheories (e,g.,Barrgerteg2O04;Clark & Krych, 20043
!'unrvrurra.20(X)).
Sirnilrrly, tlre rlorrrinantirrterestirr ficinl eKpressionlrru been individrrd in
frlcrrs.Fxrnr Diuwin (lfl72l1965)to EkrnrrrrrrrrdFriesen(1969)to Izard (1977)and
interest in the f'trcehrusbeen tied to
l}rck (198-l), virtually all .soc.ial
p.syc.hological
'l'lre
rtrotiorr.
pref'erredsetting f<rrthe .sturlyof the {'aceas emotional expressionis
tlre in<liri<hrulal<lnr'.Frlr enroti<lrrtherlrics,.srrcial
interacti<lnis a confound that is
the pure c.ryr'e.ssion
of ern<ltion(e.g,, by display rules), whererrs
likell, to nrtusl<
srrciirlintt'r'acti<ln
is preciselvour l<lcrrs
of interest.
'lir
Social Setting
investigrrtectnn)ersotittrrrrl
lrrrndg('strrresurrcllircialrlislllavs,
rr'hit.his irr suorrtiure<lns
l:rcewe ntust obserreanclrcc<.rrtl
thenr rr'lterr tlrt.r'or.<'ur,
to-face di:rlogue.Ollviously,the plrticipanti nrust lx'rrllle to scri r':rcltoth<,r',irrrd
they nrust be {i-eeto !{estul'eanrl trl makt ftrcialtlisplin'sil'tlrt'r' s,islr. lt rrrt1,lle
desirableto include conditions tlrat, for exirnrplc.,restrict socjallilitr',visibilitv, or
ability to gesture,but thesewould be for puryosesof cornparisonto the face-to-l'rrce
conditiorr.An interest in soci:rlprocesseswoultl dictirtc'that tlre rrnit of study be
the dyad; both intc.rklcutorsurust be participurts rvh<lare corrtlnurlicatirrgrvith
each otlrcr spontarreotwly. Designs where one inter.rctrrut is iur experinrenter,
Timing
Tlrc st con<lcritelion i.stcrnporrrl.Flarrdge.sturc.s
arrdfrrcialdisplaysin
or les.s.If thc.
rlialogrreirr(' \'erv rlrrick,ofterr lx,grrrraurl crrrrrpletedin r .seconcl
arc clos<rlytirntxl with his rlr
inrlivirhurlis spt:ahng:rt tlre rlrlrrrr.rrt,tlrc,scirc'tiorr,s
Irt'r rvonls. As slrrnvrrin Exarnplc l, they lirlklw tlre vorbal syntau,beginning arrd
or c<lmplement.Or, rus
errrliug prccisely with the phrasc that they .srrpplernent
ilr
to
monent (e.g., the
Exarrrple
tinrerl
a
piuticular
interactive
shorvn
2, they are
spenker'sirrdic:rtirnrthat she was thirrhng rlhout what tht tuldresseehad asked).
rli.splays
i.sthat their movementsciut
Orrc clrarir,tcristicof han<lgt'strrn'sarrtll'rrcirrl
nutch thc. speedofworcls.
Example 2r Facial Displays The spc.akelrr,ls rclirtirrga past close.-clllirr rvlrich
she netrrh'fellofl'a bitrrrrr>o1'(Clxxil.1989:rrlsotlescrillt'rlirr lJlvt,lls Cs(jlrrx'il,
1997).Sheu'astellingthe.ston':rsif it rverelrrrn,rrorrs.
sr))ilirrr{
irr llehvt'r'rrvirriorrs
f'acialillustrrrtiortsof'lter reitctiotrsarr<ltlroseol'hcr firtlrt'r'.rr-lrorvirstrring to r'(is(.ue
her'.At otre ptlittt.the rr<l<h'essee
irttt'rrrrptctlto usk.r tlrrt'stiorr.
irrrrltlrt,spcirkr.r's
I'acialtlisplavs(rrrtlir'irtt'rl
lrl rrrr<lc'rlirring
lx'kxr')t.lrrrrrqt'rI
irrrrrrr'<liirt<'lr.
A t l t l r t ' s s r x ' :" l l o r vl r i g l tr r pr v o n ' r ' r r ? "
Spc':rkt'r': "1U,i\l!"ll s-Iliurscl3.!11,rrll)_rxrtt.l1.U'f: ltr.rlritt' lrigh rrll
there."
W i t h " U t v l l " ( t l i s p l a vI ) , t l r c s p t ' a k c rk x r k t . rol l ' l t r r t l r e s i r l t , a r u lr , l r a r r . q t tol a r r
intensely serious f'ace,furrowing her evebrowsanrl pulline lrel rnorrth .straiglrtand
rrsi{'"-h<'rvcn'tlrinhrrghrrrrl.
snrallc'r,
Alier tlrr.Pirusr',
iw slrr'lx'giurlo iurss'r.r',
slrc
kxlkeclllack torvirrtltlrc a<klresscc
iurdlt'srrrrt.tlsnrilirrg(rlisplin2). I I<'rfirst liuial
displrry,when cornbined rvith her exclanration,shili <ll'gaze, aucl .silence,lrad
informed him what her mornentary silence ureant: that she had heard lris question
and still had the speaking turn but was having tlifffculty conring up rvitlr an exilct
answer.Had slre continued smiling or simply grlrre blank rvhr.n lrc asked, her
failure to answer rvoulclhave been inexplic.ableto hirrr.
Four Criteria
288 SOCIALCOMMONICATION
HANDGESTURES
CONVERSATIONAL
ANDEACIAL
DISPLAYS289
Tlre achievernentof precisetirling rvitlr rvorclsis notenortlry fill both gestures
and facirrldispltrys,although fbl difl'erent le.$on.s.The lircial rnusclesare rapid
enough to track the spced of speech;lbl exanrple,evel>r<xvs
can flash to orrplrasize
a singleword. For gestures,the tirning takesa di{I'ereutroutt becausehatrdsa.re
relatively slower',A gesture often begins with a norr-lexicalprepulatory phase in
which the individual moveshis or her lraud(s)into position (e.g.,raisingthe hand
from the lap ol rnoving it to a different place lr'orn the previous gesture); tlris is
sirnply a physicalnrovernentthat has no relation to the gestrue'snreaning.Once
the hand is in place, which nray take only a fractiorrof a sccon<I,ther: the real
gesturebegins(calletl the stroke phase),irn<ltlrc lrrurtldcpicts th<rspeirker"s
rneaning (Kendorr,l!)t10,p. 212;stt ulso,Mt'Nr.ill.1992.P. 25).Tlrrrs,tlrc sPt.lk<'r
hrrsto
begin auclpace thc' preparatoryplraseso thlt thr, stlokc rvill occrrru,itlr tlre right
rvord or plrrnse.
The grorrtlrl<lirtt therrn'of gcstrrrt'rv<urkl.likc rrs.t'spect rrrostgc.stru'es
to be
syrchronous with sllc'ech(e.g., McNeiU, 1992. pp. 25-29). trr corrtriust.prcci.se
tinring is irrtportiuttto lexicalirccesstlr<'ories
irr n rli{li'r<'utn'ar'.[rc<'iursr'rr
!{('sture
,ritll irsslstrvitltrvrrrrl-[irrrlilrtI
liirl tlrr.,llit'sii,t',,.r'<l
c',rrr
lx,fttrt'l\r uor'<lrs rrtlt'r'r'rl.
o t r t * t . l l - l r t ' r l r r t l t t il ri r rt rt c t k r or rl ' l r : r r r.rrl{ ( ' \ l u r ( 'l sl r.r .g r . s l r r x .l sl r ; r lr r l co l ' i u l r , r c sl lr r r .
thosc'rvhtlsc'stnlke
phiuseprect,rlcsir n,rlrrl.lx't'irrrst'rr'lx'rr
llrr'rrrrltl iuttl strokc
('ilnn()tlx'inr issrrr'.
(SccirlsoNoltr'.!(XX).lirr olltt'r
plt:tsct'o-<x't'rrr'.
k'ri<'irlil('('('ss
t i r r r i r ru r r r s i r k ' r ' a t i o r r s . )
Ekrtrrrn(1997) distinguishedbetrveerrlircirrlexllressiorrsof'enrotiorr rurtl the
conrrnnnicative actions thrrt he ctrlled rcferentiol eqtntssirrrrsantl conuar;ttionnl
signals.One kc.r'differ-ence
he pointeclont rvts theil tirning. Elinriurpropo.sccl
tlrrrt,
in contrast to corlurunicative facial actions:
Lnlintagrrted nwssage(Bavelas& Chovil, 2000) or conrpositesignal (Clark, 1996)
rathe:rthan as a separatechannel, Note that the non-verbalactions in a multirnocltil rtrcssageare not necessarilyredundant with the words; they may be complementary,providingunique but relatedinfonnation.
In contrast, 'althoughwords are obviouslyirnportant to lexical accesstheories,
the focrrs is on a single word (i.e., on vocabulary and dictionary equivalents) and
rrot its corrversationalc'ontext.Moreover, the gesturesof interest must be redunclantu.ith the words that they prornpt. Altliough growth-poiut theory doesconnect
the gesturewith the speaker'sbnrader nreaningat the mornent (and would expect
s{)nie non-redundant gestut'es, as we do), it does not iDcorporate the social
intt't':tctirrrr
pr()(,(.ss(:s
tltnt irrr.part <rl'specchirr <link4yre.
It is rlrritcrpossilllean<llirirly cor'ullr(lnt<l study lhcial c.xpressions
of ernotior'r
rvitltotrt itrryrelationshipto conversationalc(n'ltext,for exanrpleusing still photds.
Evcu rr4rt.ncirphrrc(lin clialogrre,tlre locus of irrterestis on a set <lf universal,
crrrrtext-fi'c,eernotional expressions rather tlran on the local, highly contextspccific'.iur<lextrenr<ll1'valied
infirrnrati<lnthat a conversationalfacialdisplaynray
rrtorrrcrrlrrlill'('on\/('y.
r#'lrnnrlg'sttrres,thr.rr'
llrrrvr'r,r'r',
irsrvitlr<rrgrtitivt,tlr<xlrics
:rrr. li.,r'h rlivisiorrs
rvillrirrllrr. [irrftlof'r'rrroliorrirl
r.xPrt'ssiorr.
ltrrss<:ll
urrrlo(lu.rs
(c.g., lilrssell & F'<:rrrandez-l)ols.
1997) have clrallenged the rrniversalityor'
trrrrlcrt-fi'r'r'rrirlrrrco['lirc,irrl
<'xlllr.ssiorrs
o{'<.rttotiorr.
with nrr etht>
Rrrst.trch<:rs
(ltJ79)arrtll,'rirllrrntl(l$J97)lravt'
krgicirl1x.r'spt,ctivt,,
srrt'lriusKlurrl aurtl.lolrnstorr
enrphrusiz.t.d
tlre role ol'sociality, or audienceellects, in facial displaysof emotion.
Although thesc.approachesshare sorne of our criteria, neither of thenr studies
cotrxcnotionflI fociul dtsphus, thrrt is, facid actions that are closely timed to arncl
integraterl with wclrdsin diaklgue.
Wrile lacirrlexpressiorts
of enrotionoftcrrrrcul rhrdugcorrvt'rsation,
tlreir
krctrtion
irr tlrt'sPccclr
['los'isn'lrrtcrlnot to tltr .\!ntdttrc(r//.,//i'l)utto tllc
rcvt'irling
is lx'irrgsrtirl<rrrxrlsiurl
senraurtics.
iur enxllirrrral
lcirt.liort
to rr4rirt
(p.340,itrrlcsrrldc'd)
Social Function
Fourth, \ 'e are interested in these actions as part of
rttorrrt'nt-llv-rt'lorrrt'ut
srrirtl c<lrttrrruniclti()n
irt tlre rnicro-.socinl
level. Some hand
g('stur'('s,urtl lirt'ill displrrys1rl:n'iur csscrrtirl rolt' irt this collatxlrativeproces.s.
rvitlr rv<lrrls,
W<lr'liirrg
prrr.srxly,
iur<lcitch <ltlrr.r,tlresctctiorrs.slrapean<larc slraped
by tlrc orgoirrgdialogrc; tlrey currvty irrlilrrnationto the irrterlocutor;and they can
hc'l1lrcgrrlltc tltr'prtlcc'ssol'irrtclactirrgirr dilloguc'.The resetuchrevieweclbekrrv
<lrrtlincs tI rc Ixrgirrrrirrgs
ol' ulr hrrlwlcrlgeol' thesefirnctiorrs.
All cogrritivethcorics irnplicitly linrit tlreir interestto the role of a gesturein
tht: irrrlivirLrtrl
sPr.tkrrr'slaugutgepnxluction, not includingany other efl'ecton the
rrol iurysociulirrteractiorr.ln thcsetherlries,the role ol'gesturesis, like
iul<h'csst'r'.
rvortls.rrnilatelalltht'.ydo not slrapetrnd are not shapedby dyadicfactors.
Strrrlicsof'crnoti<lrral
expmssiort(e.g.,Ekman, f993) rrnderstandahlyfocuson
tlrt' ovcrt lircitl lction prinrurily lxlcaurscol' its rc.latiorrshipt<l the indivitlual'.s
rrrrrlerlyingent<ltionalstatc.That is, alth<lughone rer$orl for stut$ng enrotionat]
states is that tlrese clearly have irnplications for social interaction, the primary
irrterestis the inner life of the individual.
Tablc 10.I sumnrtrrizeshow the lbur critoria introduced here can distinguish a
social cornnrunicative approac'hto hand gestures and facial displays from other,
rnore fiunilirrr itpproachesto the sanre physical modalities. It is clear that, while
the cogrritive and social approachesto gesture are ultimtrtely complementary and
Lil<egestures,tlrc tin,irrlrlisplrrys
tlrrrtplav ir lok'in sociirltrrrrrrrrrrnic.rttiorr
rvill lx'
reltted t<lthc,stnrc,trrr-c
of tall<.thirt is, tirnt'rlrvitlrintlivirhrtlrrr)rrlsor srrntirr.
('olc(,r'rrstlrc rtlltiorrslrill of'thr
Contextual Meaning Thc. tlrirrl cr'it('ri()r)
Tlrt' rrrcartirrg
<ll'tltc'corrvt'r'satiorr:
ol'thc
gestureol liu'itrltlisplavto othc.r'l'catrrrt:s
('(r,l/('r1
(llrrrtLus&
itct rrtrrstlrt'<lirccth'relatccl
t<ltlre irrrrtrr'rlitlt'ttunnttttliftttit'(
Chor4l, 2006; (jlrrlril. l9ft9; G<.nving.2(X):l:(Jt.nvirrqf\ llirrr,lrrs,2OO.t).As illrr.stlrc crrrttrrrniltrrt
rvoltls,
trtted iu ExanrplcsI arrtl2 irllove,tlris contt'tt irrclrt<lt's
prosorly,iurtl otltel crlrnrrturticntive
ircts,iusrvcll as rr4titti^sIrappenirrgirt thc irrteractionbetrveenirtterklcutorsat that nronrerrt(e.g.,thc.lircid rlispltwsin Exurrrple2).
Both the nreirnirrgrurdtlrt' lirrrn of tlrt' act s'ill rlcpt'rxl intiurirtc'lvon its prrrticular
context,jus-tas thc"precise rneanirrgol'a w<lrdalrvils tlcpc.nrlsorr the irnnredierte
contextin rvhichit is rrsed;neither stnndserlone,rrnrchrt('(lto u'hatrventbef'<lrear,d
rvlratis htpllcning rrtthe slruc.tirrrt'.A crnrrllirrvis tlrat rve irrr.n()tst'parzrting
these
treated rrspnrt of
actions tiom tlre w,rrds, prrrsody,or eaclr othc-i.Thev irre alrviry.s
CONVERSATIONAL
HANDCESTURES
ANDFACIAL
DISPLAYS291
cleffrritelynttt rnutually exclusive,they are as difl'erent as they can be while sharing
il colntllotl interest in tlre broad class of hand rnovernerrtsrelated to speech,
Sirnilarlv, the stu<ly of fac.ialexpression of emotion and the approach we are
tlescrilling here diff'er so much iu their units of analysis,methods,and ultinrate
g<llls a.skr constitutt: intleperrdent fickls o{'study.
EXPER
IMENTALINVESTI
GATIONS
=
t 7
v,
'jj
U
o
(o
't':
Experimental Researchon ConuersationalHand Gestures
o
1J
It uTnl<l lx'prernirttrrt to orgtrtizc tlrt linritetl eqretirnentrrlle.searrhon (r)n\ersirtitlrritlhrur<lgt'strrn'switlrirt il sp('cifictlterlrv, becarrsctlrt:scstudieswcre coltthr<1<rl
lirr <lilli'rtrrlK.iLs()ns
:rl <lilli'rtrrttirru's,oltr.rrirr isolutirlnliour t.achothcr.
I l r r r v t ' v t ' t 'l ,r t ' s cs t t r r l i etsk r r k ' t r r o r r s t r t l t ' t l r t , v i t h i l iot yl ' i r t k ' r r s h
t v r lp r c l i r r r i r r i u ' r ,
trtttcfttsiotts:l"irst. llu'llitrticipurrts irr lircc{r>l'rrc'e
tliulogrrc,
olterr rr.secaclt otlrcr's
gt,s!tttt,s
lrr trxrr<lirrirtr.
rlr r.rtrnpleteit $llilr{l task(Bavelaset al,,
tht'ir cortvr.r'sirtiort
l.(1,95;
llurr.l:rs,(llxrvil. l,ls,rit'. & \\/rr<k'.1992r(llulk & Kn,ch.2(X)4;Ftrnrvarna.
3(XX)).Sctrrrrtl,srx'iirllirt,rrlrssrrcltits ({)nrn(ll grrxrrtrl.sir,rrrxlpurspective,or
({)-pn,s(,n(.t.
lravr.l sigrrificrultelliict on thc.litrrn ol'an in<lividrralpartillcrt't'1rtrr:rl
c'igrarrt's
ut'stlrnrs(llurrgcrtcr, 2(X)4;(lenvirrg, 9003; ()errvirrg& Bavelas,2004;
O'zviirr..k,2(XX),2(X)2;W<xxls, 2(X)5).Wr. will surnrnarize eachof the above terr
strrtlicsirr sorrrt dctail, in orrk'r'to ilh.rstnrteboth the substantiveffndingsand the
v r r r i r . lov l r r r r . l J u x l s : r h ' r .I ixr.rilrvr gr r s < ri lr r t l x . l i c k l .
o
!
c
o
E
U
o
o
o
o)
c
o
o
L
tr
v
o
Ert
ul
J
E
|-
S<tcirrl
ps,r'clroklgists
frrceat lerut hvo obstrrcles
rvhenconsidelingthe study of fi.rcetrrlircr' tlialogrre. F-int, li'om early irr its devehrprnent,experilnental soc.ialpsyclrtllogvltis <'sclrervt:<l
tlte rrseof renl dvrt<l.s
iu {irvorof individrrnlsor corrfeclerltes
(t'.g..Antttsorr& (}ulsrtrith, l96u). Sirnilrrrly,
tht'g<xrlof obi<'ctivr:
rrrc'irsur'crnerrt
rvottltlst't'rtttrl prt'clrrtlt'iut:tlvzirr.g
(rutlrcr'
trorr-vt'tllul
nctsut tlrt'k,r,r'lol'r'rrcntring
tltitn crlrttttirtgtltt'rn rtsphl,sicalt)lo\,('|t1er)ts).
F6r tlttst'neilsols,wlrilt'lcknowledginu u lristorir.irl
(sceKt:nclorr,
irrrtlongrirrgrk'llt to r;rrrrlitrrtiv<'
strrrlic,s
irrotlrerfirrl<ls
'l'lu.
2(X)-1,
lirl it trrtrtptr'lt<'ttsivc
ttt,it'rv).wc \\,ill lixrrs rlrr cnlx'rirrrerrtirl
strrrlics.
rrvtilalrlt't'rperirtu'rttalrt'.st'at'c'lr
illrtstrltt'stlurt Ixrtlt ol'tlrc'alxlvetrplrarenthrrien
citrt lrt' o\t'l-cott't('.It is lrossiblt'to strttlvtlte rrseitnrl rrrenningof hrrndgestnresrlr
lircirrl tli.spllvs irr x'al rlyrulsrvitlxnrt sacrificirrgeitlrt'r' cxpcrinrentalcorrtrol ol'
olricctivt'rr(rtsnr'(\lrent.\Murt lirlknvsis not rrcornplc.teliteratrrrercview,:tlthorrgh
rve llelicre rve hrle locateclrnost of'thc stutlie.sthat meet our {bur criteria.'l
.=
,=
ix
46
bf,
=
t:
2
Interactive Gestures (lklse observr.rs<ll'gestrueshavc'long rroticul tl'lat ltot
rrllharrrlgt'strtrt's
irt cottversirtion
irrc:irlrorrtth<'topicol discrrssion.
Tlrt:reis a snrall
glorrlr rtl'sintplt:rg(')^tru'cs,
olt<.rrnrcxr llicks ol'tllc lrarrd,tlrat rlo not depict anything tlrc spt'ritkeris <lvc.ftl,v
talkirrgabout. IJavelusand colleagues(Bavelaset al,,
1992; Bavelaset al., 1995) isolatedthis group, whic.bwere about 15% of gesturesiu
tlreir face-to-l'acetlirrlogu<rrhtir, anrl noticed two conrnron I'eatures:First, the
physic:rlfonn of the gesturealwaysinc'ludedau orientation of the hrrnd toward the
292 SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
for exirnrple,a quick point rvith one ol sever'illfirrgers,arrexposetlpalrrr,
adclressee;
or briefly "offering" open lrandsto the rrddlessee.
rvheu interpreted in it"Sc'corr<|,
irnnrediatecontnrurricirtivecontc'xt,the rnetrring of thc. gcstule incltrrlerl sonre
reference to the addresseeor to the speaker-addresseeinteraction. For exrrmple,
flicking the hand toward the addresseeofterr accorrrpzuries
a verbal ref'erenceto
what the addresseehnd said earlier - a metaphorical citation.
Example3; In a getting-acquaintedconversirtion(Bitvells et al., 1992,p.47I),
one participtrnthad suggestedthat working for CanaclaCrrstornss'ould be a
good sunrrnerjob. Later, the other participantlisted severalother possillilities
and then addedthe otlrer person'ssugge.stion:
Speaker:
". . . rrrrdCustornsis DEFINITEL\', is cnrce,r'or'-oliented."
"(lrrst<ltts",thc speirl<elrrtorr\l lris lrrrrrtlrrp iurrl torr,:rrtltlrt'listcrrcr',
As he
"^rritl
almost as if to.ssingsornethingto hirn. \,V'eproposc tlrat tlris gesturt, c()nvevs.l
l r( ) t l s r r p g r , s t t ' rt 1
t l r t : i u t i t tl g
l i i r t t o " r r 4 r i r 'Y
l r.i "r ti . sl,l t r ' s y l c r r k ri s, rr . i t i r r go r < . r r , r l i t i r r g
the listerrcras tlrc sourceol'the i<lca.
Or, rvhile searchingfor a word, tlre spcirkclrrrirl,lrold tlr<'pirlrrrorrt as i('to
receivesourctltinglrortrtlte adrhessct'.Br.ctrrst.rrll
ol'tlrt..st.riuiorrs
lirrrctiorrs
an:
related t<l the socialinteraction indepenclcntlyol'topic or corrtext,lJavelaset nl.
(f992) called tlrem hfterac.tioegestures.
Having developed a reliable opelational cleffrrition,\\'e \\'ere able to tc,st the
hypotlresis that this subset of htrnd gesturesfunctiorrs t<l aid tlre maintenance of
conversation as a social systern, Several experiments denronstrated that these
forms were rnuclr rnore likely to occur in spollt.uleousfac'e-to-ftrceclialogue.Their
rate was significantlyreduced when the spc,rrker
\\,rls(l) alone, talking in nronologue, (2) talking to an nddresseelvho could rrot.seetheur (llavelaset al., 1992),or
(3) talking to a visible addresseebut in alternatingmorrologrresrrrther tlurn the
give-arrd-takeof dinlogue (Bavelas et al., 1995). lvlorcover, altlrrugh they rvere
virtually never redundant rvith the rvords they acconrlrarried,the interirctir.'egestures thernselveshad a statisticallv.sigrrificirnt
cffect on tltt' rxlcln,ssecs
rr,lro,flor
exrtnrple,prori<ltrl it u<lt'tlrvhett pnlrttptcrl s-oL.lr,
ll tlrt. intr.rat'tivt'gestult..Tlre
existerrceof tltese "gesturesspecialized{ilr rlirrlogue"(Bavells e:trrl., 1995)erlucidated how the speaker,besidestleliveriugcorrtent,rnnstattr.ndto a parrrllelsocial
requiremerrt to include arrd coordirrrrtera'itlrtlte a<klressc.e
orl il nrortrent-llynromentscale.Thesc <1trick,
norr-n'drrrtdiurt
gcstllt'('sseenrkr llt' onc t'lficicnt rvav
to do so.
C o l l a b o r a t i v e G e s t u r e s l , ' r r n r v n l r (r 2
i r( X X )1) 1 1 i 1 1 1r 1
r r.rrt1l h l l r l t n \ ' t I ( ' s t u r ' ( .
sttrtlit'sitn'r.sli.qittt'
tlrt. irrtrrqrt,rsrrri,rl
irrllrtcrrttsotr llrr' gr.strrrr's.llrs irrl<'rr.sl
()ll !I('strrcs,s1x'cilicrrlh',
ort ltossilllt,irtk.rpcrsorrirl
lircrrscrl
irr.stt'rul
irrllrrt'rrccs
lrow
thc' gt'sturcs o[' ortr' lxrrticipanl irr t tlirrLrgrrt'rrriulrt irrl[rrt.rn, lrrlrr, 14t.strrn,s
are fonned by the otlrer participarrt.Furuyrrnravitlcotaperlpairs ol'participants
rvhile they engaged irr a collitbonrtive task: FIc.harl tiurqht orrc pruticip:urt (the
Instructor) in each pair how to rnakea conrplexorigauri ftgurc nnclthen ir^sked
that
HANDGESTURES
CONVERSATIONAL
ANDFACIALDISPLAYS293
persorrto instruct the other participnnt(the Learner) how to make it. He did rrot
give the participants any origarni paper, so they often used gesturesto depict the
pnpel ancltheir own actionswith it.
Funryarna's (2ffi0) data revealed the highly social phenomenon of collaboratiuc gesturas.FIe rvasable to show, r'erliably,thlt irrr-teadof gesturirrgin their <lu,u
ge.sturespace(near their own body), Learnersoften placed their gesturesdirectly
in front ol'the Instructor, right in the spacecreatedby the Instructor'sprevious
gesture and building on the Instructor's gesture. For example, the Instructor
rnight gesture a particular fold, perhaps by outlining a virtual piece of paper and
{bkling orre side over another, and the Learner would reach over to point at the
corner o{'the virtual paper (which was,in fact, empty space)to ask a question.It
viLs tLstlrough thele rvere invisillle paper, and the Instructor's gestures, which
cleatc'd ancl rtrairrtained the irrrirgintrrypaper, could be rnanipulated bv both
lrarticipiurts. These coll:rb<lt'utivegeshrre$rvere ahnost lU%oof the 400 Learners'
gtrstulcsiuralyzrrrl(calculat<'d[i<ln Frrrrr;nrrnt,2000,p. 1019,
ffgure 5.2), and thev
rvelt. significurrtly rrr<lle likely tlrau non-crlllalxrrative (irrdividual) gestures t<l
- o[icrr llrr"li'ru'lxrr'ssylcrr.lrrirtlrcrllriur thc t,r.lrntrr'sowrr
il('('r)nrl)iur!'s1x'r'r'lr
slrctr:lr. !tloreov<.rr',
tlur l.cantcrs orrly rnitrlc cullalxlrativc gestuls.sw[rcrr their'
Ti,acht'r'lrarllnctoddrc f'rrcalpoirrt o1'thrrirg(:strtrctowanl tlrc l*arncr.
Crrllirlxrrittivtr
gr:strrr-rs
unr a diaklgiccve'nt,crcutedl>ytheJointtuiiuns ((jluk,
1996) <l{'theputicipants. They revt'al arr intricrrte coordinirtiou of space,geshrre,
and speech to cornplete a conplex spatial txk with little difficulty. To appreciate
the rnrrtr.ralimportance of dial<lgue and gesture in this study, one need only
inragine doing such a task on tl-rephone or with a videotaped Instructor rvhose
gestures\\'ere not tan$bly availtrbleto the l.earner for collaboration.
Monitoring Understanding via Gestures Clark arrd Krych (2004)
expanrled orrr understanding both of what gesturesare (lly elevating actions with
olljects frorn a sinrply instnrrnenhil fitnction to a synbolic one) and of tlre influence of'rrddresscc.s'gesturtl contributiorrs on speakers'utterrmces. Their dyads
c<rnsisterlof Direc'tors, who had a model conshucted from [.ego bloclcs,and
llrriklers. rvho w<'ret<l bnil<l the s'anrerno(lel as instmcteclby the Director. Irr
rr<klitiorrto scvenrlothcr irnulyses.Clark and Krych condrrcteda reliahle, in-deptlr
analysiso1'the gesturesin rr subset of their data. They found that when the pair
coultl intcract and the Director could see the Builder's rvorkspace,they did the
tiuk nrox" qrrickly. Anrrlysisof the wtry tlrey worked levealed the probable leasort
for tlre aclvantirgethey had. While Directors gave instnrctions, Builders often
resporrdt'tlrvith actionssuclr as pointing to a pirrticularblock, picking it up ancl
t.xhibiting it to tlrc l)inrctor, or poising a block over a possible position. These
iu'lions,rvlriclrplovitl<'tlrrlxllt<'solr tltrr Ihriltkrrs'ctrrrurt stltc <ll'rrndenttn<ling,
irrtrrrr.tliirlclv
irtllu<'tr<rrl
l)irr'r'tor'srrtlt'rirrrct.s,
ollt.rrrrrirl-sr'nt()ncL'.
l.'orcxarrrgrl<:,
rvlror tlrr, Ilrrikk.r' gr,strrrullypnlposr.rla con'(ict actiorr,thc l)ir<:ct<lrhrokc oU'
lirrtlrcr irrstrrrctiorr
ulxut tlrat ir.ti<lnand rnovcd<xrkr the next step. Acti<lnsthat
proposerl an erroneousstqr lvere nret by a precisely tirned correction.
By cxarniningtlre participants' audible and vlsible contributions to a conversatiou rvhilc collaboratingto accomplishrrjoint task, Cltrrk and Krych (200a) rnadea
294 SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
str'ongc:I:iclirl trrliirr{irttoltcc'orrrtt
rrllol tlrr'piu-tit'illirrrts'r'(rsoln'c(ts
rvhcrrarrirlvzing
languageuse. [rr thetl telrus, the participiutts'corrtributiorrs
to tlrc corrvemrrtion
rvele the "rrftlirl orchestrittion"of vocalsignals,gestllrirlsigntrls,rrorldingor shaking
]reads,directing eye gaze,anclotlrel rnutuirllvl'isillle e\ents, arrd "nrorlelsof languageuse that ale lirnited to onlv part ol'tliis pltress are lc,L'e.s.s:uilt,
irrconrplete
and, for lnany pur?o.ses,
incon'ect"(p. 33).
Common Ground: Gestural Space (llrrrrr)ouglourrrl(rrlsocalledcontrnon
knowledge,rtutltrilknouleclgeorbelieJ',
or./oirrthnrclulgc; cl, Cllalk,1996,Ch.4)
is irrlilrrnirtirlrrtlrat tlre p:rrticipantsirr a cornersttiorrslrtx'. lirr criurrple,lleciurs<.
thc'y.slrirlt'
rt t'ttltttrcrlt'a p:tstcrllt'r'ir'rrcr'()r
lrr'(':r^ilrl)hplr.scrrtirt tlrc sirrrrcsrrr'flter
rounclings.
latter can be cztllcdpcn:qt!tnl ut-1ttt:scirc'r,
lrrrl lrir"^Ircr,l slrora,rt
to
affect the lbnrr of gestures.Ozytirck (20(n. 20()2)r'riurrinedtht'elTi'ctsof a rlvacl's
spatial rel{tionslrip to each other on tlte filrnr o{ tlrc spt'irktrrsgt strrrt's.The
speakertha<lrvrttchetlil ctrt<lorriuxl tlrcl rrirrrittt'rlit to rrtl<lrt'ssrr..s
u4ro lrtd not
rr4rcrcr'lrirra('t(.rsor ol{ects
seen it. Witlrin tlrc. cirrtoorrrver? sevt'r'irlsitrraticlrrs
rrovrxlfirlrtr ottt'Plitct-:to iurotlttr'(t'.g.,rrrrrrrirrq
irtto t lrotcl ol clirrrbirrgrrp a
drainpipe),und speakersolien u.serlg(jstrrtl,s
l<r<lt'.scrillt.tlrt.sc
rrrrn(.nrt.rrts.'fhc
2000 sturly userl n rvithirr-desigtrirr rvhich spctkcrs nalrirtt.rl tlrt' strlg, to tw<l
rvho were seirte<l
addressec.s
at cither sirlc <ll'tlrcspt'al<clirr it tri:urgrrlarlirlrrratiorr,
antl rrl.soto orre adth'r'ssee
rvho rvassittirrgon ()rt('sirlc.of'tlrt, spt:itltt'r'.
In tlre 20()2
strrcly,tlre spt::rkersrrarratetldre storv to rlnlv orrc athlrrssct.,rvlur srrtcitlrcr <lirectly across fl'onr tlre speakel or oll' to rrrre sirl<'.Ozviin'k locaterl all ol'the
speakers'gestln'csdepictirrglnovenreutau<l,usirrgit trrrnspirrcrrc\'ontllc, rrrorritor,
she wns al'llcto tracc'the trajectowof'eachgc'strrrt..
Thc'clirtx'tiorro{'rnovernent
gestures that depicted "into" and "out ol" clitl'ered ac.corrlingto lrorv the participants were seated.Speakersrepresentedthe dircction irs irlto <lruut o{'flrc.s7rnr.rr
the puflict1tttnlsslnrcd, s'lriclr dilferr<l bv cxpclirrrerrtirlulrrrlition. I,'or exirrrrplc,
what was "in" r.lr"orrt" clritngetls,ltorrtlre atltlrt'ssr.('u,ls sitlin!{ lo tlrr' .si<k.r'irtlrt'r'
than facing tlre speakcr,aud i^Ireaker.s
acconrrrvxlatc<l
t<l tlris <lilli'rcrrce,llrr.surnably so that the nreaningof their gesturesrvould bc clear kr tlrcir arklressees.
Thus, the locatiorrof the shu'ed physicalspacebohve('n purticipantsin{lrrence<l
the dilectiou rrnd orientation of tht sPeirktr"sl{cstur'(.s.'flrescatlirrstrrcnts irr
gesture direction were not related to changes irr tlrc. sptakt'r's speech; spr:akers
did not chrrngttheil verbal clescliptionsrvhcl thc slralcrlspircr,clrangr:rl.Nr>r'uas
there a c'hangein gesturesfor movenrerrts,srrclriN "up," the nrcarrirrgo{'rvhich
would rrot lre afl'cctedby these paftic:ulalstatirrg rrlrrlitiors (i.t'., ir gr.strrleirrrlicahrrg"rrp" n'orrkl look tlre srrutervhetherparticipantsrrt.r'csittirrglircc to llcc or
ol'slrtretl spac:e
side by side). It rvas tlre relatirlrrshipbehveenthe corrfigrrrirtiorr
irr
erndthe nreiurirrgthrrttlre speakersu'erc cornevilrgthtt dr,tc'rnrircrlcli['['elc'nces
of'tlre $iune lr.x)\'('nrt'rrt.s
ge.shrrrtlrepre.st'rrtatiorrs
irr thc. cirrt<xlr.
tlre speal<ers'
Ozytirek (2002) clairnrrl that her firr<lirrgssrrplxrrtcd tlrt, r'ir.rv that "s1x,iftc'rs
tlrtir sPr:ecltto eorrtnrrr|liciltethcir
use representatjonalgesturesrrccorrrpaDying
(p.7t)l), stltirrg thlt tlrr'firrtlirrgsprtrvi<le
intended nressilge
to theirudth'essecs"
evidence ngainst tlre vierv that conrnrurticativcfirrtctiortso[' thc gcstrrrcs arc'
incidental.
CONVERSATIONAL
HAND GESTURESAND FACIALDISPLAYS 295
Common Ground: Visual Perspective Bangerter (2004) investigatecl
rtrore closely the relationslrip lretween rvords and gestures,showing how participalrts crrn elect to coutribute inforrnation either way in order to mininrize the
collabomtive e{Ibrt lequired t<l establish rnutual understanding, Pairs of participants <lirl a ref'erentialcornrnunicationttrskin which a Director, who had an array
of photos of faces that rvere arranged in a particular older, helped the Matcher
corrstntct the santeaniurgellrent fiom a larger collageofphotos. The larger set rvas
otr a boitrd thr( lxlth lrirrticipiurtscould see.The participantsrvere free to usr.
rvlruter.elnteaus of c<lnrrnunictrtion
they chose at the uroment t<l do the task,
, inchrdingrvorrls(i.e.,description"^
of'the photo.s)or gestures(i.e.,pointing).
lllrtgcrl<'r (2(X)4)vurierlrvlrctlrcrI)ix'ctors tn<l Matchcrscould scetrachotlrcr
(arrtltlrrrsusc'poirttirrgto x'[i'r to tltr'plr<ltos)
aswc'llastlrt'irshirrrxlvisrrirlpcrspcc'tir'e, tltnt is, tlre rlistancehetweeuthe lxlartl and tlre participants.Wlren the participiurt.scrrrrl<lrtcrts(,(.eirchotlrcr (lxrt could lnth seethe phot<lboard),tlrey ur^etl
sigrrilicarrtlynrrlrc rvonls to rlo the trusk.Presunrably,this dilTerenceoccurrc'rl
bc:ctust'they c<luldnot uselxrirrting,only wortls.For tltc.visiblepairs,the rnarripulirlion ol' rli.stiurcc'
charrgerlthc lclutivc,utility of words and pointing. At closr.
tlisttrrt'r'.s,
poirrtitrgis t'llicit,ut arr<lrrrrarrrbigrrorr.s;
at [rrtlrcr (listilrrccs,
poilrtirrg
rwrrrkllrt' rrroleiurrbigrrou.s,
[Iis rc.lirrllleanalysisrevedetl, first, tlrnt rvlrc.upoirrting
wrrsiur opti<lrr(i.r:.,irt cl<lscrlistrurce.s)
lxrth participantsused it prcferentiullyto
in<licittt' t pitrtic'ulirr photur,nrther thiu verbally dercribing the locati<lnaud f'errtrrrcs <rl'tlrc plroto. Thcy o{terrcombined pointing with verbal deiis (thl"s,that,
lrcrc, tln:rc), whic.lr suppnssed or replrced full verllal descriptions. Wltert tlre
ph<ltosrvere firr r.rough iuvaythat theil shued visual per.-pectiverc.nderedpointirrg gestures irrnbiguous, participants used verbal descriptions. These ffrrdings
stxrrtglv suggestthat tlre pruticipants rvere systemirtic,flexible, anrl oppofturrisfic
irr tlrcir choic'eof rnodalitv for referring to tlre photos. They loacledinftlnnation
(,r g<'strrrc's
irrto tlr<'ir wor'<l,s
irr rvirystlrrrt estnblisltcl rel'erertceas rpickll' arrtl
llc('ulitt('lyits p(,ssil)[c,giv<rrr
tlrcir slrart<lptrrsptrctivc.
Comutrn gnrund c'an illso lx'
Common Ground: Shared Experience
experinrt ntirlly nrauipul*ted by vruying the c"xperiencesthat the dyad do or do not
slrru'crvith eitch othc'r.The efll'cts of cornmon ground <lnwortls are well knou'n:
When irrterk>cutorscan takc,irrfornation iusrnuturtllyunderstood (as"given"), thev
o{tc'u rrsr:fc,werwords to ref'cr to it (e.g., Clark & Wlkes-Gibbs, 1986), use pronorursirrstcadof'full re{'erence(e.g.,Chafe, 1974;Kess,1992),and evenarticulate
tlrc frrrniliruwords less precisely(e.g., F<rwler,1988; Fowler & Housum, 1987;
()crwing & Bavclius,
I I rrrrrricrrtt,l9lt5). Gerwiufi (2(X):1;
2()04)investigatcdrvhethc'r
harrrl gestrrresrcsglrd to participants'c(nnmon gnruld in a sirnilar
crrrrvc'r'strtiontrl
nliuller'. We gaveparticipants tasksto do alone ?rndthen askedthern to discussthe
rvitlr c'achother.The truskrinvolvedolrjectswith rro farniliarntrrne,so refertir.sl<s
cnce to tlrcm wtuslikely to rerpriregostures.The expelimentalrnanipulationwars
rvlrethcr participants shiuerl coulnl()n 1g<lrrndor not, tlrat is, whetlrer they had had
tlrc. srurrt:objects or rr<lt. llef'ore thc.y begrrn their crrnversrrtion,they were tolil
r.vlrctlrt'rthey hatl dorrcrthc sarnc.tirsks(c<lnrnon 1q<xrndcontlition) rlr n<lt (rt<l
conlnlon ground conditirln). C)ornrrrorr
grourr(l ha<lrr sigrrificanteffect on tlte f'onrt
296 SOCIALCO/vIMUNICATION
of th_einitial gesturesthat a speakerusedto re{'erto the identitv o{'the object.That
is, when participtrntsclitlnot shtrrecofirmougxlrrrrcl(i.e.,rvheritheir addresseewas
unfarniliarwith the object),the speakers'initial gestulesrverereliablyjuclgedto be
nrore conrplex,precise,or itrforrnativethan rvlrenthev did sharecornnrrlnglouncl.
For the latter, tlrev rrradesketchier,"sloppicr" gestrries,beciurser
thrrt u,ru all the
addresseerreeck,d.
CONVERSATIONAL
HAND GESTURESAND FACIALDISPLAYS 297
Sy stemattcInu esti.gati.ons
of Conu ersational Facial Displag s
A good observer will notice that, even in the absence of obvious emotion, the
faces of individuals who ale engaged iu ordinary conversationare not blank or
Common Ground as "Given" Information
Conlnron grolurl carr irlsrr
developwithin a tlialogue.After nerr'irrfbrrnati<lrr
lrirslleen irrtxl<iucerlaud rrrutrrallyunderstoocl,it beconresgiwn (versusncru)intilr-rnation.Using the sarle dvads
as described above, Genving (2003) <lid rr rprnlitrrtivennirh,sisof tlre ell'ect o{'
previotrsrefer'enct"
rvitlrintheir conr(.rsltiorrs
orr tlrr' {irrrnol'srrr,ctssivt'g(,stur.es.
As predicted, litter gesturesfbr the sarnex'li.n,rrt lrt,clnrc,rrrox,sr.lr(.nraiic,
rvhile
gestrlres for rrervin fillrn ltir trt rr'<'re.sltirty'l. rnrrl tft ,rrrtr:
Emn4tlc J; Thc speakt'rhit<lith'eiuh,rlt'"-t,r'illr.<l
ir "rr'lrilhgig" (rr stick rvith a
g lt ' s l r r r r r lrl r r r r r r .llrrvt r v i r ' l i r rt !l r{ cs l i r . Ll x , l r r r . r .lrl r r , l r r r l r r r s .
p n l l x ' l k ' r r l ut o l l )r r r r <
Norv hc rvrsrlt.sr.rilrirrg
lxlrr,lrt,ciur{lrlit (( jr.rrvirrg
tt ll:rrr,Lts,
J{X)-1.
p. iT5):
Speaker:"And ynr just hvlrl it an<lcatchit, that's the itlcir."
His gesture depicted a very tiny tuiirling uction, using only his finger.s,followed
irnntediatelvllv n lil'e-sizeclcttchirrg urotiorr.The hrirling rvirsqivcn irrforniirtion,
anclthe cntc'hlrrg\vts r)ew.
Woods (2005)showedthe sanreefl'ectin a coutrulle<lexperinrent.He taught
one participrrnt(tlre Teacher)severalrrorr'l <liurcentoves.rrsirrglris <trvrractigrrs
and diaglanrslttrt tto hantl gestures.Thcrr,r:r,erir s('rits ol'triirls,eru.h'ferrcher
shorveda LeAtttet'r,atious
ceitnbinirti<lrts
of'thest lltovcs.lJc-c,anst'
thc'v'r*t:rtseirtecl
at .r trrblervith rttl <liirgrarns,
thc-"Teachersgcstrrrtrl tlrt. rliurt,t,rnrlr,<:s
rvith tlrt:ir
hancls.Severalrlf'tlre sarle Inovcswerc r'cqrrile<lrcpeatrrllv irr srrcccssivc
trills (in
different conrbirratiorrs
arrclPr>sition.s
rvithirrtlrc rLurct').urul tlrr <lcpt,rrderrt
variable s,rrs thc tirnc' the 'leaclter' <levotcdlo gt.strrrirrgcraclrrrrovrl irrtrr.arrllys^t
agreementwils r= .91)5,
Tlrere rvasa sigrriftcnnt<lcrclirrc.
iu the tluration ol'tlre sarrrc.
move froltl first to st'condhirrl, tlten r stirllk',slrrlrtr.rtirrrt tlrt'reafi<.r.'flurs,rvlrcrr
the ttror,ewasrl()\{'to tlte Iriurr<.r:thc ?.at.ll.r'trxrklorrgcr.tork'pir.tit. Wlrctrtlte
nlove i\)Pe.It'ctlirt rt lrrtertrial, it rvitsgir,eninlil'rtrltiou. irrxl thc 'l'r,achclrrra{e a
quicltervcrsiorrol'it lx'c,:urst'
tltc Il.lrru'r.\\.ilsrr('\\,lirrrriliirr.u,itlt
it.
'l'lre
t'lll't'l ol'sttt't't'ssivt'
lriitls ort ilrr' k.rrgtlrol'gr'.slrrlirl
n.li,n.rrt.r'r'tplicirtt's
arrdextendsit sinrilirle{lbct ort verlrrrllel'ertrrcclinrrrtl lrv Clrrrkarxl Wilkei-Gihlls
experinrcrrtal.we Mll therclbrc lrcgin with a strong set ol'systenraticand ottcn
quturtitirtive investigationswhich, although they lacked experimental manipulatiorr, n<lrtethelessdrerv the ffrst rnaps of directions in rvhich future experirirents
nright pr<rceed.
(1872/1965), that speakersoltett use brow raises to indicate that what they are
.
styng i.sl tlttcstion,eveu thouglr it nrrrynot be a question syntactically.(It is tikely
tlr' lrrrlu's iurclplostxly w<lrk togcther in these crues;that is, prosodic stresswoulil
tlcc(nllpilllya batorr,iur<lrising intorrationrvould accompilnya question.)Ekrnan
.pecrrlrrtrrl that bnrrv movcrnctlts dso .serve<lther punctuation functions, analo-
subseclu<'t.tt
eviclencethtrt such verbsl ffllers act as signalsto the addresseeabout
encoding difffculty, Finrrlly, irddressees'eyebrowsare active aswell. In addition to
verbirl lrirck-clt:urttt'lsand rrrxls,ir<l<lresset's
rlay rnove their brows to indicate that
tlrtl' alc atterrrling,rrot rur<lersturtlirrg(e.g., lly squinting), or questioning the
29E SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
speaker.By c<lnrbining
the Lrtter nrc (i.c., sirnultiureously
s<pirrtingarrd ridsing
eyebrorvs),listenerscirn indicateirrcreclulity.Nurre<lt'the.se
{unctiorrsis rlirectlv or
everl necessarilyrelated to enrotionnl expression.Instc.ad.tlre.viue intinrately
related to the dialogtrc.,providing infonuatiorr to thc, interlocutor abrxrt lxrrv to
interpet what the other person i.scomnrunicatingat that precisenrornent.
Smiles as Back-Channels
Bnrnrrer(1979)strrdierltlrc corrvc,r's:rtional
rrse
itr au interrsiveanalvsisol'fitrrrcrllvr,rsirtiorrs
of adclressees'snriles
vicleotapc,cl
in
the lal>oratory.IIe crlrtductecldctailed.sttrti.stical
ilrrth,$esof'tlrt'.sesrnile.sarrrlthe
linguisticnn<iprrralingrristic
rvith iur erlphasison
asptcts of'thc crlrn'r,rr*ti.,,r,
the lelatiorrshillbehvu.n the addrc.sst'c's
srrrilcstnd tlre sllcalit'r"strrnr signitls.
"r'etlr." iutrl "rrh-lnrh":Yrrsvr'.l97t)). the
(e.11.,nods,
Like otlrer back-clriutne]s
ittlcltesset"s
srnilcsltlrl ir sigrrific'iurt
or'(rrlat poirrlsrvlrt'rt tlrc spcirker
tcrrrL.rrt'r'lo
h t < l c < l r n p l o t t 'at l g l i r r t u u i r t i c aulr r i t i u r r l l u r - r r c rllr i s o r ' l r t ' r ' l r t ' i u l t o r v i r r r tl h c
(llrrt irr crlrrtrist to iultllcsst'cs'irttt:rn1rt.s
other-llack-clrrurttc'ls
acldressee.
Als<1,
lil<c-'
to grrin tlrc' s1x'lkirrgtru'rt),thc :ulclrt.ssu.^s'
srrrilt'srvcrc orrh kxrs<.lylr.lirttrl to
s1'lticclr
lxnrntlirlicsarttlwcle rurt rr.plr.sstrllr.1'gt'sticrrlrrti<lrr.
lJrrrnrrcr"s
cvi<L,ncc
su$5les-tetl
stxurglv tltat a<lclrcssees'
.surilc,"act as birc'k-clrarrrrels,
ll.erl'l'lris llrrlvitlirrg
bac'kto the speakerrvithotrtbe$nning to s-pcaktlrerrrsclvc.s. strr<lvis pxrlrably
t l r < 'f i r ' s tr l r r i u r t i t ; r t i r t ' t l t ' t u o t t s t r i trl it o rt o
t r t l r o l ' l l r , , r ' l t r s tr, l l i r t i o r s l r i pl l . l l ' r . r ' r r
l i r c i r ral c t i i t r rist t t r ls l t t t c l t l l r r t a l s r lo l ' t l r t , r o k i o l ' i rl i u ' i i rrl r c ' l i o irnr t r r r r v r , r s i t t i rursr r
coorulinaterlsociali rrtenrctiorr.
Conversational Functions of Facial Displays ( llrovil ( l98s); als<>
descrilrc<l
in Olrovil,l99l/1992, iur(l lJav('li$& Olrovil. 1997)crrrrrhrctr.rl
tlrt.first
systc,rnatic,
rlriurtitittit'r'tk'scripti<lnol'ir rnrrchrr.irk'r'riurgco['liu'ill tlislllrrysirr
fnce-to-facc
T\venty-f<lrrr
irt l2 sarre-ol rrrir<'rl-gt'rrrlt,r'tlittlirrklgue.
ptrticil'lrrnts
loqtresfirst g<ttlcrlr:rirtte<liurrl tlr<.rrtalltcrlli'rr'h rvitlrirrtlrrtr. tirsks<k'sigrr<,tl
trr
elicit a viu'ictvol'l'rrt'ial<lis1llir,r,s:
crlx'ri<.rrr'r';
r'r.tt'llirrg
tcllirrgirlrorrlrr t'losr'-r'irll
:r
c t l t ' t v t ' t ' s i t t ti tht itttt i r t v r l l v t ,ittl r t t i r t o tr r r r r l l i cr' tv i t l tl r r o t l r c t ' l ) ( ' r \ ( ) il r ri t r P
l l u r r r r i r ri ru
r r r r t r i l i r l nri nr lc i rol l ' l i x x l st l r t . r , l x r t lrrl i s l i k t ' <l /1r.' r r r trlrr r . t r r r t s r(' l1l r. r n r lr . r t ' l r r t k . r l
s n r i l e sl ,l c c a r r s t , t l t ci vu ' r , s ol i r r l r r c r r itr r r rsl o v i l n ( . ( (l ( ' . g , .l , l L r r r i ulrl.) , \ i 5t)l r r r t l r r . r ,
r v o t r l t l t i n ' r ' r l o r r r i r t i t t t l' r cl l t ' s s c r - l < r r o lrtri,rrrrr l so l l i u . i i rrl l r s q r l r r v s . ' l ' l r c l r ' l irltr.rr's h r t l va s k e t l\:\ / l r i r tr k l l i r c r . ds o i r rr l i t k l g r r ro, ,t l r t ' tl'l r i u rs r u i k ' P
Althotr.glr(llul,il (l9ti9) tlescriberl elch lirciirl rnovcrrrcrrtllhv.sicallr'.slrt'
focust'd<lt.tits crlrttrtuuticirtirt'or
lirrgrristic'f
ttx'littttirt tlrr,rrrrrvt'r'sittion,
ithvtvsirr
contcrto['tlrc rvonls.tlx' orrgrirrt.t
tltc'irtrrrrrrlirttc
rritlnrtirr,,lrrrl ollrr.r'<rrrrrrrrrritiurt
(
l i ' i t l r t t ' rs. su r ' l irr r l l t r r s r r t o
l rl l n r r r l! { ( ' s l r r r ( ' :l,l.r r ni l i r L ' r r t i l i t .sr,l ' r , ' t r rl lr l o i r <I lr i r t l so l '
{iurctiorrs,
ciu'lro['rvlriclrsrrlrsrrru<rl
l)lrutvst)(.ci[i(,r'aliations,
lt is irtrlrortiutt(o rtott.
rlcst'r'iPtiorr
s,ir.srrsrrirllv
rlt'll rrlxut t)07o,
tlrrtttlrc irrtcr-rrulhstlclirrlrilitt'.rl'srrt'li
rvlticlrcorrt;liu'('s
\'('r'\ linrrr':rlrl'r'
n,illr svslt.lnssrtt'lrlrs l.A(;S. (llul'il ir['rrtilit.tl
<lf
ahnost 12(X)tlistiuct lrovelllerrtsthrrt prwhrccd a charrg<,
in orrc or rrrorerlrc'iL,i
tlre face. Ol'thc.se,<lnh,257o\l'ere irclirptors.tlrirt is. rrorr-corrluuni('irti\.e
rrcti(nls
sucltrusbrie,flr,lit'kirrg
rlr llitirrg()tt(.'s
lips. lt rvasclt'iu'that.r'rcrrrvithrlrrl:xl<lirrg
in
wcle iiral.i,rgcorrvcrsatirlrul
snriles,tlre prrrtic\lrrirts
fircialrlisllllrsrrta lrigh r',ttr:,
Irr each tlviul, tltc ono who rvasspt.akin{at urrv girrt'nrnorrr(,rtnnrk,th<'
HANDGESTORES
ANDFACIALDISPLAYS29
CONVERSATIONAL
greate.stvariety of {hcial displays.Chovil (1989) divided thesespeclcerdi,splaysinto
syrtactic rrnd sematrticfunctions. Her syntac'ticdisplaysreplicated all of Ekman's
(1979) rneaningfulbrow rnovements(describedabove),that is, enphasliing ^
sirrglervrrrd,uwlerlininga phrase, ashrrg a quertbn, and also added other rnoverureutsiuralogousto the punctuationol organizationof the dialogue(e.g,,announcirrg tlrc llegirrning of a rrervtopic), These syntacticdisplaysdo not have a ureaning
specific kl the t<lpic of corrversation,for extmple, iln eyebrow emphasizerrvould
lool<the sanre re.qaldlessof the worcl beirtg enrphasized.Instead of conveying
to1'licalinfillnrntion,thev firnct'orrto structurethe contentof the spetker'stnlk for'
thr' lrrrcfit of tlre arhh'essee(iurtl<lgrlrrs
to ptnctrrittirln antl fbrnut iu nrittert
corrrrlurrricirtiorr).
It rvasn<ltrrworllry
that, ulthoughsyntacticdisplaystended to bt'
with pros<xly(e.g.,u4renenrphusizingor questionir.rg),
they rvere
clrsclv associated
rr.srrirlh'
rrrrl rr:rhrrrtliurtrvith rvonlsl fill exanrPle,tltc .speakertli<l not have to stg'
cxplicitlr'" l rviurtto r-lrplusize this rvord (ol poirrt)" ,,,ri'truu"kl indicatesyntactictlre utterancc,was a quc'stion.The syntactic{acinl displaysserved a useful
all1,111,,1
lirrrctiorrthtt rviussr.piuirteInrrrrbut c{)mpl('urcnt:rry
to the spclkenlvorcls.
(,'lrovil(1g{Jg)tlso itlentifterl,frlr tlre first tirne, a large classof speakers'disol'whrrt tht'
plt;vs tlrirt she calltr<l$c,,utntic,that is, they illustrated some 'a.spect
bv Ektnrut (1979)
spetk<.rrvassiying at tlre nrorrrt.nt.Orre lrad lx't'n rnerrti<lnerl
(llrovil crrllrrltlris r llfiukinglnuvtnlx:ringl'it<'t,.
irs lx'irrg ;rirlt of'rr rvorrlsoiu'c.lrr
gnlrrpof'st,rrrrtutit'rlislllrrvs
rlcpit'tcrlpcrsonnlrartcliotts
llrrrvt'rr,r.tlrr'lrrrgt'st
Eruttt1ilc5r Iu ir ckrse-cirllst<lry,the slxlakerwas describinga time wherr thc
liurrilv rcceivt'<lan alttrrrringphorrecall finnr her lllotlrer:
Spr,rrltt.r': "'l'lu' lllxlrrc rirrgs, Ilir'l' piuh-t'Jrry llrrrtltt'r's on tlte plrottr',
'Wc.'rt"
in rn ilcci(lent!' We're goin' [,exu{geratetl intr*e ol'
I rleutlrI ".Olrhh rrryguvd!"
rl['tlrcintcrrst.
rr.irctiorr
o{'herliuuilyrvitha th'rurratic
Slrr'Ilr'grrrr
tIrcrk.scliptiorr
anrl
r , r l r . r r r l rr. rt lr l : r k r . o l ' l r r r , ui ul lrrr. r r r r g l : r r rlircvri lr t ri r l i r r r t t rr,u<ul ll i . l r l i r l l i r < ' (ct l i . s l l l r|w) :
rvirk'o1x'rrtttrrk'rritist'dlrtnvs. rvitlrprrpilsfircrl
lr<.r'rrrorrllr
rrlrruk'rl .,lx'u, ('_\'(.s
'l'lris
jrrstlx'liut shestru'trxl
to say"Olrhh Iny ga\v(l!"
strrriglrtrrlr<'rxl. rlisplny'r'rrtk'rl
2) rhrrirrgtlrisPlrrtse,r'Thc{i:ardisplrryrvrus
ilurl rvirsrrplncr'<lwitlr l srrrilt.(rlisplrrl,
a rlcpictiorrofiwhat hcr reactionnright lrtrvelleen at the tinre of tlre accident,not ol'
Iulv slre rvasI'eeling rrsshe tolrl the story later in the laboratory. As noted earlier,
becattse
Eltrrrirrr(lf)97) rrlsotlistingrrislrr'dtltes<'lacinltctions frorn af{'ectdisplay.s
rvillrlvorrls.Srrt'lr<lispl:ys:ur'litttc<l
lrt llt<rslrtrt'lttrt'
llrr.r :rlr,li(lrtlv slrrt.ln'orriztrl
'fhat
is, it is highlr'
ol't:rlk iurtl rtot to thc actrritlcrrrotiouitlstittc of tlte speakcr.
lcar und itlarrn,
orrs<'t
<ll'xral-tinre
iur<l<lfflsrrt
rrrrlikr'lt,
lltrrttlr<'r't'
wiussru.lrir pr'r'c,ist'
wlrilc slrc saicl"()lrhh rrry guwd!"
rr4riclrlrrrrrcdcrlu:rllyprr'r.isr.ly
to lraplriru'ss
Insteatl. r$ with many nrrrrttors of ckrse-cnll.stories,she wzu illustrnting the f'earful
part wlrilo at the sanretirne makirrg ftrn of the fact thtrt the fear tumed out to be
rurjrrstifirrl.
(.ihovil's(t9tt9) spcakersarlsotli.spl:ryerl;ror.
Irr iuklitiou to pc,r'sorrirl
rtrirctiorrs,
( nululs of' otlrer p(,r'sor1s,
lilr exiulple, rvherrdescrillingtlre intlividunlwith rvhorn
3OO SOCIALCOMMONICATION
they were having the confict. These fircial<lisplarss,ere olien part of'rvhat Clark
rrnd Gen'ig (1990)called "tluotittiortsrtsrlt'rttonstrrrtiors."
irr rvlriclrtlre spcnker
dernonstratesr-atheltlran sirlply desclibesrvtratsorrreorrtlunl said (rlr rrriglrtsiry):
Eranqtb 6: While retelling a nrinor iugurnetrt with her sister,thr+speaker
portrayed lrer sister'sreaction;
Speaker:
" S h e ' s g o i nr' l i k e ' N O ! r ] 1 l q l f y U l t l U ! '
At "like," the speakerscrervedup her face,and preciselvwith "NO!" slreshookher
head and squinted her eyesin an angry exprcssiorr(displav l). rr4ric.lr
rr.ius
rpickly
replaced witlt a slrile (clispltry2) rvherrslrc corrtinrrr.drvitlr "l dorr't u,iurt ,r,outo
. . .". Again, tlre fircirtldi.splrrys
rvere tirre(l u'ith rvrlrclstrl rnatt.htlre rrrpirllvcluurging lttontentsnrtd tcrtttr<ll'lterston,.r\s irr Exiulpk'5, tlrc rut.irrrirrg
ol'tlrt.filst
("angry") displw s'iussitttilar to tlte rvonls lrcirg sp<llteuirt thc rnorrrent;this
redundancy served to rrdd viviclrressand irrtcrcst. Ilo\r'crvc,f,th<: snrilesin b<lth
extrilple$rvt,t'crtot n'thrttrlutt; they irulic':rtcrltlrrrttlrt. .sPcirkcln,iwPrr'.scntirrq
tlris
inlbrrrratirlu
iuslturrtortrtts.
Cltrlvillixrrrrltlrl( J0% ol'sr.rrrirrrtic
lircialrlispltvsirr lrr.r
data (which excludedsrniles)were nor)-r'e(lundant.
Thcse displaysadtle<lclosely
timed, c<trrtpk'rnentrrrv
irtfirlrnrirtiontlurt <li<lrrot rlplx.ru':rt rrll irr llrc rwrrrls.As
noted rrbove, virtually all syrtactic di.splrrp \\,(,t'(,nolt-r'c<lrrrr<liurt
rvith vt:r'bal
content,
The addressees'facesrvere not asactive iu the s1>eakers',
ofteu renraining irr an
attentive conffgrrrtrtiorr.Still, they ofteu rrraclerelirtively siurple Inck-chnnncl displaln (in acldition to smiles), such arsraisedeyelrnr\\'sor pressnrgtlre lips togetlrer.
They alsoclepicterl,nrore distinctlr',their o\\lt l)er'sonallerrctiorrs:
Etan4tlc 7; In tlre r)lealplrulnirrgtlrsk,tlle speal(errrartrt'<l
u lixxl slrc rlisliked:
Speaker:
"Thick slicesol'liver."
Addlessee: "Yeirh,oouu."
Preciselywith "yeah."the itcltlressee
squintecllris r.,r'<:s
anrl raiscrllris upper lip in a
disgust expression.We assutnetlrat the adclresseernciurt that livcr is <lisgusting.
The ftnrrlntitjol grotrp ol'addresseedisphvs irr (llrur,il's(J9ij'9)rlrrtrrrvirsntofor
nitnictl.J,in rvlrit'lrtht'it<ltlrc'sst't.
displrntrl ir rt'lctiorr thrrtsorrrt.<lru'r.ls<.(t'sllt'cirrlly
thc spcrrkt'r)rniglrtlr:nt'ltiul irr tht'sitrrirliorr
th:rt tlrc slx'akt.r'rv:rs
rlt'.st,rillirrg.
Wr.
I t a c sl t r r t l i t xrlt r o t o tr r r i r t t i c ' r t ' c : u ' liircr ls o t ' i i rl lr r r lr r o ti r r t t . r n r t i r r , s ( ' t t i n(gl )sr r v r , l u s ,
Black, ()hovil, l,crrx'ry,& Mrrllctt, lt)fiti: llrrrr'lts. llluck. lr.rrrr.n. Ar fvlrrlk.tt,
1986),btrt Chovil li:und its rc"irlh<lrrreirr dre ckrsc-calldiuklgrrcs,rvhcre rul<lrcssees
looked alanned, fbru'lirl,irr pairt,etc. at preciscll the nululerrtsrr4rcnthe narratrlr
nright have experienced tlt<rsereircti<lns.\!'e will rettrnr to fircirrl rn<lt<lrrniuricry
belorv.
We have tlescribed Chovil's (1989) rt'sertrchirr sonrr.detail l>ecarrseit rvastlre
first and still the only interrsive and extensiveexinnirrirtiotrof wlurt fircestlo, corrversationally,in dialogue.She shou'edthat strchirnalrris.although in s<lrnesense
HANDGESTORES
CONVERSATIONAL
ANDFACIALDISPTAYS30
interpretive, could be jrrst as reliable as phpical descriptions. Finally, the functirlnsslte itlentifi<+d
were clearlydirectedat tlre conversntional
partner,that is, they
c<lnvevedrrarrative inlilnntrtion, structured it syrtactically, or inclicated how it
rvas received. Ofien, these {irnctions were only in the fircial display, not in the
rvords.
Althouglr the tlrree studies abovewere systernatic,and in one or two instances
\{,el€ qualrtitative or everr statistical,none rvere erperirlents lvith true independent vafiables. Tnre erperinreuts nreeting the .s:rlre criteria as the previousll'
described gesture studies were rare: we found only two. Before describing those,
rvc.shoultl point out ngainthat u,e elirninated,lbr our purposes,otherwise interestirrg rrxpcrinrent.sthat did not irrvolve spontaneousrlyadic lirce-to-face dialogue,
studic'sof'specialpopulations,anrl studiesfircusedon what Duncan (1969)called
r"rtcrnal vrrriables,that is, cxterrrrrlto the diakryue itself, strchashostility (Prkachin
& Silvcrrttiur.20()2)or power ru)dgend(fl'(ltecht & Lrr}'mrrce,l99tJ).Most o{'tlre
s'e excluded enrnined tlre I'acialdisplaysin isolation from words.
sttrdie^s
(llrovil ( l9li{);rrlsorl<rsc'ri}xxl
Visual Availability
in (llrovil l9$)l) invrntigrrtcrl
tlrt clli't't ol'visilrility (rvlx'tlrcr u crrrrvcrsatirlrtul
partncr rvouhl sct.thc lircialtlispliw or rtot) in nn experiruerrtu'ith a<ltlressees'
faciul tlisplaysas the dependent
vitrirrltle.Tlrr.rc irrc it rlrrnlx,r ol'strulit'sslxwirrg drat,witlrrxrt a visiblc re(rivcr to
see tlrnrr, lircirrltlisplaysare lc'sslikclv to rrccrrr(cl', rr.r'iervsbr' ()hovil, 1,9971
Bavelas & Chovil, 2000), but rno.stof these clicl not irrclude a dialogue. Chovil
(1989, f99I) ana\zed the f'acesof participants who listened to the close-callstory
of anotlrer pafticipant in one of {bur experimental conditions: (1) speaker and
were sitting on either side
addresscc's,erelirce-to-firr'e;(2) speirkerrurd adch'essee
of a partition; (3) speaker rnd addresseewere in separateroolns. talking on the
plrour.; (-l) the tddrcssec.rvrwalone, listc.rringto a recorderl close-cullstorv, as if to
iln irns\\'(,r'ing
rrracltirre.
(or log I'requency)of motor rrrimTlrr' depentlc'trtvirrialllcrvastlrr' {i'c<luency
icn'<lisplrrys.
Motrlr rniruicrvwis clc,fint<liusiut ()vertreactionby the addresseethat
rvitsrr(ttlPprrlpliittc to lris<lrlrt'r orvnsihrirti<lrr
brrtrvorrltlhavebeerrappropriateto
tht' r^itrntionof tllc rranirt<)r'orsorlr(xllr('els<.in the ston; frrr exrrnrple,grimac'ing
<lrclispllvirrgI'ealrrt u poirrt in the storywherrthe narratormight havedone so:
ExrrrtqileB: In one ckrse-callst<ny,the speakerrvas telling about being rr
irr ir lhcntl'"-tnrc'k:
l)iLss('rtg('r'
Spcukcr'
" l l c r l r o v t 'l,u ' r l r o v < ' t r xr 'rk r s ci r r x w
l r ' l r i x lo r r . I n l r r tw h c c lo l l ' t l r c
w:usgrrirrgtwg!!51g!g9."
clill. lry.rylg 115ftlr_r..llrrt'k
Florr "rny side" to "over drc' cdge," tlre addresseedisplayed fear hy raising her
eyebn)wsand videning her eyes,
Analyst reliability firr l<rclting rnotor rrirnicry rvrushiglu the frequencies per
ston' correluted highly, r = .94 {irr two inclependerrtanrr\sts, one of rvhom s,as
unfanrilinr with the theory arrrl predictions, The results supported the tlrree
rrrajorpreclictions:a signiftr'imt lincirr clrrrpin rate o{'facial displaysover the fbur
302 SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
coDditioDs,asthev llecarnelessirrrdle^ss
socialra siquificuntcli{lbrerrcebetweenthe
thlee <lvnrlicc()n(liiiors rurtlthe addresseeli.steuingalone,irr s4rich lircial<lisplays
virtuallv disrppeare<l;tnd signiftcarrth'nrole<lisPlavs
in dx, lircr*to-lhcecondition
than the other threc' conclitions, wlrich lackecl visnal availdrility. Facirrl nrotor
minricry to the rrirrrator"sstory occulred precl<lnrirrantl)'in
{irce-to-{ace
di.rlogue.
'flrt
othcr exirelirrrerrtu'asir bxrircler
Effects of Preoccupied Addressees
study of ackh'L,.s.sees'
r'e.sponses
to close-call.storics.but bec'iruse
of'tlre l,rcl<o{ other
experinreutsartd b<'c:trrst'itirrcludctlrttot<lrnriruit'n's'e rrill rl<:scribe
it here.
llarrclirset al. t2(XX))<livick"dlistcrrcls'rcsp()us(.s
irrto grrrr'r-ir'r'('sponscs,
srrchas
"nrlrnt", norl<lirrg,r)l'"y,gnlr",and sllcr:i/iclcspouses.rr'hichrvcrc tightll crrrurccte<l
of the.storv(e,g.,Erarnple,s).,\.sirr (llulil's (tgfJg,i99f)
to the particrrlar'poirrt
experirlrent,urost ol' the speciffc responsei^
hrul tr fircial c'onrporrcrrt,
e^spec,iully
motor ntirtriol,, alth<luglrthey rrlsocoukl invoh'c gestudrrg<lr finishingsc.rrteuces
for the rrirrrirtor.Tlre anrrlvstsirr this strulr'\\(,r'r,lulir\l'.ueo['h.r?otltcsis<lr experirnental t,rlrr<litiorr;n'lirrllility cht't'lis rcrttl.<l !)5%' iwnr.rrrr.rrl orr rvlrcther a
gcncric or specific,
rv1r,s
re.sp()ns(f
rvas
The indelrerrdentvariable irt llinrclas et irl.'s (2(XX))trvo cxp<.rirrtertts
whethel the trddresseewirs atten(ling nutrrrally t<l tlre storv or distracted hy an
rr,lrcrrllrr' lisk,rrt'rrviustrrrlrlirrgllr<'rrtrr:rtor''s
nrerrttrl
tirsl<.Frlr r.srrrrrplc,
russigncd
to llrt. slxrtkt:r'.s
worrls that heganwitlr tbe lettcr l, hr' or.slrcrvis listr.rringc'|rrselv
words but not to the nanrrtive. Wlren the listc.rrt'rswcre tlrrrs rlistr:tcted, thc.ir
speciffc re.sponses,including facial motor nrinricqy, virtually disappeared. One
implication is tlrrrt it is necesstuylirr thc listerrcl to llc tightlv tuncd ir.rto tlre
narrative to lle all]e to nrake snch respouses.Fulther iilrall'sirilevealed tbat the
nirnttors rrdlo rvere tellirrg their storic.sto rlistrru'tt<l listerrerstol<l tlreir stclries^
more poorly, especially at whut should harvellcc'u the churlatic c'utlirtg. The
significant dill'erence in quality of storv endings is evitlencc of lhe inrportance of
listeners' facial feeclbackfor nitn'ittors.
The above twu experinrents on adrlressees'fiacial displrrvs rvere the only
orres that rrret orrl cdtedr. It is thelefore striking that tlrc litt'rrrtrrlel,rcks any
experimentalstudiesof whirt the {irceo['tht s;lcolicrtl<lesirsprrrt of'tliaklgue- as
bc.tn'u'rr thc hvo particirvell as nrore studies of lddresseesaud o{'the rr-'latiou.ship
pants.Alth<lrrghfervin nurrrber,the studiesavailalllc'hare slunvrttlurt it i.slxrssilll<'
to anallze faces rr'liably, objectivelv, irntl qrrantitativt'lv in ternrs of tlreir convercalt
sationalnreaning(see:rls<lChovil,2005) an<lth:rt experimerltalrnanipr.rlation
ol'lrrciultlisPl:n's
itr rliirkrgrrr'.
l,irr tlrosl u4torttc irrlligutrl ln,
tlx' lirrrt'tiorrs
lc.r,t.irl
facial actions thrrt are tirnetl to cclrrvcrsirtiorr
rirtlrt'r' tlriur t.rrrutiotr,tlris is iur
unexplored rtnd pron.risingfrontier.
TECHNOLOGICALADVANCES
Current arrd constantly deveklpirrgtechnokrg,vgleatll' lircilitrrtc'slnth <liakrgic
experimentsirnd analysesthat rveretinte-consunring.di{ficrrlt.or'(iv('rlirulxlssible
to undertt*e in the past. Researchers <kl not hiu,e to <lepentl on real-tirne
HANDGESTURES
ANDFAC|ALDISPIAYS303
CONVERSATIONAL
observati<lnsof behaviors in fac'e-to-facedialogue except, of course, as valuable
sourceslirr irrspiration. In the lirboratory,two or more tightly synchronizedcanreraspernrit a split-screenview of both participruts and a permanent record of the
exact tirning of rec'iprocity between thern. This level of synchronyin recording is
essentialbecauseone of the impressivepuzzlesof face-to-facedialogue is that the
participarrtsoften respondpreciselyto eachother in lessthm simplereactiontirne
(e,g.,Bavelas& Coates,1092),
Digitiz.eclvideo has replrrccrlanalogue:Analystsno longer have the fear and
{hrstrrrtiorr<ll'vicrving fragile vi<lcotapeddtta repeatedlyrvith a rewind or jog
slnrttk'. lilprrtul fnune-lly-fiiurc :uralysi.s
is n<lweasier,risk-free,and better at
estalllislrirrgtlre prrrcisetirning of the gestures,words, trnd othel' acts of both
ptrrticiparrts.
Fol exarrple,scparatingtlre strokeof a gesture(the purposive,meirningful prut) fi'onr its preprrraton/and retrrrn phasesis more straightforward zurtl
less larlxlr-iutensivetl)an rvith earlier methocls,The techuological advantagesare
especiallvinrportant for the analysisof conver.sationalfacitrl displays,which are so
rrrpirl that li'anrcJry-flurrreartalysisof lxrtlr pirtneni is essentialfilr a firll un(lerol'c:rch ('vent. W(. pn.lirr sril'twrrrr.
.starr<lirrg
thrtt d<rcsrtot irnlxrsc a filrmat ['or
transcriptiotrurrdanalysis,iu rlr<lcrto lr licc to f<rllowthc datalwe therefilre rell'
on a pltylxrck sf;tem only (llnndway, http://www.b-w:ry.crtrn).However, there trrc'
lk'rrrvlr<, systt.nrsthat srrppoftlrotlr plrryllackrtntl ann<ltalionol'vidco4urclio<lata,
AN\/ll, (lrttp://rvrvrv.tllki.rlt'/
srrt.hzustil,AN (lrttll://wu,rv,rupi,rrl/tools/r'lan.lrtrul).
-kiplrlurviUr4S-7411), arrrl Trlrrsana (lrt\l://srunrv.tftul.siula.org),each with it.s
advantagesand disadvantages.
Prr.serrtationsvstelrs slr(.hiLsPower Point hirve rnadeit nrtrcheasiel to denr<lttstrirte phenornenawith video e*rruples, so that the audience can see directly what
the strrtisticalsurnrnariesstitncl for, However, hard-copy publicatiorr fornr:rts are
still a llarriclr'.A.s in thi.s volrrrrre,one cAn only describe illustrative excet?ts itr
rvords; r'c'ry few publicatiorr <lutlets have u supplernentary CD or other video
lirnnzrt. Irrdecd, (nle can speculatewhether tlre relatively late development of an
rrpl>rcciatiorrof conversationul gestures and facirrl displ:rys is, at least in part,
<lrrlystill photosu'drawings, which rctually clistort
lrec,trrsr,.jorrrrrals
coul<lprc.s(.lrt
by fi'eezirtgtlrenr irt tinte irn<lout of corttert,
thc.plrcrrrlrrrr.na
CONCLUSIONS
hiuslx'<'nor tlrc rrricrtl-socilltspr.ctsof lrrrn<lg<'strtrt's
Thc lixrrs ol'this r.lrrqrt<.r
arxl lirciulrlisplirysin lirct,-tr>lirccrliirlogrrc,cspccirrllythc participarrts'usool'thcst'
actions to rcinfbrce, colnl)letnent, or structure their verbal ilteraction. This aspect
of sor.iirlirrtt.ractiorris r rec<'ntlygnlwing itnrt <lf n:scarcltiln(I, c{)ntraryto tnatty
is iunt:rtaltlt'trl olljcctivt' exP('titll('ntitlirrvcstigrttitlrr.
pn.cortcr.ptious,
firrt
Orrr
obligertion wus to distingrislr this partiorlrtr subset frorn other
irrtr.restsirr sirnilrrrnon-vcrlxrl lx.h:wiors(e,g., self'-pnlnrptinghrrnd geshtresor
tircial c,xpx"ssions
of'errroti<lr).Tir tlo so, w<: articttlatc'tl[ilur chrtntcteristicsr.rl'
ctrnversttionirl lr.rrrd gesttrresatr<lfacial displays; (I) They occur in spt>ntarnet>tts
firce-to-lirce diaft4,'uebehveen real participauts, rvhere the dyad is the unit ttl'
HANDCESTURES
AND FACIALDISPLAYS 305
CONVERSATIONAL
304 SOCIALCOMMUNICATION
analvsis,
c'\('n\vlrer'r
the itctionsof'onc'per.son
variable.(2)
lriw l)c tlrt'rlcpen<lcnt
They are synchnlnotrsrvitlr co-cr'cuningc<.rnveruatiorral
elernerrts,tl.rtrtis, they are
closelytirned t<l the w<lldsthey zrccornpalry
iurd to the specificnrr)urento{'interactiorr irt u,hich the1, occrrr. (3) Like s'or.ds,their. rneanirrqis highly contextirr trvo sertses:eilch ltas rrrt irrrrrediittc cornrnulicirtive fiructit>nirt a
rlc.pertrlc:nt,
(r'athertlran ir steteottlic or' univelsul rneanparticular poirrt in the corrversatiort
ing), and tlrc,rneanirrgof eirchalso tleperrdson the integratedrl'conrposite messtge of rvlriclr it is ir 1rlft. (4) Oru {irrrs is orr tlx'socill. irrteritctivefirnctionsof
tht se iicts.rtstlrt'r'slrirltc
ruttliut shitpcrllrv tlrc orrgoiugtliirkrgrrt'.
lleseru'clrou ltartdgt'sturesthat nreetstlrr.alrovccriterit hir-slrerr trccc.lerating
i n t l r c p a s tr l t . r ' a < kA' . r i c l r g r t n r l lr r l ' t ' r 1 l t ' r ' i l r < ' rl rnt ssr l o t ' r r r t r t ' n l rt rl rl t ' i r r r p o r t a r r t
lole that ltrlttl gcsttrr'csPlalr i11litrrqrritgeits it sociitl Process.IV{ot'qx,ttt,tltese
r . x l r c d n r c r ritlsl r r s l l r r l t ' t l rrr'.i r l i c h ' o l ' t l t s llttsr r l v i r l i : r l l l t .t sl r i r lr . i u tl x ' u s t . r lt o c h r c i i rtstrsv.r ' l l : t si t r t . ' r l t r i rt l t r i c t r r r l r l r ' p r ' r r t k 'rrirr(t ' i i r l r kt.os
tlittt'ut'strrrt's'litttt'tto
()rlrupar'it[rle
nr(,il.slr'('orrtt'orrrr,s.
lt'serrrt'ltorr lirc'tirlrlispllrs is so lrrl rluc'lt ul()r'e
lirrrit<xl.llrlrrr'r,<'r'.
lirrorvltrl{r'lrrrrtr
t.rtrr tlrt. fi.rvstslcrrritlit'<lbst'r'r,utiorral
strrtlir:s
trrttltllx'corrlliutxl rvitlrtlrt' rrrt'tluxkrlogit,itl
arxl c.{pr.r'inrcrtts
li'rrrrr
gt'strrrt'
k.s.sorts
researchto suggestDewexpeflmentsjust waiting trr be dorre,
NOTES
l.
2.
3.
4.
5.
Oftcn the hest rvay to uuderstlnd gestures irr trtrnscription is to rrct them out with
the rvonls.
Reprorluced as Figure I in Bavelas,Kcns'o<xl,Joltrrson.& Phillips (2002).
The rcvir\\, irrclrrdesonlv sturlir.sirrvohirrg rr<hrlts,urd only adrrltsrvlro rvcre rrot
tlrnt itt this staq('ol'r't'sr.urclts'e rteerl
lirrrrr speciirllxrprrlirtiurts,ou tltc assrrrttptirlrt
b:rsclirrr'data.
\\te rrill tk'scribc'theselhcirrlrrc,tious
rvitlr lirr tt'r'rtts.sc<'l'lkrttaut( 1979)lir tk.scriPtiunsiu tclrnr'ol'FACit^ActirtrrUrrits.
lVe havt rearrirltzrdtheset'xarrtPles
{rrrrrr()horil's oriuirralrlall to iru'lrr<k'srrtik's.
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