Why this class will not make you an
all-knowing, infallible judge of
others’ nonverbal cues
•
Nonverbal cues can be perceived
and interpreted, but not “read.”
•
– The term body “language” is
misleading.
– direct eye contact could
– Nonverbal communication is not a
language.
– Nonverbal communication has no
grammar, no syntax.
•
If you could read a person like a
book:
– No one could successfully lie to
another person.
– Poker players couldn’t bluff.
– Undercover cops would be
exposed.
– Relationships would be damaged.
There is no one-to-one
correspondence between
a specific nonverbal cue
and its meaning.
signal attraction or hostility.
•
Nonverbal behavior is
highly idiosyncratic
– It varies greatly from
person to person.
•
•
93% of the meaning or
impact is communicated
nonverbally (Mehrabian
& Ferris, 1967;
Mehrabian & Weiner,
1967)
“No more than 30 to 35
percent of the social
meaning of a
conversation or
interaction is carried by
words” (Birdwhistle,
1970, p. 158)
•
Mehrabian (1972,
1981) the face
conveys 55% of the
emotional meaning of
a message, vocal cues
convey 38%, as little
as 7% is
communicated
verbally.
•
•
•
The exact percentage
is an unknowable
statistic.
If you watched a film in
a foreign language
would you understand
93% of it?
If police were
investigating a crime,
and the only witness
were a mime, would
they obtain 93% of the
information they
needed?
•
If you watched a standup comedian while
wearing earplugs,
would she/he be just as
funny?
•
We can’t hide our true
feelings.
– Nonverbal communication is
reflexive.
•
People can’t help but leak
nonverbal cues.
– People give off “natural signs”
about what they are thinking
and feeling.
•
Nonverbal communication is
more trustworthy,
believable.
•
•
•
Nonverbal
communication is a
powerful medium.
The majority of the
emotional or affective
meaning is carried via
the nonverbal channel.
When there is a
contradiction between
verbal and nonverbal
cues, people tend to
assign more weight to
the nonverbal
message.
•
Nonverbal cues convey
generalized feelings
and mood states.
– mad, angry, upset,
frustrated
•
Words provide more
subtle, nuanced
expressions of feeling.
– furious, peeved, irate,
livid, outraged, riled up,
in a huff, pissed off,
ticked off, infuriated,
miffed
•
Nonverbal
communication often
operates at a low level
of awareness
•
– Self-serving bias
– Or even unconsciously
•
Nonverbal behavior
can also be highly
conscious and strategic
– fake laughter
– feigning interest
– crocodile tears
– fake orgasm
Most people consider
themselves good
judges of emotion.
– Confirmation bias
•
A person’s expressive
repertoire can be used
deceptively.
 People
may assume that
nonverbal behavior is
instinctive or part of
“human nature.”
• Biologically innate
• Evolutionarily adaptive
 Charles
Darwin, The
Expression of Emotions
in Man and Animals
 Universality
of
basic emotional
expressions
1. Anger
2. Disgust
3. Fear
4. Happiness
5. Sadness
6. Surprise
7. Contempt
 Cross-cultural
similarities do exist.



There are some cultural
universals, however…
Fear and disgust are easily
confused
Blended facial expressions
are more culture-bound
• Sarcastic smile, smirk, smug
look


Cultural displays rules
moderate emotional
displays
Example: When
people sit, where
should their legs
and feet go?

Gender differences

Cultural differences
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
9.
Slight sadness
Disgust
Slight enjoyment
Slight or highly
controlled anger
Slight or highly
controlled fear
Masked anger
Fear or surprise
Contempt, smug, or
disdainful
Worry,
apprehension,
controlled fear
 Movies
and TV shows
perpetuate this myth
• Lie To Me
• Casino Royale
 Cops
vastly
overestimate their
deception detection
skills
 Jurors overestimate
their deception
detection skills
 Laypersons
believe
liars leak cues to
deception via:
• Gaze avoidance
• Postural shifting
• Response latency
 On
average, people
are about 54%
accurate in detecting
deception.
 Cops fare no better
than college students
 The three most
common “signs” are
false correlates of
deception.
 Liars
do not
necessarily look up
and to the left
• NLP is unreliable