Speech accommodation theory
Situ: party, we are talking to sy (X).bit boring, not interesting. MOVES closer to us, looks in
our eyes , even touches us.---Our reaction?
Patterson’s arousal model :
Al is conversing with Beth at a party. A, both adopt their normal comm.. style ( 3 feet apart,
smile, normal amount of eye contact, face each other directly. Both comfortable)
B. Al moves closer , Beth notices this change in level of intimacy. --- experience arousal. --Negative? ---anxiety, discomfort, and embarrassment. Might compensate to restore previous
levels. – distances herself from Al. However, if Beth likes Al, she’ll welcome Al’s increase
intimacy: react with reciprocity.
Speech accommodation theory: Al is a person from UK. Depending on whether Beth likes
him or not, her speech will change. +: faster rate, more nods, adopts his British accent. She
has CONVERGED towards Al’s speech pattern. Negative: Beth speaks more loudly, more
slowly, pronouncing her words carefully, employing a standard American accent: she
DIVERGES FROM Al’s speech.
The speech accommodation theory deals with the fact that we adjust our nonverbal and vocal
behaviours in many situations to accommodate to other speakers.
TASK: make two groups for the reasons of convergence and divergence.
The date is enjoyable
Seeking to communicate contrastive self image
Speech is non-stigmatized
Need for social approval
Speaker exhibits stigmatized form of speech
Speech style is appropriate for all parties involved
Wish to change interactant’s speech behaviour
Wish to make a good impression
Wish to demonstrate membership with group
Inability to alter dialects or other nonverbal behaviour
Mutual accommodation: both
converge.________________________________________________________________
BEHAVIOURS THAT COMMUNICATE DECEPTION
Why do we behave differently when lying? –a. fear of being caught- nervous and aroused.. b.
negative attitude to lying: we hurry to get it over and done with and change topic. Too much
concentration on verbal channel- NV leaks…
CHANNEL
Face
Pupil dilation
Blinking
Body
Adapters
Vocalics
Response length
Speech errors
BEHAVIOUR
e.g. rubbing hands or arms together
liars speak for a briefer time duration that truth tellers
more, eg. Grammatical mistakes
Speech hesitations
Pitch
(+ verbal
Negative statements
Irrelevant statements
Levelling terms
Channel discrepancy
a lot more: ah, err, humm
higher tone of voice
I hated it, I was afraid you’d ask
not directly addressing the issue
vague terms such as “stuff like that”,”you know”,
at least one channel ( face, body, vocalics, etc.) fails or
Contradicts the “message” communicated in other
channels
Other, less reliably and consistently linked to deception:
Eye gaze frequency, smiling, head movements, illustrators , gestures, shrugs, foot/leg
movements, postural shifts, response latency, speech rate, self references.
Finally, an interesting example: the fast-food restaurant environment
The fast-food microenvironment has received little attention from communications scholars. –
1. The 2 major fast-food chains (in US, McDonald’s, Burger King) agree that the interior
design of their restaurants is the major medium they use to communicate a desired
corporate image to the public.
2. The physical features of the fast-food environment are so distinctive that they should
have a measurable impact on the communicative behaviours exhibited by customers.
Eaves and Leathers studies five suburban restaurants to determine whether there was a
difference in their level of involvement ( smiling, amount of talking, head nodding, leaning)
and discomfort( fidgeting, extraneous foot movement, postural shift, side-to-side movement).
Why the difference?
a. one of the major determinants in customer behaviour was the size of the tables and
chairs. ---influences the spatial orientation of interacting customers. In Burger King’s
newest restaurants the chairs are mounted to the floor via a steel arm, ad the swivel
both sideways and back and forth so that forward lean is facilitated. The customers
facing each other are separated by 3 ft 5 in. In contrast, the same distance at
McDonald’s is 2 ft 2 in.
b. Burger chairs and tables are more comfortable and of higher quality, wooden. McD.
Tables, chairs: plastic
c. Lighting: important in comfort of individuals who work in a place. Excessive
luminance can cause discomfort. McD. Is intensely lighted on both the outside and on
the inside. In contrast, Burger K. controlled lighting with window shades and window
tinting.
d. Colour choices: McD’s colours: stimulating, and emotionally arousing. (bright yellow,
white)Burger K. specializes in more subdued colour combinations: rustic colours. A
lot more relaxing.