Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang 2013a. Preface. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, vii-x.
Who doesn't want to be able to read people better in order to understand their motivations and intentions, gain insight about an individual's personality and credibility, or get a glimpse at their mental and emotional states? Understanding nonverbal communication well can be one of the keys to gaining this edge. This is why scientists, practitioners, and laypersons have been interested in nonverbal communication for centuries. Recent years have especially witnessed a flurry of interest in the topic. (Matsumoto et al. 2013a: vii)
So that's why it's so interesting! This is in fact the most recent book on nonverbal communication I've got my hands on. Most other sources at my disposal originate from recent decades instead of recent centuries because pre-20th century science is mostly in French or German. Because I've been stuck in the 1970s so long I can't yet credibly vouch for recent years but it does seem that publication on the topic has only increased and recent years have indeed spurred a wealth of new material, from books on Michael Jackson's microexpressions (Baxter 2012) to body articulations in Latin American literature (Willis 2013). As someone who's been heavily interested in nonverbal communication since 2010, I'm glad to see so much new and intrigueing stuff come out.
On the other hand, books by practitioners [the "bady language" discourse] were great because they were based in actual experience, so readers got a sense of what actually worked "out there in the real world." But these books were not very good at bringing the vast research literature on nonverbal communication to bear on their experiences. Although they all wave their hands to science, none of the books do justice to nor are they based in the considerable amount of scientific knowledge generated by empirical research over the past half century. Some outright misrepresent the science. Thus many in the academic community have been concerned that so-called knowledge of nonverbal communication has been applied too simplistically, erroneously, or even irresponsibly, and readers could never be sure of the degree to which the knowledge presented in these books was generalizable beyond the case examples presented. (Matsumoto et al. 2013a: viii)
This is exactly how I feel. Peaseism is complete bunk compared to scientific appreaches, which are unattractive or unapproachable because of jargon and methodological limitations. But I think we can learn from the body language discourse as well. For example, despite Pease's distribution of a wealth of myths (even the title of his high-impact book suggests that one can read thoughts by means of gestures), I do appreciate Peaese's notion "nonverbalism" and unashamedly use it to describe all persons interested in nonverbal communication, whether scientists or "practitioners". The problem of "what actually works" I have confronted by aiming towards literature (fiction), because literary authors practice nonverbalism in a vary accesible way: they describe and apply nonverbal knowledge to reinforce their writing. This is what I call
concourse (as distinct from simple verbal
discourse). I believe that much of what we can find in fiction also works in real life, but the extent of how it and the
how should be studied. My approach is non-evidence-based but it may yet turn out informative and help point out new directions for actual empirical studies. That is, I'll have to do with what I know, which is semiotics (of culture).
Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang 2013b. Reading People: Introduction to the World of Nonverbal Behavior. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 3-14.
You are walking home late at night. You notice a man is walking toward you. He suddenly quickens his pace, body leaning forward, hands out in fists moving rhythmically with his stride. His eyebrows are drawn in the middle. His eyes are wide. His lips are tight. He looks right at you.
How did this story make you feel? What did you think was going ta happen? Notice that whatever assessment you made was based exclusively on the nonverbal behavior of this man. You did not hear a single word spoken; yot you likely got a clear and distinct impression from his behaviors. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 3)
Already on the first page of the first article they are using concursivity. That is, in the strict sense, you do not hear a word spoken, but you do read a verbal description of nonverbal behavior. This passage supports two contentions put forward by George H. Mead. Firstly, that besides a conversation of gestures, which is primarily used for conveying "symbols" and communicating intentionally, there is also a conversation of attitudes: in this case the description allows for an interpretation of an aggressive and harm-intending attitude. Secondly, that gestures are by and large prognostic, that they in some sense predict future course of events: here the rhytmic stride towards you, "evil" (open) eyes (marked by corrugated eyebrows) nailed on you and closed fists seemingly predict that the man is not only angry, but intending to release his anger by stricking blows with his fist on
you, the object of his attention.
Although "language" often comes to mind first when considering communication, no discussion of communication is complete without the inclusion of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication has been referred to as "body language" in popular culture since the publication of Julius Fast's book of the same name in 1970. Researchers, however, have defined nonverbal communication as encompassing almost all of human communication except the spoken and written word (Knapp, 1972). We also define nonverbal communication as the transfer and exchange of messages in any and all modalities that do not involve words. As we discuss shortly, one of the major ways by which nonverbal communication occurs is through nonverbal behaviors, which are behaviors that occur during communication that do not include verbal language. But our definition of nonverbal communication implies that it is more than bady language. It can be in the distance people stand when they converse. It can be in the sweat stains in their armpits. It can be in the design of the room. Nonverbal communication is a broader category than nonverbal behaviors, encompassing the way you dress, the placement of your office within a large building, the use of time, the bumper stickers you place on your car, or the arrangement, lighting, or color of your room (Henley, 1977). The exact boundary of nonverbal communication, as part of communication, is a point of contention. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 4)
Indeed, and do I have to contend. These authors consider nonverbal behaviour as a part of nonverbal communication, while I endorse Borgoon & Saine's (1978) model wherein everything that is informative (office placement, bumper stickers, etc.) is not automatically communicative; and communication is only a specific part of behaviour. That is, the roles of behaviour and communication are in an opposite relationship for different authors. I consider behaviour to be breader than communication because not every body movement is communicative, but may very well be informative. Maybe the "information paradigm" is forsaken by these authors, but in semiotics it still lives. I also take issue with their definition, because theirs is formed on the basis of the "communication paradigm" which seemingly and in my mind erroneously considers nonverbal behaviour as significant when it occurs "during communication" e.g. speaking and interacting. This may be a remnant of kinesics, which was only viable when it was combined with linguistics and studied interactions with speech. I am also unable to agree with "the transfer and exchange of messages in any and all modalities that
do not involve words" (my italics), because concursivity does involve words, in fact words here mediate nonverbal behavior and actually
makes them communicative (this may be stated as: insignificant gestures become significant gestures when they are mediated verbally). This is a pedantic and rhetorical point, but does the above description of the angry man cease to be nonverbal communication because it was read from a page? In semiotics this question is important. But I do like the note that "body language" has been around since Julius Fast, since I as-if knew this from somewhere but cannot place where from. I cannot be sure if Fast coined the term "body language" but in all likelyhood he was the first to use it in the title of a book - same goes for
Nonverbal Communication by Ruesch & Kees (1956), even though the term "nonverbal" was used by psychologists as early as the 1920s (probably replaced Cooley's "pre-verbal", 1908) and surely the coining of "nonverbal communication" wasn't far off (I'm guessing 1930s but this is just a guess).
Sheldon (1940) believed that different body types were predictive of personality... [...endomorphs, mesomorphs, ectomorphs...] The media capitalizes on this association by casting actors and actresses accordingly; notice how the leading man is almost always a dynamic mesomorph, the comic relief is almost always the sociable, chubby endomorph, and the smart person is almost always the nerdy, skinny ectomorph. Although these beliefs persist, there is no string evidence that bady types predict personality. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 5)
I've always disliked this part in the textbooks on nonverbal communication (e.g. Knapp 1972 and Key 1975), but somehow (probably because of the dislike) skipped the reference. Here it is:
Sheldon, William Herbert 1940. The varieties of human psyche: An introduction to constitutional psychology. New York: Harper & Brothers. His "somatotypes" are "named after the three germ layers of embryonic development" (wiki) so there's some biology involved; and in a later book (
Atlas of Men, 1954) he developed scales much like linux rights, e.g. 7-1-1 is a pure mesomorph, etc. According to wiki (referencing an article in
New York Times) Sheldon's claims are dismissed by modern scientists as outdated, if not outright quackery. This suits my worldview fine, because I'd like to think that body size (or type) does not determine personality.
Nonverbal communication is an area of study that straddles many disciplines - sociology, psychology, anthropology, communication, and even art, computer science, and criminal justice. Each of these fields tends to focus on a slightly different aspect of nonverbal communication. For example, psychology might focus on the nonverbal expression of emotions; anthropology might focus on the interpersonal space in different cultures; computer science may focus on making realistic looking and acting human agents or avatars; and communication might focus on the content of the message. But there is more overlap amongst these fields than divergence. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 10)
I'd add ethology (the study of the human ethogram and evolution of behaviour), literary study (the study of concursivity, body articulations, literary imagology, etc.), and semiotics... well, personally I consider semiotics the penultimate science of nonverbal communication, because it studies both form and content and the interrelations of systems, but this is just my own prerogative. It is quite possible that the study of nonverbal communication would look very different from the viewpoints of cultural semiotics, biosemiotics, sociosemiotics, psychosemiotics, zoosemiotics, Peirciean semeiotics and Saussurean semiology. But it still feels too early to dwell on this.
In India, the sacred Hinde texts called the Veda, written approximately 1,000 years BCE [sic], describe the nonverbal characteristics of a liar as someone who, when questioned, rubs his big toe along the ground, looks down, and doesn't make eye contact. Late twentieth-century research based on North-Americans shows that people still concur with the Veda on this description of a liar. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 11)
This is an aspect of concursivity which had not occurred to be, but which seems understandable enough: descriptions of nonverbal communication
concur with actual nonverbal communicatian. At least that's the idea. It's this the idea that gives some little merit to studying concourse with the hope that it reveals something about the behaviour of real people.
Nonverbal behaviors are part of the "hidden dimension" of communication, a silent language (Hall, 1966, 1973). If you do not pay attention to the nonverbal behavior there is a great chance that you are missing much of what is actually being communicated by the other person. Thus, while active listening is always good, active observation is also necessary. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 12)
Way to (name)drop the titles of Hall's books without actually saying anything about them or adding something to them. On active listening and observation we also know that such simultaneous taking in of communication is cognitively taxing and can lead to
nothing being understood.
We all have a bias to pay attentiot too exclusively to the words being spoken, anh there's a reason for this bias in our person perception. From the time we are very young we learn to communicate very precisely with words. (Matsumoto et al. 2013b: 12)
"A bias of attention" sounds like a title, much in line with the over-belief in words (in Birdwhistell's sense).
Matsumoto, David and Hyi Sung Hwang 2013a. Facial Expressions. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 15-52.
Emotions prepare us for behavior. For many individuals whose jobs put them in harm's way the ability to read facial expressions of emotion can give them that added edge in knowing if a person is about to attack, run, or shut down psychologically. Knowing the differences between these potential future actions can mean the difference between life and death for some. Being able to read faces may give someone the extra few seconds to take evasive action and even prevent violence and aggression.
Emotions facilitate or block the giving of information. If your job requires you to obtain information from others, then reading emotions can be an invaluable tool. When people do not give information readily there is usually an emotional reason why. Getting people to give up that information requires you to be able to address those emotional needs of the person, which requires you to read his or her emotions in the first place. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 16)
Again stressing the importance of "reading" nonverbal communication as a predictive or prognostic device. The life and death difference bit reminds me of the article in
Human Behavior in Military Context. The needs part sounds like valid psychology with invalid real-life practice. If you read someone's face to evaluate his or her emotions, you only get to label that emotion; you will not find out the cause of the emotion. It's a bit like recognizing the symptom, but not having any clue about the actual pathology. I think that recognizing a facial expressions and handling emotions are two different things. I may be wrong, of course.
We define emotion as transient, bio-psycho-social reactions to events that have consequence for ou rwelfare and potentially require immediate action. Emotions are biological because they involve physiological responses from the central and autonomic nervous systems. They are psychological because they involve specific mental processes required for elicitation and regilation of response, direct mental activities, and motivate behavior. They are social because they are often elicited by social factors and have social meaning when elicited. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 17)
At first glance "bio-psycho-social" reminded me of Tucker's (2011) "bio-somatic-power". On second though I realized that it's a conjunction of those same three categories (of coding?) which I myself outlined in my seminar paper as countless others have done before. Only that my version proceeded from the most common to the most specific, that is, bio-social-psycho... but I get why they changed the order, "social" is a good ending this way. Although, "bio-socio-psychological" is also imaginable. Oh what joy jargon brings to my life...
Emotions are rapid information processing systems that help us act with minimal conscious deliberation (Tooby & Cosmides, 2008). Problems associated with birth, battle, death, and seduction have occurred throughout out evolutionary history, and emotions aided in adapting to those problems rapidly and with minimal conscious cognitive invention. If humans didn't have emotions they could not make rapid descisions concerning whether to attack, defend, flee, care for others, reject food, or approach something useful. For instance, drinking spoiled milk or eating rotten eggs has negative consequence for our welfare. The emotion of disgust, however, helps us immediately take action by not ingesting them in the first place or vimiting them out. This response is adaptive because it aids in our ultimate survival and allows us to take action immediately without much thinking. In some instances taking the time to think about what to do is a luxury that might cost someone his or her life. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 17)
This throws a completely different shade of light on Longinos' aversion to pathos and Kunnus's aversion to affect in art. That is, considering V. Šklovskij's theory of art, that the aim of art is to
slow down the reception of whatever it is that is depicted, represented or narrated. If art appeals to our emotions then it makes cognition simple and quick, because the machinery for emotional interpretation is innate and immediate. Rational consideration, cognitive interpretation and heavy thought process may have a basically same ultimate outcome or result, but the road to be travelled is lengthy and more taxing. This may be the reason why I have an aversion to popular music: it is formulaic and predictable, it appeals to what you already know (have heard before). Underground music, on the other hand, is surprising, creative, and taxing to get into. Sol.Illaquist of Sounds' music can provide a whole lifetime of studying, while a 50 Cent album goes by without there even being anything to think about or consider.
We distinguish emotions from other affective phenomena such as moods, personality traits, and some psychopathologies. The key characteristics of emotion to us are that it is a state not a trait; a mental condition, not just physiological or cognitive; a reaction that results from an appraisal process; and it involves multiple components including affect, physiological response, mental changes, and expressive behavior. Our understanding of emotion is supported by studies that distinguish emotions from other affective phenomena (Clore & Ortony, 1988, 1991; Clore, Ortony, & Foss, 1987). These studies showed that emotions refer to internal, mental conditions as opposed to external (e.g., abandoned) or physical conditions (e.g., aroused); are states (i.e., transient) and not dispositions, other nonstates, or borderline examples of states; and have affect (subjective experiences or feelings) as their predominant referential focus as opposed to behavior (e.g., careful) or cognition (i.e., certain). They concluded that although all words in the affective lexicon concern affect in some way, emotions are a subset of those with a predominant rather than a peripheral focus on the experience of affect, with an emphasis on a state and not a disposition. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 18)
Transient means "lasting only for a short time; impermanent." This is very much in line with Ekman & Friesen's cursory distinction from mood (which is more lasting).
| Table 2.1 | Emotions Are Different From Moods, Personality Traits, and Psychopathologies |
| Emotions | Moods | Personality Traits | Psychopathology |
| Anger | Irritable | Hostile | Chronic impulsivity |
| Fear | Apprehensive | Shy | Panic anxiety, phobias |
| Sadness | Blue | Melancholy | Depression |
| Joy | Euphoria | Optimistic | Mania |
| Disgust | Distainful | Arrogance | Anorexia |
(Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 19)
Very useful. It is noteworthy that dysphoria is not equivalent with "blue" or "melancholic" but with the opposite of joyful, even pessimistic.
Different emotions produce unique physiological signatures because emotions help individuals respond to emotional stimuli by preparing the body to engage inactivity. When we're angry, our heart rates increase and blood rushes to the upper parts of our bodies and toward our extremities in our arms and hands, preparing us to fight. When afraid, our heart rate increases, but the blood flows to the lower parts of our bodies and to our legs, preparing us to run. When afraid, our digestive system shuts down because there is no need to digest food if our well-being is threatened. Each emotion prepares us to engage in specific behaviors to adapt to the event that elicited the emotion. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 22-23)
Again on the predictive aspect; here emotions function as predictive devices on the autonomic level, performing physiological reorientations towards some future actions.
The cortical motor strip is the area of the brain that controls voluntary movement. Studies of this area have demonstrated that the part of our badies that receives the largest degree of innervation from this area, and thus which is under the greatest degree of innervation from this area, and thus which is under the greatest degree of voluntary control, is our hands. This makes sense as we learn to use our hands for many complex and subtle movements. The next largest part of our bodies represented on the cortical motor strip is our face, and within the face, our lower face is more highly represented. This also makes sense because we learn to use the many muscles we have ino ur lower face not only for eating but also speech articulation, which is a learned activity also involving many complex and subtle movements. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 36)
This is revelant for me, personally. I recently found out that I have inherited an occipital bun from my father. According to wiki, some attribute occipital buns "to enlargement of the cerebellum, a region of the brain which mediates the timing of motor actions and spatial reasoning." Associating this information with the fact that the cortical motor strip controls voluntary movement, especially of the hands, would explain - in a probably misleading way, because occupations are rather cultural - why my father is a turner, his father was a blacksmith and grandfather a carpenter: all having something to do with the hands. My case is similar, only that my tool of choice is a keyboard and my work consists of typing these long-ass quotes and comments.
When single emotions occur and there is no reason for them to be modified or concealed, expressions typically last between 0.5 to 4 seconds (s) on the face and will often involve the entire face (Ekman, 2003). We call these macroexpressions, and they occur whenever we are uninhibited, alone, or with family and close friends. Because macroexpressions last for several seconds, they are relatively easy to see on the face, if one knows what to look for. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 37)
This may be the first time I notice that the emotions that eyes can distinguish in real time are called macroexpressions.
Research on the neuroanatomical bases of emotional expressions already described suggests how this occurs. In the instance when an emotion is elicited, but the individual wishesto conceal this emotion, the two distinct neural pathways that mediate facial expressions fire at the same time. These conflicting signals produce a neural "tug of war" over control of the face, allowing for the quick, fleeting leakage of microexpressions. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 38)
A neuroanatomical explanation or justification of microexpressions.
But let's also be clear that improved ability to read facial expressions, or any nonverbal behavior for that matter, is just the first step. What one does with the information is an important second step in the process of interaction. Being overly sensitive to nonverbal behaviors such as microexperessions and other forms of nonverbal leakage can be detrimental to interpretational outcomes as well, as discussed in literature on eavesdropping (Blanck, Rosenthal, Snodgrass, DePaulo, & Zuckerman, 1981; Elfenbein & Amady, 2002b; Rosenthal & DePaulo, 1979). Individuals who call out other's emotions indiscriminately can be considered instrusive, rude, or overbearing. Dealing effectively with emotional information of others is also likely to be very crucial part of the skill set one must have to interact effectively with others. Knowing when and how to intervene, or to adopt one's behaviors and communication styles, or engage the support and help of others, are all tactical skills that must be brought into play once emotions are read. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 41)
This goes to the rubric "nonverbal ethics" much like M. R. Key's warning of becoming too involved with nonverbal communication. Especially neat is that these authors ise the word "intervene" which can be conjoined with the notion of "supervening" (e.g. Dewey 1946). This is an important point for "eavesdropping" nonverbalists or people-watchers: you notice something interesting in someone's behaviour; if you report it to the person him- or herself then you are intervening, but if you keep it to yourself and, for example, write it down then you are supervening. The difference is almost between that of attacking and spying in agonological terms.
In English the term "happiness" can refer both to a state as well as to a trait, the former being a reaction while the latter is a cognitive evaluation of one's overall life situation. With regard to the former, Ekman (20032) described different types of enjoyable emotions including sensory pleasure, amusement, contentment, excitement, relief, wonder, ecstasy, elevation, gratitude, fiero (pride in accomplishment), naches (pride in one's children), and schadenfreude [kahjurõõm] (joy in another's misfortunes). We would add triumph. With regard to the latter, terms such as "satisfaction with life" or "subjective well-being" are synonymous with dispositional cognitive evaluations of one's life sutiation. It is important to distinguish the specific type of "happiness" studied because happiness as a transient state is very different from happiness as cognitive evaluations, and the relationship between culture and "happiness" is likely to differ depending on which one is studying. The meaning of happiness is different at different ages (Mogliner, Kamvar, & Aaker, in press). This we will use the term "joy" to better describe this transient emotional state. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013a: 42-43; note 10)
Indeed, eesti keeleski saab eristada rõõmu kui lühiajalist nähtust ja õnne(likkust) kui pikemaajalist nähtust või emotsioonist erinevat kalduvust (dispositsiooni).
Frank, Mark G.; Andreas Maroulis and Darrin J. Griffin 2013. The Voice. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 53-74.
In fact, when we speak we unleash three distinct type of information upon our listeners through the voice channel, of which one is verbal, and the other two are nonverbal. The first subchannel is the verbal subchannel, and it consists of the actual words we speak. The second subchannel is the speech style subchannel, which consists of the patterns of pausing and other irregularities of speech that accompany spoken words. The third subchannel is the speech tone subchannel, which consists of the acoustic properties of speech such as loudness or pitch. (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: 53)
ALthough the channel-approach has probably remained from the 1960s when it dominated the whole nonverbal communication spectre, this model makes sense. The authors prefer it to
prosody and
paralanguage, which are - according to them - difficult to delimit.
Many text messaging programs also now list a series of circle-faces with various expressions to drop into one's text message; for example ☺. These emoticons serve the same function in written speech as they do in spoken speech. This, someone who says to you, "You are being a jerk," and thes smiles, is just being ironic and playfully teasing you. However, if someone writes you a text message that says, "You are being a york," its actual meaning is unclear. But if someone writes you the same text message that instead says, "You are being a jerk : )," the irony is now clear due to the presence of the smile. As we've seen throughout this book, nonverbal communication adds nuance, shading, and depth of meaning to all communication, and strictly verbal media - e-mail, text messaging - deprives of most of that. So, being primarily face-to-face creatures, we humans have figured out ways to create and interject nonverbal information back into these media. (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: 55)
...through the use of signs. I don't much care for emotions, but the general statement about nuance, shading and depth of meaning and it's lack in "strictly verbal media" applies beautifully to concursivity: these are the same reasons why novelists describe nonverbal behavior so much.
Paralinguistic information provides a cavalcade of information, most of which we process without mich thought. If a stranger calls us on the telephone, we usually develop a mental picture of the caller. Research shows we can be surprisingly good at this... (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: 60)
I've been looking to replace the phrase "a barrage of information" from my active vocabulary, because it has agonological connotiations (related to artillery). Unfortunately, cavalcade is not much better - it is a procession or parade on horseback, another military-related expression.
There are also nonverbal features in the speech that tend to reflect an individual's higher mental effort, or thinking. These include longer speech latencies, slower speech, and more pauses (Greene & Ravizza, 1995). There is also some evidence to suggest that people engaged in higher mental effort are also less immediate, which includes speaking in a more monotone fashion (Kraut & Poe, 1980). (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: 64)
This is like an exact description of what A.R. does while lecturing. He's engaged in higher mental effort, piecing information together and noting new connections down on paper while he's pausing his speech.
For example, the paralinguistic information associated with speech influence comprehension of information, such that people are more likely to remember information that is presented by a speaker with more variable pitch and amplitude in his or her speech than one who has less (e.g., Glasgow, 1952). People are more likely to be persuaded by people who not only vary pitch and amplitude but also speak with fewer pauses, shorter latencies, and faster speech (Apple, Streeter, & Krauss, 1979; Leigh & Summers, 2002; Miller, Maruyama, Beaber, & Valone, 1976). (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: 67)
This may be the reason why he is considered dull and uncomprehensible, to the point where some students just write down everything he says and try to make sense of him from the written form. Variety is great purportedly also for facial expressions, e.g. the (sourceless) suggestion that livid faces are more attractive.
Finally, there is a perspective that argues that the main purpose of paralinguistic information is to provoke directly the behavior of others, rather than to be a basic expression of various internal emotional or other processes (Owren, Rendall, & Bachorotwski, 2003). This model still accepts the evolutionary origins of the vocal signal but instead suggests that the vocal acoustics serve the organism by driving the emotional reactions of others; for example, laughter and crying have been shown to provoke strong emotional reactions (Hatfield, Hsee, Costello, Weisman, & Denney, 1995; Neumann & Strack, 2000). This may in fact be the case, as most of our nonverbal communication will affect others in unspecified ways, depending upon context. (Frank, Maroulis & Griffin 2013: X)
These authors are so obviously supporters of this perspective, why else is it in some form brought out in every chapter? It is quite clear that besides the "expression" side of nonverbal communication there is also an "impression" side, wherein nonverbal behaviour influences the behaviour of others to a significant degree. Obviously it is either a contested matter or difficult to investigate with current methodologies, but for future reference I'll just boldly label this as "nonverbal determinism" in the sense that nonverbal behaviour predicts, directs and provokes future actions of others. I understand completely that "determinism" has a negative connotation and pairing these words in such manner (e.g. nonverbal ethics) cannot be taken at face value; they merely signify intersections of certain topics so that I can find related quotes when need be. For more elaborate discussions obviously a more refined terminology is called for, but I have already been plagued too much by the demon of terminological invention. Since these themes are only beginning to accumulate notices and discussion, I may just as well sit down and wait for someone else to give them proper names.
Matsumoto, David and Hyi Sung Hwang 2013b. Body and Gesture. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 75-96.
Gesturing lightens cagnitive load when people are given a memory task and simultaneously have to explain how to do a math problem, they remember more items if they gesture when ehen explaining maht (Goldin-Meadow, Nusbaum, Kelly, & Wagner, 2001). Being allowed to point when counting items allows one to be more accurate and quicker; when people are not allowed to point, even nodding allows greater accuracy (Carlson, Awraamides, Cary, & Strasberg, 2007(. Gestures help to smooth interactions (Chartrand & Barigh, 1999) and facilitate some aspects of memory (Butterworth & Beattie, 1978). For these reasons gestures can give important insights into the mental states and mental representations of speakers. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 76)
Experience has taught that when complex verbal information is handled, gesticulating can indeed make it easier. And people who supplement their thoughts with illustrative gestures do tend to make themselves clearer, in that when you yourself later need to induce the same thought, you can use the same gestures to recall the fine details that otherwise you might have forgotten. My example comes from
Dessa Deconstructed on youtube. When she explained how she decides if an idea is better suited for an essay or a poem or for song lyrics, she demonstrated her criteria visually, in that bigger ideas with lots of subchapters have strands running from them, while smaller ideas fit neatly between the the index and thumb.
Cultural differences exist in not only the overall frequency, expansiveness and duration of illustrator usage, but also in forms. When counting, for example, Germans use the thumb for 1, while Canadians and Americans use the index finger (Pika, Nicoladis, & Martentette, 2009). Peope of different cultures use different gestures while describing motion events (Kita, 2000; Kita & Ozyurek, 2003; McNeill, 2000). (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 77)
The finger counting quip sounds like something that can be verified with American visitors very easily. The motions of different cultures may be exemplified by those studies that demonstrated that turning on the car, for example, for some meant turning the key, for others turning the handcrank as had to be done with antique cars.
A not insignificant amount of most cultures' emblems are devoted to insults or obscenities. Emblems are true body language, with clear verbal meaning. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 78)
This is extremely interesting. That is, "true body language" for these authors implies equivalence with verbal language. My own approach has been to denounce popular "body language" as actually being a sort of "body code". There is a significant fault I see with the equivalence approach: since language is malleable, the "body codes" of Pease & Co
do make clear verbal meaning available for the masses (e.g. hands crossed on the chest
means closed attitude, etc.), thus enabling us to view concourse as "true" body language. That is, descriptions of nonverbal behaviour in literature
does have clear verbal meaning, ergo it is the body language
proper. Still, I think that body "language" is too colloquial and shoud be forsaken, much like Charles Morris suggested.
[Desmond] Morris and colleagues (1980) argued that emblems also arose from gesturing particular symbols. For example, the crossed fingers for good luck was originally a surreptitious "sign of the cross" to signal to another that one was a Christian, then became just the sign of the cross to ward off Satan, and finally just "good luck." (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 80)
A small but interesting point for the intersection of nonverbalism and religion.
Although emblems are culture specific, our latest research suggests that a number of them are becoming universally recognized, such as come, go, hello, goodbye, yes, and no (Hwang, Matsumoto, LeRoux, Yager, & Ruark, 2010). These results are likely being driven by the strong influence of mass media around the world, particularly television and the Internet, where people can view the behaviors of different cultures and begin to learn how to decode them. We predict that it is only a matter of time before a universal set of emblematic gestures is also panculturally produced as well. But make no mistake - emblematic gestures are learned like language and are not biologically wired like the facial and vocal expressions of emotion discussed in Chapters 2 and 3. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 80-81)
This is exactly what I mean by "semiotic globalization". It is also a point for the semiotics of web [
netisemiootika]. What these authors seemingly have not yot noticed is that more than emblematic hand gestures the interneti disperses emblematic facial expressions (or, "facial gestures") known as "meme faces". E.g. "are you fucking kidding me" [
altkulmu vaatamine], "trollface" as a symbol of jocular amusement, and "forever alone" as a sign of aloneness or social abandonment. I think it's only a matter of time when these MS Paint images "bleed from the internet" not only onto advertising and newspapers but onto actual faces. Something like this has probably happened on youtube already with users who enjoy mimicking faces. These also include: me gusta, okay, poker face, y u no..., challenge accepted, oh god (what have I done), aaawyeah, rage, bitch please, gtfo, no, oh crap, pffttch..., lol, seriously?, etc. It is significant that most of these include not only a facial expression but an accompanying posture or hand gesture, not to mention unstated rules for situations for which they apply. Universal "body language" is already out there, it is only a matter of time when researches will take notice and pay attention. Someday someone will surely write books on this, as it is a completely new phenomenon in human history: these memes communicate across cultures without any trouble and young people all around the world embrace them fervently.
While of course everyone engages in these types of nonverbal behaviors often, changes in the frequency, duration, or intensity of these may have important meaning to the mental state of the individual. Individuals under duress, for example, may show an increase in their manipulators that appear to soothe or caress the body, or in actions that appear fidgety. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 87)
A note on self-adaptors or auto-manipulators. Have to add these prefixes (self-, and auto-) so as to not forget that these are only an aspect of a whole set; there are also alter-adaptors and object-adaptors. The implication seems to include all adaptors, though. Under duress, a single person may engage in more object-adaptors (playing with a pen, folding and unfolding a piece of paper, etc.) and a close couple may engage in more alter-adaptors. Experience also tells me that when you, as a male, approach (come close to) a couple standing at a bus pavilion, the male may put his arms around the female or demonstratively start kissing her as if to state "she is mine, keep off." There's also another side to this: one time I happened to wait for the train to begin its journey and glanced out of the window at a hugging couple of youngsters. I made eye contact with the girl and it felt like one of those "hi there" moments; after that, the girl refused the boy's kisses, which was embarrasing to behold. But I cannot be sure if I made this happen with my passing eye contact or if that was the nature of their relationship.
A number of scientists have examined the relationship between nonverbal behaviors and rapport, and a few key nonverbal behaviors have been shown to positively influence the development of rapport. Mirroring is known as the "chameleon effect" in the scientific literature, referring to a tendency to adopt the postures, gestures, and mannerisms of interaction partners (Chartrand & Bargh, 1999), and in general it has been supported by the available evidence as producing positive regard for the other. But some studies also show null or even negative effects on rapport as a function of mirroring (LaFrance & Ickes, 1981). These data suggest that mirroring may positively influence rapport if it is done naturally and subconsciously (or at least appears to be so); if an interactant partner feels that one is deliberately trying to mirror behaviors, the partner is likely to feel manipulated, diminishing the chances for rapport building. Other nonverbal behaviors found to be associated with rapport include smiling (Rotenberg et al., 2003); direct body orientation, uncrossed legs, symmetrical arms, and moderate eye contact (Harrigan, Oxman, & Rosenthal, 1985); and congruent limbs and forward-leaning postures (Trout & Rosenfeld, 1980). (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 90)
There are many names for mirroring in scientific literature (from postural mimicry to synchrony), but I have never once noticed it being called the chameleon effect. Maybe it's because I haven't read Chartrand & Bargh (1999)? In any case it seems valid that intentional mirroring can have the opposite effect from that which was desired.
But be careful to not overinterpret arm crossing, especially in chairs with no armrests. In these situations the frequency of arm crossing may increase as a way of resting the arms. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013b: 92; note 1)
Even these writers have to fight off peaseisms. I should remember this note for the next time that someone confronts me with this "body code."
Matsumoto, David and Hyi Sung Hwang 2013c. Cultural Influences on Nonverbal Behavior. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 97-120.
Me define human culture as a unique meaning and information system, shared by a group and transmitted across generations (Matsumoto, 2007; Matsumoto & Juang, 2007). Culture gives meaning to social contexts, social roles, identities, relatioships, and settings. Our cultures determine what it means to be a husband or wife, child, work colleague, acquaintance, or even stranger. Culture determines what being in private or public means. Given these various meanings, cultures create rules we call norms that help to determine what is appropriate or not in our behaviors with specific people in specific contexts. Culture is the meaning and information afforded to these contexts, relationships, and norms. (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013c: 98)
This sounds awfully lot like the definition of culture given in the semiotics of culture, but instead of "a certain unity" between systems that is non-genetically inherited there's "a unique" system of meaning and information transmitted across generations.
Cultures as we have defined it is not the same as popular culture, which generally refers to trends in music, art, and other expressions that become popular among a group of people. Certainly popular culture and culture as we have defined it share some similarities - perhaps most important, the sharing of an expression and its value by a group of people. But there are also important differences. For one, popular culture does not necessarily involve sharing a wide range of psychological attributes across various psychological domains. Culture as we defined it involves a system of rules that cuts across attitudes, values, opinions, beliefs, norms, and behaviors. Popular culture may involve sharing in the value of a certain type of behavioral expression but does not necessarily involve a way of life. A second important difference concerns cultural transmission across generations. Popular culture refers to values or expressions that come and go as fads or trends within a few years. Culture is relatively stable over time and even across generations (despite its dynamic quality and potential for change). (Matsumoto & Hwang 2013c: 102)
Comparison of culture and popular culture in an unexpected place. I wonder if this could be used also in the semiotics of subcultures?
| Table 5.1 | Characteristics of Different Types of Cultural Display Rules |
| Label | Description | Example |
| Express | Express an emotion as it is felt with no modifications | Expressing an emotion "as is," as when alone or with close friends or family |
| Amplify | Exaggerate the expression of an emotion so that what is displayed is more than what is felt | Laughing loudly at your boss's bad joke even though it is only mildly amusing |
| Deamplify | Reduce the intensity of the expression so that what is displayed is less than what is felt | Scolding a child when agry, showing that you're angry but not enraged |
| Neutralize | Show nothing | Poker face; stone-faced |
| Qualify | Express the emotion but with another expression to comment on the original emotion. The second expression is often a smile | Smiling even though one feels miserable; the smile lets people know that things are okay or will be okay even though you're in distress |
| Mask | Don't show what one truly feels and instead show something else altogether | Smiling even though one is entirely angry at something or someone |
| Simulate | Display on emotion even though one is not felt at all | Feigning that one is angry or happy or sad when one is not |
(Matsumoto & Hwang 2013c: 104)
Display rules have been improved upon during the last 44 years.
Frank, Mark G. and Elena Svetieva 2013. Deception. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 121-XX.
There is some evidence that liars press their lips more ,but it is uncertain as to whether this is to control an emotional reaction or whether it is an action like lip pursing that occurs when people think harder. (Frank & Svetieva 2013: 127)
I couldn't stop myself from pressing my lips together aggressively when a lecturer spent several aggreviating minutes responding to my statement that I study nonverbal communication by reiterating every general myth about "body language readers" that she knew (e.g. that we can read thoughts, etc.). My lips were saying "you're so wrong that I'm in conflict whether to start arguing against everything you are saying or just let you keep your dignity, the little of it you have left in my eyes."
Our work has found that liars are more likely to demonstrate fear, distress, disgust, and contempt compared to truth tellers (Frank & Ekman, 1997; Frank, Hurley, et al., 2011; Matsumoto et al., 2011). When someone is not motivated to conceal his or her emotions, that person's expression tends to last between ½ and 4 seconds in length (Ekman, 1989). However, in deception situations, where the liar is motivated to conceal his or her emotions, often these facial expressions of emotion are micro momentary, that is, they last for less than ½ of a second, or what has been called a "micro expression" (Ekman & Friesen, 1969; Frank, Hurley, et al., 2011; Haggard & Isaacs, 1966). The reason for micro expressions is found in our basic neuroanatomy. (Frank & Svetieva 2013: 129-130)
That is, even the mere occurrence of microexpressions can indicate that something is amiss.
A similar principle may apply to contraband concealment - we could expect changes in body posture, the speed of movement, and stance adjustment in persons engaged in contraband concealment (see also Chapter 7 by Carl Maccario). Specifically, movements may be driven by impingements caused by the presence of weapons or explosives - that is, the different weight loads can cause changes in body posture and movement that may betray the fact that a person is concealing a weapon of some kind. Research has shown that different weight loads affect normal gait kinematics or movements. When loads approaching 20% of a person's body mass are added (e.g., 40 lbs for a 200-lb person) compensatory mechanisms appear in the gait that can be readily detected (Bonnard & Pailhous, 1991). (Frank & Svetieva 2013: 134)
Hmm, something (changes in body pasture and movement) resembling a pimp strut can give away concealment of a weapon?
Maccario, Carl Joseph 2013. Aviation Security and Nonverbal Behavior. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 147-154.
These two events highlight the fact that the threat to aviation is constantly evolving and that terrorists in particular are constantly adapting to methods and weapons to defeat current available technology and procedures. In response, aviation security professionals called for a better balance between detecting the behavior of individuals with nefarious intentions and detecting the dangerous weapons or explosives through technological means. The underwear bomber clearly understood the need for security to pay attention to individuals' behaviar and demeanor before he passed through security procedures, and had almost a "tunnel vision" as to what was being checked and not checked; yet no one engaged him or questioned him. It is the belief among many of us who work in the field of behavior detection that Abdul Mltullab would have "folded" under questioning or if subjected to more individual scrutiny based on his nervous demeanor and other behavioral indicators of fear. Some of the many cases of drug smugglers caught at Transportation Security Administration (TSA, the agency charged with airport and other transportation security in the United States) checkpoints by TSA behavior detection officers often involve passengers who have a keen interest in security procedures, scanning the checkpoint before entering, rigid posture, minimal body movements, and a tense facial expression, almost one of fear and apprehension, unlike the other passengers who do not show those signs and go about their business of clearing security. These are often tip-offs that something is wrong. As behavior detection officers, we become concerned when we see behavioral signals that deviate from a known environment, behaviors that demonstrate extreme concern about security procedures, excessive touching of the face or head, and constantly looking around as if to see who is watching. These nonverbal indicators cause the security official to give that person more scrutiny because that person's body is giving off behavior alarms - and I call this scrutiny human alarm resolution. (Maccario 2013: 148-149)
People who behave suspiciously raise an
alarm in the behavior
detection officers who then respond by
resolving the alarm through higher scrutiny. This and other articles in the Part II of this book demonstrate quite a few similarities with the RAND publication
Out of the ordinary: finding hidden threats by analyzing unusual behavior (
jja). Here, specifically, "a keen interest in security procedures" is similar to "
casing buildings" - e.g. taking pictures of every side of the building and especially the security cameras, etc. This is the kind of out-of-the-ordinary or "atypical" behavior security agents (should) look out for.
When I worked as a behavior deterction officer for a private aviation security company, we identified a money smuggler because he kept protecting the briefcase he was carrying by placing it between his feet, nervously shifting it side to side and then back and forth every time a security person walked by. He would also continually rub his head the closer he got to the security interview station. At the interview station, he could not maintain general eye contact with me as I went through the security questions; all the while continually shifting his feet and the bag. His shoulders elevated every time he answered a question almost like he was struggling for air. (Maccario 2013: 149)
The fear of getting caught with undeclared money made him betray himself.
The idea for behavior detection to be used in security screening situations originated with the Israeli airport security community, which implemented a number of techniques that focused on passangers' demeanor ond subsequent answers to simple questions about their trip. The logic of this approach is that the passenger's nonverbal behavior and verbal responses may reveal deception and maybe even hostile inventions. This is now commonly referred to in security world as behavior recognition or, as the Israelis call it, pattern recognition. (Maccario 2013: 149)
Makes a lot of sense. If it stems from the situation baseline, then it is mostly about recognizing behavior that deviates from the normal pattern.
Behavior recognition or suspicious behavior detection is about how a person is acting or behaving within his or her environment. The theory behind behavior recognition is that when someone is in the process of carrying out a criminal or terrorist act, that person will exhibit behavior that is out of the norm. This behavior may be a manifestation of the act or operation that the person is planning, or it could be an attempt to conceal these behaviors. (Maccario 2013: 150)
Yup, out-of-the-ordinary-ism. Too bad for people who have abnormal behavior patterns (such as avoidance of eye contact for people on the autistic specter), because they will probably be discriminated.
What were all the others looking at? I have flown through Logan Airport, where I am based for the TSA, in a suit and have been recognized by many non-TSA airport employees. Yet when I am in street clothes, it is amazing how I have walked by those same people without being recognized! Dismissing activity as "probably nothing" or "looking" but not "seeing" is going to allow possible criminal, including terrorists, activity to go on unnoticed. (Maccario 2013: 153-154)
Here sensory gating plays a part. On the job, recognizing familiar faces is important, on the street it is not, there are simply too many faces going past.
Ennett, Joseph 2013. A Cop's Nonverbal Journey. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 155-162.
About 15 minutes into the interview he told me what I believed to be an obvious lie that I was able to detect from a small body shift back and a microexpression of happiness, displayed with a slight smile on his face (enjoying the lie). I made the decision to call him on it by saying, "Why did you just do that?" He said, "What?" And I stated, "You lied to me." The look of surprise on his face that he had been found out was priceless. (Ennett 2013: 159)
Anecdotal material is anecdotal.
On a serious note, being able to read others' emotions does present us with a decision on how we use the skill. How much do we want to know, and how much do we not? Using the skill to facilitate conversation to make it more rewarding can be great. Being a walking lie detector may be quite intrusive and possibly amusing to some, but it is our human nature to want to believe in each other, to trust the spoken word almost to a detriment. On the other hand, questioning the validity of everything said can be quite consuming. (Ennett 2013: 162)
Points for nonverbal ethics: is it
right to intrude? And is it beneficial to
burden ourselves with analysing behaviour of others at all times?
Once I understood the science of human emotion, I had a new base of knowledge to draw from. The new challenge was how to apply the knowledge in my work, in everyday life, and at home. People look so different from when I started... or maybe it's that I see them differently? But one thing I have learned is that once you have the knowledge, once you are able to see people completely, you are unable to ignore it; you cannot go back. (Ennett 2013: 162)
This is why I'm reluctant to involve myself more deeply in FACS and microexpressions. I'm not completely sure if I want to see people that way. My own brand of nonverbalism is bad enough.
Moskal, Paul M. 2013. Anomalies and Nonverbal Behavior. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 163-172.
I believe this identification of anomalies is what we cops call "gut feelings" or intuition that can sometimes lead us down one path over another. An anomaly is some behavior or action that does not fit with the other actions or behaviors that accompany it. I think that some individualis are better than others at picking up these "anomaly cues" - either due to training, experience, sensitivity, or innate ability to process what is seen by all of us but not necessarily processed in traditional cognitive ways. (Moskal 2013: 164)
More out-of-the-ordinary-ism.
Today's booming social networking sites feed us information, globally and instantaneously, that draw us in partly because of our insatiable desire to know what others are not only really doing (Facebook/LinkedIn) but what they are really thinking at that very moment (Twitter). As a society and as a culture we want to be able to read other people beyond what they say or manifest. (Moskal 2013: 164)
Netisemiootika jaoks midagi.
Baxter, Daniel H. 2013. Understanding Body Language and the Polygraph. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 173-181.
As a street officer, I used some observational techniques, but these were more for safety than for obtaining information. We were taught to watch a person's hands for any weapons or movements to avoid being struck, but it wasn't until around 1978 that I even heard of anyone teaching nonverbal behavior. Two of our detectives went to a class and provided the information to the uniformed officers. The information was very elementary. For example, the deterctives told us that when people fold their arms or they rause their foot so the investigator can see the sole of the shoe, then they are using blocking mechanisms. Also, if someone touches his or her nose while the officer is talking, then the person believes that the investigator's story or statement "stinks." This was my only introduction to observing body language until the late 1990s. (Baxter 2013: 174)
This is what I call
peaseism after A. Pease. In Estonia most people who perform communication classes still rely on that stuff today. It is embarrassing.
There were other occasions as a police detective when I began to use the observational method to try to elicit information, but I never felt comfortable in making on someone's guilt or innocence based solely on my seeing something that I could not label. (Baxter 2013: 176)
The labeling aspect seems to be a large part of "nonverbal awareness" - it almost seems analogous to Helen Keller's story; in that when one learns that every significant gesture or facial expression has a verbal description or a name or a two-letter-and-number code (FACS), then one learns the "body language" as such. In this sense the latter is not nonverbal communication
per se but "language about the body" or "language capable of describing bodily behaviour." It seems that the expression "body language" is still mysterious for me.
I believe my success in obtaining the information was a direct result of me observing the nonverbal change in his behavior when I questioned him about having any involvement in serious criminal activity. If I had not been looking at him or had not recognized that change in his baseline, I am sure that I would not have persisted in probing him on that topic, which in turn revealed his (up until then) secret motivations through his reactions to questions pertinent to those motivations; I was able to capture the subtle physiological changes through my own eyes. (Baxter 2013: 180)
The importance of observation in pertinent interviews.
Although changes in behavior may not be a sign of deception, they are usually a sign that some internal body process has triggered some reaction - and the cause of that trigger needs to be identified through follow-up questions. (Baxter 2013: 180)
It is assumed that changes do not take place randomly or out of touch with speech, but in conjunction with what is expressed in speech. If the inquisitor references to some "hot spot," it triggers a physiological reaction which may be detectable with bare eyes (one need only look). It is the culprit's own body that betrays him or her. This neatly hooks up with the topic of "facecrimes" in Orwell, but that's another story.
Brownell, Scott 2013. Nonverbal Behavior in the Courtroom. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 183-190.
Why is this important? During this testimony from the witness stand, I was watching Calvin's face. Because the juvenile delinquency trial in Florida has no jury, I am also thi finder of fact. From my experience of several hundred such trials, I expected this teenager's face to show some expression of anxiousness, anger, nervousness, or at least discomfort while testifying. But for the most part, he showed no emotion. It was as if he were reporting someone else's story. That fot my attention. And then, during cross-examination by the prosecutor, when Calvin said, "And they come up to me and then they arrest me," his face changed. He had just the slightest bit of a look that reminded me of a smile. Immediately, I remembered "duper's delight." (Brownell 2013: 185)
I know duper's delight from
Lie to Me and perhaps Navarro. Brownell explains that this term was coined by Paul Ekman and taught to him by Maureen O'Sullivan. The essence is again somewhat related to concursivity: the ability to ascribe a meaningful verbal label to a nonverbal behaviour; especially in context, since a hint of smile by itsely is insignificant, but in a situation when it deviates from the "situational baseline" it is very significant.
Freshman, Clark 2013. Persuasion, Negotiation, and the Law. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 191-200.
Based on my experience teaching thousands of lawyers, judges, and negotiators, the most important idea to learn is a correct focus on two concepts: sweet spots and soft spots. Sweet spots indicate signs of some combination of positive emotion, rapport, and trust. This can be as simple as the presence of a true enjoyment smile, the kind involving not merely the lower part of the face but the muscles surrounding the eyes as well (Duchenne, 1862/1990). It can also involve tracking or mirroring of the body movements, voice, and speech patterns of someone else (Bernieri & Gillis, 1995). As we will see in detail, sweet spots typically suggest that we haveset a context more likely to lead to success.
The flip side of sweet spots, soft spots include signs of emotions usually unhelpful in negotiations, such as anger and contempt or heightened thinking. Soft spots and "hot spots" deserve our attention as sources of valuable information, but they do not necessarily indicate that someone is lying. As others indicate, the presence of soft spots or hot spots makes deception a more likely possibility, and lawyers may often treat them with suspicion. (Freshman 2013: 192)
In the end the editors frame sweet and soft spots as subcategories of hot spots. In broad terms a "hot spot" tells one that something significant is occurring or just occurred. It is further categorized as positive and involving comfort (sweet), or negative and involving discomfort (soft).
In part because of their ambiguous nature, soft spots not only may identify times to be more suspicious or vigilant but also times to be more compassionate. One day, on a break from teaching my law school class, I saw a microexpression of distress cross a familiar student's face. I crouched down and asked "How's it goint?" She burst into tears and gave me her cell phone. Her beyfriend had just broken up with her - by text. We sat quietly for a few moments, and I offered to excuse her from class. (Freshman 2013: 193)
Very... human.
In the real estate negotiation study, one buyer showed several facial signs of the universal emotion of contempt and a finger movement that might well look like the emblem gesture of "giving someone the finger" as he put his hand across his face. Emblems are culturally specific body movements with clear symbolic meanings, and some believe that such emblems sometimes represent leakage of concealed or unconscious thoughts. We initially interpreted the movement of the finger circling the ear as the emblem "you're crazy" - consistent with the signs of contempt seen in the face and the finger emblem. If that were the correct interpretation, then one would want to drop this argument. An audience member at a presentation at Columbia Business School, however, noted that this movement was a widely recognized gesture for "I'm thinking about it" in response to offers on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange - something we later verified. If the negotiator really was merely thinking about the argiment, then one might very well continue with the argument or repeat it later. (Freshman 2013: 197)
The middle finger emblem has appeared as a leakage of contempt for me as well but it could very well be that pointing at one's brain (the ears, or temple) is a gesture that just isn't widely recognized.
Boughton, Andrew 2013. Negotiation and Nonverbal Communication. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 201-212.
Combining verbal clues with nonverbal reactions can provide deeper insights into exactly the information one needs. For example, when I've just made a proposal, I need to understand whether it was acceptable, regardless of what the other side is telling me. I expect them to say no. What I want to know is how to interpret that no, as there are two kinds of no: the hard one means, "I can't agree under any circumstance" and the soft one that means, "I don't want to agree, but I could agree because it's within my range." (Boughton 2013: 202)
A hard no is "categorical" no. The soft no leaves room for convincing.
The negotiation context offecs one big advantage that law enforcement or other contexts don't - the clarity of the other person's motive. Imagine yourself seated on a park bench with people watching. It's easy to identify the emotions of the surrounding people, but it's almost impossible to infer the context of their conversation simply from watching their interactions. In law enforcement, it's often the inferred context or motive that drives the line of questioning and information gathering, but that too is uncertain. However, in neggotiation we knew the other party's contekt or motive: to get the best deal possible given the circumstance. So to circle back to my metaphor, I believe that in commercial negotiation, people watching alone provides the additional information we well need to unlock key insights into the other party's position and flexibility. In other words, we are watching for what people say and de because we can assume the why is to get a better deal. Now imagine a policce officer interrogating a suspect; the why could be any number of possibilities (the suspect is protecting a friend, concealing a different crime, has a dorderline personality, doesn't trust authority, is afraid, etc.). (Boughton 2013: 203)
This is extremely important for
people watching nonverbalists - not only
what occurs in the interaction is important, but
why the interaction is occurring in the first place.
The best way to observe all of the signals during the crunch point is to actually bring a colleague with you to act as an observer to focus on the behavior of the other side. The best way to become an excellent observer is to offer to be the observer for your colleagues. (Boughton 2013: 205)
Sounds commonsensical, yet I can't imagine how this would go down - a second guy just sits there, staring at the other party's face(s) while saying nothing? It would either be weird or transparent that s/he is observing nonverbal behaviour.
The tap dance occurs when the other party suddenly gets "happy feet" during the crunch point. Keep in mind that just because someone taps his or her feet incessantly doesn't mean the person is trying to deceive you. But if the individual doesn't have happy feet all the time, but only during the crunch points, this represents a change from the baseline. That may be another sign of internal discomfort with his or her ansver. Note that the dance isn't always that easy to spot since often your view is obstructed by a table. You have to listen for the tap, look for the reverberating movement through the person's torso (the foot tap sort of rebounds trough the body), or feel it on the table. (Boughton 2013: 206)
This feels like that awkward suggestion for dating: synchronize your breathing with your date by watching her (or his?) shoulders move up and down slightly. In all probability you probably have other things in mind than such subtle signals.
A subtle variation on the head shaking "yes" is the raised eyebrow in response to our proposal. For example, we've proposed a price of $250,000, and we immediately see the other party's eyebrows raise followed by a verbal rejection. The inner dialogue in the other party's head might sound something like this: "Ahh, now we're getting somewhere, wait ... can we get more, quick - say no." The raised eyebrows indicate a level of interest, and typically negotiators aren't interested if their rejection is a hard no. (Boughton 2013: 207)
A new meaning to "a facial interrogation point" - a facial interest signal.
That being said, remember that we are collecting clues, and it is always more accurate if there are several signs present. We can't simply focus on one area or technique. It is always recommended that if possible a negotiator use an observer to help identify and read the signs. An observer can focus 100% of his or her efforts on watching and listening while we manage the rest of the negotiation process. (Boughton 2013: 210)
The cluster cule, combined with the observer colleague suggestion.
The one question I'm asked, repeatedly, by my students is, "What should I do if I catch the other side trying to deceive, conceal, omit, or change pertinent facts?" Whatever one does, I recommend we avoid confronting them with the information. When we accuse someone of lying we escalate the situation by evoking an emotional response that may conceal more meaningful emotional responses. They are likely to become defensive and more irrational as a result. Instead, I suggest we take note of the information, use it to understand that the other party is telling us that their position is movable, and thus use the information to guide our next proposal. (Boughton 2013: 210)
#nonverbal ethics or why to avoid intruding / interfering: it may disrupt the exchange in a significant way by making the interactants guard their expressions and thus contort the whole situation.
Longford, Steve 2013. Interpersonal Skills and Nonverbal Communication. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 213-224.
The simple reason for this increasing awareness and reliance on interpersonal skills is because attempts at dehumanizing business and life has not been successful. In their work on the employee-customer relatioship, Fleming and Apslund (2007, p. 17) define the problem as this:Even the most perfectly designed and built process or system is only as good as the human being who uses it. And, for many executives, because controlling quality in processes and systems is infinitely easier than similar activities with people, it seems reasonable to try and factor people out of the equation all together.
Unfortunately, factoring people out of the equation has for so many become costly, painful, destructive, and unacceptable socially, politically, economically, culturally, and even religiously. (Longford 2013: 214-215)
This tendency should be investigated further.
Although there are many different interpersonal skills that can benefit people, the one type that I'll focus on in this chapter is the ability to read and assess nonverbal behavior. This ability is an important element of what we term "reading people" in general, which, for the purposes of our training, is defined as the process of detecting and interpreting nonverbal, verbal, and paralinguistic cues and indicators exhibited by people for the purpose of identifying and understanding their attributes and motivations. (Longford 2013: 215)
This (focus on communication) makes much more sense that that book
Reading People written by some hack with a "Phd." on the cover.
And even in basic life satisfaction, we find that knowledge of these skills can provide personal insights into one's own behavior; that is, determining if someone is casting off facial expressions or body postures that may be seen by others as hostile - for example, having a knitted eyebrow, which constitutes part of the facial expression of anger, when in fact the individual has no such intentions of sonding such messages. (Longford 2013: 216-217)
Proprioception, and the case of "Man, do I always look that angry?"
The specific areas of application included the following:| Leadership | Conflict resolution |
| Management | Persuasion |
| Team building | Case management |
| Sales | Managing difficult behaviors |
| Interviewing | Treatment |
| Negotiation | Relationship building |
(Longford 2013: 218)
These are the areas where knowledge of nonverbal communication could prove useful.
The type that shows the greatest improvement tends to be those who are receptive to scientific explanations, rather than being impressed by "magic" tricks. Postcourse assessment of training delivered by my company shows that these individuals are much more likely to continue training exercises after receiving classroom instruction. This is accentuated when these individuals have a significant realization or "a-ha" moment about their own behavior. When the belief in science and personal insight is combined, they form by far the most important factors producing strong interpersonal skill improvement over time.
A second group of participants who show good improvement are those who can see a significant, direct, and tangible application of nonverbal skills to what is important to them. This too leads to them having a high propensity to practice their skills. Whether it be family relationships, work situations, or their own personal interactions, if the participant can consistently identify specific issues to which he or she can apply the techniques, there appears to be a greater improvement in that participant's skills over time. (Longford 2013: 220)
Once again proving that personal interest is a great advancement for any type of learning.
Harrington, Nick R. 2013. Nonverbal Communication in Consumer Research. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 225-236.
Everyday tasks are, however, typically repetitive, often of low emotional engagement, frequently associated with removing negatives, and usually have a predictable outcome. Consequently, they are most often unconsciously enacted. (Harrington 2013: 225)
As the editors summarize this point in the end: household matter such as washing powder, drain cleaner, hygiene towels etc. don't make people happy, they rather work to reduce negative emotions associated with these matters.
Habitual events are those that occur repeatedly in a stable context to the point where the context alone can cue the behavior. It has been suggested that up to 45% of everydaybehavior (particularly activities with low risk) occurs habitually, and this reflects a mechanism to free cognitive resources to attend to and process more novel information (e.g., Martin, 2008;Wood & Neal, 2009). (Harrington 2013: 228)
Sound quite Peircean. Must keep in mind for the semiotics of everyday behaviour (still a bit surprised that it's an actual university course).
Sheeler, Robert 2013. Nonverbal Communication in Medical Practice. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 237-246.
Being able to communicate and motivate both pantients and learners is summed up in the phrase I constantly use when teaching medical students: they have to know that you care before they care what you know. (Sheeler 2013: 240)
That's a neat saying.
At times there is a striking difference between what people say and what they do, the latter often having much greater impact on their health care outcomes. Nonverbal communication is a form of behavior that is halfway between saying and doing. It provides a closer link to the core emotions and beliefs of the patient. Sometimes the elements that can be discerned from this behavior are more accurate and helpful than what is available consciously to the patients themselves. (Sheeler 2013: 241)
Extremely valuable remark. This is also problematic for the nonverbalist, because he must sit on both seats and deal with both language theories and action theories, because nonverbal expression is indeed
a doing that says something.
There are also data that suggests that patients perceive women as more compassionate caregivers. They may be more nurturing. but we don't know exactly how that affects treatment. We presented at a 2010 national conference on headaches data demonstrating that across 1,225 patients, cared by 32 physicians, male physicians prescribe differently for male migraine patients than women migraine patients, whereas women physicians prescribe similarly for both genders. At the end of the day though, wemone may be more tired from the higher expressive intensity of their interactions. I have seen workshop presentations from others that claim that women often use their facial muscles considerably more than men in the course of interacting with patients. If this is true, then it too can take a toll and lead to higher fatigue at the end of the day. (Sheeler 2013: 244)
Because expressive movements are also muscle-work.
Whether in your role as a physician, or in any clinical or interpersonal encounter, once you notice something nonverbally, you have three options:- Notice the signal, ponder the meaning, and recalibrate your approach without in any way directly engaging the sender of the signal.
- Use this as a red-flag moment that will allow you to probe more deeply with gentle, noninvasive approaches such as "You seem uncomfortable" or "Is there more to that than you have shared with me so far?"
- Directly and openly confront the person - in effect, calling the game. This is the intense option and can escalate the situation. But it can also be transformative, especially of negative behaviors that can poison the workplace. To execute this strategy requires the highest degree of certainty that you are right about the nonverbal communication - which is yet another reason to study this realm as fully and as formally as possible. If you root out behaviors that center acound contempt, anger, and disgust, you can make your workplace a sofer and more uplifting place to work. This will also make it a more healing environment for patints. The reason that such behaviors often persist is twofold: there is often an underlying issue or unresolved emotion and the person has gotten away with it over time, usually through plausible deniability since most lack the skill to say with certainty that the behavior of the other was negative in character.
(Sheeler 2013: 245)
More for nonverbal ethics, e.g. how to react to nonverbal behaviour.
Privitera, Michael R. 2013. Nonverbal Behavior and Psychiatric Observation. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 247-258.
Dependence on words alone fails us in many situations. One significant example is when a patient has alexithymia, which is the inability to put feelings into words. Such patients under periods of stress may manifest a host of medical (psychosomatic) symptoms and will be unable to make the conscious connection between these symptoms and their anxiety, relevant life stressors, or depressed feelings - all of which get expressed somatically (communicatied) through physical symptoms. Patients may, however, appear depressed on anxious to the observer, and this assessment includes interpretation of nonverbal behaviors. (Privitera 2013: 248)
It is generally the case that other see our facial expressions and we ourselves don't, but this is taking this to the extreme, where acknowledgment is even impossible.
Likewise, the presence or absence of facial hair (e.g., presence or absence of heavy beard, large mustaches, etc.) may suggest either someone who is aloof or available for interaction. Within grooming we can also classify a little-mentioned nonverbal clue - odors. A bad-smelling person suggests unkempt, poor hygiene - often associated with schizophrenia and psychotic processes so severe that they interfere with activities of daily living (ADLs) like hygiene - or motivation and drive impairments that occur is severe depression and also interfere with ADLs. Grooming can also indicate severe substance abuse disorders - where the whole day revolves around maintaining intoxication, leaving little desire or ability to spend time on hygiene. (Privitera 2013: 250)
Goffman (or someone else, Birdwhistell?) noted something similar.
A monotone patient may be overly self-absorbed, preoccupied, excessively denial orientated, or even depressed. Typically, the speech pause times lenghten for the depressed patient and revert to normal when the patient's depressive episode is treated (a psychomotor phenomenon). (Privitera 2013: 252)
A neat quip to keep in mind. E.g. "sad - down" analogy extends to vocal characteristics.
Another sign involves the nasolabial fold (the line running obliquely from the side of the nose to the corners of the mouth). This fold relaxes in depression and becomes flattened, but when the patient begins to recover, this fold will tighten and be demarcated again. This noticeable facial change will occur before the patient can consciously report improvement in mood. This change alnog with other early psychomotor improvements can be examples of how the patient is "the last to know" he or she is getting better. Upon seeing such clues, the psychiatrist can expect the patient's subjective improvement soon. (Privitera 2013: 253)
I can just about imagine a dystopian world in which these kinds of signs are discriminated and people sent on treatment when their nasolabial fold loses prominence.
In general, the level of expressivity in the face and body is also a clue to the psychiatric state. Patients can have flat or restricted affect - i.e., a narrow range of responses. This may be associated with the internal state of the lack of ability to respond to humor or joy, known as anhedonia. (Privitera 2013: 253)
I think I may have anhedonia. William James has written about it.
Frank, Mark G; Hiy Sung Hwang and David Matsumoto 2013. Synthesis and Conclusion. In: Matsumoto, David; Mark G. Frank and Hyi Sung Hwang (eds.), Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications. Los Angeles (etc.): SAGE, 259-282.
We did not share drafts of their chapters with each other; thus, they were all written independently, although the three of us did comment on earlier drafts of each chapter. These comments were mainly structural. The only consistent comment was a request to provide specific behavioral examples. So a contributor might say something like, "I noticed he was upset...," and our comment wold be, "Please detail the specific behavioral clues that caused you to notice or believe he was upset." This approach allowed us to better draw out the lessons learned from these applied settings, and it enabled us to correlate the various behaviors they noted with those reported in the scientific literature. (Frank et al. 2013: 259-260)
That is, the editors urged the contributors to be more
concursive (or, less ambiguously concursive). This does cast some doubt as to the validity of their descriptions, though, because instead of remembering an actual behaviour they might have constructed one on the spot.
What we know about manipulators is that they increase with discomfort; this suggests either that our contributors are being misled, believing this to be a reliable clue when it is in fact an illusion, or that maybe our laboratory studies just do not generate nearly the stress levels that real-world counterterrorism officers or negotiators face. This, it may be that the laboratory science underestimates the utility of manipulators as a reliable nonverbal signal because laboratory science cannot generate the discomfort levels found in real life. Moreover, it is likely we could not ethically generate such levels in the laboratory, but instead we would have to do some selected analysis of real-world cases to assess the utility of manipulators. (Frank et al. 2013: 261)
Both cases are indeed possible. It is indeed interesting that there are ethical limits to experimental psychology. There is a
real difference between experiments with artificial incentives and actual life where the stakes are high and the choices heavily impact people's futures.
Maccario's idea is that the environmental baseline, derived from countless hours of being in an airport environment, can help fill that knowledge gap to identify the behaviorally anomalous individual. This the baseline is not necessarily someone's own behaviors, but the general behavior of the crowd. This shift to an interindividual baseline makes sense under these circumstances. (Frank et al. 2013: 262)
Indeed, one could even imagine a theory of baseline informed by Goffman's triad (self-other-situation). That is, not only the baseline of a certian (other) person and the baseline of the situation, but also one's own baseline can be the measuring pole for finding anomalies. The latter bit is based on the mimicry aspect: that one may not notice the anomalous behaviour of others in the given situation but notice that one's own behaviour is anomalous and then look for the cause - who (other) or what (situation) is causing it?
When he did learn of some potentially useful phenomena, it was stuff like this: "that when people fold their arms or they raise their foot so the investigator can see the sole of the shoe, then they are using blocking mechanisms. Also, if someone touches his or her nose while the officer is talking, then the person believes that the investigator's story or statement 'stinks'" (see Chapter 10, p. 174). However, we emphasize the word potentially useful, not actually useful, because there are no published research studies demonstrating any of this. There are the sorts of observations that often come from popular magazines or books but do not have any sound scientific backing. Or, as we found later, the may come from single case studies, as in Hirsch and Wolf's (2001) case study of former president Clinton's nase touching when allegedly lying. (Frank et al. 2013: 266)
Much of popular body language discourse either lacks scientific backing or stems from fictional literature, for example. There's nothing wrong with using fiction to inform research, but it must be acknowledged beforehand, not touted as a truth with non-existent scientific backing. As for case studies, they are not reliable because they lack support. A truth becomes truth when it is verified.
Application
We can take the science from Part I and marry it to the practitioner accounts in Part II and generate the following mnemonic (Frank, Yarbrough, & Ekman, 2006) that will help practitioners best deploy their knowledge of nonverbal communication:- Awareness
- Baseline
- Changes
- Discrepancies
- Engagement
- Follow-up
Awareness means that practitioners must be aware of a number of things to optimally take advantage of nonverbal communication. They must be aware of vorious cultural norms for given groups of people that may govern their eye contact, the distance at which they stand, the amount of body and facial movements, and so forth. They even must be aware of the physical environment, the weather, time of year, and so forth. And finally, they must be aware of the power and limitations of nonverbal behavior analysis.
Baseline means that practitioners must take account of the environmental, situational, and behavioral norms of given persons and situations. They must be aware of when and where in the interaction they can generate the sorts of behaviors that they can note as examples of truth and deception so they can later compare them to the critical, crucial, or crunch points in the interaction to enable optimal comparison for nonverbal behavior and achieve goals.
Changes refers to looking for behavioral changes in baseline - anomalies - be they environmental or individual baseline. Noticing when these changes occur in the behavioral sequence over time, and for which particular topic, is essential. These are best thought of as hot spots that signal that something internally has changed in the other person. This does not mean that the person is lying, as there can be many innocent reasons for these behaviors. But they are signs for further investigations.
Discrepancies refers to looking for those nonverbal behaviors that are discrepant from verbal or other behaviors not across time but at a given point in time. These too are hot spots, but they best represent a mismatched signal occurring amongst the different behavioral channels within an individual at one given point in time. In contrast, changes refers more to nonverbal behavioral changes in any given channel over time. Metaphorically, discrepancies refer to vertical differences across different channels at one point in time, whereas chages refer to more horizontal differences across the same behavioral channels over time for particular topics.
Engagement refers to the fact that once the changes and discrepancies are noted, the practitioners should engage the hot spots by either adjusting his or her own behavior or by asking additional questions about the topic that was being addressed once the hot spot occurred. This is often better executed, based on our experience, not at the immediate moment of the hot spot but after the individual completes his or her initial account or statement.
Follow-up refers to the fact that the issues raised during engagement need to be followed up - with other potentially corroborating information, or further questions, and so forth, to ascertain as best as possible what is going on in the mind of the other person. (Frank et al. 2013: 280)
Somewhat similar mnemonic concluded Navarro's book. This one is better, more concrete.
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