Kinesic Cues: Body and Eye Movements

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Kinesic Cues Body and Eye Movements
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Definition of Kinesic Cues

• Refers to all forms of body movements excluding
  physical contact w/ others.
• Often referred to body language

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Approaches to Studying Kinesics

• Three broad approaches
• Structural approach
• Functional approach
• Study of eye behaviors specifically

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Structural Approach to Kinesics

• Made famous by Ray Birdwhistle
• Identify discrete, universal body movements that
  combine to form NV meaning.
• Referred to it as a linguistic-kinesic analogy
• Classify kinesic cues using a linguistic system

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Structural Approach to Kinesics

• In the study of language, there are
• Phonemes units of sound
• Morphemes combination of phonemes to form words
  and sentences
• Translating that to kinesics
• Kines smallest identifiable body movement
• Allokines variation in intensity duration of
  kines
• Kinemes smallest meaningful combinations of the
  other two (similar to words)

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Functional Approach to Kinesics

• Alternative suggested by Ekman and Friesen
• Considers what kinesic cues actually do
• Using this system, 5 categories of kinesic cues
  were developed
• Each designed to serve specific functions

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Emblems

• Kinesic cues w/ direct verbal translation.
• Frequently used to substitute verbal messages.
• Generally have a precise meaning among members of
  a social group.
• Often intentionally sent and perceived.
• Not contextually-bounded.

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Illustrators

• Kinesic cues accompanying speech that serves
  multiple purposes.
• Usually not stand alone gestures
• May accent, complement, repeat, or contradict
  verbal messages.
• Eight types of illustrators have been identified.

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Some Common Illustrators

• Batons
• Ideographs
• Kinetographs
• Pictographs
• Spatials
• Pointers
• Rhythmic movements
• Emblematic movements

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Regulators

• Kinesic cues designed to maintain or regulate
  verbal conversations.
• Primarily helps to control the flow of the verbal
  messages.
• Serves the function of a traffic cop for verbal
  communication

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Affect Displays

• Kinesic cues that reveal a persons emotions.
• Primarily displayed via the face, but may also
  use the body.
• Emotional expressions may or may not be
  intentionally sent.

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Adaptors

• Kinesic cues that help a person cope w/ an
  uncomfortable environment
• Comes in three forms
• Self
• Alter-directed
• Object-directed

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Eye Behaviors (as a Kinesic Cue)

• Neglected by Birdwhistle and Ekman and Friesen.
• Similar approaches used to classify eye
  behaviors.
• Structural
• Functional

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Structural Approach to Eye Behaviors

• Proposed by Cranach and Ellgring
• Differentiated between one-sided vs. mutual look
• One-sided look non-reciprocated
• Mutual look reciprocated
• Gaze avoidance and gaze omission
• Gaze avoidance intentional
• Gaze omission - unintentional

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Functional Approach to Eye Behaviors

• Proposed by Rutter
• Distinguished between eye contact and looking
  behavior
• Looking serves a surveillance or feedback
  function
• Eye contact used to convey emotions and liking
  for others

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Kinesic Norms

• Highly variable at the individual level but are
  highly normative at the cultural level.
• Norms for emblems
• Serves similar function in all cultures
• Unfortunately, meanings are culturally-bound

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Kinesic Norms

• Norms for illustrators
• Some cultures are more illustrative than others
• Illustrators more normative for use among
  same-sex friends
• Norms for regulators
• Most rule governed kinesic behavior
• Especially the case w/ eye contact

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Kinesic Norms

• Norms for affect displays
• Cultural differences in experience and expression
  of various emotions.
• Five common display rules operate
• Simulation
• Intensification
• Neutralization
• De-intensification
• Masking

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Kinesic Norms

• Norms for adaptors
• Primary norm is to avoid using them in public
• Especially the case for self-adaptors
• Less severe for alter-directed or object-directed
  adaptors

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Kinesic Norms

• Norms for eye behaviors
• Excessive staring or eye avoidance is
  non-normative.
• Pupil dilation generally indicates arousal,
  positive affect, or attraction.
• Eye movements said to correspond to activated
  brain hemisphere.