Nonverbal Communication:

1
Lecture 9

• Nonverbal Communication
• Haptics and Kinesics

2
Overview of Haptics

• People use touch to communicate
• Most basic form of communication
• Touch is crucial aspect of human life

3
Babies and Touch

• Earliest form of human contact
• Babies main source of information expression
• Doctors hands Bathing
• Diaper changing Rocking
• Feeding Comforting
• Importance of touch in evolution of healthy
  adults
• Infants who are held, touched cuddled show
• greater weight gain
• greater activity
• greater curiosity capacity for learning
• less sickness and stress
• live longer

4
Categories of Touch

• Functional/Professional (impersonal)
• Physician, Dentist, Nurse, Barber, Hairstylist,
  Masseur, Tailor
• Social/Polite (greeting, bonding)
• Handshake, High five, Cheek kiss
• Friendship/Warmth (fondness, support)
• Pat on the back, Embrace, Hug
• Love/Intimacy (deep caring relationships)
• Full embrace, Stroke of the face, Kiss,
• Sexual intercourse

5
Patterns of Physical Contact

• Study compares touching patterns of Japanese
  American college students
• College students between 18 and 24
• 120 Japanese and 120 Americans
• Each group had 60 males and 60 females
• Result Large contrast between two cultures
• Permitted touching greater with American Fathers
  (least amount for Americans) than Opposite
  Japanese Sex Friend (most amount for Japanese)

6
Results of Study - Japan
7
Results of Study - U.S.
8
Physical Contact - What?

• Almost total agreement on areas that can should
  not be touched
• Japanese
• Frequently Head - Forehead - Back of the neck -
  Hand Forearm Shoulder
• Rarely front pelvic region - rear thigh - rear
  pelvic region - rear lower leg
• Americans
• Can same plus the upper arm
• Rarely same
• (Although some areas of physical avoidance may
  reflect inconvenience rather than inhibition)

9
Physical Contact Who?

• Highest frequency between friends
• Japanese most to least
• 1) opposite sex friends
• 2) mothers and same sex friends (same)
• 3) fathers
• Americans most to least
• 1) opposite sex friends
• 2) mothers
• 3) same sex friends
• 4) fathers
• Opposite sex friends scored much higher among
• Americans than Japanese. Fathers ranked very
• close to same sex friends

10
Physical Contact - Conclusion

• Major differences in what is permitted
• We know what is permitted in our culture
• We dont know what is permitted in other cultures
• Mistakes cause insult, anger or discomfort

11
Overview of Kinesics

• Body movements transmit a variety of
• messages
• Emotions - Personality traits - Attitudes
• Explicit Vague
• Different movements same message
• Same movements different messages

12
Classes of Movement

• Emblems
• Illustrators
• Affect displays
• Regulators
• Adaptors

13
Classes of Movement

• Emblems directly translatable into specific
  words
• Good luck - I dont know - Its hot - money
• Illustrators clarify or explain what is said
• emphasis pointing - spatial relationships
• Affect displays intensity of our emotions
• facial expressions kissing - stomping feet -
  handshake
• Regulators control back-and-forth of speaking
• head nods - eye movements - posture shift - hand
  gestures
• Adaptors unintentional body movements reacting
  to boredom or stress
• holding scratching rubbing picking
  squeezing pinching
• pen twirling - playing with an object - playing
  with ones hair or clothing - making restless
  movements with hands or feet