Background and History
Studying nonverbal communication can be both intriguing and frustrating as there are endless amounts of gestures and facial expressions and some are used all too often while others are still being studied. This side of communication makes up the majority and while it might not seem like a way of communicating it can often times speak just as loudly as the verbal part. Nonverbal communication demonstrates the way that a particular individual chooses to interact with others in social settings and the gestures and body language chosen can disclose quite a bit of information about that person. A lot of factors play into how people use non verbals such as culture, their biological makeup, social influences and personality. One of the biggest things that is possible for one to study is the cultural influence and how the location in which someone resides will affect their way of communicating with those around them. I am curious to know how people in both Austria and Italy interact with one another and I picked Italy as my comparing country because the locals are known to be very physical whether it be in a romantic relationship showing affection or with a stranger and greeting them for the first time. Experiencing Austria was very different than what I expected because I assumed everyone in Europe would be kissing me on the cheek and touching my hair but the locals didn't seem to care all that much and they were actually somewhat cold and they tended to distance themselves from other people. Something I noticed was that if I looked like I was lost there would typically be someone willing to help me and they did it with a genuine and patient attitude which I appreciated.
The study of nonverbal communication includes communication that is effected by means other than words such as: posture, gesture, tone of voice, facial expression, touch, and personal space (Hecht & Ambady, 1999). Charles Darwin was said to have the first thoughts on nonverbal behavior as he studied emotional expression in both humans and animals in the late 1800s and it wasn't studied again until much later. He found that animals and humans both openly and often unintentionally show some level of emotion, however animals are limited to only nonverbals whereas humans gain the verbal side as well. Around this time psychologists began to take over this concept of behaviorism, but it was focused on a more general level of goals and rewards and they also only studied the principles of learning and behavior in animals. It wasn't until 1955 when a group of interpersonal psychiatrists solely focused on the behaviors of humans. The three experts together created an idea called context analysis which is where all of the observed behavior was transcribed in great detail onto a coding sheet that resembled a score. Context analysis was later used to study such events as human greetings, social behavior at a party, and the function of posture during family therapy sessions (Hecht & Ambady, 1999).
Over time the majority of these concepts have remained, but we have also gained more opportunities and knowledge due to the technology increase. Some believe that this means that there are less interactions happening in person where one can study nonverbals, but there is only potential for more opportunities of studying nonverbals through the use of technology. For example the use of emojis and capital letters play a role in the message that you're sending to someone, both literally and figuratively. Redfern and Naughton (2002) argue that this has diminished the verbal skills of young people. They argue that the internet limits human interaction because web correspondence limits the nonverbal cues used during a face-to-face interaction. Nonverbal communication is involuntary in today's culture. Through the use of gestures and symbols we can emphasize the messages we are trying to send to those around us. As technology proves more necessary to daily life, verbal communication becomes less important. Various scholars see the relevancy in having interactions in person while others believe it can be just as effective via texting or email. Technology is constantly changing and altering the way in which we communicate either in person or online.
Overall nonverbal communication is just as important to study as verbal communication is and due to previous studies it is possible to navigate the world of communication and expand our knowledge. Within the various cultures we are exposed to this semester I think that I will have more than enough personal interactions that will give me some insight on this topic.
Hecht, M. A., & Ambady, N. (1999). Nonverbal communication and psychology: Past and future. New Jersey Journal of Communication, 7(2), 156-170. doi:10.1080/15456879909367364
Krauss, R. M., Chen Y. & Chawla P. (1985). Nonverbal Behavior and Nonverbal Communication: What do Conversational Hand Gestures Tell Us? Columbia University, pp. 1-71.
Redfern, S., & Naughton, N. (2002). Collaborative Virtual Environments to Support Communication and Community in Internet-Based Distance Education. Proceedings of the 2002 InSITE Conference. doi:10.28945/2563