Body movement and gestures

   “Actions speak louder than words” Movement reflects one’s state of arousal   animated, energetic lethargic, lackluster Reciprocal relationship  Our mood affects our behavior, but our behavior also affects our mood.

  smiling nodding

 Expressions related to posture, gait         “grow a spine” walking with a “spring in your step” “stand up for yourself” “standing tall” “hold your head high” “don’t slouch.” “stand still” “taking a stand”  In Western culture, an upright, yet relaxed body posture, is associated with confidence, positivity, high self esteem (Guerrero & Floyd, 2006).

 Miley Cyrus and Kristen Stewart were criticized for slouching at the 2010 Oscars.

         Power walk Shuffling Runway model walk Sashay Swagger Saunter Stroll Arms swinging vs. not swinging “Light in the loafers”  Gait, posture and victimization  “victimology studies indicate that approachers…tend to choose less confident, shy women” (White & Smith, 2001).

  “A weak walking style sends a cue of vulnerability to a would-be mugger or attacker.” (Gunns Johnson, & Hudson, 2002) “Confident walkers rank near the bottom of potential targets of crime”(Ivy & Wahl, 2009).

People are able to recognize emotions from a person’s body movement (Clarke et al. 2005)

Gunns, Johnston, and Hudson (2002) found that victims of attack walk in ways that make them more vulnerable to would be attackers.

Wheeler, Book, and Costello (2009) found that male psychopaths distinguished people who had been victimized from those who had not after viewing short video clips of these people walking.

        Nonverbal indicators of Liking   Forward lean Body and head orientation facing the other person Open body positions Affirmative head nods Moderate gesturing and animation Close interpersonal distances Moderate body relaxation Touching Initiating and maintaining eye contact   Smiling Mirroring (congruent posture)

 Nonverbal indicators of dislike  Indirect, oblique body orientation  No eye contact, or eye contact of short duration   Averted eyes Unpleasant facial expressions  Relative absence of gestures   Body rigidity, bodily tension Incongruent postures

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inclusiveness/noninclusiveness The degree to which one’s body position includes or excludes someone else.

Inclusiveness indicates liking, interest in the other person.

face to face/parallel The degree to which people face each other, square on, versus at an angle or side by side.

A square on position indicates mutual involvement, some level of intimacy.

congruence/incongruence The degree of mirroring, matching, mimicry

 Posture and Dominance    Taking up space Arms akimbo Maintaining gaze   Pointing at someone Violating another’s personal space

  Studies on “Gaydar” demonstrate that people can distinguish another’s sexual orientation at better than chance odds.

This does not mean “Gaydar” is infallible.

 When speaking before a group:  Stand straight, yet relaxed     Don’t slouch Don’t lean on or hide behind a podium Don’t look frozen, wooden Avoid nervous pacing  Movement should be purposeful  Movement should complement or punctuate the verbal message

 What are these people conveying with their bodies?

 Are these couples getting along?

 Humans have uniquely expressive hands.

 The same gesture can have different meanings

 The meaning of a gesture depends on its context  flipping someone the “bird” could be serious or playful.

 Gestures may be conflicting  Yawning while saying you are not tired.

 Looking involved but saying, “I don’t care,”

   Emblems are used intentionally.

They have verbal equivalents They have a clear, consistent meaning within a particular culture  Cross my heart   Shame on you Peace sign  I’m crazy

    Illustrators are used intentionally.

Illustrators are tied to speech.

 They reinforce or supplement what is being said.

Illustrators are most common in face-to-face interaction Illustrators are so habitual, people use them when talking on the phone            Examples of illustrators Two palms held up signify “I don’t know Wagging a finger while making a point Rolling one’s eyes in disbelief “For example” gesture Just a pinch Hitting one’s fist for emphasis A double head nod Pointing when giving directions I caught a fish this big.

After you

    Affect displays may or may not be intentional Affect displays convey feeling and emotion They are often communicated via facial expressions They can be difficult to interpret  Interpreting affect displays:  Look at the face to determine the emotion  Look at body cues to determine the strength or intensity of the emotion.

Are these people expressing the same emotion, in differing degrees, or different emotions altogether?

   Regulators are primarily unintentional They regulate turn-taking behavior Conversational give and take depends on regulators      Types of turn-taking Turn-requesting cues Turn maintaining cues Turn yielding cues Turn denying cues

 Regulate the ebb and flow of conversation

    Adaptors are usually unintentional.

Adaptors include self touching behaviors Adapters signal nervousness, anxiousness, boredom Generally speaking, adapters are perceived negatively  However, adaptors may be perceived as more genuine, authentic  Examples of adaptors  Fiddling with one’s hair       Chewing one’s fingernails Tapping one’s foot or leg Biting one’s lips Scratching one’s arm Wringing one’s hands Clenching one’s jaw

 Hair twirling is an adaptor, but does it always mean the same thing?

 Object adaptors include:    Tapping a pencil Drumming one’s fingers Adjusting one’s clothing  Playing with jewelry  Adaptors when students take tests     Hair twirling Scratching Ear pulling Forehead rubbing

 What do people do when  they are ending an interpersonal conversation?

 they are getting ready to leave class?

 they are ending a phone conversation?

 Does it depend on:  the communication context?

 the nature of the relationship?

 cultural considerations?