This study compared preverbal children (ages 3-4) with severe language impairments who were difficult to engage (Group 1) with others who were readily engaged (Group 2). The study focused on transitional episodes of engagement and on frequency of clinician and child verbal communications and nonverbal acts within transitional episodes. Eight…

Four experiments investigating the effects of physical and social variables on the production of pointing in infants 10 to 18 months old are described. In the first two experiments, which were primarily concerned with the relation between reaching and index finger pointing, physical dimensions such as distance between baby and target objects were…

Problems frequently encountered by Americans visiting or studying in Mexico are described. Idiomatic phrases that might confuse an American Spanish speaker are highlighted to illustrate how the Spanish taught in classrooms differs from the Spanish spoken in Mexico. The relevance of nonverbal communication norms to cultural assimilation is examined…

The relationships between nonverbalized feelings and perceptions of the counseling relationship were investigated through the use of inprocess instrumentation. Frequencies of clients' nonverbalized feelings and counselors' perceptions of them were generally unrelated to the participants' perceptions of the counseling relationship. (Author)

Reports on a study designed to investigate the variables of greeting behavior. (MH)

Suggests exercises, activities, and materials teachers can use to help students increase awareness of the nonverbal aspects of communication. (RB)

The paper proposes that research efforts should be focused on understanding the non-linguistic functioning of individuals with severe degrees of mental retardation, recognizing its place as a potential stand-alone system in satisfying communicative needs and options, and understanding the mechanisms that account for the presence and use of such a…

The importance and varieties of human touch have been the subject of much research. Touching varies from culture to culture and is a way of talking in most Latin American countries. Three Puerto Rican novels provide examples of this nonverbal communicative style: "Mambru se fue a la guerra," by Jose Luis Gonzalez; "La vispera del…

Since attraction and close proxemic distances have been found to be associated throughout the study of nonverbal communication, a study was conducted that hypothesized that attraction would be a more important predictor of seat selection than any other variables. Subjects included students enrolled in introductory speech communication classes who…

No theories of communication can minimize the crisis of dying. But those who study commmunication can suggest ways of offering comfort and dignity to the dying person. Many of these ways go beyond words, for death cannot be addressed with verbal cliches. The theoretical work from which a communication scholar draws can help hospice volunteers and…

Nonverbal communication, which includes proxemics, or the study of an individual's use of space, plays a major role in communication relationships. Culture, gender, and status can all influence one's use of personal space. This study was designed to investigate the physiological effects (heart rate and galvanic skin response) of the invasion of a…

Composition researchers and teachers grant that the relationship of non-verbal thinking and language plays a crucial role in the writing of fiction and poetry, but they are sometimes reluctant to perceive that non-verbal thinking must, necessarily, be crucial, with different emphases, in the thinking/writing processes of rhetoric. Activities and…

Two experiments examined nonverbal behavior patterns and relational communication perceptions associated with communication reticence. In the first experiment, pairs of friends and pairs of strangers engaged in nine-minute discussions. Subjects were rated by their interaction partners and by trained observers. Results showed that as their level of…

In the states of Bihar and Uttar Pradesh in northern India the speech styles of men and women differ markedly in a number of ways. One mode of communication, tuneful weeping, is exclusive to women. This behavior is distinguished from spontaneous crying caused by pain, and is used only in certain prescribed social situations, and not necessarily in…