A study replicated Robert Sommer's classic work of library table seat choices, showing that people given defensive instructions chose end seats while people given offensive instructions chose middle seats. In a followup study, defensiveness was measured in college students who were asked where they typically sat at library tables. This study found…

A study tested the effect of three levels of context (positive, neutral, and negative) on subjects' accuracy in identifying facial expressions of emotion (fear, disgust, anger, sadness, happiness, and surprise). The subjects were 277 female and 69 male teachers enrolled in graduate communication courses. After reading a positive, neutral, or…

The extent to which human facial expressions are universal and cross-culturally recognizable has been the subject of considerable debate. Two approaches have been used in studies of facial expressions: the judgment approach entails showing examples of facial expressions to various cultures or groups of people and determining whether they interpret…

A study was conducted to examine longitudinal and cross-sectional age effects on accuracy of decoding nonverbal cues. A videotaped nonverbal discrepancy test was administered to 78 children aged nine to fifteen years. The test measured (1) decoding accuracy--the extent to which subjects were able to identify affects (positivity and dominance) from…

This study examines the possibility that ability to avoid detection of deceptive behavior via nonverbal behavior might be related to an individual's role-taking skill. Sixty-one 5 to 12 year-old boys and girls were led to be verbally deceptive or truthful by saying that they either had enjoyed or not enjoyed an unpleasant experience or had enjoyed…

Participant observation and author introspection were used to collect data in this study of nonverbal communication among Italian Americans in three large American cities. Discussion is given to kinesics (gestures and signs), haptics (touch), proxemics (interiors of homes, exteriors of homes, and spatial arrangements at a wedding dinner), and…

A study was undertaken to examine the impact of the paralinguistic channel on the ability to encode facial expressions of emotion. The first set of subjects, 19 encoders, were asked to encode facial expressions for five emotions (fear, sadness, anger, happiness, and disgust). The emotions were produced in three encoding conditions: facial channel…

This study investigates hand gesturing behavior produced by mothers communicating with their first born 2- to 3-year-old children and their 4- to 5-year-old children. Thirty-two mother-child pairs were assigned to groups balanced equally for age and sex. After it was confirmed that the older children produced longer utterances, the mother-child…

The impact of two levels of infant organization and marital satisfaction on parent-infant interaction patterns was investigated in 25 couples. It was predicted that (1) disorganized infants would have a negative impact on the parent-infant relationship, and that (2) parent-infant interaction with disorganized infants would be more negative among…

The theory that teachers treat students from whom they expect superior achievement differently than those from whom they expect inferior performance is examined. Five ways of reacting on the part of the teacher are identified for the purpose of this study--teacher warmth, teacher feedback, teacher selection of materials, opportunity offered for…

The etiological approach to psychological research is discussed, particularly regarding research on visual and vocal behavior. Thirty-four adult female dyads discussed topics on which they agreed and on which they disagreed. Each subject's looking and talking was recorded by observers on a computer in a time frame data structure. Data were…

Four hypotheses concerning the relationship between communication apprehension and four types of hand movements were formulated and tested in a study involving 74 students at an eastern university. The hand movements were emblems (hand movement not related to speech), illustrators (hand movement which accompanies speech), self-adaptors (nervous…

This final report attempts to summarize the major findings of three and one-half years of research in the area of understanding and accurately judging others. The author's research on person perception focuses on the use of sound motion pictures of interviews as the primary stimulus and vehicle for the research. Subjects used for these studies…

This report briefly describes the recent search for personal and interpersonal growth which has been termed the "Human Potential Movement," and the institutions or "growth centers" which have evolved as a result of this movement. It presents a list of body, nonverbal, and movement experiences derived from descriptive literature…