Proposes that cultural understanding and communication skills provide frameworks for developing tolerance and understanding. Analyzes the influence of listening/nonverbal communication training on an individual's level of multicultural sensitivity with applications for business and education. Notes that a statistically significant relationship was…

Examined client nonverbal behaviors to determine correspondence to client-reported reactions and therapist-perceived reactions to therapist intervention. Found (1) horizontal head movements associated with client reports and therapist perceptions of therapeutic work reactions; (2) vertical head movements associated with client reports of supported…

Review of literature on indicators of the effectiveness of language intervention programs for autistic children showed that mitigation in echolalia was a critical characteristic, as it implied that the prerequisites for language were accessible through speech. Children whose speech ranged from mutism to unmitigated echolalia had a more negative…

Discusses the problems of communications models. Presents a channel-ratio model that focuses on problems arising from intercultural interactions and addresses some practical needs of business communicators. Describes assumptions of the model, its elements, and its dynamic operation. Gives examples of the model's application to verbal and nonverbal…

Rhythmic groups of cyclical movements--action cycles--were identified during interactions between adults and subjects (12 children, aged 8-18, and 6 young adults with profound mental handicap). Subjects performed similar actions for apparently similar reasons at similar rates to their caregivers, giving strong indication of a biologically robust…

Examines the impact of patients' characteristics on patterns of nonverbal communication exhibited in physician-patient interactions at a family practice clinic. Finds some general patterns of nonverbal behavioral differences, consistency, and adaptation characterizing the entire data set, and that patients' characteristics influenced patterns of…

A procedure was devised in which message content was provided to four nonvocal, severely palsied quadriplegic adults in advance, and investigators elicited the messages via subjects' yes/no gestures. Results indicated reasonably high correspondence between stimulus messages and messages elicited. (Author/JDD)

Reports on a three-part investigation examining stigmatization toward gays and persons with AIDS by undergraduate students as more a symbolic than instrumental process, through the expression of attraction (task, social, and physical) and desire for future interaction, and through nonverbal expressions of involvement. (SR)

Parents influence children's achievement through verbal and nonverbal communication of their expectations about education, participating in school activities, and helping with homework. Family variables such as ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and parenting style affect the nature and degree of involvement. (SK)

Undergraduates (n=441) rated how frequently or well they believed hypothetical women and men performed each of 20 nonverbal behaviors or skills. Perceived gender differences correlated positively with differences reported in observational studies, supporting the general accuracy of beliefs about nonverbal gender differences. (SLD)

Describes the use of signs in Elizabeth George Speare's "The Sign of the Beaver," in which a settler youth and a young Indian learn to communicate by signs, and how the signs reveal much about each character's culture. Summarizes the plot elements of the book, including characters who are not as sympathetic to the Indian point of view.…

Finds that an intervention treatment (consisting of having students view pictures of people and identify attributes based solely on what they see, and then discuss their varying interpretations in groups) made students more aware of nonverbal factors and how they are involved in interpersonal communication. (SR)

Techniques for effective communication include determining what is to be accomplished; avoiding generalities; making words and actions congruent; avoiding indirect communication; visualizing ideas; asking for clarification; avoiding unnecessary questions; being aware of how inanimate objects effect communication; avoiding overcommunication; using…

This study explores the role that gesture plays in the earliest stages of language learning. A description is provided of how one-word speakers use gesture in combination in combination with speech in their spontaneous communications and interpret gesture presented in combination with speech in an experimental situation. (JL)

This study evaluated the relationship between the play behaviors of 18 deaf blind children (aged 3-12) and their communication skills using the Play Assessment Scale and several multidomain developmental checklists. Results revealed that behaviors observed during play assessment were highly related to ratings of receptive, expressive, and…