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

1. inclusiveness/noninclusivenessThe degree to which one’s body position includes or excludes someone else.Inclusiveness indicates liking, interest in the other person.

2.  face to face/parallelThe 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/incongruenceThe 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?