Discussion of Papers On Nonverbal Communication

Abstract

We have in this collection eight papers representing the interests, thoughts, and efforts of twelve authors. The authors themselves range from graduate students to recent Ph.D.s, to established and well-known researchers. Taken as a collection, it is probably fair to say that these papers are a reasonable representation of the type of work that is being accomplished in the area of nonverbal communication by professional researchers. Although, as discussants, we do have reactions to the individual papers which were presented, we would prefer to focus more of our attention on the field which this collection represents.These papers amply demonstrate to our satisfaction that there are some serious and fundamental weaknesses in our approaches to the study of nonverbal behavior. The questions being asked and the methods being used are frequently inadequate, uninteresting, and even self-defeating. It is not that these particular twelve authors are inadequate or uncreative; rather, it is that they have been seduced into perpetuating a tradition which has taken us nowhere in the [487]

Meanings of counselor nonverbal gestures: Fixed or interpretive?

“…First, it was assumed that an appreciation for the client's subjective point of view is essential to an understanding of the significance of counselor communicative behaviors (Elliott, 1979;Fretz et al, 1979). Second, it was noted that the generalizability of findings has been repeatedly questioned for studies in which the subject is a passive observer of an unknown "counselor" (Carter, 1978;Cash et al, 1978;D'Augelli, 1974;Gladstein, 1974;Myers & Myers, 1972). It was therefore deemed important that the subjects' ratings of counselor behavior be derived from interactions in which the subject is an active participant.…”

The effects of behavioural and cultural expectation cues on the perception of social episodes

“…One of the most reliable sources of information available to an observer about an interaction episode is the non-verbal behaviour of the interactants (Mehrabrian, 1972;Argyle, 1969;Schiff, 1969, 1973). While an upsurge of interest in non-verbal communication (NVC) phenomena in recent years has provided valuable new insight into the intrinsic meaning of non-verbal signals, the effects of contextual cues, such as the cultural definition of an episode, have rarely been studied (Myers and Myers, 1972).…”

Nonverbal behavior and client state changes during psychotherapy

“…Some studies have utilized actors rather than real therapists (Fretz, Corn, Tuemmler, & Bellet, 1979; La Cross, 1975;Smith, 1972;Trout & Rosenfeld, 1980) and have relied on college students to evaluate complex constructs such as rapport (Dinges & Oetting, 1972; Karger, 1974; La Cross, 1975;Lassen, 1973). These "impression" studies have been criticized for the weakness of their external validity (Bakken, 1978; Davis, 1985; Gladstein, 1974;Myers & Myers, 1972). Wallbott (1985) has demonstrated that there are serious limitations to data based on judgments of patients' movements made by untrained observers.…”