CHAPTER EIGHT - Oxford University Press



CHAPTER 7

What Are the Different Ways to Communicate Nonverbally Across Cultures?

CHAPTER 7 OBJECTIVES AND OUTLINE

Chapter 7 Objectives:

As a result of reading Chapter 7, and participating in related class discussions and activities, you should be able to:

(1) Develop a sense of intercultural alertness to the multiple interpretations that are attached to a single nonverbal gesture;

(2) Identify the different functions and forms of intercultural nonverbal behavior;

(3) Monitor your own use of paralanguage or tone of voice as it reflects your intercultural or intergroup attitudes;

(4) Realize the diverse richness in decoding intercultural hand gestures, touch, space, and time;

(5) Develop deeper observation and attending skills and move beyond surface-level nonverbal impression formation of culturally different others; and

(6) Cultivate a heightened awareness of how your nonverbal behavior can be misconstrued in

different cross-cultural situations.

Chapter 7 Outline:

I. The Impact of Nonverbal Communication

Introduction section:

About 65 percent of message is inferred via nonverbal channels

A. Making Sense of Nonverbal Communication

1. Nonverbal communication: message exchange process involving use of nonlinguistic and paralinguistic cues (NOTE: This is a brief description; see textbook for complete definitions.)

2. Multiple channels: facial expressions, hand and body gestures, etc.

B. One Code, Many Interpretations: same cue can have different meanings

C. Verbal and Nonverbal Similarities: nonverbal cues can:

1. Repeat the verbal message

2. Contradict the verbal message

3. Substitute for the verbal message (no words needed)

4. Complement or accompany the verbal message and underscore it

5. Accent or emphasize the verbal message

II. Forms of Nonverbal Communication:

The seven forms of nonverbal communication are: physical appearance, paralanguage, facial expressions, kinesics, haptics (touch), oculesics (eye contact), and proxemics

A. Physical Appearance

1. Includes body type, height, weight, hair, and skin color.

2. Artifacts: ornaments or adornments

3. Impression management: example is body alteration techniques

C. Paralanguage

1. Paralanguage: how something is said, not what is said

2. Paralinguistic features:

a. Accent: how your words are pronounced together

b. Pitch range: from high to low

c. Pitch intensity: how high or low your voice carries

d. Volume: how loudly or softly you speak

e. Articulation: precision or slurring of words

f. Rate: how quickly or slowly you speak

D. Facial Expressions

1. Kinesics: study of posture, body movement, gestures, facial expressions

2. 7 universal facial expressions (SADFISH): sadness, anger, disgust, fear, interest, surprise, and happiness

3. Cultural display rules: procedures for the way we express emotions

E. Gestures

1. Gestures: culturally specific, significant forms of nonverbal comm.

2. Four categories of hand gestures and body movements:

a. Emblems: substitute for words and phrases (no words)

b. Illustrators: hand gestures that illustrate spoken words

c. Regulators: used to regulate flow of conversation

d. Adaptors: unintentional habits to fulfill need (scratching)

F. Haptics

1. Haptics: study of perceptions and meanings of touch behavior

2. High-contact cultures: direct eye contact, direct facing, touching, kissing, loud voices

3. Low-contact cultures: indirect eye contact, little touching, softer voices

4. Moderate-contact cultures: blend of both (includes U.S.)

III. Boundary regulations

A. Regulating Interpersonal Boundaries

1. Proxemics: study of space between persons

2. In the United States, four spatial zones exist:

a. Intimate zone: 0–18 inches, for those closest to us

b. Personal zone: 18–48 inches, for closer friends, some acquaintances, colleagues

c. Social zone: 48 inches to 12 feet, for larger events

d. Public zone: 12 feet or more

3. Personal space: unconscious protective territory that we carry around with us and deem sacred, nonviolable, and nonnegotiable

B. Environmental Boundaries

1. Claimed sense of space and emotional attachment we share with others in our community

2. Neighborhood layout, home design, etc. influence how people behave

3. Lewin’s f ormula: B = f (P,E). Behavior is a function of persons in the

environment and the environment

C. Psychological Boundaries

1. Intrapersonal space: the need for information privacy or psychological silence between the self and others

2. Privacy regulation: important in individualistic cultures and not perceived as critical in collectivistic cultures

3. Feng Shui means “air” and “water” in Chinese; the philosophy of combining elements to attain good energy within an area

D. Regulating Time

1. Temporal regulation: the attitudes we have about time

2. Chronemics: how people structure, interpret and understand time

3. Two patterns of time which are opposite and govern different cultures:

a. Monochronic-time schedule (MT): schedule time so as to concentrate on one thing at a time; individualistic cultures tend to use this pattern

b. Polychronic-time schedule (PT): completing human transactions prioritized over time schedules; collectivistic cultures tend to use this pattern

IV. Intercultural Reality Check: Do-Ables

Nonverbal checkpoints to consider in communicating across cultures:

A. Flexibly observe and identify nonverbal display rules

B. Attempt a deeper than surface explanation for the behavior

C. Monitor your own nonverbal behavior

D. Be sensitive to nonverbal display rules for emotions in a particular culture

E. Be less judgmental and more tentative in interpreting others’ nonverbal signals

CHAPTER 7 CHECK-UP

Check out the following cultural literacy questions and self-assessment questions:

Hit-or-Miss Quiz: Use this quiz to assess your cultural literacy of one set of cultural display rules: emoticons. Can you identify the following emoticons?

1. :-D 2. :-[ 3. :-/

POP-UP ANSWER:

1. Laughing

2. Angry

3. Skeptical

Check out Hit or Miss 7.1 in the text on page 140 to quiz yourself on popular ways to say “LOL” in other countries! :-o

Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this quiz to assess your interpersonal space orientation.

1. In a conversation with a stranger, how far away would you stand from him or her?

2. In a conversation with a same-sex friend, how far away would you stand from him or her?

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

You may be surprised to learn that the answers will vary according to culture. Proxemic studies reveal that different cultures regulate personal distance differently. So the next time you find yourself standing uncomfortably close to a stranger, remember that it may be due to cultural variation. (Of course, it may be because they like you (.)

Check out my.blog 7.1 in the text on page 146 to do a full assessment of your interpersonal space orientation.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this quiz to assess your need for privacy or intrapersonal space.

Choose the answer that best reflects your tendencies:

1. How irritated or stressed out do you get when someone enters your room without knocking?

a. Not very irritated

b. Very irritated

2. How irritated or stressed out do you get when someone interrupts you?

a. Not very irritated

b. Very irritated

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

You may be surprised to learn that the answers will vary according to culture. Psychological boundaries are regulated differently; privacy regulation is considered more important in many Western social environments and not as important in collectivistic cultures.

Check out my.blog 7.2 in the text on page 148 to take a full poll of your privacy needs.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Use this self-assessment to learn about your monochronic and polychronic time tendencies. Choose whether you tend to agree or disagree with the following statements. Can you identify the time orientations reflected in these statements?

1. Meeting deadlines is very important to me.

a. Agree

b. Disagree

2. It’s okay to be late when you’re having a wonderful conversation with someone.

a. Agree

b. Disagree

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

1a. Agreement on this item reflects a tendency toward a monochronic time orientation.

Check out my.blog 7.3 in the text on page 150 to take a full assessment of your time orientation tendencies.

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

1b. Disagreement on this item reflects a tendency away from a monochronic time orientation.

Check out my.blog 7.3 in the text on page 150 to take a full assessment of your time orientation tendencies.

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

2a. Agreement on this item reflects a tendency toward a polychronic time orientation.

Check out my.blog 7.3 in the text on page 150 to take a full assessment of your time orientation tendencies.

POP-UP INTERPRETATION:

2b. Disagreement on this item reflects a tendency away from a polychronic time orientation.

Check out my.blog 7.3 in the text on page 150 to take a full assessment of your time orientation tendencies.

Self-Assessment Quiz: Take this quiz to learn how MT and PT orientations affect lateness apologies:

You arrive to class late. What will you say to your instructor if you are:

1. Thirty seconds late

2. Three minutes late

3. Fifteen minutes late

POP-UP ANSWER:

The answer is that you are never to be late to class! :0 Actually, research has shown that in the United States, the type of apology expected depends on the amount of time late.

Check out my.blog 7.4 and the discussion in the text on page 152 for more assessments and information about lateness and apologies in U.S. culture. (It could save a relationship for you!)

CHAPTER 7 GLOSSARY-MATCHING QUIZ

Match the following five terms with their respective definitions:

a. Artifacts

b. Proxemics

c. Paralanguage

d. Haptics

e. Nonverbal communication

___ 1. Study of the perceptions and meanings of touch behavior.

___ 2. Ornaments or adornments that we use to communicate just by wearing.

___ 3. Communicating without words through multiple communication channels.

___ 4. Nonword sounds and characteristics of speech.

___ 5. Study of space between persons, physical contact, and the inner anxiety we have when people violate our space.

POP-UP ANSWER:

1. d

2. a

3. e

4. c

5. b

Match the following five terms with their respective definitions or examples:

a. Adaptor

b. Cultural display rule

c. Illustrator

d. Regulator

e. Emblem

___ 1. The “thumbs up” sign without saying words.

___ 2. Nodding your head rapidly to speed up a speaker during a conversation.

___ 3. Your personal habit of covering your mouth when you yawn.

___ 4. As you tell a hairstylist that you want only one inch of your hair cut, using your fingers to show a space of one inch.

___ 5. Knowing that it is appropriate to display disgust or anger in public in Thai culture.

POP-UP ANSWER:

1. e

2. d

3. a

4. c

5. b

CHAPTER 7 REVIEW QUIZ

Multiple Choice: Select and click the BEST ANSWER from the choices available.

1. Gigi’s beaded necklace and Grant’s ankle bracelet are examples of __________.

a. kinesics

b. emblems

c. artifacts

d. illustrators

POP-UP ANSWER:

c. artifacts (p. 135)

2. Nonverbal cues can __________ the verbal message; this is a form of leakage, or hiding how we really feel.

a. regulate

b. illustrate

c. complement

d. contradict

POP-UP ANSWER:

d. contradict (p. 135)

3. How something is said and not what is said describes what aspect of nonverbal communication?

a. Paralanguage

b. Proxemics

c. Haptics

d. Oculesics

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. Paralanguage (p. 137)

4. Gerald has learned that the new culture to which he will be moving is a low-contact culture. In order to fit in, Gerald knows that he must do less (fewer) ___________.

a. hand gestures

b. interaction with strangers

c. touching

d. eye contact

POP-UP ANSWER:

c. touching (p. 145)

5. When Gabe talked to his roommate Griffin on the phone, Gabe’s verbal message was “I am a little annoyed,” but his __________ convinced Griffin that Gabe was feeling so angry that this was a not good time to tell him about the broken coffee pot.

a. haptics

b. syntax

c. paralanguage

d. kinesics

POP-UP ANSWER:

c. paralanguage (p. 137). Gabe’s tone of voice must have indicated very strong anger. Remember that the nonverbal communication tends to be believed more than the verbal, so Griffin is smart to decide to wait until Gabe cools off.

6. ____________ are ornaments or adornments that we use to communicate just by wearing.

a. Cues

b. Kinesics

c. Proxemics

d. Artifacts

POP-UP ANSWER:

d. Artifacts (p. 135)

7. Gary has just discovered that his coworker has been listening in on his phone conversations. He is really upset at this violation of this _____________ boundary.

a. personal

b. environmental

c. temporal

d. psychological

POP-UP ANSWER:

d. psychological (pp. 147-148). Psychological boundaries include privacy regulation.

8. In U.S. culture, the intimate zone is approximately __________ in distance and is reserved for ________________.

a. 0–6 inches; closest friends and family

b. 0–6 inches; friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues

c. 0–18 inches; closest friends and family

d. 0–18 inches; friends, family, acquaintances, and colleagues

POP-UP ANSWER:

c. 0–18 inches; closest friends and family (p. 146)

9. When Gabrielle typed “I NEED TO GO ON VACATION NOW!” in a letter that was mostly written in conventional uppercase and lowercase typing, Gabrielle was using capital letters to ________ that part of the verbal message.

a. contradict

b. substitute for

c. accent

d. regulate

POP-UP ANSWER:

c. accent (p. 135)

10. As Gemma participates in her study group meeting, she uses her hands to play with her pencil, which indicates the use of nonverbal behavior as a(n) ____________.

a. illustrator

b. regulator

c. emblem

d. adaptor

POP-UP ANSWER:

d. adaptor (p. 143)

True/False: In order to identify the best answer, consider whether each statement is true (i.e., accurate) or false (i.e., inaccurate). Click either “a” for “True” or “b” for “False.”

1. More than half of a message is inferred through nonverbal channels.

a. True

b. False

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. True (p. 132)

2. Oculesics is the study of eye contact behavior.

a. True

b. False

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. True (p. 135)

3. Many hand gestures, such as the gesture for “okay,” are performed the same way across cultures.

a. True

b. False

POP-UP ANSWER:

b. False (p. 141)

4. You may feel negative feelings if someone touches you when you don’t know them well, because it violates unspoken rules regarding haptics.

a. True

b. False

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. True (p. 145). Haptics is the study of perceptions and meanings of touch behavior.

5. Artifacts can place a person in a particular status or class.

a. True

b. False

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. True (p. 135)

CHAPTER 8 INTERCULTURAL WEB SURFING

Check out the following Internet sites that are relevant to this chapter:

The Center for Nonverbal Studies has put together a very interesting web page:



Take the poly vs. mono chronic test:



Fareed Zakaria discusses hand gestures that have multiple meanings in different cultures and could get people in trouble:



This funny Pixar short demonstrates various nonverbal communication behaviors including: paralanguage, oculesics, facial expressions, and gestures:



This article from the New York Times discusses the connection between touch and the success of professional basketball teams and players:



Film:

Volver (2007). Volver is a film almost totally without men, with the exception of one who leaves the film early. But in this world without men that is "Volver," nothing seems amiss because the film is rich with well-defined woman's roles, nuanced, high context, and very much nonverbally communicated.

Book:

Edward T. Hall’s The Hidden Dimension (1959) gives many interesting examples of different cultures’ usage of space. Although dated, this is a classic resource for the study of proxemics.

CHAPTER 7 INTERCULTURAL TOUR

Check out the following intercultural scenario:

(NOTE: See “Chapter 7 Class Handouts” for a printable version.)

PDA: Public Display of Affection? Mi Amor Video Clip

1. Click the link and have some fun watching the short video titled “Mi Amor” showing a conversation between two dating partners: a U.S. American male and a Cuban female.

LINK to “Mi AMOR” Video clip

Alternatively, the video is also accessible through the following link:



Password: UnderstandingIC (this password IS case-sensitive)

2. Next, review Chapter 7 concepts, especially:

Gestures (p. 141)

Haptics-review the following concepts:

High Contact and Low Contact cultures (pp. 144-145)

Nonverbal affect display or PDA (Public Display of Affection) (p. 144)

Parralanguage (pp. 137-138)

Proxemics (p. 146)

3. Watch the video clip again, taking note of the different forms of nonverbal communication, the differences between the two individuals, and their reactions to each other.

4. Print off the “Interactive Probes: “Mi Amor Video clip” activity sheet. Answer the following questions:

(1) Using the concepts from Chapter 7, how would you explain the U.S. American boyfriend’s reactions to his Cuban girlfriend?

(2) How would you analyze the Cuban girlfriend’s reaction at the end of this clip?

(3) Have you or your friends had similar "culture-bump" experiences that created nonverbal awkward moments or interactions?

(4) As a communication consultant to this couple, what advice would you give to the American boyfriend so that his reactions aren’t so negative? What advice would you give to the Cuban girlfriend so that her final reaction isn’t so negative?

Source: Mi Amor video: Written, directed, and edited by Andrew Bottom and Maritte Go.

FURTHER APPLICATION PROBES

Let’s apply some concepts from Chapter 7 to the scenario.

1. With regard to haptics, to what kind of culture does the woman belong?

a. High-contact

b. Low-contact

c. Monochronic

d. Polychronic

POP-UP ANSWER:

a. High-contact (remember that haptics refers to touch) (pp. 144-145)

2. With regard to haptics, to what kind of culture does the man belong?

a. High-contact

b. Low-contact

c. Monochronic

d. Polychronic

POP-UP ANSWER:

b. Low-contact (remember that haptics refers to touch) (p. 145)

3) When the woman moves to stand very close to her boyfriend and even reaches out and brings him close to her, his reaction indicates a violation in the area of:

a. oculesics

b. artifacts

c. kinesics

d. proxemics

POP-UP ANSWER:

d. proxemics—which involves use of space. Apparently, he hasn’t quite let her into his “intimate zone!” (p. 166)

CHAPTER 7 CLASS HANDOUTS

NOTE: Your instructor may ask you to download, print out, and/or e-mail the following class handouts for this chapter:

INTERACTIVE PROBES FOR “PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION?”

NAME:___________________________________

INTERACTIVE PROBES FOR “PUBLIC DISPLAY OF AFFECTION?’

(Ask yourself and probe your classmates’ reactions)

1. Using the concepts from Chapter 7, how would you explain the U.S. American boyfriend’s reactions to his Cuban girlfriend?

2. How would you analyze the Cuban girlfriend’s reaction at the end of this clip?

3. Have you or your friends had similar "culture-bump" experiences that created nonverbal awkward moments or interactions?

4. As a communication consultant to this couple, what advice would you give to the American boyfriend so that his reactions aren’t so negative? What advice would you give to the Cuban girlfriend so that her final reaction isn’t so negative?

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