Unit One: Non-verbal communication

Aim: To see if tone of voice has any effect when interpreting a verbal message

Method: Different groups of participants listen to either friendly messages in a hostile tone of voice or hostile messages in friendly a tone of voice.

Results: When participants were asked to interpret the messages it was found that tone of voice had about 5 times the effect of the verbal message.

Conclusion: Tone of voive is extremely important in how people interpret verbal messages

Evaluation: This study was carried out in an artificial lab. In real life, people would not just focus on paralinguistics and therefore they may be more taken in by the actual words used.

Aim: To see the effect of paralinguistics on the assessment of emotions.

Method: Participants were asked to listen to tape recordings and to assess the speaker's emotions from the paralinguistic cues: tone of voice, emphasis and intonation.

Results: There was a very high level of accuracy in recognising the following emotions: affection, amusement, disgust and fear

Conclusion: Paralinguistics is a very important when judging emotions

Evaluation: This study was carried out in an artificial lab. In real life, people would not just focus on paralinguistics and therefore they may be more taken in by the actual words used.

Aim: To see how interrupting eye contact affects conversation.

Method: Pairs of participants were observed having conversations. In half of the conversations one participant wore dark glasses so that the other could not receive eye contact.

Results: When one of the participants wore dark glasses, there were more pauses and interruptions than when dark glasses were not worn.

Conclusion: Eye contact is important in ensuring the smooth flow of conversation.

Evaluation: A strength of this study is it can help us to understand what we can do to make a conversation run more smoothy.

Practical implication: Studies of eye movement in conversation help us to understand why we feel uncomfortable talking to people who either constantly looks at us or never looks at us att all. You are never quite sure when its your turn to speak.

Aim: To see the effect of pupil dilation on emotion.

Method: Participants were shown two nearly identical pitures of the same girl and asked which picure is more attractve. Only difference of two pictures is in one picture the girls eyes were dilated and the other one not.

Results: The majority of participants said that the picture of the girl with dilated pupils was more attractive, but couldn't explain why.

Conclusion: Pupil dilation as an unconscious but powerful effect on emotion.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised for having low ecological validity. This means the findings cannot be generalised to real life. This is because in reality people dont rate people on this artifical scale like they were asked to do.

Practical implication: We have no control over pupil dilation. A draw back of this could be that we cannot hide our emotions if we are attracted to someone. Studies show pupil dilation helps s understand why the use of eye make up is so popular.

Aim: To look at the relationship between facial expressions and the hemispheres of the brain.

Method: Pictures of people's face showing different emotions  were cut down the middle. New pictures were made with each half face and it's mirror image. Then each pair of new faces was shown to participants. They were asked which picture they liked better.

Results: The majority of participants said they preferred the picture of the left side of the face and its mirror image. When asked why, they said the person looked 'warmer'.

Conclusion: The left side of the face seems to express emotion much more than the right side.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised for low ecological validity, this means the findings cannot be generalised to a real life setting. This is because the participants are asked to look at a picture of a stranger that have deliberately altered.

Practical implication: This study hhelps us to understand why we prefer certain pictures of ourselves than others. We prefer to show our warmer side.

Aim: To see the effect oof postural echo whne having a coversation.

Method: A confederate of the experimenter approached individuals in a social setting and had a conversation with them. In half of the meetings the confederate echoed the posture of  the person the were talking to. In the rest of the meetings, the confederate did not echo the posture of the other person. The experimenter then approached the individuals and asked them what they thought of the confederate.

Results: When postural echo was used, people liked the confederate and thought they got on well. When postural eccho was not used, the confederate was not liked as much and the conversation felt awkward.

Conclusion: Postural echo gives an unconscious message of friendliness.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised for deception towards the participants, this is when the experimenters are dishonest towards the participants, making them feel uninformed of the full nature of the experiment. This is because the people didnt know they were being used as part of an experiment.

Practica implication: People in the real world could use this knowledge to their advantage. For example, counsellors may deliberately use postural echo to develop cloer relationships with their clients.

Aim: To see the effect of open and closed posture when having a conversation.

Method: A confederate approaches individuals in a social setting and had a conversation with them. In half of the conversations the confederate adopted an open posture. In the other half, the confederatte adopted a closed posture. The experimenter approached the individuals and asked them what they thought of the confederate.

Results: When showing an open posture, the confederate was seen as friendly and attractive. When showing closed posture, seenn as unfriendly and less attractive.

Conclusion: The posture that someone adopts can make a difference to how much they are liked.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised for deception towards the participants, this is when the experimenters are dishonest towards the participants, making them feel uninformed of the full nature of the experiment. This is because the people didnt know they were being used as part of an experiment.

Practical implication: Sales people might use open posture when talking to customers as it may help them make a sale.

Aim: To see the effect of gestures used by waiters and waitresses on the tipping behaviour of cumstomers in a restaurants.

Method: While taking orders from a seated custmer, waiters and waitresses were instructed to either stand upright or squatt down near the customer (squuatting down mkes eye contact possible)

Results: When they squaattted down, larger tips were recieved compared to when they took the orders standing up.

Conclusion: The gestures of squatting down near a seated customer to take a order will have a positive effect on tipping behaviour.

Evaluation: A strength of this study is that it has high ecological validity, this means it can be generalised to a real life setting. This is because the study takes place in a restaurant rather than a lab.

Practical implication:One famous restaurant trains its staff to squat down when taking orders. Customers see this as friendly but studies show there to be other motives. 

Aim: To see the effect of touch on people's attitudes.

Method: Female students in a library were handed books by the librarian (confederate). Half of the students were briefly touched on the hand, the other half were not.

Results: When questione later, the students that had been touched had more of a positive attitude towards the library and the librarian than those who were not touched. Students were unware they had been touched.

Conclusion: Touch can have an unconscious, positive effect on atitudes.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised for low population validity, this is when the findings can not be generalised to different groups of people. This is because this study was only done on females, therefore we dont know the effect on males.

Practical implication: This is study shows how attitudes in the real world can be manipulated by people who want to win a favour.

Aim: To see if sex differences affect personal space.

Method: Participants are asked to sit down one at a time and have a conversation with another person (confederate). Sometimes the confederate was the same sex as the participant and at other times the opposite sex. The confederate sat at different distances from the participants and constantly looked into the participants eyes.

Results: The participants tended to break eye contact with the confederate of the opposite sex at a greater diistance apart compared to the same sex confederate. This is thought to be the point at which personal space is invaded.

Conclusion: We prefer to have a greater amount of personal space between oursleves and members of the opposite sex durng normal conversation.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised because the participants probably use a number of different distances depending on what is happening and how much physical space there is available.

Practical implication: When a man is in conversation with a women, he might not be aware he is standing too close for her comfort.

Aim: To see if age has an effect on personal space.

Method: 800 individuals were observed in different social situations.

Results: Those observed tend to stand closer to people of a similar age to them and further away from people either much older or much younger than themsleves.

Conclusion: Age difference affects how close people will stand to one another.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised because the participants probably use a number of different distances depending on what is happening and how much physical space there is available.

Practical implication: If we attempt to stand closer to a person older or younger than ourselves, it might cause them to feel uncomfortable.

Aim: To see if there are cultural differences in the use of personal space.

Method: White English people and groups of Arab people were observed in conversation.

Results: The comfortable conversation distance for the white English people was 1-1.5m, whereas for Arab people it was much less.

Conclusion: The use of personal space in normal conversation varies with culture.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised because the participants probably use a number of different distances depending on what is happening and how much physical space there is available.

Practical implication: This study helps us understand why people in Arab countries regard Europeans and Americas as unfriendly and untrustworthy, as they tend to stand back during onversations.

Aim: To see if status has an effect on personal space.

Method: People of an equal staus approaching each other were observed while having a conversation. Also people of an unequal staus were observed approaching each other.

Results: It was found that people of a lower status did not approach higher status people with the same degree of closeness as those of an equal status.

Conclusion: The use of personal space varies with differences in status when approaching other people.

Evaluation: This study can be criticised because the participants probably use a number of different distances depending on what is happening and how much physical space there is available.

Practical implication: This study implies that it feels more threatening to aproach someone of a high status and we show anxiety to keep our distance. We feel more comfortable approaching people of an equal status.