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NON-VERBAL
REACTIONS
TO
From our handshakes to our hairstyles, nonverbal details reveal who we are
and impact how we relate to other people. Scientific research on nonverbal
communication and behaviour began with the 1872 publication of Charles
Darwin's The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals.
Since that time, there has been an abundance of research on the types,
effects, and expressions of unspoken communication and behaviour. While
these signals are often so subtle that we are not consciously aware of them,
research has identified several different types of nonverbal communication.
and leg-crossing, especially after the publication of Julius Fast's book Body
Language. While these nonverbal behaviours can indicate feelings
and attitudes, research suggests that body language is far more subtle and
less definitive that previously believed.
5. Proxemics
People often refer to their need for "personal space," which is also an
important type ofnonverbal communication. The amount of distance we need
and the amount of space we perceive as belonging to us is influenced by a
number of factors including social norms, cultural expectations, situational
factors, personality characteristics, and level of familiarity. For example, the
amount of personal space needed when having a casual conversation with
another person usually varies between 18 inches to four feet. On the other
hand, the personal distance needed when speaking to a crowd of people is
around 10 to 12 feet.
6. Eye Gaze
The eyes play an important role in nonverbal communication and such things
as looking, staring, and blinking can also be important nonverbal behaviours.
When people encounter people or things that they like, the rate of blinking
increases and pupils dilate. Looking at another person can indicate a range of
emotions including hostility, interest, and attraction.
People also utilize eye gaze a means to determine if someone is being
honest. Normal,steady eye contact is often taken as a sign that a person is
telling the truth and is trustworthy. Shifty eyes and an inability to maintain
eye contact, on the other hand, is frequently seen as an indicator that
someone is lying or being deceptive.
7. Haptics
Communicating through touch is another important nonverbal behaviour.
There has been a substantial amount of research on the importance of touch
in
infancy
and early childhood.
Harry
Harlow's classic
monkey
study demonstrated how the deprivation of touch and contact impedes
development. Baby monkeys raised by wire mothers experienced permanent
deficits in behaviour and social interaction. Touch can be used to
communicate affection, familiarity, sympathy, and other emotions.
In her book Interpersonal Communication: Everyday Encounters, author Julia
Wood writes that touch is also often used as a way to communicate both
status and power. Researchers have found that high-status individuals tend to
invade other people's personal space with greater frequency and intensity
than lower-status individuals. Sex differences also play a role in how people
utilize touch to communicate meaning. Women tend to use touch to convey
care, concern, and nurturance. Men, on the other hand, are more likely to use
touch to assert power or control over others.
8. Appearance
Our choice of colour, clothing, hairstyles, and other factors affecting
appearance are also considered a means of nonverbal communication.
Research on colour psychology has demonstrated that different colours can
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communications can help the teacher control the whole class. The body
language of a teacher is the most important thing in the class - it is the way
you use your eyes, the distance you stand from the students, the way you
touch or refrain from touching them all of these unnoticeable things in the
class carry important signals which create a profound effect on your students
feelings of welcome and comfort with you.
An aspect of non-verbal communication that is associated with teaching is the
study of space in the classroom. It has been shown that the distribution of the
space in the classroom can have a negative or positive effect on the learner
and influence his reactions. Some of the factors that may cause this influence
are the state of the classroom (the colour or its decoration).
Different cultures can have different non-verbal codes:
We are now going to talk about how to develop activities based on non-verbal
code:
1) IDENTIFICATION GAMES
a. Hidden objects. A series of small objects are put on the teacher desk
and are covered by a newspaper or a clog. The pupils must go to the
table, touch them and answer to the question What is it? The first
to answer scores a point for the team.
b. Drawings. The teacher draws some objects on the blackboard, then
he asks each of the pupils the question: Whats this?, the correct
answers score points.
c. Is it? The teacher thinks of objects and persons that everyone in
the class knows, and the children ask: Is it a green book?, Is it
Marys desk?, etc. The first to answer takes the teachers place and
says out the object or person he or she has thought of.
d. Where? At the beginning of the lesson in order to see if everyone is
in the classroom.
e. Listen and do. Someone gives a command or a series of commands
and someone obeys.
2) DRAMA:
a. The teacher represents an action and asks the class what hes doing.
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SOURCES
http://psychology.about.com/od/nonverbalcommunication/a/nonverbaltypes.h
tm 13/2/2015
http://faculty.virginia.edu/marva/Research
%20Interests/nonverbal_communication.htm 13/2/2015
https://www.google.com/url?
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13/2/2015
Temario facilitado por ENGADE