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6: Nonverbal Processes and Intercultural Communication

  • Page ID
    305311
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    Learning Objectives
    • Define nonverbal communication and examine the impact of culture
    • Identify the principles of nonverbal communication
    • Describe the unique characteristics of nonverbal communication across cultures
    • Compare and contrast types of nonverbal communication related to body language and personal preference
    • Understand spatial, temporal, and environmental types of nonverbal communication
    • Explain Nonverbal Expectancy Violations Theory
    • Identify guidelines for appropriate and effective nonverbal communication in diverse encounters

    • 6.1: Principles of Nonverbal Communication
      This page discusses the trial of Dzhokhar Tsarnaev, emphasizing the role of nonverbal communication in shaping jury perceptions. It highlights how his lack of emotional engagement affected the jury's view of his character, leading to a death sentence despite his admission of guilt.
    • 6.2: Characteristics of Nonverbal Communication
      This page emphasizes the significance of nonverbal communication, which can convey up to 93% of emotional meaning, often surpassing verbal communication. Nonverbal cues, influenced by culture, can be ambiguous and may contradict verbal messages, revealing true feelings. They indicate power dynamics and relationships, underscoring the importance of cultural awareness for accurate interpretation.
    • 6.3: Body Language and Personal Presence
      This page examines the role of nonverbal communication, including facial expressions, gestures, and vocal cues, in conveying emotions and meaning across cultures. It emphasizes the innate nature of some facial expressions while noting that cultural context influences their interpretation. The text highlights how cultural display rules affect emotional expressions and how digital communication alters these dynamics.
    • 6.4: Spatial, Temporal, and Environmental Signals
      This page explores nonverbal communication, emphasizing proxemics, chronemics, and physical appearance. Proxemics examines how space reflects personal and cultural boundaries, while chronemics contrasts punctuality in monochronic cultures with the flexibility of polychronic ones. It addresses how dress and appearance serve as identity markers, conveying social status and group membership, with examples from various cultures.
    • 6.5: Nonverbal Expectancy Violation Theory
      This page discusses Expectancy Violations Theory, devised by Judee Burgoon, which addresses reactions to breached nonverbal expectations, influenced by cultural context. It highlights diverse cultural expectations in areas like personal space and affection, emphasizing the importance of understanding these differences for effective intercultural communication.
    • 6.6: Growing Your Nonverbal Intercultural Communication Skills
      This page emphasizes the significance of nonverbal communication in multicultural interactions, noting the variability of gestures, eye contact, posture, and personal space across cultures. It offers crucial advice for effective intercultural communication, including the importance of understanding cultural values, avoiding assumptions, learning nonverbal norms, and being mindful of personal space and silence.
    • 6.7: Conclusion
      This page discusses the complexities of effective communication, highlighting that nonverbal cues are interpreted according to the receiver's cultural norms rather than the sender's intentions. It emphasizes the significant influence of cultural teachings and experiences on perceptions of nonverbal communication. The previous sections outlined cultural structures, noting that a universal approach to nonverbal cues may be inadequate due to their varying meanings across different contexts.


    6: Nonverbal Processes and Intercultural Communication is shared under a CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Angela Hoppe-Nagao & Kim Yee, Cerritos College..