Social Psychology W1 P1

Introduction to Social Psychology, University of Queensland, EdX.

-Nonverbal communication includes anything that isn't the words. Body language, facial expression, tone, clothes, and more. These things don't have to be intentional.
-Nonverbal communication is about two times more powerful than verbal communication, although this changes depending on the situation. Children tend to take spoken word literally, while adults understand the subtle parts. Nonverbal communication matters more in a social context rather than an academic one.

-Emblems are things used to communicate without words - many are hand gestures. They are not taught, but typically understood.
-Emblems are also quite vulnerable to miscommunication, seeing as how different gestures mean different things in different cultures.

-On the other hand, illustrators are hand gestures that mean nothing on their own, but are instead done to express emotion. They are what make conversations animated.

-Of course, the face is what best communicates emotion, and different emotions come with different expressions. People aren't taught what they mean, it's a built in recognition. Most facial cues are found internationally, although usually at different intensities.
-By six months old, babies are shown to express a wide range of emotions, suggesting that it's hardwired, not taught. Babies who are both blind and deaf smile when they are happy.

-Another important component to communication is eye contact.
-Maintaining constant eye contact, paired with square body orientation, makes a person seem intense.
-An interesting study found that white people often maintain eye contact while listening, but break it while speaking. Most other ethnicities tend to do the opposite. This creates an extraordinary ground for miscommunication that can affect a wide range of situations.