Transcript Nonverbal Influence

Slide 1
• Nonverbal communication is
powerful
65-95% of emotional meaning is carried
via nonverbal channels.
When verbal and nonverbal channels
contradict, people assign more weight to
nonverbal cues.
• Nonverbal influence can be subtle
– Fisher, Rytting, & Heslin (1976): Library
patrons who received an “accidental”
touch were more likely to return books
on time.
Page 2
• We use nonverbal
communication to:
• Shape impressions of
ourselves
• enhance attractiveness,
credibility, status
• Establish rapport,
immediacy
• touch, smiling, eye
contact
• Facilitate or inhibit attention
• distraction to decrease
attention
• Model behavior (social
proof)
• Putting on a seatbelt
• Signal expectations
• eye contact to signal turntaking
• Violate others’ expectations
• standing too close
• talking too loud
Page 3
• Andersen (1999): warm, involving,
immediate behaviors enhance the
persuasiveness of a message
– It is easier to comply with those we like.
– We tend to trust warm, friendly people.
Page 4
Nonverbal Codes
Page
Page
55
• Eye contact conveys:
– interest, attention
– attraction, liking
– warmth, immediacy
• Eye contact usually
enhances persuasion
– “gaze produced greater
compliance than gaze
aversion in every one of the
12 studies” (Segrin, 1993p.
173)
Slide 6
• Panhandlers try to
establish eye contact
first.
• Speakers who avoid eye
contact are perceived
as less credible.
Slide 7
• The exception to the
general rule
– Kleinke found that an
illegitimate request was
more effective without
eye contact.
• Smiling is an immediacy
behavior.
• Smiling conveys
– warmth, attraction, liking,
sincerity
• Food servers who smile
receive larger tips.
• Job applicants who smile
are rated more
favorably.
Slide 8
• Cheaters who smiled
received more lenient
treatment.
• Excessive smiling may
backfire.
– May be perceived as
phony
– May be perceived as
shallow
• Mirroring involves matching or
mimicking another’s behavior.
– eye contact, posture, gestures
• Mirroring conveys
– similarity, empathy
• Nonverbal mimicry facilitates
persuasion.
• Mirroring negative nonverbal
cues may be counterproductive
– frowning, scowling, closed posture
Slide 9
• Emblems have precise
verbal meanings.
•
•
•
•
•
Peace sign
Shush
Shame on you
Come here
Zip it
• Illustrators
accompany speech.
– “I love you this much…”
– “Use just a pinch…”
Slide 10
• “Research shows
that people who use
gestures more
freely are more
persuasive, and that
people remember
gestures better than
words” (Bernstein,
1994, p. 64-65).
• Nonverbal
communication in the
courtroom:
• Trial lawyers use
gesture, movement, eye
contact, clothing, and
appearance cues to
sway jurors (Cotler,
1993).
Slide 11
• Adaptors are unintentional
cues that signal negative
feelings
–
–
–
–
Lip biting
Nail biting
Hand wringing
Hair twirling
• Adaptors convey
– boredom
– nervousness
– stress
Slide 12
The “Midas Touch”: Touch
generally facilitates
compliance gaining.
Food servers who used
touch received larger tips
(Crusco & Wetzel (1984),
Hornick (1992).
•
Touch must be perceived as
appropriate in location,
duration, intensity.
•
Slide 13
•
A person asked a
stranger to watch a big,
unruly dog for 10
minutes while he/she
went into a bank.
•
•
55% of subjects who
were touched consented.
35% of subject who
weren’t touched
consented Gueguen &
Fischer-Lokou (2002).
• Segrin’s meta-analysis revealed that:
– Of 13 studies examined, “it can be
concluded touch always produces as much,
and in many cases more compliance than no
touch, all other things being held equal” (p.
174)
– Touch must be perceived as appropriate.
Slide 14
• Geographical closeness
increases liking,
attraction.
– Based on perceived
similarity
– Even in online settings
• Personal space: Standing
closer tends to facilitate
compliance gaining
Slide 15
Slide 15
•
Segrin’s meta-analysis of proximity studies
revealed that “the effect for closer proximity
was consistent. Close space produces greater
compliance than distant space” (p. 173)
•
“close” distance was typically operationalized
as 1-2 ft., “far” was usually 3-5 ft.
Page
Slide
1616
• Buller & Burgoon (1986)
People have expectations about what constitutes
appropriate behavior in social situations
– example: elevator etiquette
• Violations of expectations are perceived positively
or negatively, depending upon:
– the status, reward power of the communicator
– the range of interpretations that can be
assigned to the violation
– the perception/evaluation of the interpreted
act
•
Slide 17
Time spent waiting confers power,
status
– example: M.D.s and patients
– example: Professors and students
• Tardiness can negatively impact
credibility
– Burgoon et al (1989): late arrivers
were considered more dynamic,
but less competent, less sociable
than those who were punctual
• There are huge cultural differences in
time-consciousness
•
Page
Slide
1818
• Western culture: M-time
emphasizes precise
schedules, promptness,
time as a commodity
–
–
–
–
–
“time is money”
“New York minute”
“Down time”
“Limited Time Offer!”
“Must Act Now”
Slide 19
• Other cultures: P-time
cultures don’t value
punctuality as highly,
don’t emphasize precise
schedules
– “island time”
– Sioux Indians have no
spoken words for “late”
or “tardy”
• Urgency as a sales tactic
– must act now, limited time offer, first come
first serve
– Time windows; shop early and save, super
savings from 7am-10am
– 1 hour photo, Lenscrafters, Jiffy Lube, drive
through banks, etc.
• Non-urgency as a sales strategy
– 90 days same as cash
– No No No sales
– mega-bookstores that encouraging browsing,
lingering
Slide 20
Material objects as an extension of
the self
• Uniforms and compliance gaining
– Lawrence & Watson (1991):
requests for contributions were
greater when requesters wore
uniforms
– Bickman (1971): change left in a
phone booth was returned to
•
• well dressed people 77% of the
time
• poorly dressed people only 38%
of the time
– Clothing signifies status, authority
Slide 21
•
Page 22
Gueguen (2003) Shoppers were
less likely to report a welldressed shoplifter than a
casually dressed or poorly
dressed shoplifter.
– Neatly dressed: suit & tie
(90% did not report)
– Neutral: Clean jeans, teeshirt and jacket, moccasins
(63% did not report)
– Slovenly: Dirty jeans, torn
jacket, sneakers (60% did
not report)
Slide 22
• Gueguen & Pichot (2001):
pedestrians were more likely to
“jaywalk” if a well-dressed person
did so.
– Control condition: 15.6% violations
of do not walk signal
– Well-dressed: 54.5% violations
– Casually dressed: 17.9% violations
– Poorly dressed: 9.3% violations
Slide 23
•
Stewart (1980) studied the
relationship between attractiveness
and criminal sentencing
– handsome defendants were
twice as likely to avoid a jail
sentence
•
Benson, Kerabenic, & Lerner
(1976): both sexes were more
likely to comply with a request for
assistance if the requester was
attractive.
Slide 24
Which of
these two
people
would you
offer to
help?
• How you say it
– Fluency facilitates persuasion
• Pauses, gaps, diminish credibility
– Speaking faster generally increases credibility
• Speaking too fast may hinder comprehension
– Pitch variation generally increases persuasiveness
• Avoid a monotone delivery
Slide 25