Nonverbal intimacy,sex, and compliance: A field study

The present study was designed to explore further the effects of nonverbal behaviors and sex on compliance. Male and female subjects who had just found a dime in a phone booth were approached by a male or female experimenter and were asked to return the dime that the experimenter had supposedly just lost. In the Eye Contact condition, the experimenter gazed at the subject as the request was made, whereas in the No-Eye Contact condition he/she did not. In addition, the experimenter lightly touched half of the subjects while making his/her request, but did not touch the other half. Replicating previous findings, it was found that both eye contact (significantly) and touching (marginally) produced increased rates of compliance. Extending prior results, these effects were obtained for male experimenters. Furthermore, a Sex of experimenter times Sex of subject interaction effect was obtained, such that subjects were much more willing to comply with the request of an opposite, rather than same sex experimenter. Questionnaire data suggested that: 1) subjects were aware of the touch, but not of the eye contact variable, and 2) the requesters were perceived as much more attractive when they were of the opposite, rather than the same sex as the subjects.     

Interaction between gaze and legitimacy of request on compliance in a field setting

It was hypothesized that experimenter gaze would lead to increased compliancewith a legitimate request and decreased compliance with an illegitimate request. Subjects (95 males, 73 females) in Experiment 1 gave more dimes for a phone call to gazing rather than non-gazing female experimenters. Experimenter gaze did not influence dimes given by subjects for a candy bar. Experiment 2 replicated Experiment 1 with a different legitimacy manipulation and with an additional treatment including both gaze and touch. A significant interaction showed that subjects (56 males, 58 females) gave more dimes for a legitimate request (phone call) when they received gaze alone or gaze and touch from a female experimenter. Subjects gave more dimes for an illegitimate request (buying gum) when the experimenter did not gaze at or touch them.Data from this experiment were presented at the meeting of the Western Psychological Association, Seattle, 1977. The author expresses thanks to David A. Kenny for his generous advice and assistance with data analysis. Appreciation is also extended to the following Wheaton College students who served as experimenters: Priscilla Brown, Nancy Boucher, Ali Chase, Wendy Churchill, Gail Gilmore, Rena Loderhose, Susan MacIntire, Wendy Minsky, Liz Popieniuck, Diane Riddle, Ann Sears, Lisa Shea, Debbie Swenson, Amy Zemsky.     

The use of interpersonal touch in securing compliance

Direct gaze and a personal approach distance have been shown to increase compliance in a face to face situation. In the present study touch was varied along with gender and difficulty of request to assess the effects upon rate of compliance. The results indicated that touch was important in securing compliance, moreso if the request was more difficult, and most important in securing same gender compliance.     

Evaluation of high and equal status male and female touchers

Henley's theory of touch and status was explored in a study where male or female subjects spoke to a male or female interviewer with equal or higher status who either touched or did not touch them. Men were relatively less favorable toward equal status and female interviewers who touched them. Status and sex of the touching interviewer did not influence reactions of women. Female interviewers who touched were evaluated more favorably when they had high rather than equal status. Evaluations of touching male interviewers were not moderated by status. Ratings of interviewer status were not influenced by interviewer touch. This finding contrasts with results from studies showing that higher status was ascribed by observers to people initiating touch in photographs and videotapes. It will be necessary in future research to determine the conditions under which touchers can achieve status in the eyes of people they touch.The authors express appreciation to Bruno M. Kappes for his helpful suggestions on the study and to Susan Johnson for her assistance with graphics.     

STRATEGIES TO SECURE COMPLIANCE FOR A MALL INTERCEPT INTERVIEW

Subjects in a shopping mall were approached with a request toparticipate in a survey. Half the subjects were touched andgazed at by interviewers and the other half were not. Thesenonverbal techniques increased compliance to participate inthe interviewing task and somewhat decreased respondents' perceivedburden. The touch and no-touch groups did not differ in responsequality, apparent response bias, or volunteer bias. Compliancewas related to the gender of the interviewer but not relatedto that of the respondent. Implications for mall intercept surveysare discussed.     

Cognitive thoughts mediating compliance in multiple request situations

The purpose of this investigation is to examine the effects of two different cognitive sets in the foot-in-the-door paradigm which were expected to differentially affect compliance with a second request. A field experiment showed that subjects, for whom compliance with a first request is accompanied by a set implying a continuous involvement with a charitable cause will be more likely to comply with a subsequent request related to that cause, than will subjects whose initial compliance is accompanied by a set implying that their obligation to the cause has been fulfilled.     

Sex differences in observers' reactions to a nurse's use of touch

We tested the notion that male and female observers would have different reactions to the use of touch by a nurse towards a patient in a hospital situation. If males are socialized to favor autonomy and independence and females to favor nurturance and caring, it was assumed that male subjects would rate a nurse as less supportive and competent if a nurse touched a patient. The results (based on reactions to photographs manipulating the level of physical contact that occurred between a nurse and a patient) were generally consistent with these predictions. While the subjects' sex moderated reactions to the nurse-initiated touch, there was an overall pattern for observers to react more favorably to the nurse who used touch compared to no touch in interacting with a patient. The results suggest that nurses and health professionals who use touch in interacting with patients may be judged in part by the attitudes of males and females about the use of touch.     

Bystander behavior and kinesics: The interaction between the helper and victim

One hundred eighty subjects participated in a factorial field experiment designed to study the effects of body orientation, eye contact, and sex upon helping behavior in a situation where a male victim fell. An eye-contact x x body-orientation interaction and a sex x body-orientation interaction were found. Eye contact raised the rate of help; and women helped more often than men, but only when the victim andS were approaching each other. A severe fall produced more help than did a mild fall. The cue value of the front side of a person, eye contact acting as a plea for help, and the salience of responsibility norms were discussed. The study was interpreted as indicating the necessity of accounting for the effects of the interaction between bystanders and victims.The research for this study was supported by a grant from the Central Fund for Research, College of Liberal Arts, The Pennsylvania State University.The authors would like to thank Joseph Primavera, III, for serving as their victim.     

The Role of Marital Status and Age on Men’s and Women’s Reactions to Touch from a Relational Partner

Prior research has consistently documented differences between men’s and women’s reactions to being touched by other people. One of the more interesting findings in this literature is the apparent role of marital status in dramatically altering these sex differences in reactions to intimate touch. Unmarried men tend to respond more favorably to intimate touch than unmarried women do, but this difference is reversed among married people. However, research that documented this effect has potentially confounded marital status with age. Participants in this investigation were 305 adults, ranging in age from 18–69. They completed an extensive survey of their reactions to touch to various body regions from a significant other. Results indicated that men had uniformly more positive reactions to intimate touch than women did. For non-intimate touch, the sexes were more comparable in their reactions. This investigation once again documented a disordinal sex by marital status interaction. Unmarried men had generally more positive reactions to touch than unmarried women did and this pattern was reversed among married participants. When statistically controlling for participants’ age, these interactions were still evident.     

Meaning of touch: The case of touch from a stranger or same sex person

Two hundred and eight respondents rated what it means to them if they are touched on various areas of their body by either a stranger or a close friend of the same or opposite sex. Male and female respondents agree that (a) touch from a close friend of the opposite sex is pleasant, and (b) touch from a same sex person is unpleasant. However, touch from an opposite-sex stranger, is considered to be unpleasant by women but quite pleasant by men. For women, the meaning of a touch is primarily influenced by how well they know the other person; for men, the meaning is primarily determined by the other person's sex. That the intrusiveness of touch depends on acquaintanceship supports the hypothesis that for psychological comfort the level of intimacy of a) nonverbal behavior and b) the social relationship of two people must be congruent.     

Touch,status, and gender at professional meetings

Observers unobtrusively recorded instances of interpersonal touch at three large academic meetings (two of psychologists, one of philosophers). The names and affiliations of the individuals involved in these touches were later referred to published sources in order to develop codes reflecting the relative personal and institutional statuses of these individuals. There was mixed but on balance no overall evidence that higher-status individuals touched lower-status individuals more than vice versa. However, higher- and lower-status individuals initiated different kinds of touch. Higher-status individuals initiated touch that was judged more often to be affectionate and that was more often directed to the arm or shoulder, whereas lower-status individuals initiated more formal touches and handshakes. Gender asymmetry in touch was very weak overall, but favored male-to-female over female-to-male touch when the two individuals had equal professional status.Judee K. Burgoon served as Action Editor for this article.This research was supported by grant #RR07143 (Biomedical Research Support Grant, Department of Health and Human Services) to Northeastern University and by National Science Foundation grant # SBR-9311544. Thanks are extended to Ellen M. Veccia, who collaborated on the study design; Sabrina Herman, Treniece Lewis, Vanessa Roberts, Garry Germaine, Voravut Ratanakommon, and Alex Zelenchuk, who served as observers; and Denise Marcoux, Curtney Jacobs, Christopher O'Brien, and Alex Zelenchuk, who helped code the status indicators and prepare the touch data for analysis.     

Using regulatory fit theory to examine how the communication context of compliance-gaining interactions influences compliance

Compliance-gaining research focuses mainly on how message variations differentially affect compliance; however, few studies have examined how framing the compliance-gaining goal (i.e., promotion/prevention) and providing a means to achieve the goal function concurrently to influence compliance. The current study uses regulatory fit theory to examine how a fit between goals and means of compliance-gaining messages affects compliance. A field experiment was conducted in which subjects were presented with a compliance-gaining request in which goals and means were varied. Results indicated that compliance rates and donation amounts were higher under conditions of fit between the regulatory orientation of goals and means rather than non-fit. Findings are discussed in light of their implications for compliance-gaining research and regulatory fit theory.     

Accuracy of the judgment of facial expression of emotions as a function of sex and level of education

The purpose of this study is to examine the recognition of facial expressions of six emotions as a function of sex and level of education (high school, college, university) of the subjects. Three hundred French-speaking citizens of Quebec had to judge which emotion was expressed in various facial stimuli presented on slides. Results show that overall, the recognition of emotions was very good. However, there were significant and strong differences between emotions and sex and levels of education did not have strong effects on the results.This research was supported by grant EQ-1717 from Fonds FCAC (Gouvernment du Quebec).     

Opposite sex touch avoidance: A national replication and extension

Virtually all previous research on touch avoidance was conducted in the Northeast region of the United States (U.S.). The present study replicated and extended Andersen and Leibowitz' (1978) research on touch avoidance by testing hypotheses for nearly 4,000 subjects at 40 universities from all socio-cultural regions of the United States. Results confirmed previous research, with the pattern of results at each of 40 universities showing considerable consistency. Opposite sex touch avoidance was higher for females than males, was positively related to communication apprehension, and was negatively related to verbal predispositions to communicate, open communicator style, and self-esteem. Some regional variations were uncovered, but they failed to correspond to political or cultural taxonomies of U.S. regions. Ideas for future research on regional patterns of communication and on touch avoidance are discussed.We would also like to thank Stanley Jones (University of Colorado) for his helpful comments to an earlier version of this paper.     

Touch,Compliance, and Homophobia

As has already been indicated in numerous studies, touching or holding someone by the arm while asking for something increases our chances of having our request fulfilled. However, the three experiments presented in this article which were conducted in Poland, indicate that in the conditions when a man requests something from another man, touch actually negatively affects the chances for request fulfillment. This effect seems to be linked to the strong male homophobia characteristic of the society within which the experiments were carried out.     

Beyond the Bedroom: Cognitive,Affective, and Behavioral Responses to Partner Touch in Women With and Without Sexual Problems

Women with female sexual problems (FSP) are more likely than unaffected women to demonstrate negative appraisals, negative affect, and avoidance of sexual activity. Research suggests affected women also experience negative affect and avoidance in response to intimate partner contact for fear it will lead to sex. This online study examined whether women with FSP (N = 157) and without FSP (N = 129) exhibited different perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral responses to hypothetical touch occurring outside sexual activity. Women (M_age = 30.70; SD = 6.66) were randomly assigned to one of three conditions representing hypothetical interactions with their partner (affectionate, sexual, or no touch), and answered questions about their perceptions of their partner’s sexual intentions and their own anticipated negative affect and behavioral avoidance. Women with FSP reported higher perceptions of sexual intent, negative affect, and avoidance in the sexual touch condition, and higher negative affect in the affectionate touch condition, than women without FSP. Results highlight that women with FSP have more negative reactions to partners’ hypothetical affectionate and sexual touch than women without FSP. Interventions for FSP may benefit from targeting women’s perceptions, affective reactions, and behavioral reactions to partner touch when it occurs outside of explicitly sexual contexts.     

Is it ‘just hair’ or is it ‘everything’? Embodiment and gender repression in policing

Police department policies often require women to engage in identificatory displays inconsistent with sex category expectations. Compliance, while potentially increasing acceptance within policing, may reflect a loss of agency in aesthetic choices that limits their ability to construct gender in both the professional and personal spheres. Some women may comply without experiencing negative consequences, while others may exhibit tacit or resistant compliance reflecting their loss of agency. Women's differential reactions in response to these policies may help explain how some women become the embodiment of mythic visions associated with the profession. Through greater acceptance related to this adaptation, these women may reinforce the hostile environment experienced by other women within policing thereby propagating the status quo. In‐depth interviews with female officers and background investigators illustrate the impact of one such policy, a restrictive haircut requirement for female recruits. The results reveal that women are split in their reactions to the policy; some women comply willingly and choose to become the embodiment of the symbolic vision of policing. Others struggle with compliance as the loss of agency impacts their embodied selves through silencing their bodies.     

Facial-Affective Behavior, Mutual Gaze, and Emotional Experience in Dyadic Interactions

Facial-affective behavior can express the emotional state of a subject, it can regulate interactive behavior, and it can serve symbolic functions like illustrating narration. To analyze the expressive function, facial-affective behavior in political discussions between male and female subjects of different psychiatric status is related to the experience of joy. The facial-affective and the gazing behavior of 140 subjects in seven different groups were videotaped and coded using EMFACS (Friesen & Ekman, 1984). The experimental dyads consisted of male and female subjects suffering from schizophrenia and psychosomatic disorders interacting with healthy subjects of the same sex; in control dyads, healthy interaction partners of same the sex interacted for 20 minutes. It is shown that in none of the groups the experience of joy is correlated with the frequency of Duchenne smiles, but in the case of mentally disordered subjects the experience of joy is negatively related to facial behavior interpreted as contempt and disgust. Further analysis of facial-affective behavior in moments of high involvement emphasizes the expressive function of Duchenne smiles in female dyads and the interaction regulatory function of non-Duchenne smiles in male dyads. It can be concluded that in dyadic interactions the relation of facial-affective behavior to emotional experience is moderated by the gender and diagnosis of the subjects as well as the nonverbal context.