Micromomentary movement and the deconding of face and body cues

A new version of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity Test (PONS)—a standardized test of sensitivity to nonverbal cues—was developed to determine the effects of five levels or sequences of micromomentary movement on accuracy in decoding nonverbal face and body cues, presented for 125 microseconds (msecs). The five sequences were: backward movement, partially backward movement, no movement, partially forward movement, and fully forward movement. Two versions of this test—the Test of Micromomentary Movement Effects (TOMME)—were administered to two samples of female high school and college students. The results, averaged over face and body cues, showed that as the movement sequences more closely approximated the fully forward sequence, decoding accuracy increased. These results, showing the benefits of adding properly sequenced information at split second (42 msec) exposures, not only support the findings of previous researchers that micromomentary facial affect displays may be helpful in decoding nonverbal facial cues, but also suggest that micromomentary movements may be important for decoding body cues as well.     

Sibling resemblances in nonverbal skill and style

This study explored the hypothesis that siblings display a tendency for family resemblance in nonverbal decoding skills. Thirty-seven sibling pairs between the ages of 9 and 15 were administered the videotaped Nonverbal Discrepancy Test. This audiovisual test assesses (1) decoding accuracy—the extent to which subjects are able to identify affects (positivity and dominance) from face, body, and tone of voice cues; (2) discrepancy accuracy—the extent to which subjects recognize the degree of discrepancy between audio and video cues; and (3) video primacy—the extent to which subjects are more influenced by video (face or body) than by audio cues. Brother-brother pairs showed family resemblances in all three nonverbal indices, whereas brother-sister pairs displayed family similarity only in discrepancy accuracy. Overall, sibling pairs showed a tendency for family resemblance in nonverbal decoding. The processes that might lead siblings to develop similar patterns of nonverbal skills were discussed.     

Individual differences in the nonverbal communication of affect: The diagnostic analysis of nonverbal accuracy scale

The Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy (DANVA) was designed to measure individual differences in the accurate sending and receiving of nonverbal social information. The DANVA consists of four receptive and three expressive subtests that measure nonverbal processing accuracy in children from 6 to 10 years of age. Four propositions were offered to guide the gathering of construct validity data for the DANVA. In support of the propositions, researchers found that DANVA accuracy scores increased with age, were internally consistent and reliable over time, and snowed significant relationships with indices of personal and social adjustment and academic achievement but were not related to IQ. Evidence for construct validity was stronger for receptive, as compared to expressive, subtests. Future research should include additional populations of subjects and study of the impact of intensity of emotion being sent or received.     

Social Perception in Students with Learning Disabilities and Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

The current study investigated whether students' classification of learning disabled (LD), learning disabled with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (LD/ADHD), or no classification (REG) was related to their ability to perceive nonverbal social cues. Participants in the study were 57 students between the ages of six and ten years identified as being LD, LD/ADHD, or REG. The Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy test (DANVA) and the Social Perception Behavior Rating Scale (SPBRS) were used to measure social perception. A MANOVA was computed for the four subtests of the DANVA (Facial Expressions, Postures, Gestures, and Paralanguage). A separate ANOVA was computed on the SPBRS. Significant differences were found for Facial Expressions and SPBRS scores. Follow-up analysis revealed that on the Facial Expressions subtest, students with LD demonstrated significantly more difficulty in the accurate perception of cues than the REG or LD/ ADHD groups. On the SPBRS, the LD/ADHD group was rated by teachers as significantly less socially perceptive than the REG group.     

Associations Between Social Anxiety and Nonverbal Processing Skill in Preadolescent Boys and Girls

This study was designed to investigate the potential association between social anxiety and children's ability to decode nonverbal emotional cues. Participants were 62 children between 8 and 10 years of age, who completed self-report measures of social anxiety, depressive symptomatology, and nonspecific anxious symptomatology, as well as nonverbal decoding tasks assessing accuracy at identifying emotion in facial expressions and vocal tones. Data were analyzed with multiple regression analyses controlling for generalized cognitive ability, and nonspecific anxious and depressive symptomatology. Results provided partial support for the hypothesis that social anxiety would relate to nonverbal decoding accuracy. Difficulty identifying emotions conveyed in children's and adults' voices was associated with general social avoidance and distress. At higher levels of social anxiety, children more frequently mislabeled fearful voices as sad. Possible explanations for the obtained results are explored.     

Exploring the Role of Working Memory in Dynamic Social Cue Decoding Using Dual Task Methodology

Decoding nonverbal social cues involves skills such as understanding emotions and discerning kin relationships. Social cue decoding has been described as an automatic process which does not tax cognitive resources. However, clinical deficits in social decoding are often interpreted in terms of deficits in attention and working memory. Two experiments are described which used dual task methodology to investigate the role of working memory in dynamic social cue decoding tasks: the Interpersonal Perception Task (IPT, Experiment 1) and the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS, Experiment 2). Results revealed that decoding social cues from the IPT did not require working memory resources, while social perception in the PONS made heavy demands on working memory. Implications for theoretical interpretation of these tasks and their use in clinical populations are discussed.

Recall of Nonverbal Cues: Exploring a New Definition of Interpersonal Sensitivity

Interpersonal sensitivity, defined as the accurate recall of another person’s nonverbal behavior, was measured in two studies. In Study 1, nonverbal recall accuracy (NRA) was based on recall of cues expressed by a man and/or woman being interviewed on videotape. Retest reliability after 2 weeks was satisfactory and the male and female tests demonstrated sufficient convergence. Participants could assess their own recall accuracy at better than chance levels; ability to decode the meanings of visual nonverbal cues was positively related to NRA; discriminant validity of NRA was demonstrated with regard to general cognitive ability; and women had higher NRA than men. In Study 2, NRA was based on recall of a live interaction partner. Women again had higher NRA than men; NRA was significantly better than chance; and higher NRA was associated with more smiling and self-reported positive affect during the interaction. Nonverbal recall accuracy is a promising new definition of interpersonal sensitivity.

Introducing the MiniPONS: A Short Multichannel Version of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS)

Despite extensive research activity on the recognition of emotional expression, there are only few validated tests of individual differences in this competence (generally considered as part of nonverbal sensitivity and emotional intelligence). This paper reports the development of a short, multichannel, version (MiniPONS) of the established Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS) test. The full test has been extensively validated in many different cultures, showing substantial correlations with a large range of outcome variables. The short multichannel version (64 items) described here correlates very highly with the full version and shows reasonable construct validity through significant correlations with other tests of emotion recognition ability. Based on these results, the role of nonverbal sensitivity as part of a latent trait of emotional competence is discussed and the MiniPONS is suggested as a convenient method to perform a rapid screening of this central socioemotional competence.     

A Measure of the Ability to Identify Emotion in Children's Tone of Voice

This paper introduces a test of the ability to decode emotion of varying intensity in the voices of children. Construction of the measure, the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy Child Paralanguage (DANVA2-CP), is described. An initial study using elementary-school-aged children found that accuracy scores increased with age, were internally consistent, and were correlated, as expected, with indices of personality and social competence. Data from 20 additional studies, using participants from across the age range, provided further evidence of construct validity for the DANVA2-CP. Based on the results, it was concluded that the DANVA2-CP may be an appropriate measure of the ability to identify emotion in children's paralinguistic presentations.     

Patterns of Nonverbal Behavior and Sensivity in the Context of Attachment Relations

Nonverbal behavior and sensitivity to a relationship partner’s nonverbal behavior importantly influence the quality of interpersonal interactions and relationships, including attachment relationships. The abilities to encode, or express, and to decode, or understand, nonverbal cues are crucial to effective communication of emotions and are associated with social adjustment and relationship satisfaction. One important social context for the development and use of nonverbal encodingand decoding abilities is what Bowlby (1969/1982, Attachment and loss: Vol.1.Attachment (2nd ed.). New York: Basic Books) called attachment relationships—interpersonal relationships in which one person’s emotional security depends on another person’s sensitive, responsive caregiving and support. In this paper, we present theoretical ideas, review relevant research, and propose new avenues of research dealing with associations between attachment-related processes and patterns of nonverbal behavior and sensitivity in adulthood, two domains of research that have not previously been adequately connected.     

Nonverbal Communication in Humans

Nonverbal behavior includes all communicative acts except speech. Communication means conveying information through signals. We use body language without being aware of it, perceive and interpret other people's body language. Three classes of nonverbal behavior are the verbal-vocal, nonverbal-vocal, and nonverbal-nonvocal. Several gestures illustrate the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behavior. Nonverbal phenomena are most important in the structuring and occurrence of interpersonal communication and the movement-to-movement regulation of the interaction. Nonverbal signs help regulate the system, cueing hierarchy and priority among communicators, signaling the flow of interaction, and providing meta-communication and feedback. Experiences teach us unconsciously that space communicates.     

Perception of Emotion: Measuring Decoding Accuracy of Adult Prosodic Cues Varying in Intensity

The purpose of the present study was to present a measure of the ability to decode emotion in the voices of adults. After describing the process of how the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy—Adult Prosody (DANVA2-AP) test was constructed, five propositions were developed to guide the gathering of appropriate construct validity evidence for the measure. Evidence from a series of studies provided support for all of the propositions. It was concluded that the DANVA2-AP had satisfactorily met the minimal requirements for construct validity.     

Relationship satisfaction,attachment, and nonverbal accuracy in early marriage

This study explored the relations between nonverbal accuracy, relationship satisfaction, and adult attachment in early marriage. Thirty-three couples were assessed at three points in time across the first two years of marriage. On all three occasions, they engaged in an encoding and decoding task using the standard content paradigm (Kahn, 1970) and completed the Quality Marriage Index (Norton, 1983). At Times 2 and 3 subjects also completed a measure of adult attachment which provided scores on Comfort with closeness and Anxiety over abandonment. Nonverbal accuracy increased over time for all message types and husbands were more accurate than wives at decoding positive messages. Accuracy did not predict later relationship satisfaction, but satisfaction predicted later accuracy, mainly for. husbands. Attachment dimensions also predicted later accuracy, with Anxiety over abandonment being more related to accuracy for husbands, and Comfort with closeness being more related to accuracy for wives. There was evidence of increased communication awareness over time for encoders, particularly in terms of the accuracy with which they predicted their spouses' decoding. In addition, husbands and those high in relationship satisfaction were more likely to expect their partners to decode their communications correctly. With regard to communication awareness for decoders, the main finding was that all groups except wives in unhappy marriages were more confident on correct than incorrect messages.     

Do tests of nonverbal decoding ability measure sensitivity to nonverbal cues?

Compared to efficient decoders (who excel on tests of nonverbal decoding ability), inefficient decoders may (1) use a restricted repertoire of nonverbal cues; (2) use the same repertoire but be less sensitive to the cues; or (3) be more sensitive to cues of high informative utility and less sensitive to cues of lesser utility. Subjects were asked to identify romantic heterosexual couples in photographs. Potential cues were generated by think aloud protocols (Study 1); their presence and informative utility were determined through ratings (Study 2). Study 3 estimated cues' influence on “couple” decisions. Decisions were affected by all the informative cues (“proximity,” “contact,” and “context”) with efficient decoders being more sensitive to “proximity” than inefficient decoders. However, inefficient decoders weremore sensitive than efficient decoders to uninformative cues suggesting couples' similarity. Hence, the present test does not measure sensitivity (Hypotheses 1 and 2) but measures sensitivity-tuning (Hypothesis 3).     

Nonverbal decoding skill and attention to nonverbal cues: A research note

A measure of differential preference for attending to three channels of nonverbal communication was developed, with which scores for differential attention to face, body, and voice tone were generated for 17 college subjects. These scores were correlated with subjects' nonverbal decoding accuracy in the same three channels as measured by a standard test of decoding nonverbal cues. Significant positive relationships between channel preference and accuracy were found for the two video channels; no relationship was found for the audio channel.This research was conducted while both authors held National Science Foundation Graduate Fellowships at Harvard University. They wish to thank Robert Rosenthal for advice, Peter L. Rogers for technical assistance and Myron Wish for valuable criticisms of an earlier draft.     

Sensitivity to bodily nonverbal communication as a factor in practitioner-patient rapport

The relationship between physicians' nonverbal sensitivity and the satisfaction of their patients was tested in two field studies. In the first study, 40 physicians were given a film test of nonverbal sensitivity (the PONS test) and were evaluated by their patients. The second study was a replication using 31 additional physicians. Most noteworthy for research in therapeutic interaction, the present studies contained three methodological advances: (1) the use of actual patients' ratings of satisfaction with treatment, (2) the extension of research from psychological to medical settings, and (3) the use of a standardized test of nonverbal decoding skill. Physicians' skill at reading the emotion conveyed through the nonverbal channel of body movement was found to be significantly correlated with their interpersonal success with patients in the clinical setting.The authors would like to thank Donald Dickson, M.D., Mary Ann Spadaro, M.D., Louise M. Prince, John L. Helmuth, Jr., Helene M. Murphy, and the physicians and patients who participated in the research. Study I was supported by a Peter B. Livingston Fellowship from the Massachusetts Mental Health Center and Study II by a W. K. Kellogg Fellowship from the Hospital Research and Educational Trust, both to the senior author.     

Aging and the Effects of Facial and Prosodic Cues on Emotional Intensity Ratings and Memory Reconstructions

Young (M = 23 years) and older (M = 77 years) adults' interpretation and memory for the emotional content of spoken discourse was examined in an experiment using short, videotaped scenes of two young actresses talking to each other about emotionally-laden events. Emotional nonverbal information (prosody or facial expressions) was conveyed at the end of each scene at low, medium, and high intensities. Nonverbal information indicating anger, happiness, or fear, conflicted with the verbal information. Older adults' ability to differentiate levels of emotional intensity was not as strong (for happiness and anger) compared to younger adults. An incidental memory task revealed that older adults, more often than younger adults, reconstruct what people state verbally to coincide with the meaning of the nonverbal content, if the nonverbal content is conveyed through facial expressions. A second experiment with older participants showed that the high level of memory reconstructions favoring the nonverbal interpretation was maintained when the ages of the participants and actresses were matched, and when the nonverbal content was conveyed both through prosody and facial expressions.     

Social Presence, Embarrassment, and Nonverbal Behavior

Nonverbal behaviors in response to viewing slides depicting nude males, nude females, erotic couples and neutral pictures, either alone or in the presence of two unfamiliar individuals, were studied in 22 female and 16 male university students. Participants were unaware of being videorecorded. Results revealed discrepancies between self-reported embarrassment and nonverbal behaviors supposedly expressive of embarrassment. Although self-reported embarrassment was higher when certain types of slides were viewed in the presence of others than when they were viewed alone, we observed significantly fewer lip movements, gaze shifts, face touches, downward gazes, and downward head movements in the presence of unfamiliar individuals than in the alone condition. We also compared behaviors during slide exposure and during the inter-slide intervals. For 9 out of 11 coded behaviors, frequencies were significantly higher during inter-slide intervals than during slide presentation. We argue that this is probably due to the fact that visual attention to the slides inhibited nonverbal behaviors. The results cast doubt on the possibility of inferring the internal state of an emotion such as embarrassment by analyzing nonverbal behaviors without taking account of the social setting in which such observations are made.     

Nonverbal Behavior in the Digital Age: Explorations in Internet Social Communication

This Special Issue of the Journal of Nonverbal Behavior explores nonverbal issues in the digital age, with an emphasis on how information is communicated and received on social networking sites such as Facebook. In addition to showing that a variety of user characteristics play an important role in the exchange of information, the featured articles also reveal the impact of different types of nonverbal cues individuals use to create and manage impressions.