| Abstract: | This paper reviews the literature on the complex question of the relative importance of the verbal, visual and vocal channels in various types of judgments. It is noted that a wide variety of methodologies are used in such research with studies differing in terms of the type of stimuli used (varying on the dimension of stylised to naturally occurring), the task required of the subjects (particularly varying on the cognitive-affective dimension) and the method used to assess the relative importance of the channels. An attempt is made to assess the important variables which affect the way the various channels are used by decoders, including whether deception is involved or expected, whether the message is discrepant, the particular judgment being made and the dimension on which the stimulus varies, the sex of the encoder and the decoder and the relationship between them, and the age of the decoder. The possibility of other related variables also acting as moderators is discussed. |
