User:KarlaSala20/sandbox

Nonverbal communication involves the conscious and unconscious processes of encoding and decoding. Encoding is defined as our ability to express emotions in a way that can be accurately interpreted by the receiver(s). Decoding is called "nonverbal sensitivity”, defined as the ability to take this encoded emotion and interpret its meanings accurately to what the sender intended. Encoding is the act of generating information such as facial expressions, gestures, and postures. Encoding information utilizes signals which we may think to be universal. Decoding is the interpretation of information from received sensations given by the encoder. Decoding information utilizes knowledge one may have of certain received sensations. For example, in the picture above, the encoder holds up two fingers, and the decoder may know from previous experience that this means two. There are some "decoding rules", which state that in some cases a person may be able to properly assess some nonverbal cues and understand their meaning, whereas others might not be able to do so as effectively. Both of these skills can vary from person to person, with some people being better than others at one or both. These individuals would be more socially conscious and have better interpersonal relationships. An example of this would be with gender, woman are found to be better decoders than men since they are more observant of nonverbal cues, as well as more likely to use them.

First impression[edit source]
Main article: First impression (psychology)

It takes just one-tenth of a second for someone to judge and make their first impression. According to a study from Princeton University, this short amount of time is enough for a person to determine several attributes about an individual. These attributes included "attractiveness, likeability, trustworthiness, competence, and aggressiveness." ''' A first impression is a lasting non-verbal communicator. The way a person portrays themselves on the first encounter is non-verbal statement to the observer. Presentation can include clothing and other visible attributes''' such as facial expressions or facial traits in general. '''Negative impressions can also be based on presentation and on personal prejudice. First impressions, although sometimes misleading, can in many situations be an accurate depiction of others.'''

Adapters[edit]
'''Some hand movements are not considered to be gestures. They consist of manipulations either of the person or some object (e.g. clothing, pencils, eyeglasses)—the kinds of scratching, fidgeting, rubbing, tapping, and touching that people often do with their hands.''' These behaviors can show that a person is experiencing anxiety or feeling of discomfort, typical when the individual is not the one in control of the conversation or situation and therefore expresses this uneasiness subconsciously. '''Such behaviors are referred to as adapters. They may not be perceived as meaningfully related to the speech in which they accompany, but may serve as the basis for dispositional inferences of the speaker's emotion (nervous, uncomfortable, bored.)''' These types of movements  are believed to express the unconscious thoughts and feelings of a person, or those thoughts an emotions one is trying to consciously hide.

Symbolic[edit]
'''Other hand movements are gestures. They are movements with specific, conventionalized meanings called symbolic gestures.''' They are the exact opposite of adaptors, since their meanings are intended to be communicated and they have a specific meaning for the person who gives the gesture and the person to receive it. '''Familiar symbolic gestures include the "raised fist," "bye-bye," and "thumbs up." In contrast to adapters, symbolic gestures are used intentionally and serve a clear communicative function. Every culture has their own set of gestures, some of which are unique only to a specific culture. Very similar gestures can have very different meanings across cultures. Symbolic gestures are usually used in the absence of speech, but can also accompany speech.'''

Conversational[edit]
'''The middle ground between adapters and symbolic gestures is occupied by conversational gestures. These gestures do not refer to actions or words but do accompany speech. Conversational gestures are hand movements that accompany speech and are related to the speech they accompany. Though they do accompany speech, conversational gestures are not seen in the absence of speech and are only made by the person who is speaking.'''

There are a few types of conversational gestures, specifically motor and lexical movements. undefinedMotor movements are those which are rhymical and repetitive, do not have to be accompanied by anything spoken due to their simple meaning, and the speaker's hand usually sticks to one position. When paired with verbal communication, they can be used to stress certain syllables. An example of this would be pointing someone in the direction of an individual and saying, "That way." In this case, the "That" in the sentence would be stressed by the movements. Lexical movements are more complex, not rhythmic, or repetitive, but rather lengthy and varied. An example of this would be something like giving elaborate directions to somewhere and pairing that with various hands movements to signal the various turns to take.

Kinesics
Kinesics is defined as movements, more specifically the study of our movements involving our hands, body, and face. This form of nonverbal communication is powerful in the messages it sends to those witnessing them. The term was first coined by Ray Birdwhistell, who considered the term body language inaccurate and instead opted to explain it as nonverbal behaviors stemming from body movement. Research around this behavior provides some examples, such as someone casually smiling and leaning forward, as well as maintaining eye contact to radiate a non-dominating and intimate demeanor. In contrast, someone leaning back, a stoic facial expression, and no to little eye contact could emit an unfriendly and dominating demeanor.

Additional research expresses that eye contact is an important part of nonverbal communication involved in kinesics, as longer and appropriate levels of eye contact give an individual credibility. The opposite is said for those who do not maintain eye contact, as they are likely to be deemed distrustful. More eye contact was also found to be related to higher levels of likability and believability from those people interacted with. A real-life example of this is through service workers, in a study it was found that those workers who welcomed customers with smiles were seem like more warm individuals than those who did not smile. Customers reported that those without smiles and open body movements, such as waving or handshaking, were lacking warmth and deemed less friendly.

·     Hans, A., & Hans, E. (2015). Kinesics, haptics and proxemics: Aspects of non-verbal communication. IOSR Journal of Humanities and Social Science (IOSR-JHSS), 20(2), 47-52.

·     Sundaram, D. S., & Webster, C. (2000). The role of nonverbal communication in service encounters. Journal of Services Marketing.