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NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR.
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Cultural influences, space needs, related to animals, touching, facial & eye communications.... More...
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Paper Abstract:
Cultural influences, space needs, related to animals, touching, facial & eye communications.

Paper Introduction:
The Primary Sources of Nonverbal Behavior Knapp and Hall cite evidence from the work of Eckman and Friesen that nonverbal behavior comes from inherited neurological programs, experiences common to all members of the human species, and experiences which vary with culture, class, family, or the particular individual (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. 408). For example, in every culture, food is picked up by the hands and placed in the mouth. Cultural forces and biology interact in intricate ways to bring about human nonverbal behavior in the forms of various and rituals which people automatically perform. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the various sources of nonverbal behavior in the specific areas of proxemics, kinesics, haptic, and facial and eye behavior. In the area of proxemics, the study of man's perception and

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Many are influenced by both (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. Babies die from the lack of touch, and human relationshipswither and atrophy from lack of touching and affection. I notice at parties and family gatherings that women seem tohave closer spaces of comfort and that men are more protective. 8). Others, however, especially anthropologists have argued that the vastcultural diversity of human movements would lead us to believe thatkinesics are culturally bound. A German may make an entire room hisbubble. New York: M. 4 8). Even objects, such as householdfurnishings may become substitutes for human closeness, as the person seeksfor a comfortable chair or sofa to "hold" him. Knapp, M. 4 9). It is the purpose of thispaper to discuss the various sources of nonverbal behavior in the specificareas of proxemics, kinesics, haptic, and facial and eye behavior. Birdwhistell prefers to think about these issues in terms of culturalgeneralizations and communicational generalizations. These sensory-deprived situations are a powerful testament to the strength of behaviorsthat are outside the bounds of culture or learning. T.K.Pitcairn photographed gazing and greeting behavior and found distinct,orderly patterns (Knapp & Hall, 1983, p. 78). 3 ). (197 ). Eibl-Ebesfeldt. Desmond Morris writes that human courtship patterns are universal inthe area of touching. 154) and the human equivalents of going to thebarber shop or letting a loved one straighten the tie or pick off a pieceof lint (Katz & Katz, 1983, p. Hall cites four distinct zones which seem accurate to me-intimatedistance, personal distance, social distance, and public distance (Fast,197 , p. In the area of eye and facial behavior, it seems that the commonalityof human behavior of all species is very strong, perhaps the strongest ofall the nonverbal behaviors, at least according to the research availableat this time. (197 ). (1983). 424). In one experiment, photographs portraying different emotions wereshown to observers in the United States, Japan, Chile, Argentina, andBrazil. He makesthe distinction between structure and process, which is not so importantfor the purposes of determining origin, but these ideas to help inconveying the complexity of the considerations when thinking about origins. Katz, A. 79). For example, in every culture, food is picked up by the hands andplaced in the mouth. Foundations of nonverbalcommunication: Readings, exercises, and commentary.Carbondale, Illinois: Southern Illinois University Press. Advertisers are well awareof the human longing for touch and dwell on this, especially in clothingadvertisements (Morris, 1977). L., & Hall, J. Kinesics and context: Body motioncommunication. Morris says that to a certain extent these touching behaviors areculturally determined, but "to a much greater extent they are determined bythe anatomy and sexual physiology common to all members of our species"(Morris, 1971, p. Morris, D. Desmond Morris wrote the Naked Ape and IntimateBehavior, two works which discuss in detail the similarities between humanbehavior and that of primate ancestors. Thesebehaviors are strong evidence that some types of movement are biological.Certainly the most basic movements of walking, climbing, gathering, mating,holding and nursing a baby go much deeper than cultural influences. Those from the Middle East or other European countries may haveentirely different ideas about personal space (Fast, 197 , p. The Primary Sources of Nonverbal Behavior Knapp and Hall cite evidence from the work of Eckman and Friesen thatnonverbal behavior comes from inherited neurological programs, experiencescommon to all members of the human species, and experiences which vary withculture, class, family, or the particular individual (Knapp & Hall, 1992,p. Nonverbal communication in humaninteraction, Third Edition. In the area of proxemics, the study of man's perception and the useof space, there is complex and somewhat conflicting research on the primarysource of learning the use of space. 438). Staring and gazing patterns are fairly universal in meaning, andresearchers have found multicultural commonalities in looking and staring.Fast asserts that looking acknowledges another person's existence, butstaring dehumanizes him. This is amost difficult judgment to call because all of these forces are quitepowerful in determining the behavior of the person. Quite a large variation resultsfrom the cultural influence, but this variation seems due to shaping ratherthan origin. There are strong indications of experiences whichare common to all members of the human species, as well, and finally, thefamily, class or culture modifies the touching behavior of the individual.As with the other modes of nonverbal communication, there are variationswith gender, age, and national origin. 14 ). New York: Harcourt,Brace, Jovanovich College Publishers. Stares arereserved for the zoo, the theatre, or a side show freak, situations wherethe other has become object-like to the stare (Fast, 197 , p. 229). More research has been done in the area of facial and eye behavior,as compared with the other specialties of nonverbal behavior, and almostall of it points to the amazing power of the inclination to certainmovements, regardless of culture or even species. 67). However, the evidence of primate eye and facial behaviorthat is very like humans causes us, again, to place the neurological andbiological influence first, followed by the species-common influence withfinal modifications by family, culture, and class. In the area of kinesics, there has been controversy regarding whetheror not there are common movements to all cultures. 251), but he hesitatesto say that kinesics are entirely a product of cultural entity. Other facial gestures such as smiling and expressions of anger havebeen found present in babies of only a few months of age and in primates,indicating origins of facial and eye movements that go deeper than eitherspecies or cultural influences. At first, it seems that the culturalinfluence is the strongest, because that is where it is obvious that thereis the most variation. As long ago as 1872Charles Darwin pointed out some similarities in the expressive movements ofpeople from different backgrounds, interpreting this as the proclivity ofall people to do certain things in similar ways (Katz & Katz, 1983, p. (1971). Touching is an acknowledged aspect of all the helping professions,and instances have been cited where waitresses who touched diners gotbigger tips (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. He cites evidence where various birds and animals spacethemselves from each other in a very orderly manner, causing us to wonderif this inclination is neurological, rather than cultural (Katz & Katz,1983, p. 77). Julius Past says that childrennaturally explore their world through the sense of touch before they aretaught the inhibitions of their culture (197 , p. M., & Katz, V. Knapp and Hall discuss the various learnedresponses of children at different ages as they become enculturated to thecorrect amount of space and touching in dealing with others (1992, p. Intimate behavior. The stages are absolutely discrete and almost alwaysin the order of eye to body, eye to eye, voice to voice, hand to hand, armto shoulder, arm to waist, mouth to mouth, hand to head, hand to body,mouth to breast, hand to genitals, and genitals to genitals (Morris, 1971,p. The average American carries a two-footbubble of privacy around himself. 4 ). Psychologists who touch theirstudents find greater compliance, and politicians busily shake hands withpotential voters, especially during election years. This unique form of greeting was found among Europeans,Balinese, Papuans, Samoans, South American Indians, Bushmen, and others(Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. The hunger for human touch isone of the most intense forces behind human motivation, and the lack of itcan be deadly. Anyone who has visited a zoo canbecome spellbound with the "human" behavior of the chimpanzees and gorillasas they play, tease, chase, and interact with the human watchers. It is obvious from watching animals,especially those of the primate species, that touch is a primary part ofnonverbal communication. Touch is an absolutely essential aspectof most human relationships, communicating encouragement, tenderness,support, or forgiveness. Youngchildren are freer about invading the space of others, and girls are freerthan boys. Body language. Touching is so important to human well-being that people adopt petsin order to have something or someone with which to exchange intimacies.Others hire professional "touchers" such as massage therapists in order tohave the need for contact fulfilled. Carroll Izard replicated the same research with observers from eightdifferent cultures and found the same evidence of universality. Most notably is monkey groomingbehavior (Morris, 1971, p. As important as this cultural evidence may be, the research of EdwardHall seems to override the possibility that cultural influence is thestrongest. New York: Random House.----------------------- 3 (1992). This is a strong argument for the high ranking ofthe influence of species-bound behavior. T. To add to thecomplexity is the understanding that there are various zones of relating topeople. Fast, J. The observers were given the task of naming the emotions shown,and the same facial expressions were judged as revealing the same emotionsin all countries, regardless of language or culture (Katz & Katz, 1983, p.1 ). In my own life, it is not possible to really be aware of theneurological forces behind spacing decisions, because these are simplybeyond what I think about on a daily basis. A. It seems, again, that haptics is first determined by inheritedneurological programs. Again, we turn to the animal world for evidence of biological rootsto human movements. 412). For the purposes of this paper, it is important to think about theprocess of ranking the various influences in terms of importance andcontribution in determining the person's nonverbal behavior. 444). According to authors Knapp and Hall, it seems that developmentally,people move from relative undifferentiation in nonverbal communicativeactions to increasingly differentiated communication, a case where ontogenyrecapitulates phylogeny (1992, p. Touching behavior isan important part of health care, and therapeutic programs in specialeducation rely heavily on touch. It is commonly known that various cultures differ in the terms of theproper space between people. Smiles and nods accompany this behavior,which seems to indicate approval and confirmation. Katz and Katz say that haptics (touching behavior) is the mostpowerful channel of nonverbal communication and the one that people are themost reluctant to discuss (1983, p. 66). Knapp and Hallbelieve that some human nonverbal-movements are dependent on inheritedneurological programs and others are more strongly influenced by cultureand environment. L. In the case of proxemics and its origins it would seem that thebiological, neurological, innate forces would rank first in importance,followed by the experiences that are common to all members of the species.Last would be the intricate shaping of the particular culture. What I am aware of,particularly following this course of study, is that there are variationsamong men and women, among children of different ages, and among people invarieties of social, public and private situations. References Birdwhistell, R. 426). Would thismean the strongest, the deepest, or the time order in which it happened?In an essay of this size it is not possible to fully explore all thesesubtleties, but we shall try to stay with an amalgamation of all of these,resulting in the forces that are the most powerful. A notable example is theeye flash, which was studied and photographed in detail by I. As with proxemics, Birdwhistell asserts that nonverbal movements arean "active aspect" of cultural structure (197 , p. 231). In looking at the evidence for the origins of the channel of kinesicsit seems again that the neurological forces have to come first (unless wewould wish to consider the primates part of the human species), then theexperiences of all of the human race, regardless of species, and finallythe influences of the particular culture. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press. Even children who are born blind and deafdisplay certain facial and eye movements that are commonly understood asmethods of communication (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. 123). Although there is the danger of overgeneralizing too muchwhen interpreting animal behavior in human terms, it does seem that thework of Hediger and Hall supports the idea that bodily spacing is innate.Hall would postulate that certain bodily distancing mechanisms arebiological, which then become shaped in a rather sophisticated manner bythe particular culture in which the person lives. Cultural forces and biology interact in intricateways to bring about human nonverbal behavior in the forms of various andrituals which people automatically perform. The process is complex andfascinating. Knapp and Hall saythat tactile communication is the most basic or primitive form ofcommunication (1992, p. Evans andCompany.

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