CHAPTER 9 A PRACTICAL FUNCTIONAL APPROACH TO KINESICS I. Variables That Influence Kinesics A.

Culture: perhaps one of the most influential variables 1. Culture includes various subcultures found within larger cultures a. Differences may be manifest in how we stand or walk, the gestures we choose, and emotions we display or hide 2. A 1972 detailed analysis was done of black nonverbal communication patterns a. Hypothesized that differences between African Americans and Caucasian Americans resulted from their different cultural backgrounds 1) Walking behaviors were different 2) Posture was different b. Young Caucasian American males assumed the opposite stance from their African American counterparts 3. Realize some of the criticisms of research done into the African American culture; there are many limitations a. Much of the existing research in nonverbal communication is Eurocentric, so the perspectives are limited b. Most studies have been conducted at colleges where African Americans are the minority, which further distorts findings c. This can create a polarization of African American communication and Euro-American (Caucasian) communication, resulting in a comparison approach instead of seeking similarities d. These shortcomings are troublesome because they create and perpetuate stereotypes 4. Cultural differences between socioeconomic classes and sexes within the United States have been looked at in the process of studying how children learn nonverbal communication a. Middle-class children were found to be superior to lower-class ones in the transmission and interpretation of nonverbal messages b. Boys were found to be superior to girls when interpreting gestures c. The first year of school is more important for lower-class children interpreting gestures 5. There are a number of differences in how various cultures use gestures and for what those gestures are used. a. For example, the simple greeting can use many different gestures. 6. In terms of gestures in other cultures, there are a number of differences, and travelers to foreign cultures should become aware of the differences before they go 7. Russell argues that there is no universality of emotions, but others would disagree with this finding (Ekman, most notably) a. There seem to be nine factors that go into the study of emotions in the facial area: 1) We must study emotion

We must consider both the nature and nurture approaches We must search for emotion-specific physiology We must specify which events precede the emotions We must examine ontogeny (development of individual organism) We must study the use of the face and voice among infants before verbal communication is available to them 7) We must consider that emotions are families of emotions 8) We must consider emotions as discrete entities 9) We must consider expression in determining how many emotions there are 8. Walking is another area to study: different cultures perceive walking gaits differently a. There are still many questions about kinesics as it is related to culture; some say that some gestures are universal 9. There have been some popular books published on this topic of cultural differences in gesturing: Roger E. Axtells book is most commonly known and cited often, even by communication scholars 10. We also need to examine work environments as cultures and subcultures of their own a. Emotional expression on the job can be both good (emotional release) and bad; crying and other overt emotional displays should be done discreetly b. What is appropriate might depend on the culture the organization itself has created B. Sex/gender: also important to this study 1. The sex of the person will affect how he or she reacts: sex and gender are not defined as the same thing a. Males and females are the only sexual classification b. With gender: we change it to masculine and feminine and add androgyny (individuals have characteristics of their own gender, but also those of the opposite gender) c. Sex is assigned by genetics; gender is assumed through nurturing d. Sex is an eitheror concept; gender is more of a continuum idea 2. Facial expression is one area where we see sex stereotyping 3. Children of both sexes are encouraged not to show negative emotions, although girls are taught it to a greater extent than boys are a. Men communicate authority, activity, and independence b. Women communicate submissiveness, passivity, and dependence c. American women give off gender signals by bringing their legs together, keeping their upper arms close to their trunks, carrying their pelvises rolled forward, and presenting their entire bodies as moving wholes d. American men tend to keep their legs apart, move their arms away from their bodies, carry their pelvises rolled slightly back, and present their trunks as moving independently from the arms and hips e. In general, men tend to assume open, relaxed postures and expand into available space

2) 3) 4) 5) 6)

f. In general, women tend to assume tense, deferent postures, taking up little space g. In general, androgynous people would have a tendency to use both stereotypical male and female kinesic behaviors 4. Walking is another area of kinesic behavior that has been studied a. Women tend to have more body sway when walking b. Males may subtly wag their hips also, but less than women 5. Some stereotypic kinesic behavior may hold true for one sex and not for the other, but remember the dangers of stereotyping 6. During conversations women watch and look more while listening to their partners a. This may be the primary reason why women have been reported to be more sensitive to kinesic messages and to respond to them more readily b. Women, more than men, tend to smile, nod their heads, and produce a generally higher level of gestures C. Left- and right-handedness 1. The bulk of research on brain hemisphere dominance was conducted using only right-handed participants a. Much concern has been created about left-handers 1) Left-handers responded more quickly to a survey 2) More women are left-handed than most people think 3) Left-handers were most enthusiastic about answering questions about handedness 2. We include these results on handedness because it appears to be important for nonverbal behavioral research, especially in the area of kinesics, and so little research has been done D. Relationship with language 1. Some studies from abroad (France) looked at the development of gestures in infants a. As language developed, informative and request functions of nonverbal communication became more sophisticated b. Foreign language differences have shown detection of emotions to be different as well 2. This relationship between language and nonverbal communication has its basis far back in history a. Ritual of spitting to ward off evil has been studied b. Ritual of kissing has also been studied, especially for business purposes E. Decoding 1. Decoding ability is related mainly to the sex of the decoder a. In general, women have been found to be more accurate than men in decoding honest nonverbal communication b. Men, however, better decode anger; women better decode sadness c. Accuracy in decoding is related to Ekman and Friesens emotions 1) Happiness is most accurately decoded, followed by surprise, disgust, anger, sadness, and fear

2) Deaf and hearing individuals do not show significant differences in decoding abilities 3) People from low-expressive families seem to be more accurate decoders than those from expressive families d. Micro-expressions: those that occur in a fraction of a second, but they do leak out 1) They provide a reliable source of information for those who catch them 2) The split-second expression can tell a great deal about a persons internal emotional state e. Patientpatient and patientdoctor relationships have been studied 1) Patients facial communication was used less with male psychotherapists than female ones, although length in practice did affect this 2) Schizophrenic and depressed patients had a significantly lower ability to decode facial expressions 3) Several factors affect facial identification a) Depth of processing b) Target distinctiveness c) Exposure time d) Retention interval f. Females were better able to decode negative scenes in film clips 1) Females scored higher on mimicry 2) Males scored higher on how strongly the emotion is exhibited 3) Females were better at decoding facial affect 4) Participants with an active imagination scored higher on interpreting facial expressions 5) When subjects were allowed to make their own attributions, they found their partners behaviors to be intentional 6) People felt others were more competent and interpersonally attractive when led to believe that others were acting deliberately a) In other words, we tend to like those who we feel are not trying to manipulate us 2. Decoding eye behavior: Eye contact/gaze a. Women engage in more eye contact than men do 1) Women engage more in both mutual and nonmutual gaze, and they hold the mutual gaze longer than men do 2) Women do more looking than men do b. Eye contact can send important nonverbal information to others 1) Eye contact has its positive and negative aspects a) Positive: couples that look at one another receive higher ratings b) Negative: most of us have been taught that it is impolite to stare, and we especially dislike someone staring at us when we cant see him or her

2) In short, if we cannot see peoples eyes when we are interacting with them, communication will be strained; it is ineffective because the other person feels cheated out of direct contact c. In the classroom, if a professor cannot make eye contact with students, he or she has no clue as to what is being understood and processed and what isnt d. Eye contact is also useful in the regulation of interaction function, most notably as a turn-taking signal for speech 1) A speaker, when nearing the end of an utterance, looks away, then, on ending, returns the gaze to the other 2) This is a turn-taking process used by Caucasians only; mixed-race conversation or conversations between blacks use opposite cues e. An increase in the amount of eye contact in a live public speaking context often enhances listeners perceptions of the speakers credibility 1) In one-on-one situations, eye contact emphasizes the content of the message 2) With positive verbal content, frequent eye contact produced positive evaluations 3) With negative content, eye contact produced negative evaluations 4) A persons self-esteem is related to the amount of eye contact he or she maintains relative to the favorability of the message 5) Eye contact becomes a gatekeeping mechanism 6) As a persons behaviors become more predictable, eye gaze decreases 7) With the high gaze of prolonged eye contact, a person is evaluated as attentive, competent, and dominant 8) High gaze is also associated with perceptions of the person having good social skills, being mentally healthy, and having intense feelings f. There are at least two types of deviations from the expected conversational pattern in interview situations 1) Gaze aversion (averting gaze; looking away on purpose) a) Reduces the likelihood of the interviewee being hired b) Interviewees showing gaze aversion were seen as incompetent, uncomposed, unsociable, and passive 2) Constant gaze a) Earned more favorable endorsements b) Described in terms opposite of those ascribed to those who avert their gaze c) No significant differences in same-sex and opposite-sex dyads 3. Pupil size: has a bearing on what a person communicates a. People who possess larger pupils are perceived as more attractive than those with smaller ones are b. Photographers are preoccupied with this phenomenon 1) Fashion photographers manipulate lighting in an attempt to enlarge pupils of models

2) The larger pupils tend to radiate warmth and can be persuasive c. Size of pupils can affect perception of anothers emotional state d. The size of the pupil has also been shown to indicate a level of interest; the more interest there is, the more the pupils dilate e. Other things also cause pupil dilation: drugs, alcohol, low lighting f. Pupil dilation corresponds positively with the number of internal psychological responses made by the person g. Lying and pupil size has been studied; lying has a correlation to pupil dilation 1) Lying requires some internal psychological response 2) The pupils constrict when conjuring up the lie 3) Larger pupils are evident when the lie is actually told 4. Eye direction: which way you have a tendency to look; the way you prefer to look might be called dominance or preferred style a. One way, it is said, to determine the dominant hemisphere of the brain is to look at preferred eye direction b. Conjugate lateral eye movements (CLEMs): lateral shifts of the eye to either the left or right 1) 75 percent of individuals CLEMs are usually in one direction; that direction will tell you about what hemisphere of your brain predominates c. Recall that the right hemisphere has been associated with nonverbal and passive behavior; left hemisphere is more verbal and active II. Functions A. Identification and self-presentation 1. We can usually detect characteristics of a person by how he or she walks, the expansiveness of gestures, etc. a. Much of self-presentation and identification is related to the status of the person 1) Eye gaze has been seen as an indicator of power 2) Posture is more tense (or erect) in higher-status persons; lower-status persons tend to lower their heads 3) Arms and legs of higher-status persons are more relaxed when talking with a lower-status person b. An individuals place in the chain of command may affect nonverbal communication, as found in interview situations 1) Higher-status interviewers elicit shorter pauses, more eye contact, more hand and head gestures, and greater total speech 2) Females were more responsive to status manipulation than were males 2. Kinesics also influence issues of dominance and persuasiveness a. When we seek to persuade, we use more eye contact, more head nods, more gesturing, more facial expression and activity, moderate relaxation, smaller reclining angles, differences in body orientation, and more open gestures 3. Dominance is expressed by kinesic cues

a. More eye contact b. Being physically above others in an interaction 4. Facial expressions also help in impression formation a. People are rated more negatively when they exaggerate their negative feelings b. Impressions are more favorable when positive emotions are displayed c. Withheld emotions create a favorable impression d. People do regulate their nonverbal behaviors for self-presentation purposes, and these are learned behaviors B. Control of interaction: regulators; where you signal a desire to enter the conversation, exit it, or maintain the floor, in this case by use of kinesic behaviors 1. Classroom: students raise their hands to signal a desire to enter 2. Students may also try to gain eye contact with the teacher 3. Students may nod their heads and lean forward, responding to the teacher and wanting to add something to the discussion 4. Students also deny their turns, by avoiding eye contact, hiding behind the student in front of them, and things of that nature 5. In interpersonal conversations, raising a finger to request entry, and also leaning forward C. Relationship of interactants 1. The relationship affects whether parties are trying to avoid one another, show others that they are with another person, or some behavior in between those two 2. Quasi-courtship behaviors enter the picture here, wherein both sexes note sexual interest in one another; there are four stages to this a. Courtship readiness: increased muscle tone, reduced eye bagginess, less slouch, and decreasing belly sag b. Preening behaviors: stroking the hair, rubbing the chin or beard area, rearranging makeup, glancing in a mirror, stretching ones clothes, adjusting clothing c. Positional cues: postural cues where one tries to position the body so that others are closed out of the interaction; turning the body toward the object of interest d. Appeals to invitation: flirtatious glances, gaze holding, rolling of the pelvis, crossing legs to expose thigh, showing the wrist or palm more, protruding ones breasts 3. Another list was developed of flirtatious behaviors women use in quasicourtship interactions to express their interest in a possible mate a. A partial list of these includes room-encompassing glances, prolonged eye contact, hair flips, head tilts, head tosses, smiles, animated gestures, body leans, provocative walks, suggestive touches, etc. (there were 52 behaviors listed) 4. Quasi-courting occurs in nearly all situations when the participants know one another and are engaged in the common objective of courtship

5. Quasi-courtship behavior has a definite purpose in our interactions with others a. It helps provide a positive attitude and increased attentiveness or readiness to relate to the group or other person b. Attraction is definitely a primary element in quasi-courtship behavior 6. Other relationships, beyond courting ones, have also received attention a. Adults with a facial structure resembling that of a child are perceived with such qualities as warmth, submission, less strength, more naivete, less threat, and more honesty, which increases the likelihood of establishing a relationship with them b. Heightened eyebrows, dilated pupils, and wide smiles were perceived as attractive to females c. The female face was perceived to be indicative of submission, warmth, naivete, and weakness 7. People who provide more spontaneous, uncensored nonverbal communication, known as extroverted behavior, are perceived as more attractive a. Those who send extroverted messages are more likely to establish relationships with others D. Display of cognitive information 1. Illustrators are commonly used for this function: they are used to support or complement verbal communication a. They are used to illustrate what is being discussed so interactants have a clearer idea of what is being said b. Used to try and make others see what is being talked about 2. Emblems are also commonly used for this function: they are gestures used to substitute nonverbal information for verbal information a. With these, you do not need the words to interpret the message E. Display of affective information 1. Affect displays are used to show the emotional information of a message: happiness, sadness, surprise, fear, anger, disgust, or contempt a. These are usually seen in posture, facial expression, and gestures F. Deception and leakage 1. Deception: the attempt on the part of a sender to cover up true information about the affect that he or she feels at the moment a. As children get older, their views about lying change; they dont necessarily lie more, they just improve at it b. Some suggestions to detection are to examine the sound of the voice, the look on the face, and a consistency between the movement of hands and the words being said 2. Deception destroys the intended meaning a. Facial expression is often given more credence than verbal information 3. Areas that have been studied for deception are the police officer, spousal situations, and when trying to determine if a person is offering a true emotion or a falsified one

a. Self-deception is often seen when someone uses adaptors (that they dont normally use) b. Adaptors can occur when a person sends a message to himself or herself that an error has been made, creating tenseness, thus the adaptors 4. Self-touching (another form of adaptor) is another form of kinesic behavior to study when looking at deception a. It seems to be used when trying to deceive someone about whether a person is nervous or not b. In situations that cause more anxiety (e.g., interviews), this does not necessarily affect the outcome of a positive or negative evaluation 5. Fidgeting behaviors, another form of adaptor, also have been correlated to deception a. There is a tendency to engage in more extraneous activities: also correlated with an unpleasant and arousable temperament 1) The extraneous activities include binge eating, daydreaming, physical activities, consuming alcoholic beverages, and smoking cigarettes 6. Because deception is probably the most complex of all kinesic factors to determine, it is important to connect the kinesic code and the vocal code here a. The best places to detect deception are in the kinesic and vocalic subcodes 1) Because so many people have learned to deceive others by using their faces, it is important to realize that these other subcodes will be better detectors b. It is also important to realize that the type of lie being perpetrated affects the deception leakage; there are two basic types 1) Prepared lies: those about which the liar knows he or she is going to be asked something, so he or she has prepared in advance 2) Spontaneous lies: one where a surprise question is asked 3) With prepared lies, liars exhibit shorter response latencies (time between question and response), less leg and foot movement, less hand movement, fewer illustrators, less affirmative head nodding, and less eye contact 4) With spontaneous lies, liars exhibit more head nodding, laughs, and smiles 5) It appears that liars who are better prepared to do so were better able to overcome the stereotypical nonverbal indicators of deception c. With or without audio cues, people have been able to distinguish deceptive messages from honest ones 1) Highly apprehensive deceivers show higher levels of vocal stress when telling a lie 2) Those with low apprehension do not seem to be vocally affected 3) Some differences between liars and people who were simply tense a) Liars spent more time adapting and gesturing with their hands b) Liars exhibited longer pauses and response latencies

c) Liars spent less time answering questions d) Liars increased rates of gestures and response latencies e) Aroused truth tellers decreased behavioral rates for the exact same cues 7. There are discrepancies among the studies as to how deception can be detected a. Generally it can be said that facial expressions are not always valid cues to deception, but there are some valid clues to watch for 1) Less eye contact and more averted gaze 2) Messages are shorter 3) Adaptors increase 4) More time between a question and a response (response latencies) b. Cultural differences also exist c. Deception is better detected 1) When probing questions (follow-up questions) are asked 2) When the liar is a friend or intimate rather than a stranger 3) When the decoder (receiver) is male 4) When there is more than one meeting (or interview) d. Deception is detected through vocal cues working with kinesic cues and verbal content 8. Most research suggests that vocalic cues such as speech rate, speech errors, pitch variation, response latencies, pauses, and tone of voice should be looked at as predictors of deception a. Longer pauses and shorter responses have been associated with deception b. Deceivers have been found to use more speech errors and pauses, increased response latencies, and shorter messages c. Nondeceivers have been found to use decreased rates and use longer messages 9. Females and males decode deception differently a. Females rate deceivers lower on sociability than males do b. Deception is more unacceptable for females, both in terms of friendships and romantic relationships 10. People with negative self-concepts were rarely given negative verbal information about themselves; others leak that information nonverbally, but these people are unable to perceive those messages. 11. There has been disagreement about the effects of training on improving peoples ability to detect deception a. Having a baseline for deception helps in determining deception b. Deception training was most useful for detecting spontaneous lies 12. Deceptive communicators provide vocal cues that may give away deceptive performance, but there are also many other factors that help in the detection of deception a. Being able to see the verbal portion of the message presented is more effective in detecting deception than the vocal approach

13.

In all, deception is difficult to discern and one should realize there are no universal cues to detecting it a. The importance of context and how well you know the possible liar when employing any equation of deception detection is crucial

CHAPTER 11 THE COVERT SUBCODES: BIOFEEDBACK, OLFACTION, AND CHRONEMICS I. Feedback Systems A. Gustatory systems 1. Oral taste (gustatory tactile) communication a. It is more a feedback system than it is an actual nonverbal subcode b. It operates more as an information system for humans rather than as a communication interaction system 2. There are at least three monitoring systems that provide information auditory feedback, tactile feedback, and kinesthetic feedback 3. Tactile (oral) recognition of shapes has been studied a. The tactile (oral) system is as accurate as, if not more accurate than, the visual system b. Verbal feedback on shape did not affect performance on a test of oral form discrimination c. No specific learning appears to be operative d. The location of the form in the mouth significantly affected performance 4. These findings suggest two conclusions a. Human beings can receive messages from other than normal systems b. There are forms of communication, which may be unconscious, that affect our behavior and our assessment of things and that may influence our thoughts B. Biofeedback systems 1. There are several types of biofeedback systems, each affecting the individual in a different way a. The skin, the musculature, heart rate, blood pressure, and brain waves serve as potential biofeedback systems b. Each operates most of the time at or below our consciousness c. Skin seems to be one of the most important feedback systems; it is a tremendous communication receptor 2. A second type of feedback is the muscle system a. Serves an essential but not completely understood function b. We see someone we are attracted to, our muscle system changes, pulls or pushes, and alters our posture and even our pupils 3. Heart rate and blood pressure are related biofeedback systems, which also have a communicative function a. They are interpreted as stress or other negative behavioral indicators 4. The olfactory system has been a part of nonverbal communication study since the beginning of research into different factors of nonverbal communication a. Pleasant odors produce a state of relaxation b. Olfaction helps control stress, hunger, and even pain

c. Aromatherapy has at least some degree of effectiveness in calming and soothing troubled spirits and creating smell memories, but some dispute this C. Mood and emotion 1. Feelings may be identified either as associated with a particular odor or with a particular biofeedback device 2. Biofeedback that we receive enables us to judge our own perceptions 3. Two-factor theory of emotion takes into account the physiological reactions we have toward things and how we label those reactions a. We physically respond b. We comprehend the reason why we are physically responding c. The comprehension, in a sense, exerts a steering function d. Understanding provides a framework by which a person labels his or her feelings 4. For an emotion to be correctly identified, both physiological arousal and past experience or other significant cues must be present 5. The physiological arousal is in the form of some biofeedback system 6. The feeling of mood or emotion is a two-part sequence a. First, the individual reacts to some perceptual change b. The individual must label the arousal c. Whatever he or she can attribute the change to in the near environment will produce a cognitive reaction 7. Recognition of deception is part of the feedback system a. Deceit is unsuccessful when the deceiver makes one of two basic mistakes 1) A deception clue is sent 2) When leakage occurs (accidentally revealing information he or she wanted to conceal) b. An example of deception might be the smile 1) Smiles can be the most misunderstood of all facial expressions 2) Smiles conceal true feelings and also can convey false messages 3) False smiles may occur either too early or too late, last too long, have short onset times, or they do not have smooth offset 8. There appears to be a general biological rhythm in all interpersonal communication a. This rhythm consists of a ten-cycle-per-second synchrony between people engaged in nontask behavior b. Interpersonal synchrony begins with self-rhythms meshing with anothers self-rhythms 1) This shows the dyadic effect (or norm of reciprocity) 2) The time orientation (rhythm) you adopt, your partner is likely to adopt II. Olfaction A. We use our olfactory sense daily, but we do not think about what we smell unless it is especially positive or negative

1. We associate certain odors with some visual aspect in the environment: a person, place, or thing 2. The reaction to the smell will influence your behavior B. What is olfaction? 1. Olfaction is the sense of smell and is different than the scientific notion of olfactory communication a. The scientific view of olfactory communication is more concerned with how odor serves to communicate at a level just below the conscious C. Olfactory processes 1. Olfaction is a process whereby we recognize certain scents around us a. The odors may come from the environment, from others around us, or from ourselves 2. Odor memory: odor remains in our memories much longer than things we see or hear a. Odor is received directly in the emotive center of the brain 3. Males and females react differently to a sexual scent a. Complex human behavior was influenced by the odor of substances known to have sexual attractant properties in animals 4. There is also a social effect; there are some that suggest emotions can be smelled a. There are definite odors given off to communicate anger; fear, psychotic behaviors, and other similar emotions may also be associated with odor changes D. Olfactory identification 1. Each of us is influenced by the odors around us, more than we might think 2. According to some, we are poor sensors of smell a. Our sense of smell is much more developed than was thought earlier 3. Olfactory signature: your personalized scent that you carry with you a. The better we get to know someone, the better we know his or her olfactory signature 4. People, when presented with an odor, may fail to identify exactly what they smell but will decide on some type of label 5. Several features help increase odor inventories a. We must first have an accurate label. The more accurate the label, the better we remember the odor. The more specific the label, the better we will remember it b. Females are much better at identifying odors than males are, although males can be trained to identify odors just as effectively as females c. There are age differences; older people have more problems with odor identification than do younger people 6. In the 1700s, odors were classified in a seven-fold category system a. Aromatic b. Fragrant c. Musky d. Garlicky e. Goaty

f. Repulsive g. Nauseous E. Olfactory influence 1. A certain manipulation of others behaviors is possible through smell a. Can be used effectively to sell products b. Can be used effectively to make things more positive or negative than they are c. Can be used effectively to help regulate other forms of communication 2. Many items are deliberately given fragrances, such as paper, fabrics, underwear, socks, cosmetics, prophylactics, etc. 3. Many people are allergic to fragrances a. Because so many people are finding out they are allergic to scented products, many products are now sold as unscented or fragrance free 4. How our bodies smell is most likely affected by our diet, medication, and health F. Olfactory memory 1. A form of remembrance that has the highest memory capacity of all five senses 2. Olfactory memory is a way advertisers sell products a. Scratch & sniff advertisements b. Vivid emotional labels 3. Memories associated with a smell tend to be recalled when the odor is perceived again, but these memories tend to fade with age a. Stronger odors produce more vivid memories b. Both pleasant and unpleasant odors are likely to produce memories c. Odors correctly identified are more likely to provoke a specific memory 4. Smell adaptation: this occurs when the odor you smell becomes a part of your environment or general background; you adapt to the smell 5. Smell adaptation also occurs within environments a. You find the smell seems to have disappeared; your olfactory senses have just adapted to the smell b. Takes longer to adapt to negative smells than positive ones 6. Olfactory dj vu: a vague dj vu feeling may have been called up by an olfactory memory trace 7. Remember, the olfactory process is one that occurs rapidly and might not have conscious labels attached to it 8. Odors can be identified by association; if the association is generalized enough, the odor will trigger a similar memory that might not match the new stimulus III. Time (Chronemics) A. Chronemics is concerned with how we use and structure time and is a significant area of nonverbal communication 1. We have a general Western view of how time should be used a. Other cultures use time differently b. In the United States we are very time-conscious; note the number of watches and clocks encountered in the course of a day

c. Language choices also often indicate time issues 2. Time is generally perceived in three ways a. We can examine time in an individual or psychological orientation, or how we personally use and perceive time b. We can also examine time on a more basic level, considering the biological clocks within us c. We can examine time on a cultural and subcultural level B. The structure of time 1. Our use of time provides others with a glimpse of how we view life itself a. How we structure time offers others insight about us b. It is probably best to examine the kinds of time we hold 2. Westerners perceive time as consisting of between six and eight categories, which are functionally related into four major time pairs a. The eight individual categories combine to create what Hall labeled the ninth category, the ultimate one, called meta time b. Meta time refers to the study of time from philosophical to scientific orientations based on some theory of how time operates 3. Halls time categories: these eight categories range from the imaginary to the real a. Sacred time: time that is rooted in mythology 1) Magical; helps to define consciousness by determining where we are in relation to something not of this world b. Profane time: time that is deeply rooted in the explicit time system found in cultures 1) It is formulated; it consists of centuries, decades, years, months, weeks, days, hours, and minutes c. Micro time: evolves from the sacred and the profane 1) It is culture-specific and a product of the differences in how time units are perceived by the culture 2) Includes informal time perspectives, such as the meanings we place on waiting, punctuality, and other uses of time d. Sync time: links the profane with the micro 1) Refers to the ability of people to move at various paces or beats 2) Will differ both within a given culture and within a particular individual e. Personal time: the experience of time by the individual 1) For an individual, time may crawl or fly f. Metaphysical time: the ability of an individual to escape from time and space, to go into a time warp for which contemporary science has no explanation 1) It is highly personal and mostly unexplainable, at least according to Western thought g. Biological time: cyclic, perhaps part of the sync between individual and environment 1) Concerns the ability of individuals to recognize and alter behaviors they perform because of some cycle they are in

h. Physical time: represents the scientific observation of time and its effect on life 1) Time represents a physical reality, something to be measured precisely and something that has a demonstrated impact 4. Time is not a simple continuum a. Instead, time is nonlinear: it does not follow a strictly logical path 5. The meta time perspective suggests that time categories function to establish usable groupings of categories a. Meta time suggests that all eight time categories interrelate to create our total perception of time C. Bruneaus chronemic structures 1. How is time structured? a. Time can be studied as a microstructure that yields units from which time messages can be analyzed b. Time is best equated with change and that change is a variation of process and duration c. Bruneau operationalizes time at three levels 1) Macrostructural 2) Metastructural 3) Microstructural d. Bruneaus chronemic structure is found in the relationship between time as a process and time as duration 1) Cultures operate on a past-present-future trichotomy 2) This is easier to understand from a personal perspective, meaning how individuals relate process to duration e. What are the time categories that change? 1) Time is inherently personal; we view it as consisting of many things, most of which revolve around becoming and being 2) People view time as transitory, subjective, and related to now 3) The now is measurable; it is the present moment f. Those with past orientations view change as a minimal element in their lives 1) They focus on the stable and constant past g. The future-oriented person views life in terms of novelty, seeking new perspectives on new and old perceptions h. The present-oriented person focuses on the now, living without analysis of the event, living for the immediate duration of the event i. This macrostructure eventually works itself down to the individual 1) The now is tied to the individual who experiences time through one of the three chronemic orientations j. Metastructures are found at the individual level and consist of issues that are centered on how the individual uses and values time 1) How we view time may vary with changes associated with our body clocks 2) These biological clocks then interrelate with social and psychological clocks

k. The interaction of these clocks creates a temporal environment, yielding drives, cues, signals, estimates, beliefs, motives, judgments, and values from which we test nowness l. The making of moments is what constitutes chronemic microstructure 1) A moment is the now 2) Moments are potentially measurable and exist dynamically as units of the now 3) There are four levels of nowness a) Minimal unit: the biological/physical/technical level of time b) Standard interval of time: found in the pacing, regularity, and synchronized use of multiple minimal units c) Variable unit: a conceptual thing that extends into the past and future; we speak of the psychological impact of time and it adds the evaluative aspect to our communication by our use of time d) Point-instant level: something that transcends consciousness 4) The four levels of time occur simultaneously a) At times we are aware of sudden flashes of insight, intuition, or fear D. Culture and time 1. Culture begins to educate each of us at an early age as to the value of and the means by which we distinguish time a. Each culture has its own particular time norms, which are unconsciously followed until violated 2. Each culture teaches its people what is appropriate or inappropriate with regard to time 3. Cultures tend to fall into two main categories a. Monochronic time: defined as doing one thing at a time; it is arbitrary, self-imposed, and learned 1) Americans tend to operate on monochronic time b. Polychronic time: defined as doing many things at the same time 1) Several things may happen at once 4. Informal time: based on practice and takes on a more personalized or psychological orientation, depending on who we are dealing with a. At least six factors influence our perception of informal time 1) Duration 2) Punctuality 3) Urgency 4) Activity 5) Variety 6) Monochronic/polychronic orientation b. These factors are definable on the basis of a personal time orientation; that is, they tend to run as we see them c. Our North American culture is readily definable in terms of how we perceive these six time factors 1) Consider duration: immediately, in a second, in a minute, forever

2) Speed and saving time are even more important in a digital age of personal computers d. Activity deals with what we perceive should be done in a given period; in North American culture, we perceive a great deal of activity as necessary, but not too much at any given time 1) Were monochronic: we like to see things varied within a given period, not everything at once 2) We treat each activity as a separate entity e. Other more polychromic cultures do not place the same emphasis on activity and variety, which leads to the perspective of things will get done when they get done 1) North Americans view this perspective as lazy, nonambitious, and a waste of precious time f. Punctuality: probably the most important culturally defined informal time system 1) In our culture, we expect people to be punctual 2) Arrive at appointed time or just before 3) People tend to sync differently, and there are two major types of synchronizing that pertain to punctuality a) Displaced people: see a point in time as being the end; we operate as if a 4:45 meeting is just thatbe there at 4:45. b) Diffused people: see time as only an approximation; that same 4:45 meeting is an approximationarrive somewhere around that time 4) The issue of punctuality is one of the major chronemic communication issues for many Americans a) We teach time usage to the young b) We often discuss how being nonpunctual communicates something about the individual who is continually late, as well as about the person who is annoyed and irritated by nonpunctuality c) Some of the messages sent by a habitual lack of punctuality: you dont care about the person or event scheduled; you are lazy, disorganized, careless, disrespectful, carefree, etc.; you are more important; among other negative judgments 5) In our culture it is unforgivable to be late for some meetings, such as employment interviews, meetings with a boss, professor, etc. 6) Being late is acceptable in some situations, such as some parties 7) Many believe that someone who is always late and who always has a reason is an excuse giver 8) Students often think it is a professors quirk to be hard on late arrivals, but research has shown that one thing that bothers students the most in a classroom is when students walk in late g. Within each culture there are subcultures that view time differently 5. Formal time: refers to the way a culture views and teaches time as a conscious entity. Creates the time system according to which we Americans operate

a. Seconds minutes, hours, days, weeks, months, years, decades, and centuries b. We attribute great importance to time systems in our culture, allocating salaries, wages, and time spent with someone on a continuum of positive to negative effect c. This perspective is taught to us as a function of five discrete time variables 1) Order: time is ordered a) Monday follows Sunday: indicates a beginning of a period b) We further order our time in terms of number of days per week, weeks per month, weeks per year, months per year, years per century, etc. 2) Cycle: we expect things to occur in a particular cycle over a given number of units 3) Value: we feel good when we can place a value on time spent 4) Duration: temporal continuum, or depth 5) Tangible: we spend time, we buy time, and we view how valuable we are based on hourly pay 6. Technical time: precise way of measuring the relationship between a variable and time a. Scientific time (e.g., NASA time) b. Precise and technical but not too useful in everyday communication