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LESSON 1
COMMUNICATION
- Communication enables individuals to exchange cognitive and emotional content (thoughts,
knowledge, opinions and emotions).
- For communication to be effective, we should share the same background.
- Communication is a competence → communicating effectively means also being able to transmit
the implicit meanings.
- Communication involves body language. Non verbal communication is very powerful.
- Communication involves at least two agents who produce, interpret, transform and retrieve
messages.
- Communication means persuasion and most communication processes involve a persuasive
intent.
- Persuasion is a process involving the who and what of communication → the who and the what
influence the reception of the message.
- Communication cannot be detached from the social context.
- Communication is a process → it is an exchange among two or more people. It passes through
different stages. Each communicative act should be considered taking into account the context and the background.
- Communication has to be considered as a complex exchange involving several subjects in a
series of events. It takes place in different stages.
- People can be convinced of something after a communicative act.
TOPICS COVERED IN THE COURSE
- Communicative act → the smallest act of communication that can be divided into: who (source),
what (message) and to whom (recipient).
- Facial expressions
COMPONENTS AND FUNCTIONS OF COMMUNICATION
Communication is defined by 2 basic characteristics:
- Communication is a process → communication has to be considered as a complex exchange involving several subjects in a series of events. The focus of the analysis is not addressed to every communicative act taken away from the context, but the attention should be addressed towards the interactions of the agents within the context;
- Communication is intentional → This point has been debated because earlier definitions have considered intentionality as a fundamental feature. According to this idea, communication means intention → there is communication when there is an intent to communicate. But more recent research have expressed a different point of view that implies that intentionality is not a defining element. Indeed, according to Watzlawick there is no opposite of behaviour as everything we do is linked to behaviour, you can’t avoid communicating. All scholars that belong to this Palo Alto group agree on the fact that communication doesn’t need to be intentional. → one cannot not communicate.
- (^) This definition is one of the most useful we can rely on: “Human communication can be described as a process of message exchange in a social environment, involving cognitive activities, emotional states, and behavioural outcomes” → it makes clear how the role of psychological processes is important. COMPONENTS OF THE COMMUNICATIVE ACT
- (^) It is the minimum unit of analysis of a communication exchange, which can be broke down into components.
- (^) Every communicative act is made of these 7 components:
- Source → Who produces the source;
- Message → The content (can be a speech, a commercial, a letter);
- Receiver → The listener (audience, group, target);
- Channel → physical medium that make the transmission of the message possible. It can be verbal (words, language) and non-verbal;
- (^) A feature of the decoding process is that different people may perceive the same message differently, actually the receiver can be influenced by various factors, such as the physical sensitivity (a partially deaf person may not understand a few words);
- (^) Then there is the attitude of the source, for example it may have a friendly or hostile attitude.
- (^) Also the personality of the receiver may influence the understanding of the message. Indeed, people with a high self esteem may ignore negative judgements while a person with low self- esteem may overrate negative and disapproving indications.
- (^) Of course, when talking about decoding we can also make decoding mistakes, it happens when people communicating do not have the same knowledge or do not have the same shared system of meanings. COMMUNICATION AS A TRANSFER OF INFORMATION Shannon and Weaver Model (1949) → mathematical model. From this model, many studies on communication have started. It was the first model who broke down the basic components of communication. It was influenced by technological discoveries, such as the invention of the computer. The concept of information was very important → conceptualised as the difference between two or more data elements = the model proposes the idea that people communicate when there is an exchange of information/message. S&W model studies communication as information transmission
THE MODEL
Shannon and Weaver's model is a very simplified model of communication: At the base of communication there is a source that transmits a message through a process of encoding through a transmitter (medium, apparatus) so in the case of language there is phonatory apparatus that allows to emit sounds, then there is the transmission of the signal and then the signal goes through the receptor and through the receptor happens the decoding, where the signal is recognised. After the decoding, the signal becomes a message that goes to the recipient. LIMITATIONS
- (^) Communication is more complex than proposed. Source and receiver are conceptualised as two "mechanical" systems, connected by a unidirectional channel. Communication is seen as a linear process.
- (^) The recipient is given a passive role. Thus, as there is communication only from source to receiver and when the message arrives, communication ends. Scholars have later abandoned this model as it is over simplistic. In order to address some of the limitations of the model, the creators later added a few concepts. ELEMENTS ADDED LATER TO THE MODEL:
- (^) Feedback → the amount of info that returns from the receiver to the sources. feedback allows the source to modify the subsequent transmission of the message. It makes us understand that the process of communication is circular.
- (^) Redundancy→ repetition in the encoding of the message that helps decoding E.g. advertisement strongly relies on repetition
- (^) Noise/disturbance. → refers to all those elements that interfere with the transmission. We can refer to physiological or psychological noises like when the ability to express concept is compromised.
LESSON 2
DOUBLE BIND THEORY (Bateson, 1963) Inconsistency between the level of explicit speech (e.g. verbal, what is said) and another implicit level (e.g. nonverbal, gestures, attitudes, tone of voice). When you talk about a double bind effect we refer to a situation in which communication between two individuals that are connected emotionally presents an inconsistency between the explicit level like verbal communication and an implicit level that can be non verbal like gestures. The receiver of the message doesn’t have the possibility to understand which level to consider true. Example → a mother telling her child she loves him but the body language is not consistent, the child doesn’t know how to respond to the situation as he is still dependent on the mother for basic needs, so there is a dilemma. Indeed, especially small children have difficulties in interpreting these situations but cannot ignore them. One of the causes of some pathologies like schizophrenia is the inconsistency between the explicit and implicit levels. PRAGMATIC APPROACH: PALO ALTO AXIOMS OF COMMUNICATION 5 basic principles of communication:
- One cannot not communicate → any behaviour communicates something and since it is impossible to have a non behaviour, non communication is equally impossible. everything we do conveys some message;
- Every communication has a content and relationship aspect → the level of the content refers to what is being communicated, the second level is communication, so the relation you want establish with the receiver;
- Communication sequences follow a punctuation → the way in which communication is interpreted may depend on how the sequence of communication is punctuated
- Communication involves both digital and analogic modalities. → analogic communication is non verbal, it is based on similarities between communication and the object of communication like drawing an object in the air while we are talking. Digital communication refers to verbal language
- All exchanges are either symmetrical or complementary → every communication exchange is either symmetric or complementary depending on the power balance between the two communicators. We have a symmetrical relationship when people treat each other as similar, in a complementary relationship communicators are not the same ANALYSIS OF COMMUNICATIVE SITUATIONS We now have basic knowledge on how to analyse communicative situations, we can rely on the components of the communicative act. Components of the communicative act can be studied by focusing on various points:
- (^) we need to identify who is the source and receiver;
- (^) what are the features of the context/background (co-presence/synchrony and social roles);
- (^) Channel (verbal/non-verbal)
- (^) Encoding and decoding (communicators' skills). COMMUNICATIVE SITUATIONS
- (^) The phone call → 1. different places, 2. communication is synchronous, 3. the cannel is verbal and we miss a lot of non-verbal communication;
- (^) The chat room → 1. different places, 2. communication is asynchronous, 3. the channel is verbal, but we try to compensate it with non verbal communication;
- (^) The job interview → 1. same place, 2. synchronous, 3. channel is both verbal and non verbal, both employer and employee involved in encoding and decoding. the employee has to pay attention to the recruiter. recruiter more involved in the decoding process;
- (^) Sign language conversation → non verbal language can completely substitute verbal language;
- (^) The television debate → multi level communication situation= two people communicating, people then acting as the audience , more difficult to identify the source, verbal and non verbal
Pragmatic competence: communicating taking into account the context/background in which communication takes place. It is important to understand each other not only in terms of explicit meaning but also in terms of implicit meaning.
LESSON 3
NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
The channel can be verbal and nonverbal, indeed human communication relies on different communication forms that can be related to our body language. The body can convey various meanings through gestures, postures, gaze… all these signs convey meanings. The main difference between verbal and non verbal is the absence of words. Importance of non-verbal communication → Non verbal communication has a strong importance in communicative interactions, one of the most interesting areas to analyse is the public debates and political debates. Politicians are very aware of this power, sometimes they might change non verbal strategies to change the situation. Gender is one of the factors that influence non-verbal communication.
RECAP TABLE
The basic components of a communicative act are source, message receiver, encoding and decoding, channel and context. Communicating has several functions: transmitting meanings, expressing oneself, controlling reality and coordinating relationships with others. According to Shannon and Weaver, communication involves a linear transfer of information. According to the pragmatic approach, communication is strongly conditioned by the context and the relationships between the interlocutors. Communicative competence is the ability to effectively use communicative behaviours in a given context.
Debate between Trump and Clinton in 2016 elections → Trump took advantage of his physical appearance to dominate the situation, as while Clinton was talking trump walked around the stage to distract the attention from Hillary’s words. Trump does not do contracting postures as it would mean to take less space, they do not use pointing gestures as it is aggressive. Hillary smiled and tried to be close to people. Debate between Biden and Trump in 2020 elections → the debate between Biden and Trump was different because of social distancing, for example they couldn’t even handshake, but it was very heated, so much that at some point it was unmanageable. The moderator could not even intervene so much as they are still more powerful, idea of subordination, they were standing and the moderator seated when talking about covid issues Biden looks directly at the camera to address all Americans, with pointing gestures that are non-aggressive, he speaks in an assertive and simple way.
- Percentage approaches Non-verbal communication began to be studied in the 30s and one of the most famous line of communication research was conducted Mahriabian. He proposed the percentage approach → he presented people with sentences and he asked these people to associate the sentences to faces. Then they were asked to assess how the speaker was expressing himself. He was able to find out that people rely on body language by 55%. According to this study, only the 7% of the communication is made of words. Similar studies carried out in 1970 by Argyle, another famous social psychologist, claim that NVC is 7.5 times more powerful than VC in the expression of interpersonal attitudes. When there is an ambiguity nonverbal signs are more indicative than verbal communication. Other scholars have challenged this approach. Some recent studies have explained that when expressing their opinions on candidates in Twitter posts, people rely much more on candidates’ non verbal behaviour, rather than on their speeches.
THEORIES OF NON VERBAL COMMUNICATION
There were 2 main approaches, that are two opposite poles:
- INNATIST /BIOLOGICAL THEORIES: they emphasise the role of genetic factors. Non-verbal communication has mostly a genetic origin;
- ENVIRONMENTAL/SOCIAL LEARNING THEORIES: social learning and the environment in which we are embedded are more important for the non verbal communication. Culture is the primary influence in shaping our nvc. Multidisciplinary approach The origin of non-verbal communication derives both from biological factors and from learning/ social experience. This has been supported by several researches concerning which areas of our brain activate when we are expressing nvc signs. There is a double nature in nvc, both a spontaneous and intentional level. These 2 levels are linked to different areas of the brain.
LESSON 4
NON-VERBAL CODES
Kinesics (from Greek - movement), which refers all body movement except for physical contact with another body. When we say kinesics we mean:
- Face and gaze → facial expressions, related head movement;
- Gestures;
Then we have vocal activity, which refers to all the features of the voice:
- Non-verbal vocalisations
Furthermore we have proxemics, which refers to the management of interpersonal space:
- Space and posture (like distances)
Finally we have the visual code, which refers to the graphical choices that have meanings
- Images, illustrations, signs.
Each aspect is highly interdependent on the others.
KINESICS
Facial expressions Facial expressions are particularly important for the expression of emotions. The face is the most relevant channel of nvc. Face is also the location of many sensory organs and the face identifies people. We have a lot of facial muscles that produce a set of expressions, the zygomatic muscle is really important. The corrugator muscles are between the eyebrows and are associated with negative emotions. All muscles are controlled by the facial nerve that goes from the brain to the face. Researchers have found different regions and types of expressions on the face. They have also found levels of consistency of how in different cultures different facial expressions express different things. Intentional vs. Unintentional expressions → all facial muscles can be stimulated by the spontaneous level or the controlled one. The hypothalamus is activated for spontaneous emotions and the motor cortex is activated for intentional emotions. Evolutionary origin of the expression of emotions → Darwin was among the first ones to get interested in the expression of emotions. According to him expressions are important to survive. He also proposed the idea that there are universal expressions that do not vary from one culture to another. Paul Ekman conducted a study in Papua Nueva Guinea in the 70’s, noted that people from the west could read expressions from people from Papua Nueva Guinea and vice versa. He compared the expressions of the people in the West with the ones of people from Papua Nueva Guinea. He then therefore developed the Neurocultural theory → there is an innate basis to express emotions through the face, but this innate basis are then shaped by the culture we belong to.
- (^) Systems of description and coding of emotion expression :
- FAST (Facial Affect Scoring Technique) (Ekman, Friesen and Tomkins, 1971) The face is divided into 3 areas: one upper area, middle and lower. The system identifies some typical positions of the face muscles for each area (8 basic positions for eyebrows, 17 for eyes, 45 for the lower area). This positions combined then produce facial expressions.
As regards the expression of primary emotions, meaning those that people perform since their birth, they are universal, spontaneous and innate. Indeed, according to Ekman, these are common to all individuals, regardless of their origins. Ekman argues that primary emotions, which are those expressions that are universal and common to all individuals. The main movements are the same. They are also spontaneous, they are not controlled by individuals. They are innate. Primary emotions should be considered “families” of emotions where we can find different relations and nuances that correspond to the verbal labels that we use to define emotions, such as "happiness”, “fear”, etc. FACIAL SIGNALS
- Static Signals → permanent facial features, for example the bone structure. They do no express emotions, they represent the frame where other facial expressions are activated.
- Slow/Slow Changing Signals → signs that indicate a change in our face that is due to maturation, such as wrinkles. Slow/slow changes do not communicate emotions, but affect one’s overall facial expressions.
- Rapid Signals → the muscles that produce quick changes of our people’s faces. They can be divided into: - (^) Emotional messages → are facial movement that convey emotions and that are intentional expressed; - (^) Emblems → the signals that convey meanings that are shared within the same culture; - (^) Punctuation of a conversation → the rapid signals which function like punctuation, and which provide rhythms to people’s speeches; - (^) Micro-expressions → they appear on one's face for a short period of time, and which reveal one’s true mood and frame of mind.
DECEPTION DETECTION
Ekman and his team started to study the deception detection, by identifying the clues that can reveal the real intention of a person. The focus on micro-expressions led to identifying other signals of deception, which refers to when people control what they are saying. According to Ekman, besides micro-expressions, another deception sign are the so-called covered expressions, meaning that whenever people control their feelings, their spontaneous expressions are covered by these fake expressions. Ekman also suggested that there may be traces of deception due to lack of inhibition of less controllable muscles. Indeed, as not all face muscles are easily controllable, in some cases, our facial expressions do not perfectly correspond to our emotions. Moreover, execution time can also serve as a tool for detecting deception. Indeed, since spontaneous expressions usually have a short duration, if any expression lasts longer than 10 seconds, it probably is controlled. Also, there is the placement in the flow of the discourse. Indeed, as, people tend to firstly convey non-verbal messages and secondly communicate their feelings through verbal forms, whenever this order is reversed, the facial expressions is fake, as the placement in relation to the speech is not consistent with the flow of discourse. Finally, another deception detection tool is asymmetry. This phenomenon is due to the fact that, as our brain is divided into 2 sides, some functions are located in the left side, whereas some others are located in the right one. Notably, the right side deals with the ability to control feelings is on the right side; whereas, the left one deals with spontaneous feelings. As a result, the spontaneous expression of emotions is more accentuated in the left side of the human face, while intentional control affects the right side of the face more. Lies and simulations are influenced by social forces. Whenever this is the case, their communication does not always match with their real feelings. These mechanisms through which people manage emotional communication, such as the ways in which people try not to cry at work, are defined as culturally-displaced rules.
LESSON 5
GAZE (included in the Kinesics system) The use of eyes serves to perform many other functions, like expressing interpersonal attitudes or emotions or regulating interactions. Many eye behaviours convey meanings (eg eye contact may communicate attraction or anger), the avoidance of eye contact might show shame, submissiveness. It can be intentional or unintentional. Intentional: when we use the eyes to communicate something (gaze direction or eye expression). Unintentional: pupil dilatation→ wider when we are in the dark, but also affected by attraction or interest, some studies claim that when people look at someone that they find attractive their pupil open wider. But all of this happen outside of our contact. Eye-tracking Eye-tracking is one of the technologies linked to eye movement. It can detect persons eye behaviour and follow what people are looking at in real time → the technology converts eye movement in a data stream that contains info like dilatation, position, gaze vector of each eye and also gaze point. Two examples of outputs of eye tracking. Heat map → warm and cold colours areas of the page that attract the viewers, red and orange to indicate the most viewed areas of the page, green where people are looking less Focus map → results of the heat map translated in black and white areas People tempted to follow the eye-gaze → people more likely to give attention to the product. Area of interest → the squares with the percentages represent the time spent looking at that part. This output gives qualitative and quantitative results, as the duration of the fixation is reported. Another area of interest shows the entry time, which is the moment where the first fixation happens. Another example: two versions of the same AD → people focused more on the girl in the video rather than the number that had to be dialled.
Functions of gaze:
- Communicating interpersonal attitudes → when we talk about interpersonal attitudes, we refer to the classification in the map, where there are 2 main dimensions that define most of the attitudes. We have the affiliation dimension (friendly, hostile). Then we have the status dimension like more dominant attitudes or submissive attitudes. GAZE AND DISTANCES Intimacy equilibrium model → it describes the interaction between gaze and distance. These 2 researches made some studies to verify their hypothesis. The experiment consisted of asking to two people to talk about a neutral topic in 3 conditions: 1. close to each other, 2. intermediate position, 3. far from each other. When people were too close this was compensated by looking less in each other eyes, but as distance increased participants looked at each other eyes more. The conclusion is that there is a compensation between the code of proximity and gaze. 2. Complementing speech → r egulates turn-taking. Gaze is also intermittent, we can’t look at the other person for too long. It also important because it helps recognising feedback for example during a conversation. Additionally, it serves to send information to ourselves about our attitudes and our emotions.
