As powerful as gestures are, however, their meanings are not always universal. Gestures often remain the same across cultures but carry dramatically different meanings and connotations. Use the following infographic to learn more about common American hand gestures and their meanings in different parts of the world.
Stories about perfect online dates who bear no resemblance to their online profiles have become fodder for television sitcom plots, late-night punch lines and, unfortunately, crime headlines. Whether these examples reflect the reality of the online dating world or simply the public’s anxieties and fears regarding online matchmaking, the truth remains that online daters can easily get away with lying about themselves for at least as long as it takes to get a foot in the door.
Kate Hartman shares with her audience her observations and personal sense of wonder about the ways in which humans communicate with themselves, with others and with the world around them in the context of modern technological advances.
You often hear about “the little people,” even when actual height is not discussed. Often times, it is people who converse with upcoming celebrities, telling them not to forget “the little people.” A research study from the authors of a new paper published in Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science, found that there is some psychological truth to these kinds of statements.
Deaf people who communicate through sign language are better than their hearing counterparts who don’t understand sign language at spotting and reading body language, according to a new study from the University of California. The study, which was published in the journal Cognition, was funded by the National Science Foundation, along with the National Institutes of Health.
It has long been theorized that concepts could not be fully understood by a members of a culture unless that culture had a word for them. However, according to new research published in the American Psychological Association journal Emotion, it appears that people do not need to be able to name an emotion in order to understand it.
Facial expressions are one of the most powerful languages, especially in terms of communicating emotion. Culture plays a large role in how people interpret facial expressions. Because of this, researcher Rachael E. Jack, PhD, of the University of Glasgow set out to document how different cultures interpret facial expressions. The study, which was also Jack’s thesis, was published in the American Psychological Association’s (APA) Journal of Experimental Psychology.
Modern technology has made great strides in personal communication, but some of the body gestures that are so critical to full understanding are lost in virtual translation. In a typical face-to-face communication, speakers and listeners both engage in certain body gestures that convey meaning and intent, but many technological advances in virtual communication have failed to account for this. According to research published in the PLoS ONE online journal, this limitation severely dampens the ability to communicate virtually.
Like a peacock shows its feathers to attract a peachen, a study by faculty at Rice University, the University of Texas-San Antonio (UTSA) and the University of Minnesota found that men buy Porsches to attract women. This was no surprise, but what was surprising, was that women were able to see right through this.
It’s no surprise that girls are attracted to bad buys, and a new study only reinforces that notion…sorry nice guys. A study focusing on nonverbal communication at the University of British Columbia found happy guys were seen as less attractive than men who were swaggering or brooding.
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