Body Language as Nonverbal Human

Body Language as Nonverbal Human Communication Like other animals, human beings have evolved patterns of body language to help them communicate with others. Because we rely so heavily on verbal communication, we tend not to notice it as consciously as spoken language except in more extreme circumstances such as fear or outright aggression. Nevertheless, human body language and other forms of nonverbal communication patterns provide considerable amounts of information about others (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).

Many aspects of human body language are universal in different cultures and easily recognizable to others from any other society. Other parts of human body language are unique to specific cultures and less recognizable to those outside their culture of origin (Hogg & Reid 2006). In addition to communicating information, human body language is also a means of evaluating the intentions and honesty of other people because it often provides clues to dishonesty and concealed intentions.

Similarly, human body language also provides important clues about relationships, such as who is the most dominant person within a group of people and what their relative rank is to others within their group. This type of communication actually transmits information across distances too great to communicate via verbal language and may have evolved when the earliest human ancestors needed to size up other clans from across the distance (Poole 2007).

Finally, human body language is also a very important part of social courting behavior between available single individuals socializing for the purpose of finding a potential mate. Universal Human Body Language: Many parts of human body language are so common that people from very distant cultures recognize their meaning from a very early age. The most common elements of human body language have to do with strong reactions or emotions such as fear, anger, and disgust.

Even very young children are able to look at cartoon drawings of common facial expressions and identify figures who are "afraid" or "angry." Likewise, many human gestures are also very common to all human cultures, such as a fist raised up in anger or open hands facing up in front to communicate confusion (Poole 2007). Other evidence that human body language evolved during the pre-human period comes from the similarity between so much of human body language and certain types of nonverbal communication used by the other higher primate species.

A visitor to any zoo will recognize some body language and nonverbal communication used by chimpanzees, for example, that is similar to certain parts of human body language. Male chimpanzees who want to communicate to everyone around them that they are dominant typically make a lot of noise and move (or throw) things around while "claiming" the space around them. They may also make mock attacks (and sometimes real ones) on other members of the group, especially other less dominant males (Poole 2007).

Whether in the United States or other parts of the world, human males often show very similar behavior, such as by the way they are purposely loud in groups and the way they "claim" their space in bars and other social gathering places. Like chimpanzees, human males often shove each other around in play to establish or maintain their rank and also like chimpanzees, sometimes those mock displays escalate into real physical confrontations.

Some of the most interesting parts about human body language is how much of it is completely unconscious to both the communicator and the recipient. In psychological studies, subjects participated in interviews with instructions to say things they did not believe during the interview. Afterwards, other subjects were quite successful at identifying which people lied during their interviews just from watching the video without hearing the conversation (Gerrig & Zimbardo 2005).

Mirroring Behavior and the Importance of Postures and Body Position: One of the most common and fascinating elements of human body language and nonverbal communication has to do with the phenomenon called mirroring. It is very evident during interactions within groups of people, whether in the corporate work environment or in social groups and families. In general, less dominant group members usually copy parts of the body language chosen by the more dominant person.

For example, in a corporate boardroom, the most dominant individual is almost always located in a central position or at the head of a conference table. The leader often looks more relaxed and may clasp his hands behind his head with his elbows out while those in more subservient roles may have their hands clasped politely on the table in front of them. Often, others lean back or take sips from their water glasses only after he does first (Hogg & Reid 2006).

Mirroring is also apparent in human body language and nonverbal communication among both courting and established dating or married couples. Nonverbal cues are used to communicate potential romantic availability on the part of the female, possible interest on the part of the male, and then signals from the female indicating whether or not she is receptive to his attention. Where she is interested, she will maintain longer eye contact, smile, and she may fluff out her hair or stroke it with her hands.

Behaviorists call these types of physical gestures preening and the male version is to adjust his belt or his tie, or fix his hair as well. All of this happens in many ways before a single word is actually spoken (Hogg & Reid 2006).

Once a verbal conversation is started, body language continues to send signals of increasing or decreasing interest: where the woman is losing interest, she may turn her body slightly away even while talking, and she may keep her arms tightly crossed and flatten her hair against herself instead of letting it fall outside her shoulders. Instead.