Nonverbal Behavior: A Functional Perspective

by M.L. Patterson

Overview

My interest in nonverbal behavior has remained constant for over 15 years. I think this has been the case because nonverbal behavior has proved a very fascinating and challenging topic. Others might suggest that I am just a slow learner. With enough time in any area, however, one begins to feel that he or she has some special insights to offer to others. About the time that I was struck with that thought, approximately two and a half years ago, I was developing the first version of my sequential functional model of nonverbal exchange. It seemed to me that the func­ tional model might provide a very useful framework for a book discussing and analyzing nonverbal behavior. I did not want (nor do I think I had the patience) to write a comprehensive review of research on nonverbal behavior. Other works, such as Siegman and Feldstein's (1978) edited Nonverbal Behavior and Commu­ nication, and Harper, Wiens, and Matarazzo's (1978) Nonverbal Communication: The State of the Art, have provided excellent reviews of the research on nonverbal behavior. Instead, what I have tried to do in this book is to use nonverbal behavior as a vehicle for discussing social behavior. In a very real sense, this analysis of nonverbal behavior is a means to an end, not an end in itself. A consequence of this approach is that this review is a selective one, unlike the comprehensive works mentioned earlier.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781461255666
Publisher:	Springer New York
Publication date:	10/08/2011
Series:	Springer Series in Social Psychology
Edition description:	Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1983
Pages:	216
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.25(h) x 0.02(d)

Table of Contents

1. Defining a Perspective on Nonverbal Behavior.- Patterns of Nonverbal Behaviors.- Nonverbal Involvement.- Functional Analysis.- Summary.- 2. Developing a Sequential Functional Model.- Theoretical Background.- Empirical Research on the Arousal Model.- Comprehensiveness of Existing Theories.- Antecedent Factors.- Mediating Mechanisms.- Exchange Outcome.- A Sequential Functional Model.- Summary.- 3. The Informational Function.- Perspectives on Communication.- Determinants of Communication.- Expressive Indication.- Implications of the Communication-Indication Contrast.- Summary.- 4. Regulating Interaction.- Focused Interactions.- Unfocused Interactions—Passing Encounters.- Summary.- 5. Intimacy.- The Construct of Intimacy.- Social Penetration Theory.- Relationship Intimacy and Nonverbal Involvement.- Developed Relationships.- Assessing the Intimacy Function.- Summary.- 6. Social Control.- Power and Dominance.- Persuasion.- Feedback and Reinforcement.- Deception.- Impression Management.- Comparing Intimacy and Social Control Functions.- Conclusions.- Summary.- 7. The Service-Task Function.- Service Relationships in Focused Interaction.- Evaluating the Service Component.- Task Constraints in Unfocused Interactions.- Significance of the Service-Task Function.- Summary.- 8. Antecedent Influences.- Personal Factors.- Experiential Factors.- Relational-Situational Factors.- The Mediation of Antecedent Influences.- An Overview of Antecedent Influences.- Summary.- 9. An Overview: Problems and Prospects.- Evaluating the Functional Perspective.- Directions for Research.- Personal Observations.- Summary.- Reference Notes.- References.- Author Index.