Q&A Hero

Q: A friend learns you are taking a course in interpersonal communication and remarks, "Wow, I'll bet you know all about how to read nonverbals. Tell me the rules." Write out your response to your friend. Be sure to address the assumption behind your friend's statement as well as what you might tell the friend about "rules."

Q: Passionate smoldering kissing burned 6.4 calories a minute.

Q: About 2/3 of people tilt their head to the right when kissing.

Q: In the United States, it is common for friends and romantic partners to sample food from each other's plates, but many Germans consider this extremely rude.

Q: Western women wear slacks or jeans, shirts, dresses, and suits, whereas women in India may wear saris.

Q: In Korea, Japan, China, Nepal, and other Asian countries, chopsticks often are the primary eating utensil.

Q: Cultures do not differ in their orientations toward time.

Q: Cultural training does not influence which emotions we express and how we express them.

Q: In Asian and northern European countries, direct eye contact is considered disrespectful and considered abrasive.

Q: In some cultures, kisses on both cheeks are the standard mode of greeting and bidding goodbye to business contacts.

Q: Verbal communication tends to be perceived as more believable.

Q: Nonverbal communication may be intentional or unintentional.

Q: Nonverbal communication is arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract.

Q: Nonverbal communication is rule-guided.

Q: Silence is considered a form of nonverbal communication.

Q: Thin women are considered attractive across cultures.

Q: Men are more likely than women to use nonverbal behaviors to express how they feel.

Q: People with high status and/or power tend to touch others and invade others' space more than do people with less power and/or status.

Q: Maintaining direct eye contact is always a sign of respect and attentiveness.

Q: Nonverbal communication do not reflect cultural values.

Q: Nonverbal behaviors are generally more influential than verbal communication in establishing the relational level of meaning.

Q: These are elements of settings that affect how we feel and act. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. environmental factors

Q: Studies on ____ show that people eat faster when fast music is played in an eating area. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. environmental factors

Q: According to a former president of the Seirra Club, the term ____ was coined to describe a pattern in which toxic waste dumps and hazardous industrial plants are disproportionately located in low income neighborhoods and communities of color. a. environmental racism b. environmental resistance c. environmental prejudice d. environmental diversion e. environmental operation

Q: In some military academies, such as West Point, this is a recognized method of stripping a cadet of personhood if he or she is perceived as having broken the academy code. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: This soothes seriously ill babies. Hospital intensive care nurseries have found that special headphones that block noise reduce the stress caused by the sounds of respirators, ventilators, and other hospital machinery. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: Substantial research shows that women and minorities take up less space than white men in Western society. This is related to ____. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: These can also communicate awkwardness, as you know if you've ever had trouble keeping conversation going on a first date. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: It includes sounds, such as murmurs and gasps, and vocal qualities, such as volume, pitch, and inflection. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: Actors will have to learn diction and elocution of words when taking on a new role. They really must pay close attention to ____. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: Kandoor has a hard time pronouncing some English words, because his other language is so different. Kandoor is having some problems with ____. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: It is standard practice to have to wait, sometimes a good while to see a physician or attorney, even if you have an appointment. This conveys the message that the physician's ____ is more valuable than yours. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: These are personal objects we use to announce our identities and heritage and to personalize our environments. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: Responses to invasions of ____ also reflect power with men likely to respond more aggressively than females when it is invaded. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: In some cultures, such as many Eastern cultures, silence indicates: a. disrespect b. contempt c. disapproval d. thoughtfulness e. fastidious

Q: In Bruno's car, he has many bumper stickers and several souvenirs from all the road trips that he has made in that car. Bruno's personal items are examples of ____. a. proxemics b. paralanaguage c. artifacts d. kinesics e. haptics

Q: The sense of touch is: a. proxemics b. paralanaguage c. artifacts d. kinesics e. haptics

Q: All of the following are similarities between verbal and nonverbal communication except: a. Nonverbal communication is symbolic b. Nonverbal communication is rule-guided c. Nonverbal communication may be intentional or unintentional d. Nonverbal communication reflects behavior e. none of these

Q: The paralanguage is communicated through: a. tone and pitch b. rate c. pauses and disfluencies d. all of these e. tone and pitch only

Q: A person with Mobius syndrome cannot a. smile b. frown c. blink d. wink e. all of these

Q: Verbal communication and nonverbal communication are similar in all of the following respects EXCEPT: a. both are symbolic. b. both are rule-guided. c. both may be unintentional or intentional. d. both are shaped by culture. e. both are perceived as equally believable.

Q: Morgan is a teacher and wants to make sure that each of her students respect each other. She has a rule that if a student wants to talk, then the student must raise his/her hand before speaking. Morgan also will instruct the students not to talk by placing her hand over her mouth. These rules help to ____. a. establish relational-level meanings. b. establish content-level meanings. c. regulate interaction. d. define her cultural standpoint. e. demonstrate warmth.

Q: Raul came to the United States from Mexico three months ago and he is still having trouble understanding Americans' tendency to rush all the time. He is also surprised when his teachers are irritated if he joins class a while after class has started. Raul's confusion about American pace of life is based on which aspect of nonverbal behavior? a. chronemics b. proxemics c. kinesics d. artifacts e. silence

Q: Little Timmy did not get a toy from the supermarket that he really wanted. He refuses to sit near his mom or even hold her hand when he walks to the car. He is using his ____ to indicate his anger. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. paralanguage. e. silence.

Q: When Mark and Cindy fight, Mark knows when Cindy is really upset. Because every time Mark will ask if something is wrong, Cindy will scream "Everything is fine!" Mark knows that because she is screaming, her ____ indicates that she is mad. a. artifacts. b. chronemics. c. proxemics. d. kinesics. e. paralanguage.

Q: Christy just moved into her new dorm room and spent the first day hanging pictures, putting out souvenirs of important times, and putting favorite objects on the bookshelves. Christy has relied on what form of nonverbal communication to personalize the new apartment? a. paralanguage b. artifacts c. kinesics d. proxemics e. physical appearance

Q: Cosmetic surgery and eating disorders are associated with ____, one type of nonverbal behavior. a. paralanguage b. physical appearance c. haptics d. artifacts e. environmental factors

Q: Assuming an attentive posture, holding eye contact, and nodding to show you understand what another person is saying are nonverbal behaviors that convey which dimension of relational-level meanings? a. responsiveness b. liking c. status d. power e. control

Q: Because nonverbal communication is ____ selective perception is likely to occur. a. multichanneled b. culture-bound c. intentional d. symbolic e. continuous

Q: Which one of the following is not a paralanguage behavior? a. raising volume when speaking b. pausing between words to emphasize certain words c. refusing to speak d. lowering pitch e. lowering volume when speaking

Q: A conservative estimate is that nonverbal communication accounts for what percentage of the total meaning in interpersonal communication? a. 93% b. 100% c. 25% d. 65% e. 80%

Q: What is the Whorf-Sapir View of language?

Q: Why is it important that we don't have to be aware of communication rules to follow them?

Q: What are constitutive rules? How do they differ from regulative rules? Also, be sure to give an example?

Q: Meiko is not very good at communicating. How can you help her become a better verbal communicator?

Q: Your textbook states that respecting what others say about what they feel is a cornerstone of effective interpersonal communication. Describe some strategies for respecting what others say and feel.

Q: The author of your text argues that language is arbitrary, ambiguous, and abstract. Explain each of these terms and their implications for our communication with others.

Q: In Chapter 3 on perception and communication, the author stated that there is no intrinsic meaning in phenomena but that humans actively construct meanings and attach values. In Chapter 4, the author argued that language is powerful and that values inherent in the words we use shape our perceptions and those of others. Do these two statements contradict one another? Craft your answer in relation to the notions of hate speech and loaded language. (Be sure to distinguish between these two notions in your answer and provide concrete examples to support your point).

Q: Define static evaluation and explain what Chapter 4 suggested as a method of avoiding static evaluation in our thinking. Provide a concrete example of the method in a real-life situation.

Q: Describe the genesis of feminine and masculine speech communities and explain the kinds of rules for communicating that each speech community instills in its members.

Q: A common instance of conflicting punctuation is the demand-withdraw pattern.

Q: A study by Victoria DeFrancisco (1991) revealed a clear pattern between spouses, in which husbands interrupted wives and were unresponsive to topics wives initiated. Both husbands and wives were unaware of the rules, but their communication nonetheless sustained the pattern.

Q: For the most part, we're not conscious of the rules that guide how, when, where, and with whom we communicate about various things.

Q: Constitutive rules specify how to interpret different kinds of communication. We learn what counts as respect (paying attention), friendliness (smiles or smiley emoticons in online communication), affection (kisses, hugs), and professionalism (punctuality, competence).

Q: Regulative rules do not vary across cultures and social groups, so what is acceptable in one context may be regarded as inappropriate elsewhere.

Q: Cultural understandings of other sexual activities have been similarly reformed by the coining of terms such as sexual harassment and marital rape, both of which characterize activities previously perceived as acceptable.

Q: Communication does not reflect cultural values and perspectives.

Q: The informal style of writing common in e-mail, text messages, and social network postings is beginning to affect writing in more formal contexts.

Q: Research shows that we are more likely to recall behaviors that are consistent with our labels for people than behaviors that are inconsistent.

Q: Couple counselor Aaron Beck (1988) reports that overly general language distorts how partners think about a relationship.

Q: Although words don't mean exactly the same thing to everyone, within a culture many symbols have an agreed-upon range of meanings.

Q: According to Judi Miller (1993), children begin to understand and follow communication rules as early as 1 to 2 years of age.

Q: As our symbols become increasingly abstract, the potential for confusion decreases.

Q: Language is a primary tool that social movements use to change cultural life and meanings.

Q: Saying, "I've had a similar experience," is a way to respect others' experiences.

Q: Interaction punctuation can be objectively defined.

Q: Speech communities are not necessarily defined by geographic locations and boundaries.

Q: The I and ME aspects of self are opposing forces.

Q: Symbols are neutral descriptions of phenomena.

Q: We follow communication rules even when we are not consciously aware of them.