Culture and Psychology

Language and Communication

Language and Communication Introduction Functions of Nonverbal

Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication Language Attitudes Communication Accommodation

Theory Linguistic Relativity

What is Communication? Communication is a process during

which source individuals initiate messages using conventionalized symbols, nonverbal signs, and contextual cues to express meanings by transmitting information in such a way that similar or parallel understandings are constructed by the receiving pry or parties toward whom the messages are directed. (Defleur et al., 1992, p. 11)

What is Language? Language is a sign and symbol

system. It involves a set of rules regarding the linking of symbols to referents and their meanings and the linking of symbols to each other.

What is Language? Language includes several subsystems:

Phonological system sounds

Morphological system meaning units (e.g. words)

Syntactic system grammar

Semantic system meaning

Pragmatic system use

What is Nonverbal Communication? Nonverbal communication is

defined as the way in which people communicate, intentionally or unintentionally, without words.

Nonverbal Communication Functions of Nonverbal

Communication (Ekman & Friesen, 1969) Repeat what is said verbally Complement or clarify verbal meaning Contradict verbal meaning Regulate verbal interaction Substitute for verbal meaning

Similarities and Differences in Verbal and Nonverbal Codes (Burgoon, Buller, & Woodall, 1996)

Discreteness Syntax rules Polysemy Arbitrariness Displacement Reflexivity Transformation Productivity

Analogic coding Iconicity Universality vs.

culture/context bound meaning

Simultaneity Sensory directness Spontaneity

Nonverbal Communication Types of Nonverbal Communication

Facial Expression Kinesics - body movement and

gesture Proxemics - use of interpersonal space Oculesics - eye gaze Haptics - touch Chronemics- time Paralinguistics - vocal cues and silence

Nonverbal Communication Kinesics is the study of body

movement and gestures Illustrators -- nonverbal gestures

directly linked to language Emblems – nonberbal substitutes for

spoken language

Nonverbal Communication Proxemics

Hall (1959, 1966) Zones of Spatial Distance

Intimate (18 inches) Personal (18 inches to 4 feet) Social (4 to 12 feet) Public (12 to 15 feet)

Nonverbal Communication Chronemics

Monchronic perspective: time is a scarce resource, which must be rationed and controlled.

Polychronic perspective: time is flexible, used for the maintenance of harmonious relationships.

Language Attitudes: Definition of Attitudes An attitude is a mental and neural

state of readiness, organized through experience, exerting a directive or dynamic influence upon the individual’s response to all objects and situations with which it is related. (G.W. Allport, 1935)

Attitudes and Language Variation “Persons have attitudes toward language

which are especially salient and influential in initial interactions. Various linguistic features trigger in message recipients beliefs and evaluations regarding message senders and these beliefs and evaluations are most likely to affect recipient’s behaviours toward senders in contexts of low mutual familiarity” (Bradac, 1990, p. 388)

Standard and Non-Standard Speech Styles A standard speech style is the

prestige form of a language, associated with the higher status group in a society.

A nonstandard form is any variant from the standard form (e.g., another language, dialect, accent), usually associated with the lower status group.

Hypotheses about Standard and Non-Standard Speech Styles

Inherent value hypothesis The standard dialect became the prestige

form of the language because it evolved as the aesthetically ideal form of that language.

Imposed norm hypothesis Standard and non-standard dialects are

equally aesthetically pleasing, but the non-standard form is viewed negatively because of social norms which are biased against it.

Research Approaches Content analyses Survey research Experimental research

Matched Guise Technique(Lambert, Hodgson, Gardner, & Fillenbaum 1960)

Independent Variable 4 bilingual speakers read passage once

in English and once in French = 8 passages

Dependent Variable Height, good looks, leadership, sense

of humour, intelligence, religiousness, self-confidence, dependability, entertaining, kindness, ambitious, sociable, character, likeablity

Evaluative Dimensions Ryan et al. (1977)

Status Educated-uneducated, wealthy-poor, intelligent-

unintelligent Solidarity

Trustworthy-untrustworthy, friendly-unfriendly, kind-cruel Zahn & Hopper (1985)

Superiority Literate-illiterate, educated-uneducated, upper class-lower

class Attractiveness

Nice-awful, kind-unkind, good natured-hostile Dynamism

Active-passive, talkative-shy, enthusiastic-weak

Evaluative Dimensions:Status and Solidarity

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Solidarity

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Respondents fromLower Status Group

Respondents from Higher Status

Group

Language Attitudes and Discrimination Compliance Workplace Education Law Medicine

Language Attitudes and Discrimination in the Workplace (de la Zerda & Hopper, 1979)

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Supervisor SkilledTechnician

UnskilledWorker

AccentedUnaccented

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Other Speech Characteristics Lexical Diversity

Vocabulary range, assessed through a type-token ratio (# of new words to total words)

Evaluative reactions: status, competence, control, persuasiveness

Speech Rate The number of words or syllables that

speakers utter per unit of time (per minute is the standard unit)

Evaluative reactions: competence, persuasiveness

Other Speech Characteristics, continued Language Intensity

The quality of language which indicates the degree to which a speaker’s attitude toward a concept deviates from neutrality (Bowers, 1963, p. 345)

Evaluative reactions: complex, interacts with other variables.

Communication Accommodation Strategies Convergence

Moderation of a speech style, whether in terms of lexical diversity, rate, accent, language, and/or some other linguistic feature, to become more similar to the interactant

Divergence Accentuation of a difference between

interlocutors on one or a number of linguistic features.

Maintenance Refusal to alter communication style

Communication Accommodation Theory Social Exchange Theory Similarity-Attraction Hypothesis Causal Attributions Psychological Group

Distinctiveness

Linguistic Relativity (Sapir-Whorf Hypothesis) Linguistic Determinism

The structure of a language strongly influences or fully determines the way its native speakers perceive the world.

Linguistic Relativity Structural differences between

languages will generally be paralleled by non-linguistic cognitive differences in the native speakers of the two languages.

Linguistic Relativity, cont. “Languages differ not so much as

to what can be said in them, but rather as to what is relatively easy to say” (Hockett, 1954, p. 122, original emphases)

Linguistic Relativity, cont. Language and perception Language and memory Language and reasoning Language and social inference