The Structure and Organisation of Verbal and Nonverbal Behaviour: Data for Models of Reception

Abstract

The question of the relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviours is addressed from the point of view of the effects that these behaviours have on judgments that participants and observers make about persons enacting these behaviours. Behaviours that produce similar judgments may be said to have similar functions or meanings. Literature relevant to the effects of various verbal and nonverbal behaviours on judgments of control and affiliation is summarised. The theoretical implications of this work are examined in the areas of participant vs observer judgments, judgmental heuristics and rules of combination.