Abstract
A naive assertion about human communication is that it consists of words. A more sophisticated statement recognizes that extralexical aspects of communication, including gestures, posture, facial expression, tone of voice, dress, and timing of speech, also convey meaning. In human social interaction information, typically, is conveyed redundantly so that a speaker’s facial expressions, gestures, tone of voice, postures, and words are mutually consistent, augmenting and reinforcing each other. For purposes of analysis the various communication components may be grouped into “channels” which are defined as sets of communication components which convey information and which are emitted and responded to in a systematic manner (Wiener & Mehrabian, 1968). Although the delineation of any set of component behaviors as belonging to the same communication channel is somewhat arbitrary, it can be justified pragmatically and empirically (Wiener, Devoe, Rubinow, & Geller, 1972).
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution.
Buying options
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Learn about institutional subscriptionsPreview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
References
Ainsworth, M. D. S., Blehar, M. C., Waters, E., & Wall, S. Patterns of attachment: A psychological study of the strange situation. Hillsdale, NJ.: Erlbaum, 1978.
Anderson, D. R., Lorch, E. P., Field, D. E., & Sanders, J. The effects of TV program comprehensibility on preschool children’s visual attention to television. Child Development, 1981, 52, 151–157.
Bateson, G., Jackson, D. D., Haley, J., & Weakland, J. Toward a theory of schizophrenia. Behavioral Science, 1956, 1, 241–264.
Beakel, N. G., & Mehrabian, A. Inconsistent communications and psychopathology. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1969, 74, 126–130.
Birch, H. G. & Lefford, A. Intersensory development in children. Mongraphs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1963, 28 (2, Whole No. 89).
Bronson, G. W. Infants’ reactions to unfamiliar persons and novel objects. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 1972, 37 (3, Whole No. 148).
Brooks, R., Brandt, L., & Wiener, M. Differential response to two communication channels: Socioeconomic class differences in response to verbal reinforcers communicated with and without tonal inflection. Child Development, 1969, 40, 453–470.
Buck, R. Nonverbal communication of affect in children. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1975 31, 644–653.
Buck, R. Nonverbal communication of affect in preschool children: Relationships with personality and skin conductance. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1977, 35, 225–236.
Bugental, D. C. Interpretations of naturally occurring discrepancies between words and intonation, modes of inconsistency resolution. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1974, 30, 125–133.
Bugental, E. E., Kaswan, J. W., & Love, L. R. Perception of contradictory meanings conveyed by verbal and nonverbal channels. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1970, 16, 647–655. (a)
Bugental, D. E., Kaswan, J. W., Love, L. R., & Fox, M. N. Child versus adult perception of evaluative messages in verbal, vocal, and visual channels. Developmental Psychology, 1970, 2, 367–375. (b)
Bugental, D. E. Love, L. R. Kaswan, J. W., & April, C. Verbal-nonverbal conflict in parental messages to normal and disturbed children. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 1971, 77, 6–10.
Bugental, D. E., Love, L. R., & Gianetto, R. M Perfidious feminine faces. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1971, 17, 314–318.
Bugental, D. B., & Love, L. Nonassertive expression of parental approval and disapproval and its relationship to child disturbance. Child Development, 1975, 46, 747–752.
Collins, W. A. Cognitive processing aspects of TV viewing. In D. Pearl (Ed.), Television and Behavior: Ten years of Scientific Progress, NIMH, Washington, DC, 1982.
DePaulo, B. M. & Rosenthal, R. Age changes in nonverbal decoding as a function of increasing amounts of information. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 1978, 26, 280–287.
Harper, R. G., Wiens, A. W., & Matarazzo, J. D. Nonverbal communication: The state of the art. New York: Wiley, 1978.
Hinde, R. A. Biological bases of human social behavior. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1974.
Jancovic, M., Devoe, S., & Wiener, M. Age-related changes in hand and arm movements as nonverbal communication: Some conceptualizations and an empirical exploration. Child Development, 1975, 46, 922–928.
Levin, S. R. & Anderson, D. R. The development of attention. Journal of Communication, 1976, 26, 126–135.
Levitt, E. A. The relationship between abilities to express emotional meanings vocally and facially. In J. R. Davitz (Ed.), The communication of emotional meaning. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1964.
Mayo, C. & LaFrance, M. On the acquisition of nonverbal communication: A review. Merrill Palmer Quarterly, 1978, 24, 213–228.
Mehrabian, A. & Ferris, S. R. Inference of attitudes from nonverbal communication. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 1967, 31, 248–252.
Mehrabian, A. & Wiener, M. Decoding of inconsistent communications. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1967, 6, 109–114.
Peterson, C. L., Danner, F. W., & Flavell, J. H. Developmental changes in children’s response to three indications of communicative failure. Child Development, 1972, 43, 1463–1468.
Piaget, J. The origins of intelligence in children. New York: Norton, 1963.
Prentice, N. M. & Fathman, R. E. Joking riddles: A developmental index of children’s humor. Developmental Psychology, 1975, 11, 210–216.
Rheingold, H. L. The effect of a strange environment on the behavior of infants. In B. M. Foss (Ed.), Determinants of infant behavior (Vol. 4 ). London: Metheun, 1969.
Rice, M. L., Houston, A. C., & Wright, J. C. The forms and codes of television: Effects on children’s attention, comprehension and social behavior. In D. Pearl, (Ed.), Television and behavior: Ten years of scientific progress, NIMH, Washington, DC, 1982.
Schuam, A. I. The double-bind hypothesis a decade later. Psychological Bulletin, 1967, 68, 409–416.
Solomon, D., & Ali, F. A. Age trends in the perception of verbal reinforcers. Developmental Psychology, 1972, 7, 288–243.
Solomon, D. & Yaeger, J. Determinants of boys’ perceptions of verbal reinforcers. Developmental Psychology, 1969, 1, 637–645. (a)
Solomon, D. & Yaeger, J. Effects of content and intonation on perceptions of verbal reinforcers. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1969, 28, 319–327. (b)
Volkmar, F. R. & Cohen, D. J. A hierarchical analysis of patterns of noncompliance in autistic and behavior disturbed children. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 1982, 12, 35–42.
Volkmar, F. R., Hoder, E. L., & Siegel, A. E. Discrepant social communications. Developmental Psychology, 1980, 16, 495–505.
Volkmar, F. R. & Siegel, A. E. Young children’s responses to discrepant social communications. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1979, 20, 139–149.
Wiener, M. & Mehrabian, A. Language within language. New York: Appleton, Century, Croft, 1968.
Weiner, M., Devoe, S., Rubinow, S., & Geller, J. Nonverbal behavior and nonverbal communication. Psychological Review, 1972, 79, 185–214.
Zigler, E. & Kanzer, P. The effectiveness of two classes of reinforcers on the performance of middle-class and lower-class children. Journal of Personality, 1962, 30, 157–163.
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1982 Springer Science+Business Media New York
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Volkmar, F.R., Siegel, A.E. (1982). Responses to Consistent and Discrepant Social Communications. In: Feldman, R.S. (eds) Development of Nonverbal Behavior in Children. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1761-7_9
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4757-1761-7_9
Publisher Name: Springer, New York, NY
Print ISBN: 978-1-4757-1763-1
Online ISBN: 978-1-4757-1761-7
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive