Evidence #1 - Haptics
Mr. Bean episodes are perfect examples when it comes to observing nonverbal communication. In this particular episode, Mr. Bean is attending a church service, fighting the urge to sneeze, listen attentively, and avoid falling asleep. Meanwhile, the gentlemen that he is sitting next to politely sits next to him, undesturbed at first, but later becoming annoyed (watch his facial expressions).
Noticing the use of touch avoidance with the gentleman as Mr. Bean does things that are not socially acceptable. The man displays a "closed minded" mentalit while he sits in church with his arms across. Perhaps it is to protect his personal space along with being comfortable in the pew, but it mainly shows that he doesn't want to have any physical contact with anyone.
When Mr. Bean begins to drift off and falls asleep, you can notice the man back away and make facial expressions of displeasure that he does not want to be touched by this "strange man" but attempts to remain polite throughout.
Evidence #2 - Proxemics
Considering the use of proxemics and space in our daily lives, both public and private, open up a lot of scenerios that prompt for an interesting discussion. The article referencing the New York Times discusses Edward Hall's Type of Distance model that further discusses how people use this space.
One eyecatching point was the effect of sales while window shopping and how a sale may be potentially lost due to the fact of a stranger violating your space while looking at an item. Typically, this wouldn't bother me, but I can see the point of how being touched while in an already crowded store could cause one to feel suffocated with space and feeling uncomfortable.
The articles also discusses how the invention of individual music players is able to create a "safe space" for the user, since it is a personal space inside their head and outside their body that helps create an intimate space. Normally, people use music to shut out any unwelcome conversation or contact with others while in public. I too will occasionally use my personal music player to simply get from point A to point B without being disturbed. It all depends on the mood I am in.
Evidence #3 - Personal Appearance
Personal appearance in the workplace, and in professional settings, can dictate how well perceived you are by your coworkers, clients, and general public. The Business Insider gives 20 modern-day workplace tips to show that in many cases, appearance does matter. A few of the points given are also emphasised within schools and colleges and also other organizations who not only care about how well perceived they are by their audience, but also in a means to protect others from harmful overdoses of smelling someone's perfume or being "too sexy" with the clothing they chose to wear. In many cases, these tips are straightforward. Those who tend to use more common sense will understand that "you cannot no communicate" who you are by what you are wearing. It should be embraced by professionals and many others in society instead of trying to always be defiant and make a statement.
Another interesting, but very truthful tip given that stands out to me is that people should never over accessorize. The example given of dangly bracelets, clinky rings, and big, bold earings, along with some chain necklaces, are to be kept at a minimum. Over accessorising has been a frequent encounter I have seen in the workplace that can be overly gaughty and obnoxious.
In summary, in order to be taken seriously and expect others to resepect you, it is safe to say that many people within the workforce should consider their personal appearance to give the impression they wan to give in a positive, credible manner.
American Anthropologist, Ray Birdwhistell, did a study on kineiscs with nonverbal communcation, specifically focusing on facial expressions involving the activity of the mouth. Listed to the right is an image of basic mouth movements that Birdwhistell concluded humans use to form their phonics structure. He used a series of video taping, radical and new for studies at that time, which helped him develop his chart and emphasis the usage of how mouth movements are not "accidental" but natural to all cultures.
His study specifically focused on tribal members in Africa and then later comparing them to American nonverbal communication. However, other anthropologists and social science experts disagree with Birdwhistell's generalization, crediting that his chart is "by far the most elaborate and famous example of a structural approach" but understanding that facial experessions are not universal to everyone, since it is a learned and cultural aspect that helps develop mouth muscles.
Evidence #5 - Kinesics
Evidence #6 - Vocalics
Evidence #7 - Olfactics
Considering Helen Keller to be a very well known, monumental person in communication, I decided to look into a study that involved how dreaming (and those who may happen to be blind) may have heightened senses that over compensate, leading to some individuals who can smell in their dreams. An interesting note to make is that Hellen Keller herself observed similar phenomenons, since she was able to smell, but not hear or see, she described that she was able to smell new smells that were undescribeable to any other smell in the world.
Additionally, around 1% of the world experiences this same thing. Regardless of if they are able to have hightened senses due to loss of others or have all of their senses working, there are some people who are able to smell in their dreams. Some studies suggest that this is a cause of memory retention and recall due to the fact that you can experience many smells and link it to a memory.
In a clinical study conducted by Montague, Chen, Xu, Chewning, and Barrett, the observations made during this study focused on eye behaviors between a clinician and their relationships with their patients. The hypothesis created for this study was that if the clinician maintained direct and consistent eye contact with their patient, a sense of empathy would be embraced, making the patient's experience with the clinican pleasant.
Interstingly, but not surprising, results of this study showed that the amount of mutual gaze given by both parties created a personal bond between the two interacting with each other. The reasoning concluded by this is that when someone makes consistant eye contact with another, they are naturally more "in tune" with the converstation, especially when dealing with emotional information regarding health. Over 110 encounters were observed and video taped (assuming confidentiality was not broken).
Further interest with this study in the future would want to take a look at the verbal aspect of this study and see how the context of the verbal conversation effected the mutual gaze measured.