| Each and every day, in every social interaction, we communicate our feelings, attitudes, thoughts, and concerns nonverbally. Nonverbal communication is used to convey power and status, it is used to express love and intimacy, it is used to communicate agreement, to establish rapport, and to regulate the flow of communication. Nonverbal communication is pervasive, ongoing, and it is part of virtually every human endeavor.
The scientific study of nonverbal communication began more than 125 years ago, with the pioneering work of Charles Darwin and his book, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals (1872). A check of the PsycINFO database (beginning coincidentally in 1872) shows nearly 20,000 entries with the subject heading "nonverbal." However, despite this long and rigorous line of research, we still are quite limited in our ability to apply much of this research to important "real world" settings. Much of what researchers have discovered about nonverbal communication remains in professional journals, read and studied only by other researchers of nonverbal communication.
This volume provides a much-needed bridge between the research on nonverbal communication and the application of these research findings. In this volume, some of the leading researchers in the field apply their work to understanding nonverbal communication processes in hospitals and clinics, in courtrooms and police stations, in the workplace and in government, in the classroom, and in everyday settings. It explores nonverbal communication in public settings, in intimate interpersonal relationships, and across cultures. It is our hope that practitioners of all types, from healthcare workers, to law enforcement specialists, to teachers to managers and government leaders, will find the information contained in this volume useful for improving their professional and everyday communication.
The editors of this volume would like to express thanks to the team that helped organize and host the 20th Annual Claremont Symposium on Applied Social Psychology that was the beginning of this project—Lynda Mulhall, Paul Thomas, Stuart Oskamp, and Sandy Counts. The Symposium was supported by Claremont Graduate University, Claremont McKenna College, the Kravis Leadership Institute, and associate sponsors from Harvey Mudd College, Pitzer College, Pomona College, and Scripps College. A special thanks to President Steadman Upham of Claremont Graduate University. Sandy Counts, Lynda Mulhall, Carli Straight, Yoonmi Kim, and Erin Smith were instrumental in helping with the preparation and production of this volume.
—Ronald E. Riggio Claremont, California —Robert S. Feldman Amherst, Massachusetts
Applications of Nonverbal Communication appeals to a diverse group of practitioners, researchers, and students from a variety of disciplines including psychology, health care, law enforcement, political science, sociology, communication, business and management. It may also serve as a supplement in upper level courses on nonverbal communication.
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