Maddie Guzaitis
Assignment #3: Nonverbal Communication I covertly observed two males speaking in the cafeteria while I was having dinner. I sat several tables away and used my roommate’s body as a shield while I discreetly evaluated their nonverbal behavior. Throughout their interaction, I was able to observe the following nonverbal behaviors:
Kinesics: Participant 2 held both of his hands outwards with both of his palms facing upwards
Kinesics: Participant 1 held his head in his hand
Kinesics: Participant 1 smiled
Kinesics: Participant 1 placed his hands in his pockets
Kinesics: Participant 2 nodded his head
Proxemics: Participant 1 leaned in to hear better, within an intimate to personal distance, around 18 inches apart
Proxemics: Both…show more content… They appeared to be close friends due to the fact that they used an intimate to personal distance when interacting, but that also could have been due in part from the volume level in the cafeteria at that point. Participant 2, who seemed to be leading the conversation, looked like he was sharing a story or explaining something to Participant 1 due to his use of hand gestures and paralanguage. Both participants were invested in the conversation based on their eye contact and feedback; Participant 2 nodded his head frequently and Participant 1 used microexpressions and sat with an open posture with his hands in his pockets. The conversation was thoughtful, and both speakers paused several times to collect their thoughts before continuing in their discussion. The only nonverbal behavior the two males displayed that confused me was Participant 2 putting his jacket on. This action seemed insignificant to the interaction and Participant 2 could have just felt cold. This action did take place near the end of the interaction, so another possibility is that Participant 2 put on his jacket as a regulator to signal that he had to leave or that he was ready to end the conversation with
