14 DAY TRIAL // During their dialogs and conversations, people instinctively send additional messages to the ones they are voicing through a variety of other means, which come together under the name of non-verbal communication (NVC). Nods, frowns, hand gestures, head tilts and approving expressions are all part of the arsenal each of us unknowingly employs when talking, and which others pick up unconsciously too. Naturally, you can train yourself to pick up these subtle clues, but you have to know exactly what you're looking for.
On average, women tend to use their head more when talking, moving it from side to side, tilting it, or making approving or disapproving gestures. Conversely, men use it a lot less during their conversations, and rely more on voicing their ideas out loud. When men and women discuss, a sort of “equilibrium” is attained, in that the former nod more, and the latter less.
But researchers at the University of Virgina were curious to learn exactly how people detected their conversation partner's non-verbal messages. For their study, they decided to change the apparent gender of a person talking to a test subject in a video conference, while maintaining their head movements and facial expression patterns.
“We found that people simply adapt to each other's head movements and facial expressions, regardless of the apparent [gender] of the person they are talking to. This is important because it indicates that how you appear is less important than how you move when it comes to what other people feel when they speak with you,” University of Virginia Professor of Psychology Steven Boker explained.
He is also the author of a new paper detailing the finds, which will be published in an upcoming issue of the Journal of Experimental Psychology: Human Perception and Performance. The expert will also present the conclusions at the annual convention of the Association for Psychological Science in San Francisco.
“From a psychological standpoint, our interest is in how people interact and how they coordinate their facial expressions as they talk with one another, such as when one person nods while speaking, or listening, the other person likewise nods. When I coordinate my facial expressions or head movements with yours, I activate a system that helps me empathize with your feelings,” the expert added.