Exploring the impact of nonverbal social behavior on learning outcomes in instructional video design.

Online education has become increasingly popular in recent years, and video lectures have emerged as a common instructional format. While the importance of instructors' nonverbal social cues such as gaze, facial expression, and gestures for learning progress in face-to-face teaching is well-established, their impact on instructional videos is not fully understood. Most studies on nonverbal social cues in instructional videos focus on isolated cues rather than considering multimodal nonverbal behavior patterns and their effects on the learning progress. This study examines the role of instructors' nonverbal immediacy (a construct capturing multimodal nonverbal behaviors that reduce psychological distance) in video lectures with respect to learners' cognitive, affective, and motivational outcomes. We carried out an eye-tracking experiment with 87 participants (Mage = 24.11, SD = 4.80). Results of multilevel path analyses indicate that high nonverbal immediacy substantially increases learners' state motivation and enjoyment, but does not affect cognitive learning. Analyses of learners' eye movements show that learners allocate more attention to the instructor than to the learning material with increasing levels of nonverbal immediacy displayed by the instructor. The study highlights the importance of considering the role of multimodal nonverbal behavior patterns in online education and provides insights for effective video lecture design.

Early pragmatic expectations in human infancy.

There is no room for pragmatic expectations about communicative interactions in core cognition. Spelke takes the combinatorial power of the human language faculty to overcome the limits of core cognition. The question is: Why should the combinatorial power of the human language faculty support infants' pragmatic expectations not merely about speech, but also about nonverbal communicative interactions?

[Dreaming of a psychomotrician in a medical-psychological emergency room]. / Rêver d'un psychomotricien en cellules d'urgence médico-psychologique.

The psychomotrician is a healthcare professional trained in mind-body approaches. They take into account sensoriality, motor skills, cognition, psyche and emotions in relation to the individual's environment and the expression of disorders. It  is an integral part of the treatment of post-traumatic stress disorder. For some years now, psychomotricians have been part of volunteer teams in medical-psychological emergency units, where they offer an integrative approach. Using the body and mediation as their working tools, they rely on non-verbal communication and body language to bring the patient back to the present moment within a reassuring framework.

The nonverbal expression of guilt in healthy adults.

Guilt is a negative emotion elicited by realizing one has caused actual or perceived harm to another person. One of guilt's primary functions is to signal that one is aware of the harm that was caused and regrets it, an indication that the harm will not be repeated. Verbal expressions of guilt are often deemed insufficient by observers when not accompanied by nonverbal signals such as facial expression, gesture, posture, or gaze. Some research has investigated isolated nonverbal expressions in guilt, however none to date has explored multiple nonverbal channels simultaneously. This study explored facial expression, gesture, posture, and gaze during the real-time experience of guilt when response demands are minimal. Healthy adults completed a novel task involving watching videos designed to elicit guilt, as well as comparison emotions. During the video task, participants were continuously recorded to capture nonverbal behaviour, which was then analyzed via automated facial expression software. We found that while feeling guilt, individuals engaged less in several nonverbal behaviours than they did while experiencing the comparison emotions. This may reflect the highly social aspect of guilt, suggesting that an audience is required to prompt a guilt display, or may suggest that guilt does not have clear nonverbal correlates.

Differential Evaluation of Straight and Gay Men for Nonverbal Effeminate Behavior.

The purpose of this study was to determine how violation of gender-based expectancies might influence straight men's attitudes toward men who differ by sexual orientation (i.e., straight or gay). This study was specifically designed to avoid methodological issues that may have been present in similar research. Hypotheses were informed by Expectancy-Violation Theory (EVT) and the Black Sheep Effect (BSE), which together suggest that an effeminate straight man should be evaluated by other straight men more negatively than an effeminate gay man because the former target negatively violated expectations. Additionally, EVT suggests that a masculine gay man should be evaluated more positively than a masculine straight man because the former positively violates expectations, while the BSE instead suggests the latter should be evaluated more positively than the former due to ingroup bias. Self-identified straight men evaluated a male target whose sexual orientation and gender conformity were manipulated through a photo and vignette. A moderated mediation analysis was performed to determine if perceived expectancy violation mediated the relationship between sexual orientation and evaluations for both effeminate and masculine men. Straight effeminate targets were evaluated more negatively than gay effeminate targets; however, straight masculine targets were evaluated more favorably than gay masculine targets, a finding more consistent with the BSE. In addition, perceived expectancy violation did not mediate the relationship between sexual orientation and evaluations regardless of gender expression. More research should be conducted to identify the mechanisms through which evaluations of straight and gay targets differ based on gender expression.

Older adults' communication with an interactive humanoid robot : Expectations and experiences of older adults in verbal and nonverbal communication with a socially interactive humanoid robot: a mixed methods design in Germany.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: One possible approach to counter singularization and loneliness of older adults is the development and implementation of socially interactive robots. Little is known about the expectations and experiences of older adults with socially interactive humanoid robots. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In a mixed-methods design study, user expectations before interaction and the experience and evaluation of verbal and non-verbal communication after interaction with a robot were assessed. Semi-structured interviews were conducted after the interaction. RESULTS: The majority of older adults expected verbal communication. After the interaction the evaluation of the quality of verbal communication differed. Participants did not expect any form of nonverbal communication. Nonverbal communication was highlighted as particularly positive. Gestures, facial expressions, and body movements were described as confidence building. CONCLUSION: The robot's ability to communicate nonverbally might positively influence older adults' experience of communication with the robot. In the development of socially interactive robots non-verbal communication should be given more consideration in order to contribute to successful human-robot interaction.

Entre paradas e movimentos: uma revisão teórica a respeito do silêncio em psicanálise / Between stops and movements: a theoretical review of silence in psychoanalysis / Entre arrêts et mouvements: une revue littéraire du silence en psychanalyse / Entre paradas y movimientos: una revisión teórica sobre el silencio en el psicoanálisis

Em um contexto clínico, existem diversos tipos de silêncio, próprios de cada análise e presentes de diferentes formas no processo analítico. Este artigo visa realizar uma revisão teórica a respeito do silêncio na literatura psicanalítica. Pretende, também, transitar por reflexões existentes na psicanálise acerca de um silêncio específico: silêncio com potência de movimento e função criadora no processo de análise. A partir da revisão realizada, percebe-se que o silêncio na clínica psicanalítica pode ser pensado a partir do silêncio do paciente, do analista ou em seu aspecto intersubjetivo, ou seja, relacional. A revisão da palavra "silêncio" na obra freudiana abre espaço para pensar a presença intrínseca, porém, coadjuvante, do silêncio na psicanálise desde suas origens. A pesquisa também possibilita ampliar o entendimento do silêncio para além de seu aspecto resistencial. Ilumina os aspectos produtivos e potentes desse conceito em psicanálise e no trabalho analítico

Silence presents many forms within a clinical context, specific to each case and presenting in different ways during the analytical process. This theoretical review of the psychoanalytic literature on silence seeks to push forward psychoanalysis reflections about silence imbued with the power of movement and a creative function. Silence in clinical psychoanalysis can be considered from the perspective of the patient, the analyst, or the relationship, i.e., its intersubjective aspect. A review of the word "silence" within Freud's work allows us to reflect on the intrinsic but supporting presence of silence in psychoanalysis since its origins , expanding the understanding of silence beyond resistance. It clarifies the productive and potent aspects of this concept in psychoanalysis and the analytical process

Le silence se présente sous de nombreuses formes dans un contexte clinique, spécifique à chaque cas et se manifestant de différentes manières au cours du processus analytique. Cette revue théorique de la littérature psychanalytique sur le silence cherche à parcourir les réflexions existantes en psychanalyse sur le silence doté de puissance de mouvement et de fonction créatrice. Le silence dans la clinique psychanalytique peut être conçu du point de vue du patient, de l'analyste ou de son aspect inter-subjectif, c'est-à-dire relationnel. Un examen du mot silence chez Freud nous permet de réfléchir à la présence intrinsèque, bien que secondaire, du silence au sein de la psychanalyse depuis ses origines, en élargissant la compréhension du silence au-delà de la résistance. Elle met également en évidence les aspects productifs et puissants du concept de silence en psychanalyse et dans le travail analytique

En un contexto clínico, existen varios tipos de silencio, específicos para cada análisis y presentes de diferentes maneras en el proceso analítico. Este artículo se propone realizar una revisión teórica sobre el silencio en la literatura psicoanalítica. También tiene como objetivo avanzar a través de las reflexiones existentes en el psicoanálisis sobre un silencio específico: el silencio con el poder del movimiento y la función creativa en el trabajo de análisis. De la revisión realizada, queda claro que el silencio en la clínica psicoanalítica puede pensarse desde el silencio del paciente, el analista o en su aspecto intersubjetivo, es decir, relacional. La revisión de la palabra silencio dentro del trabajo freudiano llevado a cabo en la investigación abre el espacio para pensar sobre la presencia intrínseca, pero de apoyo, del silencio dentro del psicoanálisis desde sus orígenes. La investigación también permite ampliar la comprensión del silencio más allá de su aspecto resistivo. Ilumina los aspectos productivos y potentes de este concepto en el psicoanálisis y el trabajo analítico

A importância do corpo junto à função de reconhecimento / The importance of the body in the recognition function / La importancia del cuerpo en la función de reconocimiento / L'importance du corps et la fonction de reconnaissance

Resumo O reconhecimento se apresenta como via pela qual o psiquismo poderá se desenvolver e complexificar a partir de seu encontro com o outro e as afetações que este irá suscitar. Da mesma forma, o reconhecimento se apresenta enquanto movimento de afirmação de si por um elemento do meio externo com o qual o indivíduo se relaciona. Nesse contexto, vemo-nos diante de modalidades de interação da personalidade por meio de vias não-verbais, o que confere grande relevância ao corpo em nosso estudo, apresentando-se enquanto palco que torna possível a expressão e reconhecimento de determinados conteúdos psíquicos que de outra forma não poderiam ser postos em cena nas relações.

Abstract Recognition is presented as a way the psyche can develop and complexify from its encounter with the other and the affects this will arouse. Likewise, recognition is presented as a movement of affirming oneself by an element of the external environment the individual relates to. In this context, we are faced with modalities of personality interaction via non-verbal means, giving the body great relevance in our study, which presents itself as a stage that makes it possible to express and recognize certain psychic contents that could not otherwise be brought into play in relationships.

Resumen El reconocimiento se presenta como una vía por la cual la psique puede desarrollarse y complejizarse a partir de su encuentro con el otro y los afectos que este generará. Asimismo, el reconocimiento manifiesta como un movimiento de afirmación por parte de un elemento del entorno externo con el que se relaciona el individuo. En este contexto, nos encontramos ante modalidades de interacción de la personalidad a través de vías no verbales, lo que otorga gran importancia al cuerpo en nuestro estudio, presentándose como una etapa que posibilita la expresión y reconocimiento de ciertos contenidos psíquicos que de otra manera no podrían ser puestos en juego en las relaciones.

Résumé La reconnaissance est présentée comme un moyen par lequel le psychisme peut se développer et se complexifier en fonction de sa rencontre avec l'autre et des affectations que cela va susciter. De même, la reconnaissance est présentée comme un mouvement d'affirmation de soi par un élément de l'environnement extérieur avec lequel l'individu est en relation. Dans ce contexte, nous sommes confrontés à des modalités d'interaction de la personnalité par des voies non verbales, ce qui donne une grande importance au corps dans notre étude, se présentant comme une étape qui rend possible l'expression et la reconnaissance de certains contenus psychiques qui, autrement, ne pourrait pas être joué dans les relations.

Investigating the human chemical communication of positive emotions using a virtual reality-based mood induction.

Humans can communicate their emotions to others via volatile emissions from their bodies. Although there is now solid evidence for human chemical communication of fear, stress and anxiety, investigations of positive emotions remain scarce. In a recent study, we found that women's heart rate and performance in creativity tasks were modulated by body odors of men sampled while they were in a positive vs. neutral mood. However, inducing positive emotions in laboratory settings remains challenging. Therefore, an important step to further investigate the human chemical communication of positive emotions is to develop new methods to induce positive moods. Here, we present a new mood induction procedure (MIP) based on virtual reality (VR), that we assumed to be more powerful than videos (used in our previous study) to induce positive emotions. We hypothesized that, consequently, given the more intense emotions created, this VR-based MIP would induce larger differences between the receivers' responses to the positive body odor versus a neutral control body odor, than the Video-based MIP. The results confirmed the higher efficacy of VR to induce positive emotions compared with videos. More specifically, VR had more repeatable effects between individuals. Although positive body odors had similar effects to those found in the previous video study, especially faster problem solving, these effects did not reach statistical significance. These outcomes are discussed as a function of the specificities of VR and of other methodological parameters, that may have prevented the observation of such subtle effects and that should be understood more in-depth for future studies on human chemical communication.

Four Misconceptions About Nonverbal Communication.

Research and theory in nonverbal communication have made great advances toward understanding the patterns and functions of nonverbal behavior in social settings. Progress has been hindered, we argue, by presumptions about nonverbal behavior that follow from both received wisdom and faulty evidence. In this article, we document four persistent misconceptions about nonverbal communication-namely, that people communicate using decodable body language; that they have a stable personal space by which they regulate contact with others; that they express emotion using universal, evolved, iconic, categorical facial expressions; and that they can deceive and detect deception, using dependable telltale clues. We show how these misconceptions permeate research as well as the practices of popular behavior experts, with consequences that extend from intimate relationships to the boardroom and courtroom and even to the arena of international security. Notwithstanding these misconceptions, existing frameworks of nonverbal communication are being challenged by more comprehensive systems approaches and by virtual technologies that ambiguate the roles and identities of interactants and the contexts of interaction.

Effects of mild-to-moderate sensorineural hearing loss and signal amplification on vocal emotion recognition in middle-aged-older individuals.

Previous research has shown deficits in vocal emotion recognition in sub-populations of individuals with hearing loss, making this a high priority research topic. However, previous research has only examined vocal emotion recognition using verbal material, in which emotions are expressed through emotional prosody. There is evidence that older individuals with hearing loss suffer from deficits in general prosody recognition, not specific to emotional prosody. No study has examined the recognition of non-verbal vocalization, which constitutes another important source for the vocal communication of emotions. It might be the case that individuals with hearing loss have specific difficulties in recognizing emotions expressed through prosody in speech, but not non-verbal vocalizations. We aim to examine whether vocal emotion recognition difficulties in middle- aged-to older individuals with sensorineural mild-moderate hearing loss are better explained by deficits in vocal emotion recognition specifically, or deficits in prosody recognition generally by including both sentences and non-verbal expressions. Furthermore a, some of the studies which have concluded that individuals with mild-moderate hearing loss have deficits in vocal emotion recognition ability have also found that the use of hearing aids does not improve recognition accuracy in this group. We aim to examine the effects of linear amplification and audibility on the recognition of different emotions expressed both verbally and non-verbally. Besides examining accuracy for different emotions we will also look at patterns of confusion (which specific emotions are mistaken for other specific emotion and at which rates) during both amplified and non-amplified listening, and we will analyze all material acoustically and relate the acoustic content to performance. Together these analyses will provide clues to effects of amplification on the perception of different emotions. For these purposes, a total of 70 middle-aged-older individuals, half with mild-moderate hearing loss and half with normal hearing will perform a computerized forced-choice vocal emotion recognition task with and without amplification.

Investigating contributors to performance evaluations in small groups: Task competence, speaking time, physical expressiveness, and likability.

This study compared the impacts of actual individual task competence, speaking time and physical expressiveness as indicators of verbal and nonverbal communication behavior, and likability on performance evaluations in a group task. 164 participants who were assigned to 41 groups first solved a problem individually and later solved it as a team. After the group interaction, participants' performance was evaluated by both their team members and qualified external observers. We found that these performance evaluations were significantly affected not only by task competence but even more by speaking time and nonverbal physical expressiveness. Likability also explained additional variance in performance evaluations. The implications of these findings are discussed for both the people being evaluated and the people doing the evaluating.

Aging and working memory modulate the ability to benefit from visible speech and iconic gestures during speech-in-noise comprehension.

When comprehending speech-in-noise (SiN), younger and older adults benefit from seeing the speaker's mouth, i.e. visible speech. Younger adults additionally benefit from manual iconic co-speech gestures. Here, we investigate to what extent younger and older adults benefit from perceiving both visual articulators while comprehending SiN, and whether this is modulated by working memory and inhibitory control. Twenty-eight younger and 28 older adults performed a word recognition task in three visual contexts: mouth blurred (speech-only), visible speech, or visible speech + iconic gesture. The speech signal was either clear or embedded in multitalker babble. Additionally, there were two visual-only conditions (visible speech, visible speech + gesture). Accuracy levels for both age groups were higher when both visual articulators were present compared to either one or none. However, older adults received a significantly smaller benefit than younger adults, although they performed equally well in speech-only and visual-only word recognition. Individual differences in verbal working memory and inhibitory control partly accounted for age-related performance differences. To conclude, perceiving iconic gestures in addition to visible speech improves younger and older adults' comprehension of SiN. Yet, the ability to benefit from this additional visual information is modulated by age and verbal working memory. Future research will have to show whether these findings extend beyond the single word level.

Social Interaction Skill Intervention for Autistic Adults with Intellectual Disability and Limited Language: A Pilot of the SKILL Program.

There is a dearth of research that focuses on social intervention efforts for adults on the autism spectrum with intellectual disability and limited conversational language. Using a multiple baseline experimental design, this pilot investigation of the Socialization Knowledge for Individuals with Limited Language (SKILL) program evaluated a novel peer-facilitated group program specifically designed to target social interaction skills for this population. Findings from five pilot participants yielded evidence of social improvements across specific verbal skills (on-topic conversational contributions and responses) and nonverbal behaviors (eye-contact, active listening), as evidenced by coded social conversation probes and parent-report measures. These findings demonstrate the promise of a socialization intervention for a population that has historically been neglected in the social intervention research literature.

Emotional Experiences in the Workplace: Biological Sex, Supervisor Nonverbal Behaviors, and Subordinate Susceptibility to Emotional Contagion.

This study aims to investigate the relationship among different types of supervisor nonverbal behaviors, subordinate susceptibility to emotional contagion, and subordinate emotional experience. It also examined the possible interaction effects of nonverbal behaviors, emotional contagion, and both supervisor and subordinate biological sex. N = 669 full-time employees participated in an online survey. Results suggest that supervisor eye contact, body posture and facial expression are associated with higher emotional support, whereas body and face would reduce subordinates' engagement in emotion work. The interaction tests show that female supervisors' use of gesture has a stronger effect on subordinate perception of emotional support and emotion work than male supervisors. Findings are discussed as related to theoretical and practical contributions, as well as suggestions for future research on nonverbal communication and workplace emotions.

Movement Synchrony and Facial Synchrony as Diagnostic Features of Depression: A Pilot Study.

ABSTRACT: The pilot study investigated with a matched-subjects design whether nonverbal synchrony is a diagnostic feature for depression and whether it mediates between depression and postsession ratings of the interviewer behavior. The sample includes n = 15 patients with major depression and n = 15 healthy controls (aged 20-30 years, 40% female). We conducted structured diagnostic interviews for somatic complaints to standardize the recording setting, issue, and course of conversation. Body movements and facial expressions were coded automatically frame by frame using computer vision methods. Ratings of the interviewers' professional behavior and positive affect were assessed using questionnaires. Patients with depression showed less movement synchrony and less synchronous positive facial expressions. Only synchronous positive expressions mediated between depression and less perceived positive affect. We conclude that the applied methodology is well suited to examine nonverbal processes under naturalistic but widely standardized conditions and that depression affects the nonverbal communication in medical conversations.

[The investigation of non-verbal behavior through Nonverbal Behavior Analysis Matrix in the forensic setting]. / L'indagine del comportamento non verbale attraverso la Nonverbal Behavior Analysis Matrix in ambito forense.

The application of the neuroscience in forensic sciences has long opened up new scenarios within the legal world. While on one hand we tend to emphasize the benefits of the new research methods based on the recent neuroscience knowledge, on the other hand the use of these new tools has sparked a justified debate at the international level that touches all the areas that directly or indirectly approach forensics. Factors like lack of responsability or mitigation provided by science are part of those topics that, thanks to neurosciences, are back in the spotlight on a highly empirical basis. At the same time, these factors mentioned above influence our way to interpret reality. NBAM takes place within this debate as a new scientifically proven protocol and technologically supported, making way for an objective development of the neuroscience research.

Crossmodal Phase Reset and Evoked Responses Provide Complementary Mechanisms for the Influence of Visual Speech in Auditory Cortex.

Natural conversation is multisensory: when we can see the speaker's face, visual speech cues improve our comprehension. The neuronal mechanisms underlying this phenomenon remain unclear. The two main alternatives are visually mediated phase modulation of neuronal oscillations (excitability fluctuations) in auditory neurons and visual input-evoked responses in auditory neurons. Investigating this question using naturalistic audiovisual speech with intracranial recordings in humans of both sexes, we find evidence for both mechanisms. Remarkably, auditory cortical neurons track the temporal dynamics of purely visual speech using the phase of their slow oscillations and phase-related modulations in broadband high-frequency activity. Consistent with known perceptual enhancement effects, the visual phase reset amplifies the cortical representation of concomitant auditory speech. In contrast to this, and in line with earlier reports, visual input reduces the amplitude of evoked responses to concomitant auditory input. We interpret the combination of improved phase tracking and reduced response amplitude as evidence for more efficient and reliable stimulus processing in the presence of congruent auditory and visual speech inputs.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Watching the speaker can facilitate our understanding of what is being said. The mechanisms responsible for this influence of visual cues on the processing of speech remain incompletely understood. We studied these mechanisms by recording the electrical activity of the human brain through electrodes implanted surgically inside the brain. We found that visual inputs can operate by directly activating auditory cortical areas, and also indirectly by modulating the strength of cortical responses to auditory input. Our results help to understand the mechanisms by which the brain merges auditory and visual speech into a unitary perception.