Week 7 Post 3: Object Language

One interesting thing I found in chapter five was the concept of object language. Object language is defined as, "all intentional and nonintentional displays of materal things, such as implements, machines, art objects, architectural structure, as well as the human body, and whatever clothes cover it" (133). What the authors are trying to describe here is that objects in your person say as much about you as the words you say. If you have tatoos all over your body and piercings in your face and wear all black when you go to geometry class, people may think that you are not as intelligent as the person with short hair and glasses sitting next to you.

Week 7 Post 2: Non-verbal Japan vs US

While I have not travelled around much of the United States, I did have the opportunity to go to Japan about three years ago. While I was there, I did notice a lot of different nonverbal displays, some obvious and some much more subtle. One big difference between American nonverbal communication and Japanese nonverbal communication is pointing. In America, pointing is very common hand gesture used to draw attention to a certain person of thing. In Japan, they do not point with one finger, and it is actually considered rude to do so. In Japan, they point with their whole hand and that is their way of nonverbally drawing attention to something.

Week 7 Post 1: Nonverbal Perception

1). Because nonverbal messages can be ambiguous, they are open to misinterpretation. Have you ever been wrong about the meaning of someones nonverbal message? Describe what happened. How can people increase the accuracy with which they interpret nonverbal message?

There have been many times that I have been wrong about the meaning of someone's non-verbal, in fact, it probably happens to me everyday. I think a situation that perpetually repeats itself as a misinterpretation of nonverbal messages is communications I have with my boyfriend. After four years of dating, I like to think that we can read each other pretty well but that is not always the case. For example, sometimes he will sleep facing away from me and oftentimes I will interpret this as his being bothered by something when in reality it is just that it is more comfortable for him. I'm sure this happens all the time in all sorts of different relationships, but it is something that can be improved upon. To help increase the accuracy on nonverbal interpretation, it's important to not rely completely on the nonverbal message. Sometimes it is just impossible to tell, so if you base all your assumptions on one nonverbal action, you really can decrease the accuracy of your perception. Also, just being more familiar with nonverbal concepts can help you to understand situations with more objective clarity.

Week 6 Post 3: Expressiveness

3). Pick one concept from the assigned readings, other than what has already been discussed this week, that you found useful or interesting and discuss it.

One concept from chapter three that I found interesting is the idea of expressiveness in language and social identity. The book defines expressiveness cultures as cultures that are, “open when it comes to displaying emotions. Hugging, touching, and crying may not be out of place, even in the workplace” (97). I have some good examples of this because I have travelled to Japan where their expressiveness is very different that ours here in America. For example, couples are rarely seen holding hands and families don’t often hug. I think that even some very old traditions such as bowing and hand shaking go far in showing the cultures preferred expressiveness culture.

Week 6 Post 2: Language of the Sexes

2). Do you agree that men and women use language differently? In what areas?

I think that anyone who doesn’t agree that men and women use language differently is delusional or just has no experience communicating with the opposite sex. They use language very differently in almost all aspects of communicating, from expressing emotions, getting what they want, or accomplishing a task. I think the real tricky question on this topic would be, why? I think it’s part of the ago old question or nature versus nurture. Am I more sensitive than my boyfriend because I was brought up that way, or because of the estrogen in my body? Does he talk less than me because that’s what he’s used to, or because that’s how he likes it? Chapter three made a good point about how our the culture of our sex defines our communication skills, and I think it’s a really interesting note on the topic.

Week 6 Post 1: Perceive without Judging

1) Is it possible to perceive others without, in some way, judging or categorizing them? If so, how? If not, how can we make the judgments we do make, more fair?

I take this as a purely semantics question - yes, I believe it is possible to perceive others without judging them, but I think that's its extremely difficult and rare. To be able to perceive others and remain completely objective is something that I think needs to be mastered. I believe that scientists, people that specialize in human behavior, have learned to remain objective but in everyday life I don't think that we even make an attempt to hold our judgments. Acceptance is really the best way to eventually get to where our society can be an objective group of people. The more we know about each other, and accept our difference the less we will feel the need to judge.