Lesson 6

• What is verbal communication?

  Any kind of communication that exchanges information with words either through spoken or written communication
• What is non-verbal communication?

  The part of communication that does not involve words, like body language, facial expressions, paralinguistics, e.g. tone, pitch, volume, and intonation
• What is the definition of eye contact?

  When two people are looking at each other's eyes at the same time
• What are the three functions of eye contact?

  Regulating the flow of conversation, expressing emotions, and signaling attraction
• How does eye contact help to regulate the flow of a conversation?

  By giving the other person feedback about the listeners level of interest and emotional state
• What does eye contact enable in a conversation and how?

  It enables turntaking because the speaker is watching the eyes of the listener for an indication that they are listening or about to interrupt, so they know when to stop talking, and the listener is watching the eyes of the speaker to judge when they can interrupt
• What has research into turntaking found?

  Speakers would look away when they were about to speak and gave for a long eye contact when they were about to finish talking. if this did not happen, there were awkward pauses in the conversation
• What has been found when eye contact is interrupted?

  There were more pauses and interruptions in the conversation
• When someone we find attractive response to our eye contact, how will this affect our pupils?

  Our pupils will dilate
• What has research into the effect of eye contact on attractiveness found?

  People who maintain eye contact are just to be more attractive than people who do not
• How do some researchers believe eye contact aids in evolution?

  It is evolutionary behaviour that signals attraction to a potential mate
• What is the final function of eye contact?

  To express emotion and the intensity of that emotion
• When the emotion of someone else is positive, how will eye contact affect the perceived intensity?

  Eye contact will make the emotion more positive
• When the emotion is negative, how does eye contact impact the perceived intensity of that emotion?

  Removal of eye contact will make the emotion more negative
• What is a strength of the research?

  Realistic application: eye contact studies can aid the understanding of autism
• What are some weaknesses of the research?

  Studies into attractiveness used rating scales which are not objective measures as they rely on people's opinions so our open to bias. This may have reduced validity.

  Research into eye contact required participants to get to know each other however this is an artificial situation so may have acted as an extraneous variable as participants may have felt embarrassed or under pressure. This reduces validity