Nonverbal Competence Research Articles

A new group-based online job interview training program using computer graphics robots for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

Job interviews are a major barrier to employment for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). During the coronavirus pandemic, establishing online job interview training at home was indispensable. However, many hurdles prevent individuals with ASD from concentrating on online job interview training. To facilitate the acquisition of interview skills from home for individuals with ASD, we developed a group interview training program with a virtual conferencing system (GIT-VICS Program) that uses computer graphics (CG) robots. This study investigated the feasibility of the GIT-VICS Program in facilitating skill acquisition for face-to-face job interviews in pre-post measures. In the GIT-VICS Program, five participants were grouped and played the roles of interviewees (1), interviewers (2), and human resources (2). They alternately practiced each role in GIT-VICS Program sessions conducted over 8 or 9 days over three consecutive weeks. Before and after the GIT-VICS Program, the participants underwent a mock face-to-face job interview with two experienced human interviewers (MFH) to evaluate its effect. Fourteen participants completed the trial procedures without experiencing any technological challenges or distress that would have led to the termination of the session. The GIT-VICS Program improved their job interview skills (verbal competence, nonverbal competence, and interview performance). Given the promising results of this study and to draw clear conclusions about the efficacy of CG robots for mock online job interview training, future studies adding appropriate guidance for manner of job interview by experts are needed.

Nonverbal Parameters in Preschool Education

In kindergartens, where cognitive, behavioral and attitudinal development of the young child is desired, it is recommended to use efficiently nonverbal communication (expressed especially through posture, mimicry, gestures), in order not to inhibit the child, but to arouse his curiosity. The teacher has an important role in terms of her duty to teach preschoolers to communicate verbal and nonverbal even outside the physical space of the kindergarten, in the family, on the street, in the circle of friends. Most of the times, the nonverbal competence of the teachers is the fruit of a hard work, it involves effort in finding a suitable variant for the word, gesture, silence, space or time. In this article we present the nonverbal elements frequently used by the educators, which we identified after conducting a research in which we applied the questionnaire-based survey method. The results of the research have shown that educators use a variety of nonverbal elements that produce on children both positive and negative effects.

Nonverbal competence in researching the communicative and organizational skills of teachers

Arising from the complexity and multidisciplinarity of the problem of nonverbal communication and impression management in the organizational environment, its investigation constitutes a common subject for several sciences, being located at the confluence of social psychology of personality, communication psychology, educational psychology, organizational psychology and business psychology, reflecting in the same way, the contemporary trend of mutual approximation and escalation of the boundaries of scientific fields.

Group-Based Online Job Interview Training Program Using Virtual Robot for Individuals With Autism Spectrum Disorders.

The rapid expansion of online job interviews during the COVID-19 pandemic is expected to continue after the pandemic has subsided. These interviews are a significant barrier for individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). There is little evidence-based training for online job interviews for individuals with ASD, and the development of new trainings is expected. In an effort to facilitate online job interview skill acquisition for individuals with ASD, we developed a group-based online job interview training program using a virtual robot (GOT). In GOT, the interviewer and interviewee are projected as virtual robots on the screen. Five participants were grouped and performed the role of interviewee, interviewer, and evaluator. The participants performed all roles in a random order. Each session consisted of a first job interview session, feedback session, and second job interview session. The participants experienced 25 sessions. Before and after GOT, the participants underwent a mock online job interview with a human professional interviewer (MOH) to evaluate the effect of GOT. In total, 15 individuals with ASD took part in the study. The GOT improved self-confidence, motivation, the understanding of others' perspectives, verbal competence, non-verbal competence, and interview performance scores. There was also a significant increase in the recognition of the importance of the point of view of interviewers and evaluators after the second MOH compared to after the first MOH. Using a VR robot and learning the importance of interview skills by experiencing other perspectives (i.e., viewpoint of interviewer and evaluator) may have sustained their motivation and enabled greater self-confidence. Given the promising results of this study and to draw definitive conclusions regarding the efficacy of virtual reality (VR) robots for mock online job interview training, further studies with larger, more diverse samples of individuals with ASD using a longitudinal design are warranted.

Helping EFL Students Avoid Socio-pragmatic Failure: Focus on Nonverbal Intercultural Competence

This article examined the vital importance of conjoining between such notions as ‘formal culture’ and ‘deep culture’ as two inextricable aspects of EFL teaching and learning. There is a tacit assumption here that if Moroccan learners of EFL are not assisted through recognizing some aspects pertaining to English ‘deep culture’, many intercultural difficulties and misunderstandings may result. The two aspects of English language learning and teaching should in no way be looked at as being mutually exclusive. Rather, they are two intertwined facets of the same coin. The examination of many instances of intercultural misunderstanding demonstrates that a holistic vision of deep culture (nonverbal behaviour along with some extra-linguistic features of the target language) ought to be incorporated as a basic course supplementing the existing teaching materials geared to foster Moroccan university students’ intercultural nonverbal competence. This paper ends up discussing the implications for the implementation of some strategies to foster foreign language students’ nonverbal communication skills as an integral part of a broader concept of ‘intercultural nonverbal competence’.

GENDER-BASED PERCEPTION DIFFERENCES AS BASIS OF FIRST IMPRESSION CREATION IN SOCIAL INTERACTION

In the article is highlighted the particularity of manifest of men and women belonging to the gender as basis of first impression creation in social interaction between humans. Were determined main factors of its creation: appearance and behavior perception of the object being observed, development of psychological particularities understanding and situation of the object being observed, development of understanding about causes and consequences, development of own behavior strategy, object of social perception. Were highlighted main factors of first impression creation in social interaction at humans with different belonging to the gender: degree of interlocutor disadvantages noting and ability not to focus on them while making the acquaintance as well as the ability to understand the other through non-verbal communication and readiness to come to the aid. Are studied: belonging to the gender of study participants using the method of S. Bem “Determining of femininity/ masculinity/ androginy”, level of communication tolerance according to the same name method of Boiko V. and level of human perceptual non-verbal competence according to the method of Rozen G. “Determining of the level of perceptual non-verbal competence”.Is noted the fact that belonging to the gender is one of main factors of social interaction establishment between individuals. Is experimentally proven and is statistically confirmed through carrying out of correlation analysis between mechanisms, determined by us, the importance of first impression creation in social interaction. It is determined that the higher development level of perceptual non-verbal competence of the individual, the better the person demonstrates communication tolerance towards the interlocutors. Is identified the fact that formation and development level of mentioned mechanisms is due to belonging to the gender of different genders representatives.

Experientially educating future consultants: benefits, challenges, and constructs

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss experiential education as a way to develop future consultants in human resource management and marketing with the goal of developing consulting competence. Design/methodology/approach – This is a conceptual paper that proposes, outlines, and discusses a model, containing 11 dimensions of consulting competence. Findings – The conceptual model includes 11 building blocks: foreign language competence, non-verbal competence, perception of cultural distance, cultural self-awareness, knowledge, skills, motivation, effectiveness, appropriateness, contextual interaction patterns, and affinity. Considerations for each of these elements are introduced and discussed. Practical implications – This model and the explanation of its components should guide management and marketing educators in their efforts to build and develop experiential education programs of excellence. Originality/value – The model proposed and outline in this paper will assist institutions of higher education and faculty members to guide students in their development of a successful career in consulting.

Longitudinal Relations Between Theory of Mind and Metacognition and the Impact of Language

This study investigated the longitudinal relation between children's theory of mind and their metacognitive knowledge with a special focus on the impact of language on this relation. Measures of theory-of-mind understanding and metamemory knowledge were assessed in 133 3-year-old children at 4 measurement points separated by half-year intervals. Results revealed a somewhat more pronounced effect of children's early theory of mind on the change in metamemory knowledge than vice versa. This effect was almost independent of the time period under investigation as well as of earlier language and nonverbal competencies and socioeconomic status. Early language competencies had a direct impact on theory-of-mind and metamemory development and moreover indirectly affected metamemory development through children's theory of mind. The results of the study suggest that children's abilities to metarepresent together with their early language competencies are important in the acquisition of metamemory knowledge.

Cultural health capital: A theoretical approach to understanding health care interactions and the dynamics of unequal treatment.

In this article, I propose and define the new concept of cultural health capital, based on cultural capital theories,to help account for how patient-provider interactions unfold in ways that may generate disparities in health care. I define cultural health capital as the repertoire of cultural skills, verbal and nonverbal competencies, attitudes and behaviors, and interactional styles, cultivated by patients and clinicians alike, that, when deployed, may result in more optimal health care relationships. I consider cultural health capital alongside existing frameworks for understanding clinical interactions, and I argue that the concept of cultural health capital offers theoretical traction to help account for several dynamics of unequal treatment. These dynamics include the often nonpurposeful, habitual nature of culturally-mediated interactional styles; their growing importance amidst sociocultural changes in U.S. health care; their direct and indirect effects as instrumental as well as symbolic forms of capital; and their ability to account for the systematic yet variable relationship between social status and health care interactions.

Too tall to be smart? The relationship between height and cognitive abilities

Recent research suggests for height–wage premiums because of differentials in cognitive abilities. This note adds to the discussion and examines whether verbal and non-verbal competencies are related to height. The results indicate that height is non-linearly associated to males' abilities.

Compétences de communication non verbale des traumatisés crâniens graves

Objective. – Discursive abilities of severe brain injured patient are always impaired: loss of flexibility, lack of cohesion and coherence, often more elliptic. We know few about nonverbal competencies during discourse. The objective is to verify nonverbal abilities of these patients by pragmatic analysis. Methods. – Four men were examined more than 7 years after severe traumatic brain injury. Nonverbal Prutting and Kirchner Pragmatic Protocol (1987) were done allowing to a qualitative and quantitative measurement of paralinguistic behaviour: prosody and quality of speech, facial expression, posture, gaze, gesture. Two conditions were recorded: dual (descriptive discourse) and group (conversational discourse). Associated impairments such as cognitive and dysexecutive functioning were also investigated. Results/discussion. – Impoverishment (loss of ability) or impaired inadequacity was observed in all patients. Paralinguistic competences of conversational discourse was worse than descriptive one. Facial expression, gaze functioning, referential gesture were more often impaired. Maladjustment could be interpretated in reference with dysexecutive syndrome. Conclusion. – In spite of the lack of information about the range of normal pragmatic behaviour, it seems that brain injured patients have shown poor nonverbal abilities during discourse. Rehabilitation training of communication skills would integrate this fact in order to improve interactivity and social relationship.

Communication in Emergency Situations

Communication in emergency situations requires not only specific verbal but also non-verbal competencies of persons involved. Verbal communication comprises, apart from speech culture and the way language is used, also language competence which is to be properly applied in discourse. If language competence fails, non-verbal communication (body language) takes place.

Non-verbale competentie van jongeren met opvoedingsproblemen: probleemstelling en aanzet tot mogelijke oplossingen

From the (few) studies on the nonverbal competence of adolescents with educational problems we can conclude that these adolescents are inferior to ‘normal’ adolescents in both the decoding and encoding of nonverbal cues. Whereas most of the authors believe in the influence of socialisation, there is no evidence about the cause of this shortage of nonverbal competence. Several authors have argued that nonverbal competence is of great importance for succesful social interactions, and this seems to be especially the case for adolescents with educational problems. The fact that they show a lack of these skills leads us to the question whether they can be trained to improve their nonverbal communication. Social skills training for adolescents with educational problems sometimes gives attention to nonverbal competence, but this never happens in a systematic way. How a training in nonverbal competence should be conducted with these adolescents, and what the possible effects can be, remain unanswered questions. This article gives some suggestions and hypotheses, and pleads for more research on this matter.

The relative effects of content and vocal delivery during a simulated employment interview

The limited research that has directly addressed the effects of verbal and nonverbal competencies on interviewer perception treats oral communication superficially during the employment interview process. This study was designed to test the effects of two oral communication competencies (content and vocal delivery) on evaluators' assessments of interviewees during a simulated employment interview. These data reveal that the consistency between the quality of content (what is said) and the quality of vocal delivery (how it is said) has a strong impact on evaluators' assessment of personality and evaluators' hiring preference.

Sibling interactions and children's communicative competency

Eighty-six sibling dyads were observed interacting on two tasks in a laboratory setting. Their behaviors were examined in relation to relative ordinal position, communicative status, and verbal and nonverbal competencies of the children. Approximately half of the dyads included a 5- to 7-year-old target child who was diagnosed as communication handicapped (CH). The remaining target children were not handicapped (NH). Behaviors of target children varied with communicative status and ordinal position of the target child relative to the sibling. For example, target children who were born earlier relative to their siblings were less likely than later-born children to engage in reciprocal cooperative interchanges with siblings or comply with strategies for problem solving that were proposed by their siblings. For some behaviors, earlier-born CH target children resembled the younger, later-born children in the nonhandicapped dyads more than they did their own NH peers.

Communicative Competence in the Nonverbal Behavior of Married Couples

The present study investigated the hypothesis that spouses' marital satisfaction is related to their ability to understand each other's nonverbal communication. Twenty-one couples rated their marital satisfaction and then participated in a task designed to measure nonverbal communicative competence independent of verbal competence. Twenty-one additional husbands and wives then viewed videotapes of opposite-sexed partners in the first group and attempted to read the same nonverbal cues. This design permitted identification of the presumed satisfaction/nonverbal competence relationship as being primarily a function of message sending, message receiving, or both. Results indicated a positive relationship between marital satisfaction and nonverbal competence, but only for husbands reading their wives' nonverbal cues. Comparison with the ratings of observing married strangers suggested that the relationship is a function of the husbands' characteristics as receivers of their wives' cues. In comparison to the male strangers, the husbands of satisfied wives were more able to read their wives' nonverbal cues, while the husbands of dissatisfied wives were less able to read them. The overall reception rate of the male strangers was unrelated to the satisfaction of the wives sending the messages. Some hypotheses drawn from the marital interaction literature are related to the data.

Dialogue in creative and therapeutic growth

In the past we in expressive therapy have thought of the art, dance, or music therapist as having different tools or techniques. However, what binds us all together is a process, not a technique. This process is the subject of our discussion. Art or dance therapists are often referred to as spe-’ cialists in nonverbal therapy. Incongruously enough, we therapists supposedly work towards integration and wholeness, and yet we assign patients to therapists on the basis of the therapists’ separate and particular modality on the level of their verbal or nonverbal competence. But can anyone work effectively’ within this compartmentalization? We see that verbal or nonverbal cues constantly intermix within any one therapeutic dialogue, and a patient’s receptivity to different modalities can fluctuate widely within any one session. Can we tram a therapist to be receptive to both verbal and nonverbal cues? Are we asking too much? I think not. Let me share a dream. Some day, I would like to see emerge a new professional skilled in creativity and depth-oriented therapy. Diagnosis for this new professional will deal with the creative growth problems of the patient, and treatment plans will attempt to remediate the problems that interfere with self-actuahzation. This new professional will be a therapist who, though not necessarily himself either dancer or artist, is not afraid to move or to visualize with his or her patients; he or she will be a therapist who listens and responds on different levels, utilizing different modalities one who applies the creative process to therapeutic growth. This new therapist will throw out the old framework of pathology and work within a humanistic, holistic orientation, and will not discard the valuable insights of psychoanalysis or those of other depth-oriented therapies. The new professional identification, then, wilI revolve around creativity and selfactualization. There are many complex issues which surround the emergence of this new professional. Today, to discuss these issues, I have called together on this panel faculty of the Center for Expressive Analysis. All the members of this panel have background and training in intensive psychotherapy as well as in the arts, and share this dream of the future professional. While having no illusion that we can do anything else today than forge a beginning, let us begin by comparing creative and therapeutic development. Although it is difficult to think of these areas as entirely separate and distinct processes, at the same time, not all of therapy is art, nor is all creative work therapeutic. I would thus like to open the panel with this key question: What is your notion of the creative process, and how does it relate to the psychotherapeutic process? Are there similarities and differences, or can