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Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships provides a synthesis of research on nonverbal communication as it applies to interpersonal interaction, focusing on the close relationships of friends, family, and romantic partners. Authors Laura K. Guerrero and Kory Floyd support the premise that nonverbal communication is a product of biology, social learning, and relational context. They overview six prominent nonverbal theories and show how each is related to bio-evolutionary or sociocultural perspectives. Their work focuses on various functions of nonverbal communication, emphasizing those that are most relevant to the initiation, maintenance, and dissolution of close relationships. Throughout the book, Guerrero and Floyd highlight areas where research is either contradictory or inconclusive, hoping that in the years to come scholars will have a clearer understanding of these issues. The volume concludes with a discussion of practical implications that emerge from the scholarly literature on nonverbal communication in relationships - an essential component for understanding relationships in the real world. Nonverbal Communication in Close Relationships makes an important contribution to the development of our understanding not only of relationship processes but also of the specific workings of nonverbal communication. It will serve as a springboard for asking new questions and advancing new theories about nonverbal communication. It is intended for scholars and advanced students in personal relationship study, social psychology, interpersonal communication, nonverbal communication, family studies, and family communication. It will also be a helpful resource for researchers, clinicians, and couples searching for a better understanding of the complicated roles that nonverbal cues play in relationships. Contents: S. Duck, Series Foreword. Preface. Introduction. Major Paradigms and Theories of Nonverbal Communication. Interpersonal Attraction. Communicating Affection. Nonverbal Expressions of Emotion. Nonverbal Correlates of Power and Interpersonal Dominance. Interpersonal Deception. Conflict and Disengagement. Afterthoughts. \"The text is meant for a scholarly audience, while carrying a story line meant to make it attractive to lay people as well. The text is excellent in terms of its content...\" — PsycCRITIQUES \"...the reviews of the literature are excellent. Highly recommended. Upper-division undergraduates through faculty and professionals.\" — CHOICE

What are you saying when you're not speaking?A top consultant \"shows you how to use body language skills to build stronger professional relationships\"  ( Robert L.Dilenschneider, author of  The Ultimate Guide to Power and Influence ).  How is the audience reacting to my presentation?Should I believe what my boss just told me?.

Socioeconomic status (SES) is a primary determinant of health vulnerabilities and social affiliations. To ascertain if SES is signaled in brief patterns of non-verbal behavior, we had participants of varying SES backgrounds engage in a brief interaction with a stranger. Videos of 60-s slices of these interactions were coded for nonverbal cues of disengagement and engagement, and estimates of participants' SES were provided by naive observers who viewed these videos. As predicted by analyses of resource dependence and power, upper-SES participants displayed more disengagement cues (e.g., doodling) and fewer engagement cues (e.g., head nods, laughs) than did lower-SES participants. Results were also consistent with the thin-slicing literature, in that observers' estimates of SES were reliable with each other and accurately predicted targets' family income, maternal education, and subjective SES. Finally, nonverbal displays of disengagement and engagement predicted observers' estimates of SES, which suggests that these cues are systematic signs of SES. These results have implications for understanding the effect of SES on social interactions and patterns of disengagement and engagement in other realms.

The paper focuses on the problem of structuring of non-verbal communication in the context of studying the process of intercultural contacts. The relevance of the proposed approach to the classification of non-verbal communication means is determined by its complex feature. The authors substantiate the fact that an effective classification should take into account the achievements of several scientific disciplines having the fundamental value to the understanding of the current problem: psychology, psychophysiology, human ethology and linguistics. Also, it is necessary to take into consideration the polycode character of intercultural communication. Based on the previously published classifications, the current state of scientific knowledge on this problem, the experience of a theoretical study of this problem, and practical and didactic applications, the author propose a two-level typological model which is specially designed to compare the non-verbal behaviours of different cultures representatives. Logically, this model comprises the following categories of non-verbal communication means: paraverbal means; kinesic means; sensory perception means of communication; spatial and temporal means. To define the categories and their sub-categories the authors exemplify the means of communication with the context of interactions between representatives of the Czech and Russian cultures. The authors concluded that non-verbal means of communication should be structured taking into account the specific purpose of the study.

People with severe autism experience the sensory information they receive from the world completely differently to those not on the spectrum. They feel cut off and overwhelmed, and their behaviour can become very distressed. This handbook shows how we can engage with people who are non-verbal or semi-verbal and sometimes even those who have speech but lose the power to process it when they are in crisis. We can help them to make sense of the world. Intensive Interaction uses a person's own body language to make contact with them and Sensory Integration develops the capacity of an individual to receive, process and apply meaning to information provided by the senses through targeted physical activities. These techniques can be used to develop an environment tailored to the particular sensory needs of the person with severe autism, reducing factors that cause distress. With illustrations, case examples and a wide range of tried-and-tested techniques, this practical guide provides indispensable tools for parents, carers and other professionals supporting people with severe autism and other learning disabilities.

Background Dental anxiety is a widespread barrier to care, often contributing to appointment avoidance, treatment disruption, and emotional strain for both patients and clinicians. While extensively studied as a psychological trait, less attention has been paid to how anxiety manifests situationally and relationally, through non‐verbal, affective, and spatial cues within clinical encounters. Moreover, in certain contexts, such affective signals can intersect with decision‐making processes, shaping how patients interpret, engage with, or withdraw from clinical choices. Objective To explore how anxiety manifests within the micro‐choreography of dental encounters, develop a taxonomy of ‘anxious tells’, and assess the utility of ecological video ethnography and simulation‐based camera testing in supporting affect‐aware training and potential AI integration. Methods We conducted a two‐phase qualitative study. Phase one involved re‐analysis of over 70 h of ethnographic video from dental clinics, guided by threshold theory, affect theory and ecological‐relational analysis. Phase two consisted of simulation‐based testing of multi‐angle camera setups in a custom‐built dental lab designed to optimise audiovisual capture of non‐verbal cues. Results Anxiety was expressed through posture shifts, facial micro‐expressions, breath modulation, eye movement, and interactional hesitancy. These behaviours were often relational and environmentally cued, and in some cases intersected with moments of decision‐making such as consent, treatment planning, or pain management. We developed a context‐sensitive taxonomy of ‘anxious tells’, identified optimal camera protocols, and revealed interpretive blind spots through interdisciplinary co‐viewing. Key challenges included managing large AV data, synchronisation, and ethical clarity in consent. Conclusion This study demonstrates how video can function not only as an observational device but as a collaborative instrument for clinical reflection, training, and research co‐production. It is useful to conceptualise anxiety in dentistry not as a fixed trait, but as a relational and affective phenomenon. The newly developed taxonomy of ‘anxious tells’ in dental practice supports the identification and effective clinical care of patients suffering from such anxiety. Ecological video ethnography offers a powerful lens for revealing these dynamics and supporting situated, affect‐based training. Our framework and toolkit lay the groundwork for future human‐in‐the‐loop AI systems that recognise, contextualise, and respond to affective cues supporting safer, more empathetic care. Patient or Public Contribution As part of an EPSRC IAA grant, internal strategic investments, and an MPS grant, we conducted a series of patient and public engagement activities that shaped both the research question and the study design. We also ran sessions with dentists. The PPIE process directly informed the consent form, as participants highlighted that some individuals might want their data to be made available while others may not. A key divide emerged: while some were comfortable with filming, others were strongly opposed. Contrary to our expectations, most dentists were supportive of the idea. During the sessions, we also learned that some dentists routinely record patient interactions for potential legal purposes, which highlighted an additional potential use case for our toolkit.

Aphasia is an acquired language disorder that can affect comprehension and production. While traditionally categorized into subtypes such as Broca’s, Wernicke’s, and anomic aphasia, many individuals exhibit features from multiple types, challenging rigid classifications. Historically, linguistic research into aphasia has often been guided by rule-based theories, influencing both assessment and treatment. However, alternative perspectives, such as the Usage-Based (UB) approach, offer a more dynamic view, emphasizing individual differences in language capabilities, and predicting variation along a continuum. Within this theoretical perspective, we apply a “Dynamic Network Model” (DNM), which combines word frequencies and transitional probabilities to elucidate individual networks of usage patterns for each person’s language. This study extends the DNM approach to clinical data, analyzing the language networks of six speakers with aphasia (two each with anomic, Wernicke’s, and Broca’s) alongside two control participants, to explore individual differences in spoken language and non-verbal communication. Results reveal that the speakers with aphasia generally have smaller networks, with disrupted connections. However, network size varies within and across aphasia types. Additionally, the speakers with aphasia use more non-verbal communication than control participants, with those with Broca’s and Wernicke’s aphasias using it the most. While some findings may be predicted based on traditional aphasia sub-classifications, the results indicate considerable individual differences within each of the participant groups, both in their spoken language and non-verbal communication, supporting a usage-based approach and adding to questions about the validity of discrete aphasia classifications.

This paper presents a communication robot system with a simple LED display for representing timing for turn-taking in human-robot interaction. Human-like conversation with non-verbal information, such as gestures, facial expressions, tone of voice, and eye contact enables more natural communication. If the robots could use such verbal and non-verbal communication skills, it would establish a social relation between a robot and human. Timing and time interval for turn-taking in human communication are important non-verbal cues to efficiently convey messages and to share opinions with each other. In this study, we present some experimental results to discuss the effect of response timing for turn-taking in communication between a person and a robot.

In stroke patients, it has been suggested that communication disorders could result from lexical and syntactic disorders in left hemisphere lesions and from pragmatics problems in right lesions. However, we have little information on patient behaviour in dyadic communication, especially in conversation. Here, we analyzed the various processes participating in communication difficulties at the rehabilitation phase (1–6 months) post-stroke, in order to define the main mechanisms of verbal and non-verbal communication (VC, NVC) disorders and their relationship with aphasic disorders. Sixty-three patients were recruited, who belonged to six groups, with left or right cortico-sub-cortical (L-CSC, R-CSC) or sub-cortical (L-SC, R-SC), frontal (Fro) or posterior fossa (PF) lesions. They were compared with an equivalent control group (gender, age, education level). We used the Lille Communication Test, which comprises three parts: participation to communication (greeting, attention, engagement), verbal communication (verbal comprehension, speech outflow, intelligibility, word production, syntax, verbal pragmatics and verbal feedback) and non-verbal communication (understanding gestures, affective expressivity, producing gestures, pragmatics and feedback). We also used the Functional Communication Profile and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (BDAE). Decrease in participation was found in L-CSC, R-CSC and Fro patients. Verbal communication was essentially disrupted in L-SCS and L-SC groups, including by verbal pragmatic disorders, and to a lesser degree in frontal patients. Nonverbal communication was mainly affected in R-CSC patients, especially by pragmatic difficulties. L-CSC patients showed an increase in gesture production, compensating for aphasia. In conclusion, communication disorders were relatively complex and could not be summarised by syntactical and lexical difficulties in left stroke and pragmatic problems in right stroke. The former also showed severe verbal pragmatic difficulties. Frontal stroke also resulted in evident verbal and non-verbal disorders.

Although the importance of facial expressions for good doctor-patient communication is widely acknowledged, empirical evidence supporting this notion is scarce. We used a fine-grained, anatomically-based measure to investigate which facial expressions are displayed in (simulated) doctor-patient consultations and whether these can predict communication quality. Fifty two medical students engaged in simulated doctor-patient consultations with standardized patients (SPs) and their facial expressions were analyzed using the Facial-Action-Coding-System (FACS). The quality of the communication was rated by SPs, medical students, and by communication experts. SPs also rated their level of comfort. The predominant facial expression being displayed by medical students was smiling. Medical students' smiling positively predicted the communication quality and level of comfort experienced by SPs. In contrast, smiling had little effect on medical students' self- and expert-assessments of communication quality. Smiling of medical students significantly predicted patient level of comfort and perceived quality of communication. This predictive power was found for genuine and for social smiles as well as for smiles displayed during speaking and during listening. Smiling seems to be a robust non-verbal behavior that has the potential to improve doctor-patient communication. This knowledge should be taken into consideration in medical training programs.