Module 42 REVIEW

• 42-1 How do we communicate nonverbally?

• Much of our communication is through body movements, facial expressions, and voice tones. Even seconds-long filmed slices of behavior can reveal feelings.

• 42-2 How do the genders differ in their ability to communicate nonverbally?

• Women tend to read emotional cues more easily and to express more empathy.

• 42-3 How are gestures and facial expressions understood within and across cultures?

• The meaning of gestures varies with culture, but facial expressions, such as those of happiness and fear, are common the world over.
• Cultures also differ in the amount of emotion they express.

• 42-4 How do our facial expressions influence our feelings?

• Research on the facial feedback effect shows that our facial expressions can trigger emotional feelings and signal our body to respond accordingly. We also mimic others’ expressions, which helps us empathize.
• A similar behavior feedback effect is the tendency of behavior to influence our own and others’ thoughts, feelings, and actions.

Multiple-Choice Questions

1. Researchers have discovered that people most readily identify which emotion, when given images of faces with a variety of facial expressions?
   1. Happiness
   2. Anger
   3. Sadness
   4. Surprise
   5. Disgust
2. Which of the following provides the largest nonverbal cue to the emotional state of another person?
   1. Bouncing leg
   2. Eyebrows
   3. Mouth and eyes
   4. Hair standing up
   5. Respiration rate
3. When asked to picture an angry person, researchers found that
   1. men tend to picture a man and women picture a woman.
   2. women tend to picture a man and men picture a woman.
   3. women and men both picture a woman.
   4. women and men both picture a man.
   5. the responses of men and women were too varied to provide any substantial data.

Practice FRQs

1. Audrey is participating in a study on emotions. Explain how each of the following could be part of the study:
   • Facial feedback effect
   • Behavior feedback effect
   • Ekman’s research on emotional expression

Answer

1 point: Thanks to the facial feedback effect, we know that even faking an expression affects how we feel. So, for example, faking a smile tends to make us feel happier. Audrey may describe herself as happier if asked to make a happy face. Page 447

1 point: The behavior feedback effect explains our tendency to respond emotionally to the way we’re acting. So, if Audrey is asked to slouch in her chair for a while, she may report feeling less energetic and cheerful. Page 448

1 point: Ekman discovered that the facial expressions of emotions are the same around the world. Audrey would probably not have any problem identifying each emotion being expressed in a global collection of faces. Page 445

2. Olivia and David have been married for several years. Olivia criticizes her husband for not being as empathic as she is. Explain four research findings that support her assertion.

(4 points)