An Empirical Comparison of Three Theories of Nonverbal Immediacy Exchange

Abstract

This study provides a contrastive test of three immediacy-exchange theories: Burgoon's expectancy violations the0 y (EVT), Cappella and Greene's discrepancy-arousal theory (DAT), and AndersenS cognitive valence theory (CVT). EVTpredicts that high immediacy, by rewarding communicators, leads to an orientation response and positive behavioral and affective outcomes. In contrast, DAT and CVT predict aversive arousal and compensatoy responses in response to high immediacy increases. Findings from opposite-sexfriend dyads failed tojind unequivocal support for a single theoy. Targets showed a mix of reciprocal and wmpensato y responses in the higher immediacy condition, indicating that existing immediacyexchange theories should consider incorporating elementsfrom all three theories and perhaps from dialectics theoy to explain the complex reactions that occur in response to high immediacy changes from fiends. central question in the study of personal relationships is why patterns of reciprocated immediacy occur among interactants. This practical question is faced by all human beings as they interact and establish closer relationships with friends, family, lovers, and colleagues. It is also at the center of theories of immediacy exchange. Despite many recent laments regarding the lack of communication theo-

Intimate Heartbeats: Opportunities for Affective Communication Technology

“…Univariate tests showed the main effects for sound ðFð1; 30Þ ¼ 49:2, p < 0:001, partial These results show that self-reported intimacy is higher when hearing someone's heartbeat compared to silence. Furthermore, the found effect size is similar to the wellestablished effects of interpersonal distance and gaze [48], which strengthens our hypothesis that heartbeat communication has a strong effect on intimacy.…”

“…The sound displayed an average heart rate of 69.7 beats per minute (bpm). This was in line with studies reporting average heart rates around 70 bpm during seated interpersonal communication [48]. Natural fluctuation in the interbeat intervals had a standard deviation of 2.3 bpm with a minimum of 65.4 bpm and a maximum of 72.8 bpm.…”

“…As a consequence, people might look at the walls, floor, or ceiling instead of at each other, reduce their smiling, and turn sideways or away from each other. These effects have been replicated many times [47], [48], providing a good behavioral paradigm for investigating the intimacy of other nonverbal cues.…”

“…Second, to bolster the self-report measures, we investigated if the new heartbeat cue interacts with traditional nonverbal cues. We chose the relationship between interpersonal distance and heartbeat, as interpersonal distance tends to increase in the presence of other intimate nonverbal behavior as a compensation mechanism [45], [48], [49]. Specifically, we examined whether or not the presence of heartbeat communication would cause participants to adjust their interpersonal distance.…”

Non-Verbal Communication Between Primary Care Physicians and Older Patients: How Does Race Matter?

“…10,11,16,[36][37][38][39] They are considered building blocks of physician-patient relationships. 4,6,9,35,[40][41][42][43][44][45] Building on the arguments outlined above, we hypothesized that white physicians would show less positive non-verbal communication when treating AA patients compared to white patients.…”