Measurement and meaning of head movements in everyday face-to-face communicative interaction

Abstract

Methodological approaches in which data on nonverbal behavior are collected usually involve interpretative methods in which raters must identify a set of defined categories of behavior. However, present knowledge about the qualitative aspects of head movement behavior calls for recording detailed transcriptions of behavior. These records are a prerequisite for investigating the function and meaning of head movement patterns. A method for directly collecting data on head movement behavior is introduced. Using small ultrasonic transducers, which are attached to various parts of an index person's body (head and shoulders), a microcomputer determines receiver-transducer distances. Three-dimensional positions are calculated by triangulation. These data are used for further calculations concerning the angular orientation of the head and the direction, size, and speed of head movements (in rotational, lateral, and sagittal dimensions). Further analyses determine relevant changes in movements, identify segments of movements, and classify the quantifications of movement patterns. The measured patterns of nonverbal behavior can be accurately related to features of verbal communication and other time-related variables (e.g., psychophysiological measures). To estimate the possible meanings of behavioral patterns, a heuristic is proposed that includes the situational context as the basis of interpretation. Movement Notation: "Indirect" Observation or "Direct" MeasurementConducting empirical research in the area of nonverbal behavior requires reliable methods of measuring the behavior evidenced by participants in a conversation. Both Wallbott (1980) and Rosenfeld (1982) distinguish between two different approaches to measuring nonverbal behavior. First, indirect, or observational, methods rely on subjectively applied operational definitions to identify parameters of nonverbal behavior. Since the researchers are usually the ones who do the observing, they are an integral part of the coding process, which is influenced by their interpretations of the nonverbal aspects of behavior. The researchers' ability to judge nonverbal behavior appropriately can be improved with the help of methods that ensure interpretations that are more objective. For instance, when one is videotaping nonverbal behavior in human social interaction, reference points (a coordinate system with adjustable x/y-axes) can be assigned to compare definable points of the body frame-by-frame and to code position changes in quantitative terms (see Wallbott, 1980).

Pausing for thought: engagement of left temporal cortex during pauses in speech

“…In addition, as they had no real interlocutor, their speech sounded less expressive than in conversation. Head movement occurs mainly during conversational situations (Altorfer et al, 2000) and in particular during a peak in loudness or a major phonetic stress (Hadar et al, 1984).…”

AMAB: Automated measurement and analysis of body motion

“…In an effort to circumvent this difficulty, there has been a growing trend toward using technologies to evaluate behavior (Altorfer et al, 2000;Bente, Senokozlieva, Pennig, Al-Issa, & Fischer, 2008). In particular, researchers have started to undertake automatic measurement of human movement with motion capture devices.…”

“…While the evaluative schemes are open to issues of reliability because of the qualitative component of the coding (Scherer & Ekman, 1982), the latter physicalistic schemes have been shown to yield reliable annotations that are sufficiently detailed to animate computer characters (Bente, Petersen, Krämer, & De Ruiter, 2001). However, for both approaches, the derivation of the data through coding is time consuming, meaning that there is often an inherent trade-off between the number of coded actions and the amount of coded material.In an effort to circumvent this difficulty, there has been a growing trend toward using technologies to evaluate behavior (Altorfer et al, 2000;Bente, Senokozlieva, Pennig, Al-Issa, & Fischer, 2008). In particular, researchers have started to undertake automatic measurement of human movement with motion capture devices.…”

The study of emotional processes in communication: I. Measuring emotionalization in everyday face-to-face communicative interaction

“…Elaboration of the processing of psychomotor, physiological, and vocal concomitants ofemotionalization are given in Altorfer et al (2000), lossen et al (2000), and Zimmermann, Kasermann, Altorfer, lossen, and Foppa (1998), respectively. The most important aspect of our joint database is that all data-sources are exactly coordinated with reference to a real-time dimension of communicative exchange.…”

“…An interesting semiautomatic implementation of the standard-deviation principle in finding emotionalization is template analysis (TA; Kasermann, 1998; see also lossen et aI., 2000). Simplifying the observationbased construction and rater-dependent validation of invariant categories of standard courses and deviations (e.g., Kasermann & Altorfer, 1989), TA supports the fast selection of single standard courses of activation (or head movements; see Altorfer et al, 2000) in vast amounts of data. On the basis of a correlation function, it then provides for their program-based comparison with courses of activation at selected and possibly critical points in time.…”