Sabrina Freifeld
In these past couple of classes we
have really delved into the process of communication between people. When we talk to each other there are actually
many complex operations that are not all visible to the naked eye. One concept that I have always thought was interesting
is nonverbal communication. How is it
possible that we are able to say so much by literally saying nothing at
all?
Interested by this idea of speaking without speaking, I
looked online to find that there is almost a sort of dictionary for nonverbal
communication. Certain ways that people
act communicate their thoughts, ideas, and emotions.
Still, this is all old news. We know that if someone smiles at us, they
like us. If a girl crosses her arms,
she’s probably mad or annoyed. If a man
touches you while in conversation, he is most likely hinting at his affection
for you. But I was not aware, however,
about how the most miniscule of movements could have such momentous a
meaning. Even more than that, I was
interested to learn the biological reasoning behind these automatic and
intrinsic nonverbal messages.
Take the Adam’s apple
jump for instance. This is when there is
a noticeable up and down movement of an Adam’s apple. This is an unconscious signal of emotional
anxiety, embarrassment, or stress. But
on an anatomical level, what is the reason for this? Researchers have reported “Acting through the vagus nerve (cranial X), emotional tension
from the brain's limbic system
causes unconscious muscular contractions of the sternothyroid, thyrohyoid,
and associated inferior pharyngeal constrictor muscles of the Adam's
apple” (Adam’s apple jump, 2). This
movement becomes evident while the muscles begin to contract to swallow or to clear
the throat. Thus, the movement of the
Adam’s apple is an emotionally responsive reaction.
But the big
question here is, who cares? Such an
almost imperceptible movement shouldn’t really mean that much. On the contrary, even such small nonverbal communications
such as this can be quite significant. A
major example of this is when Vice President James Danforth Quayle’s Adam’s apple
jumped in the 1988 vice-presidential debate.
His opponent, Lloyd Bentsen, had accused "I knew Jack Kennedy. Jack
Kennedy was a friend of mine. Senator, you're no Jack Kennedy!" This was noticeable to people because it
showed that Danforth was nervous and maybe even agreed with his adversary. Spectators may not have consciously realized
that his Adam’s apple had jumped, but it definitely showed that Quayle was not
completely confident.
Another
political example of this Adam’s apple jump happened even more recently. In the third presidential debate of October
22, 2012, Mitt Romney’s Adam’s apple made a visible jump after trying hard to
passively listen to President Barack Obama’s claim that Romney had
“flip-flopped” on various foreign policy issues.
It is incredibly interesting how
movements that we sometimes do not even know we are doing, make up the majority
of how we communicate. I analyzed the
Adam’s apple jump, yet there are still so many other movements that have such
meaning. Next time you communicate, make
sure your body is actually conveying the same meaning you want it to.
If you look closely, you can see
Quayle’s Adam’s apple jump as Benson says “friend of mine.” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-7gpgXNWYI
Mitt Romney’s Adam’s apple jumps
when Obama says “of the 1920’s” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T1409sXBleg&feature=g-sptl&cid=inp-hs-pol-03
To learn
more about Adam’s apple jumps
A dictionary of nonverbal communication from Adam’s apple
jump to zygomatic smile
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