Despite Appearances: Comparing Emotion Recognition in Abstract and Humanoid Avatars Using Nonverbal Behavior in Social Virtual Reality

The ability to perceive emotional states is a critical part of social interactions, shaping how people understand and respond to each other. In face-to-face communication, people perceive others’ emotions through observing their appearance and behavior. In virtual reality, how appearance and behavior are rendered must be designed. In this study, we asked whether people conversing in immersive virtual reality (VR) would perceive emotion more accurately depending on whether they and their partner were represented by realistic or abstract avatars. In both cases, participants got similar information about the tracked movement of their partners’ heads and hands, though how this information was expressed varied. We collected participants’ self-reported emotional state ratings of themselves and their ratings of their conversational partners’ emotional states after a conversation in VR. Participants’ ratings of their partners’ emotional states correlated to their partners’ self-reported ratings regardless of which of the avatar conditions they experienced. We then explored how these states were reflected in their nonverbal behavior, using a dyadic measure of nonverbal behavior (proximity between conversational partners) and an individual measure (expansiveness of gesture). We discuss how this relates to measures of social presence and social closeness.

The Cultural Differences in Etiquette and Customs Between China and Britain in Nonverbal Communication

Nonverbal behavior as well as verbal behavior, is closely related to culture when expressing ideas. Due to the huge differences between Chinese and English culture, there are also a lot of differences in nonverbal communication. By comparing the common etiquette and customs in nonverbal communication activities between China and Britain, meanwhile the cultural differences between them are figured out.

MEDICAL EDUCATOR'S NONVERBAL BEHAVIOR AND ITS IMPACT ON STUDENTS AND EDUCATIONAL ENVIRONMENT

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVE: Nonverbal communication has been overlooked in medical education. The purpose of this study was to explore student-teacher perceptions regarding impact of nonverbal behavior of medical educators on educational environment. METHODOLOGY: A qualitative exploratory study was conducted among purposively chosen final year students (n=150) and medical teachers (n=73) from three dental colleges of Islamabad. A web-based survey concerning three domains of kinesics (Facial expressions, Gestures, Head movement and postures) was developed and validated before execution. Comparison of participant’s responses to closed-ended questions was done by applying Fisher’s Exact Test and open-ended questions were thematically analyzed. RESULTS: Response rate of students and teachers was 46% and 63% respectively. Five out of nine closed-ended questions gave statistically significant difference among student’s and teacher’s responses (p≤0.05). Twenty-seven subthemes emerged from three domains of kinesics. Students revealed that happy mood of their teachers reduces boredom in the classroom and a teacher’s smile lets them freely express anything, whereas anger produces fear among them. According to the educators a happy instructor inspires students to study and makes the environment friendly and an undemanding smile helps build a rapport with students. Moreover, positive gestures used by teachers encourage students to clarify concepts and upright posture brings energy and motivation to the classroom. CONCLUSION: A teacher’s nonverbal behavior has a profound effect on educational environment. A smile on a teacher’s face creates a friendly and fearless environment whereas anger creates barriers to communication. A happy teacher can generate a pleasant and motivating learning environment.

Responses to the Islamic headscarf in everyday interactions depend on sex and locale: A field experiment in the metros of Brussels, Paris, and Vienna on helping and involvement behaviors

The Islamic headscarf has been in the middle of heated debates in European society, yet little is known about its influence on day-to-day interactions. The aim of this randomized field experiment (n = 840) is to explore how the generally negative views that surround the hijab in Europe manifest in the behavior that people direct to hijab-wearing women in everyday situations. Using a helping scenario and videotapes of the resulting interactions, we measured whether passengers offered assistance and also various details of behavior that indicate interpersonal involvement. We predicted that in interaction with the covered confederate less help would be offered, that women’s level of nonverbal involvement would increase but men’s decrease, and that responses would be stronger in Paris, intermediate in Brussels, and weaker in Vienna. We analyzed the data using Generalized Linear Models estimated with Bayesian inference. While the headscarf does not produce concluding differences in “overt” helping, it does affect “subtle” cues of interpersonal involvement. In response to the hijab, women across sites increase, but men in Paris decrease, the level of involvement that they show with their nonverbal behavior.

Nonverbal Social Sensing: What Social Sensing Can and Cannot Do for the Study of Nonverbal Behavior From Video

The study of nonverbal behavior (NVB), and in particular kinesics (i.e., face and body motions), is typically seen as cost-intensive. However, the development of new technologies (e.g., ubiquitous sensing, computer vision, and algorithms) and approaches to study social behavior [i.e., social signal processing (SSP)] makes it possible to train algorithms to automatically code NVB, from action/motion units to inferences. Nonverbal social sensing refers to the use of these technologies and approaches for the study of kinesics based on video recordings. Nonverbal social sensing appears as an inspiring and encouraging approach to study NVB at reduced costs, making it a more attractive research field. However, does this promise hold? After presenting what nonverbal social sensing is and can do, we discussed the key challenges that researchers face when using nonverbal social sensing on video data. Although nonverbal social sensing is a promising tool, researchers need to be aware of the fact that algorithms might be as biased as humans when extracting NVB or that the automated NVB coding might remain context-dependent. We provided study examples to discuss these challenges and point to potential solutions.

On ‘Code Switching’ and Changing the Conversation Topic in a Tertiary Speech Dialogical Discourse

Исследование посвящено одной из актуальных проблем речевой коммуника-ции — изучению особенностей диалогического дискурса терциарной речи с «переключением» языка общения и (частичной/полной) сменой темы разговора как результата акта общения всех его участников — активных и пассивных. Терциарная речь представляет собой диалог двух активных участников коммуникативного акта в присутствии третьего молчащего лица (группы лиц), явно не участвующего в акте коммуникации — диалоге — двоих коммуникантов, но своим присутствием оказывающего значительное влияние на вербальное и невербальное поведение общающихся и этим формирующего диалог в триаде при условии осведомленности активных коммуникантов о присутствующем пассивном третьем лице. В работе анализируются триады, в которых в присутствии молчащей третьей стороны в терциарной речи коммуникантов наблюдается «переключение кодов», то есть коммуниканты в процессе общения переходят с одного языка на другой (при билингвизме) или меняют (полностью/частично) тему своего разговора. Кроме того, в речи общающихся могут наблюдаться и иноязычные вкрапления — отдельные лексические единицы и словосочетания другого языка или нескольких языков. Причиной подобных модификаций служит изменение социальной ситуации конкретного речевого акта. Таким образом, молчащий участник диалога, присутствующий при разговоре двоих партнеров по общению, фиксируется коммуникантами в рамках конкретной коммуникативно-речевой ситуации и влияет как на содержание, так и на форму диалога. Вследствие этого исследователь и включает молчащего участника в данную коммуникативно-речевую ситуацию и учитывает факт вовлеченности его в конкретный акт коммуникации. Приведены модели диалогов терциарной речи, в которых наблюдается «переключение языкового кода» при билингвизме, производимое коммуникантами, или (полная/частичная) смена темы разговора. Исследовано речевое и невербальное поведение всех — активных и пассивного — участников триадного диалога, выявлена в процессе анализа триадных диалогов роль молчащего наблюдателя в триаде. The article studies tertiary dialogical discourse with ‘code switching’ and (complete/partial) changing of the theme as a result of a silent bystander’s (group of silent bystanders) presence in a two-person talk. Tertiary communication presents a dialogue of two speakers as active interlocutors in the presence of a silent bystander (silent bystanders) as its third passive participant. The silent bystander’s role in a dialogue is quite significant, as his presence influences both the speakers’ verbal and nonverbal behavior and results in a special type of a triadic dialogue formation. Tertiary speech implies certain changes in the speakers’ verbal behavior if they are aware of the silent bystander’s presence in their speech situation. The author analyses the dialogues in a triad characterized by ‘code switching’ and partial or complete changing of the conversation theme. Besides, with a change in the speech situation, the speakers can use foreign words and phrases while talking. Thus, the presence of a silent bystander is taken into account by the two speakers that have to switch codes or just change the theme of their talk. Therefore, the third silent and passive participant influences both the content and the form of the dialogue produced by its active participants. Thus, the silent bystander is included in the speech situation as his presence affects the dialogical discourse. The article presents models of a tertiary dialogue when the two active participants resort to ‘code switching’ and complete or partial changing of the theme, and provides analysis of all the active and passive participants’ verbal and nonverbal behavior, as well as and the silent bystander’s different roles in triadic dialogues.

Verbal-nonverbal Congruence or Veracity (V2) in the System for Analysis of Validity in Evaluation (SAVE)

In SAVE (López, et al, 2018) Veracity (V2) refers to the harmonic congruence (adequate synchrony, intensity, and relationship) between the verbal content, already studied in V1 and the nonverbal behavior that accompanies it. The concordance between the verbal message emitted and the non-verbal communication that derives from the cognitive and emotional processes of the subject is related to characteristics of honesty and sincerity in the speeches.