Essay On Nonverbal Behavior Vs. Self-Presentation

Essay on Nonverbal Behavior vs. Essay on Nonverbal Behavior vs. In this day and age, it is hard to grow up without being surrounded by social pressures and constant dehumanization. We live in a world of overly obsessed people who regard every movement of every part of the body as a sign of happiness, lying or social anxiety. When did we have to start worrying about each little thing we do? Who is to say that the observations of others aren’t true? Maybe they hold a secret clue to something we, ourselves, do not even notice our bodies doing. Our Service Can Write a Custom Essay on Nonverbal Behavior for You! Because people are raised to learn that a great deal of their lives is determined by how others perceive and judge them, most are then provoked to work their hardest to refrain from conveying false images. This, then, triggers an effect on people that, most of the time, they might not even notice.

By subconsciously knowing that people are evaluating their every move, individuals are then prone to supervise and manage their public impressions. In Leary’s book, we learn that we plan a large part of our everyday behavior in an effort to put our best foot forward and avoid flawed evaluations from others. Leary’s encouraged goal is to make the reader take a step back and allow him or herself to view these situations in their own lives. He enlightens us with explanations of impression monitoring, self-esteem, and intimidation. The book provided me with a self-realization into my own actions and thoughts that I engage in. Sometimes self-presentation efforts center on being perceived accurately, but at other times people try to mimic someone they are not. That brings us to the subject of nonverbal behavior, which is one means of self-presentation. Nonverbal behavior is defined as the way in which something functions or operates involving minimal use of language.

This is very prominent in the collection of chapters titled, The Social Context of Nonverbal Behavior. In this collection, the authors, 34 in all, attempt to examine questions and assumptions about the use of communication and its meaning. Within the chapters lies the authors views on everything from mimicry to cultural status to the obligation to smile. I have learned through this book that expressions can be influenced by many factors including gender, age, cultural surroundings, television, social status/power, and mentality. One chapter reports, “ Each individual’s communication style is the result of a complex interaction of social, interpersonal, cultural, and biological influences” (Philippot, 43). This statement embodies one of the main themes of the book. A lot of the context deals with those issues on a number of different levels. In another chapter, we read about how “ it is clear that there is a relationship between expressive behavior and social success” (Philippot, 156). This worries me.

Will my children not be socially popular and successful if I do not bring them up in a fashion where they are secure in their feelings and expressions? The ability to communicate with positive images is viewed as the acceptable way to “squeeze out” your approach. For me, the most interesting subject in this book is that of the smile. It has been proven that there is no gesture with more meanings and appearances than the smile. The smile has always been a source of happiness, joy, delight and friendliness across the world for it is the most easily recognized facial expression internationally. Marianne LaFrance and Marvin Hecht are the authors who take charge of this section by revealing such smile facts as, “ Available evidence does not provide unequivocal evidence that those in low-power positions smile more than those in high-power positions. There are indications, nonetheless, that in power-unequal situations, low-power people likely experience more concern about impression management than high-power people”(LaFrance & Hecht, 48). These findings are exactly what I meant by things you do not usually notice about yourself.