Gesture, Race and Culture Book Review
Gestures are unique forms of non-verbal communication, which have been studied, both out of context and within culture and race. In 1942, Dr. David Efron wrote the book, Gesture and Environment, which was a summary of Efron’s research of the claims of the Nazi scientists that “differences in gestures were due solely to racial inheritance” (Ekman, 7). He compared groups of immigrant Southern Italians and Eastern Jews, living in New York City, by using direct observation and recording the outward gestures of this collection of people. These observations were then evaluated and studied to determine whether there were group differences between them. Efron went even further to research whether there
…show more content…
Gunther did not believe environment had anything to do with the way a group of people gestured. Another theory, published by L. F. Clauss, claimed that the “human body is a ‘stage’ on which the psycho-racial traits of the individual manifest themselves in the form of facial movement, gesture, voice, etc.” (Efron, 25). Clauss theorized that there were six different types of race, and each had its own characteristic gesticulations. Of these forms, he categorized into the following: restrained, playful, explosive, etc. Expressive movement theory was studied by Albert Gehring, who asserted that different races had different mentalities. He examined the Graeco-Latins and found them to be lively and quick tempered, whereas the Teutons were more deliberate in their motions. Again, this theorist did not take into account the environment in which a person lived. Wilhelm Bohle claimed that human behavior was not affected very much by environment, but it is “the inner” character of an individual that patterns his experiences (Efron, 32). His claim was that each person fit into one of the following categories: affective type (quiet), motor type (slow or energetic), or perceptive type (sensory). Like the rest of the logicians, Mr. Bohle did not have any concrete evidence to support his theory. Theorist Karl Skraup claimed that there were five different factors of bodily motion: intellect, occupation, temperament,
Behaviour/mannerisms can convey symbolic meaning within a structure or field and thus create a pattern of recognised behaviours or actions. These become embodied and dictate the way a person conducts themseleves within a certain field. (p69-70)
It’s not only how we speak to people but it can also be reflected through our body language. We have to bear in mind that other people’s cultures may find some gestures offensive to them. Being respectful to their beliefs and cultures is important in maintaining positive relations. A raise of an eye brow or shrug of the shoulder can send the
A few days ago I took a trip to my local mall and took a seat at the food court. My objective was to observe individuals engaging in non-verbal communication and document what I witnessed. After only a few minutes I became aware of a couple sitting within public distance, about 15-20ft away from me. They were having an argument about how the male was being cold and unaffectionate. While observing them I realized they were using various gestures while arguing. I will inform you of what type they were and what they were conveying.
Psychology is the scientific “study of the mind” (Gross, 2015) and behaviour, which includes the study of humans and animals. There are various approaches in modern psychology. A theoretical approach is a perspective which is someone’s view about human behaviour, there can be many different theories within an approach, however they all piece together the same assumptions. (McLeod, 2007). A theory is an attempt by theorists to try to explain behaviour. Theories are not facts but can be verified by testing. Theories can then be evaluated which I aim to achieve through this essay, where I will briefly explain the theoretical approaches in psychology and aim to focus on an analysis of each perspective which consists of the psychodynamic,
Psychology, due to its complexity can be approached in a variety of ways. To help us understand the human mind, behaviourist and psychodynamic approaches have helped us understand the alternative outlooks in the science of mind and behaviour. Both approaches can be examined by the means of theoretical assumptions and methodology.
There are eight key forms of nonverbal communications used on a daily basis. These forms can affect the way people view another person; however, without understanding the forms of nonverbal communication there is certain to be a lot of misinterpretations. Cultural and language differences are a common reason for miscommunication. When communicating with people in different cultures, a person should be extremely aware of the hand gestures and nonverbal communication tools they are using. Many of the hand gestures used in the United States that mean good things, mean offensive and profane things to other cultures. Nonverbal communication is described as body language, hand gestures, and facial expressions. It is known that people reveal more information through nonverbal communication, than words alone to get a point across. There will always be some interaction between two or more people that everyone’s
Racism is a social dilemma that has been dealt a frequent occurrence in the history of mankind. People have experienced different forms of racism and depending on what part of the world you lived in, many wars have been fought different ethnic and racial group. The term racism has been over used so much so that it does no longer have a significant definition. The meaning varies depending on who is being asked what racism is. According to the book, "Institutional Racism in America," however, racism is a broad term.
In the early 1970s a student of psychology, Richard Bandler and an assistant professor of linguistics, John Grinder identified that all humans have a series of modalities. All humans have a preference for a specific sense or modality which we are born with and which is predominant and they use this more than their other modalities. Each of the modalities has representations in the person’s physiology, language, behaviour and eye movement. Most people primarily define their world in a visual, auditory or kinaesthetic way; but there are other modalities which include olfactory (smell), gustatory (taste) and digital/audio (internal dialogue).
In psychology there are many different approaches to understanding the complexity of human behaviour, all of which have different methods of testing what factors can influence behaviour, varying from scientific to pure assumption in an attempt to understand human behaviour. This essay with explain the key ideas of the behaviourist, biological and humanistic approaches and will compare and contrast their assumptions on human behaviour.
In this assignment, the four major paradigms of psychology are discussed. The reasoning behind the placement of the theories will be discussed thoroughly and efficiently. Each of the theories was placed on a spectrum that measured whether they were more influenced by heredity or environment. Some, as many can see, can fit into both sides of the spectrum. There are many factors that are involved in the process, and each are important variables in personality and the evolution of humanity.
The purpose of this essay is to outline and evaluate at least three psychological perspectives of human behaviour. The three approaches that will be summarised are humanistic, social learning theory and the Biological approach. They will also be criticised and compared to one another. A brief description on psychology will occur, and there will also be a short summarisation on some key early influences of psychology, from its origins in philosophy.
This essay will outline and compare both biological and behavioural perspectives on human behaviour. The history, major discoveries and theories will be discussed along with some of the most influential theorists in each of these two areas of psychology. This essay will also compare the two areas strengths and weaknesses in the field of psychology.
In this assignment, the four major paradigms of psychology are discussed. The reasoning behind the placement of the theories will be discussed thoroughly and efficiently. Each of the theories were placed on a spectrum that measured whether they were more influenced by heredity or environment. Some, as many can see, can fit into both sides of the spectrum. There are many factors that are involved in the process, and each are important variables in personality, and the evolution of humanity.
The greatest criticism of the Psychodynamic Theory is that it is unscientific in its analysis of human behavior. Many of the concepts central to Freud 's theories are subjective, and as such, difficult to test scientifically (McLeod, 2007). Behavioral Theories suggest that personality is a result of interaction between the individual and the environment. Behavioral theorists study observable and measurable behaviors, rejecting theories that take internal thoughts and feelings into account (McLeod, 2007). The Trait personality is a measurement of consistent patterns of habit in an individual 's behavior, thoughts, and emotions. The Trait Theory is based on the stability of traits over time, how they differ from other individuals, and how they will influence human behavior (McLeod, 2007). The social learning approach takes thought processes into account and acknowledges the role
One of the criticisms most often thrown at psychology is the danger that observations might be too subjective to be applied on a broad basis. People are different and they do react to the environment in varied ways. The differences become even starker when the humans under observation are from different cultures. However, there are several theories which have managed to hold their own under scrutiny. The theories of Piaget, Kohlberg, and Bowlby are examples of the theories. The paper explains these theories and their application to different cultures. The writer then renders an opinion based on real-life situations. At the end, it is clear that there are theories in psychology which can be applied to a wide cross-section of the human population.