Nonverbal Behavior Analysis - Essay Example

Nonverbal Behavior It has aptly been viewed that all human societies maintain unique cultural traits including social norms, religious beliefs, spiritual values, traditions, customs, conventions and folklore, which distinguish them from other social establishments of the globe at large. Language is also one of the most prominent cultural traits, which is not only the reflection of the art, literature and folklore of society, but also a very powerful source of communication between the individuals. Hence, languages and words are representative of one’s thoughts, views, opinions and exposure, without which individuals are unable to convey their messages in an adequate and apposite way. However, words and languages are confined to one specific area, region or geographical boundary only, and the foreigners, strangers and outsiders are unable to comprehend with the words applied by the indigenous population of that region. Thus, there appear some gestures, symbols, actions and behavior that maintain universality in their nature, scope and theme, and are understood in one and the same manner in all regions of the planet at large. “The influence of culture on nonverbal behaviors is undeniably large. And yet, we cannot ignore the universal bases for many nonverbal behaviors that cut across cultural differences.” (Matsumoto, 2003) These human actions and signs come under the fold of nonverbal behavior; smile, wink, crying, frown, hug, fondling, kissing and beating etc are different kinds of universally acknowledged nonverbal behavior. I have often observed the people conveying their complete messages through nonverbal behaviors. In order to keenly observe the effectiveness and validity of the nonverbal behavior, I decided to visit the beach one day, where there were wide opportunities of watching the activities of the individuals belonging to divergent races, region, ethnicity, religious belief, gender, professions, socioeconomic status and age groups. It was a pleasant Saturday evening of autumn season, and fortunately fourteenth moonlit night as well. The sky was clear and sun was about to set in the west after warming the earth with its pageant light. I selected a peaceful area of beach and settled down there with my tools including notebook, ball point, cigarettes and attentive eyes. There was imperative hullabaloo and noise at the beach, as the visitors had arrived in the form of couples, families, friends and groups. I noticed a family consisted of father, mother and three children. The parents looked young and energetic, somewhat between the age thirty and thirty five years, while children were almost between the age range from three to seven years. The daughter was the eldest one, and had two younger brothers with her. The parents sat down on a bench near beach, while the children started playing here and there near the beach. Soon a balloon vender passed nearby and the children looked at him with curiosity. The expressions of the innocent children contained feelings of admiration in their sweet eyes for balloons, which stopped the vender immediately close to them. The children looked at the faces of their parents, which did not have any sign of consent in respect of buying balloons for them. The youngest child pointed the index finger of his right hand towards the balloons, in response to which the mother nodded her head in negative. On finding her mother as non-compliant to his demand, the child started crying loudly and lied down on the land and kept spoiling his neat and clean clothes against the sandy earth. It was the powerful nonverbal behavior to capture the favor of his father for getting balloons of his choice. Consequently, the loving father got up and fondled the child out of natural love and affection. He carried the child in his arms and bought three balloons of different colors for the children. Hence, fatherly love could be found in the pleasing smile of the man carrying his child in his strong arms, which was the symbol of unabated affection and sense of protection and financial support for the children. I was moved by the impressive family bondage, when I noticed a teenager couple sitting in another bench. The boy and girl were representing Romeo and Juliet by making promises through eye contacts, hugging and joining hands in hands. There were neither the words, nor any other verbal communication between them. Soon, the girl left the bench and ran amuck towards the beach, where she wrote Michael, perhaps the boy’s name, with sand in an eloquent way and kissed the boy passionately. On observing this, the boy could not refrain from revealing his utmost feelings for the girl, and wrote Jessica with blade in his left wrist. Scratching with blade on arm caused bleeding in the arm, and he had a sigh with pain. By finding the entire scenario, the girl cried and tears started flowing from her deep shining eyes. She drew bandage from her purse and wrapped it round his arm. The bleeding stopped, and the couple embraced each other with utmost passion and dedication. Tears also flew from my eyes and I prayed for them in my heart. Being a researcher, my curious eyes were wandering here and there, where I saw a young male moving impatiently beside the beach. His gait and anxiety revealed that he was searching someone, perhaps a like-minded companion to enjoy the precious moments at the beach. His appearance was a bit glamorous and fashionable, but his gait and gestures resembled with the feminine style. Within few minutes, he gave a wink to another man walking alone at the beach. The second man looked very masculine in physique and body language, and not only noticed the wink, but also stopped there at the spot to reply the first one in the same manner. The first man smiled and waved his hand with joy, which instigated the second one to go close to him. Both the men shook hands warmly and sat together on the wet sand. The two men got engaged in looking into the eyes of each other, and the feminine looking person kept his head in the lap of the other. The masculine man combed his hair with fingers and teased his nose and cheeks. Then hi put his lips on the lips of the other and patted his body with love…… I turned my gaze to somewhere else and let the gay couple do its work! It had set dark, and captivating moonlight had bewitched the entire scenario. The restless waves of the ocean were looking more exquisite and superb in moonlight. The hubbub and noise was at its climax at the beach and sounds of walking, running and rejoicing were making the environment lively and exuberant. In the meanwhile I found a very handsome middle-aged couple busy in meditation and prayer by bowing their heads and seeking the pardon of Almighty God, the Lord in a serene and peaceful part of the beach. Their face expressions revealed their pious character and unflinching devotion to the Creator, Who could bless them with the bounties in the form of worldly triumphs on the one hand, and more spiritual power, fidelity and purity of heart and mind on the other. They had raised their hands up and had kept their heads and eyes bent down to maintain their concentration intact. They were so much absorbed in prayer that they had no knowledge regarding the noise all around them. It was really an unforgettable phenomenon, which sparked a sacred candle in my sinful heart. I bade goodbye to the restless waves of the ocean and departed from the beach at last. To conclude, it becomes crystal clear that man contains several guises and appearances, which he displays and observes quite differently at different occasions. For instance, while offering his prayers in church or any other religious place, he seems to be the embodiment of chastity, compliance, obedience and sacredness, because he is busy in communicating with his Lord. In the same way, he displays respect and regard towards his parents, elders and teachers by standing in a modest way before them. And the same man appears to be quite opposite to it while interacting with his spouse or sex-mate, where nudity and exhibitionism are at their peak. All these acts are actually nonverbal behaviors, which seldom require verbal expressions through words or voice at all. Renowned poet and playwright of all times i.e. Sir William Shakespeare is justified in writing that ‘all the world’s a stage and men and women are mere players.’ (As you Like it; Act II, Sc. VII, Lines 139-140) References: Matsumoto, David. Culture and Nonverbal Behavior. Quoted in Manusov, V., & Patterson, M. (eds.). Handbook of nonverbal communication Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage 2003 1-40 Retrieved from http://www.davidmatsumoto.info/Books/Chapter1.pdf Shakespeare, Sir William. As You Like it 1599 Quoted in Mullik, B. R. A Short History of English Literature Chand Publications Delhi 2002 19-73 Read More