Nonverbal Dictionary | Page 4

were 'sensible' gestures (like sniffing for 'flowe\
r' and arms-up for 'big'). We then
made it easy for her by modeling other simple gestures for things in whi\
ch she was interested and
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gesture
followed her progress in terms of both gestural and verbal development" \
(from Linda Acredolo and
Susan Goodwyn's Baby Signs® Research web page). 2. Subsequently, Acredolo, Goodwin, and others
applied their findings about Baby Signs (a.k.a. symbolic gesturing), to teach and encourage the use of
symbolic gestures in infancy so as to improve verbal language acquisitio\
n (see, e.g., Goodwyn, Acredolo,
and Brown (2000).
Cetology. "A sequence of three gestures LEFT, FRISBEE, TAIL-TOUCH instructs the \
dolphin to swim
with the frisbee that is to its left with its tail flukes" (Montgomery \
1990:B2).
Culture. Accompanying hundreds of human-wide, universal gestures, such as the s\
houlder-shrug and
smile (which, themselves, may be shaped by culture) are hundreds of ad\
ditional gestures which must be
learned to be understood (see
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION, Kind of cues). Many of the latter,
culturally coded gestures--such as the hand ring (Italy), hand ring-jerk (Great Britain), hand ring-kiss
(France), and hand ring pull-side (Holland)--have been identified by Desmond Morris (1994).
Hand gestures. We respond to hand gestures with an extreme alertness because dedicate\
d nerve cells in
our
primate brain's lower temporal lobe respond exclusively to hand outlines, positions, and shapes
(Kandel et al. 1991:458-59).
Paleontology of gesture. ". . . there is a primate (or perhaps mammalian or even vertebrate) \
level [of
nonverbal communication] that contains the gestural primitives common to\
all people and in some
instances all primates or all mammals. Examples are gestures implying bi\
gness as signs of threat or
intimidation [see
LOOM], and gestures implying smallness as signs of submission [see CROUCH].
Loudness and softness in vocal communication have the same import. In th\
is context, Givens (1986) has
called for a 'paleontology of gesture'" (Armstrong et al.1995:6-7).
Primatology, chimpanzees. ". . . bonobos often add so-called finger-flexing, in which the four f\
ingers of
the open hand are bent and stretched in rapid alternation, making the [o\
utstretched-hand gestured]
invitation [i.e., the request for food, support, or bodily contact] look\
more urgent" (Waal and 1997:29).
Salesmanship. "Rehearse the speed at which you gesture, either in a mirror or on vid\
eotape. Quick, jerky
movement belies a calm interior or voice" (Delmar 1984:48).
Sea lion gestures. "Four gestures, which indicate WHITE, SMALL, FOOTBALL and TAIL tell th\
e sea
lions to find the small white football and touch it with its tail" (Mon\
tgomery 1990:B2).
Sociology. "Following Wundt, [George Herbert] Mead [in his 1934 book, Mind, Self, and Society,
Chicago, U Chicago Press] took the gesture as the transitional link to l\
anguage from action, and also as
the phenomenon establishing the continuities of human and infrahuman soc\
ial life" (Martindale
1960:355).
Word origin. From Latin gestus, from (past participle) gerere, "to behave."
RESEARCH REPORTS: 1. "Gesture includes much more than the manipulation of the hands and othe\
r
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visible and movable parts of the organism. Intonations of the voice may \
register attitudes and feelings
quite as significantly as the clenched fist, the wave of the hand, the s\
hrugging of the shoulders, or the
lifting of the eyebrows" (Sapir 1931:105). 2. The term ethology was used in the late 18th and early 19th
centuries for "the interpretation of character by the study of [human] g\
esture"; in the 20th century
ethology came to mean the "comparative anatomy of [animal] gestures," to\
reveal the "true characters of
the animals" (Thorpe 1974:147).
E-Commentary: "I am a support teacher for visually impaired children and I am curren\
tly working with a blind 8 year old
girl. I am looking for information on teaching suitable gestures to repl\
ace socially unacceptable behaviours. One such
behaviour is the flapping of arms when excited. This student is very bri\
ght and social. Any suggestions on other gestures
or body language that may be helpful would be appreciated." --J.W., Aust\
ralia (8/6/01 11:47:10 PM Pacific Daylight
Time)
Neuro-notes. Many hand gestures are produced in speech areas of the right hemispher\
e, which were
abandoned, in early childhood, as language shifted to the left hemispher\
e (Carter 1998:155).
Copyright © 1998 - 2002 (David B. Givens/Center for Nonverbal Studies)
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selftouc
SELF-TOUCH
Tactile sign. 1. The act of establishing physical contact with one's own clothing or body parts (esp.
hands to face; see HOMUNCULUS). 2. The act of stimulating one's own tactile receptors for pressure,
vibration, heat, cold, smoothness, or pain.
Usage: Like a lie-detector (or polygraph) test, self-touch cues reflect the arousal level of our sympathetic
nervous system's
fight-or-flight response. We unconsciously touch our bodies when emotions run high
to comfort, relieve, or release stress.
Lips are favorite places for fingertips to land and deliver reassuring
body contact. Self-stimulating behaviors, e.g, a. holding an arm or wrist, b. massaging a hand, and c.
scratching, rubbing, or pinching the skin, increase