Abstract
The mother project of this study has tried to systematically manipulate micro-level nonverbal behaviors (NBs) by creating different videos that are going to be used to assess the potential effects on pain. The primary aim of this study was to establish validity to the acted NBs by testing the possible similarities and differences between the actors and between the videos. We hypothesized that there would be differences between the conditioning videos containing an enhanced nonverbal channel (facial expression, tone of voice, and body movements) and between these videos and the preconditioning videos that should contain neutral NBs. Fifteen coders filled out a rating form based on their general impressions of each video. The analysis showed that the assumed differences between the videos were present and the actors were similar in terms of their NBs, but not in terms of attractiveness. In addition, a secondary aim was added to investigate the potential effects the enhancement of one nonverbal channel might have on perceived trust. 50 participants filled out an online survey containing an “Individualized trust scale”. The analysis showed that the condition “positive facial expression” was perceived as the most trustful and was significantly different from the condition “positive tone of voice”. In sum, this study validates the possibility of systematically manipulating micro-level NBs. The results might implicate the training of healthcare providers in terms of enhancing important NBs to ensure positive outcomes.
