Sammendrag
Nonverbal communication has mostly been studied as a holistic phenomenon. This thesis investigates if nonverbal behaviour can be broken down into three channels of micro level nonverbal behaviour, namely facial expressions, body movements and tone of voice. A series of videos were coded and analysed for these three channels of nonverbal behaviour. Results indicate that the channels can indeed be separated with a slight exception for facial expressions overlapping with tone of voice. The effect of these channels on higher level traits of dominance, expressiveness and overall impression of positivity are discussed. Additionally a discussion about personality and nonverbal behaviour is introduced via an exploratory randomised online survey investigating the potential effects of personality on perception of nonverbal behaviour. Participants completed a brief personality inventory, then watched one of four videos with either neutral nonverbal behaviour, positive facial expressions, positive body movement or positive tone of voice. Participants then rated the presenter in the video on positive and negative affect. Analysis of the results indicate marginal support for openness and agreeableness as having a moderating effect. Future directions for research on personality and nonverbal behaviour are discussed.
