Sammendrag
Non-verbal behavior is an important part of clinical communication (Blanch-Hartigan et al., 2018) that was found to effect treatment outcome (Hall et al., 1995). While most studies examine the effect of combined non-verbal behavior little is known about the separate effects of non-verbal channels (Daniali & Flaten, 2019). To test the effects of micro non-verbal behaviors on pain, a study by Daniali et al, (in progress) created videos in which actors guide participants through an experiment and show one enhanced non-verbal channel. The other channels are displayed neutral. In this study, these videos were tested for validity and reliability. Thin-slices of the videos were rated by trained coders (N = 15) based on general impressions. Results showed that the actors acted similarly and displayed the channels they were asked to, while the other channels were kept neutral. All the enhanced channels lead to higher general positivity than neutral behavior, however there are within-differences regarding the amplitude. A second study with blinded participants (N = 99) checked if the enhanced micro non-verbal behaviors were actually perceived as positive and if there were difference in the amplitude of positive affect perception induced by the enhanced micro non-verbal behaviors. The participants filled out an online survey and rated the videotaped experimenter based on positive affect (using PANAS). Facial expression was found to be the strongest channel for being perceived to be in a positive affect. Implications for further non-verbal behavior studies are discussed.