Document Type
Article
Date
1980
Keywords
nonverbal behavior|nonverbal communication
Language
English
Disciplines
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Description/Abstract
This study explored the hypothesis that siblings display a tendency for family resemblance in nonverbal decoding skills. Thirty-seven sibling pairs between the ages of 9 and 15 were administered the videotaped Nonverbal Discrepancy Test. This audiovisual test assesses (1) decoding accuracy-the extent to which subjects are able to identify affects (positivity and dominance) from face, body, and tone of voice cues; (2) discrepancy accuracy-the extent to which subjects recognize the degree of discrepancy between audio and video cues; and (3) video primacy-the extent to which subjects are more influenced by video (face or body) than by audio cues. Brother-brother pairs showed family resemblances in all three nonverbal indices, whereas brother-sister pairs displayed family similarity only in discrepancy accuracy. Overall, sibling pairs showed a tendency for family resemblance in nonverbal decoding. The processes that might lead siblings to develop similar patterns of nonverbal skills were discussed.
Recommended Citation
Blanck, Peter D., Miron Zuckerman, Bella M. DePaulo, and Robert Rosenthal. "Sibling resemblances in nonverbal skill and style." Journal of Nonverbal Behavior 4 (1980): 219-226.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
