Moving Bodies: Nonverbal Communication in Social
Relationships
By Marianne LaFrance and Clara Mayo
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First published 1978
Thomson Brooks/Cole
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As an experimental social psychologist, LaFrance researches
how emotion and power are reflected in and maintained by subtle communication
cues. Nonverbal behaviours are particularly interesting because they lie
out-of-awareness and typically operate off-the-record. Also, nonverbal cues
convey important information about an individual's gender identity,
personality, emotional state, core attitudes and personal allegiances. Moving
Bodies presents a work on nonverbal communication in the form of facial
expression, gesture, posture, vocal intonation create, reflect, repair and undo
social relationships. LaFrance’s research has focused on the varied
consequences of a smile including why a smile can get you off the hook, why men
smile less than women, why women smile when they are sexually harassed, and at
whom do babies show the coy smile. This text can serve as primary reading for
courses in nonverbal communication or as supplementary reading for courses in
interpersonal and group communication, social psychology, and linguistics. Because
of its orientation, the book can also be a useful tool for courses focusing on
applied communication in education, business, law, and the helping professions.