The Impact of the Verbal-nonverbal Inconsistency on Receiver Attributions, Affective Responses, and Behaviors in Conversation(<Special Issue>Investigating Verbal Behaviour with Experiments)

Abstract

This paper examines the relative impact of verbal-nonverbal inconsistency and the affective responses and actions of the receiver on the attribution of sender intentions in conversation. Under the experiment, 26 males and 13 females, aged between 18 to 24 years, interacted with a confederate using audio intercom. Participants rated their feelings and made inferences about the intentions of the confederate. The participants' behavior was rated separately by two trained observers. Analyses of the results revealed that verbal cues had a significant effect on the attribution of intentions, affective responses and behavior when participants received inconsistent communication, but both verbal and nonverbal cues had a similar effect on attributions concerning intentions and affective responses when participants received consistent communication. Further investigation of inconsistent communication in a variety of actual social situations is necessary in order to generalize about the use of verbal cues dominating the nonverbal that was used in this experimental condition.