Sociology of Non-Verbal Communication.

In day-to-day interaction, people across different cultures tend to rely heavily on language to communicate needs and establish understanding. However, communication also occurs in a number of nonverbal ways outside spoken language that typically include facial expressions, the absence or presence of eye contact, physical proximity, nonutterances, touch, gestures, and bodily movement. Studies of nonverbal communication stem initially from studies of animal behavior—in which nonverbal gestures and expressions are seen as legacies of more primitive or instinctual behavior and are therefore seen as largely unconscious or unintentional—or from cultural anthropology—in which nonverbal communication is viewed as largely intentional. In sociology, studies in nonverbal communication are associated mainly with symbolic interactionism, which shows how knowledge of nonverbal communicative norms (e.g., socially appropriate facial expressions and bodily gestures) and control are crucial to the competent presentation of self in everyday life.