Primary Sources of Nonverbal Behavior Knapp

Knapp and Hall cite evidence from the work of Eckman and Friesen that nonverbal behavior comes from inherited neurological programs, experiences common to all members of the human species, and experiences which vary with culture, class, family, or the particular individual (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. 408). For example, in every culture, food is picked up by the hands and placed in the mouth. Cultural forces and biology interact in intricate ways to bring about human nonverbal behavior in the forms of various and rituals which people automatically perform. It is the purpose of this paper to discuss the various sources of nonverbal behavior in the specific areas of proxemics, kinesics, haptic, and facial and eye behavior.

In the area of proxemics, the study of man's perception and the use of space, there is complex and somewhat conflicting research on the primary source of learning the use of space. At first, it seems that the cultural influence is the strongest, because that is where it is obvious that there is the most variation. Knapp and Hall discuss the various learned responses of children at different ages as they become enculturated to the correct amount of space and touching in dealing with others (1992, p. 438). It is commonly known that various cultures differ in the terms of the proper space between people. The average American carries a two-foot bubble of privacy around himself. A German may make an entire room his b

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gorillas as they play, tease, chase, and interact with the human watchers. These behaviors are strong evidence that some types of movement are biological. Certainly the most basic movements of walking, climbing, gathering, mating, holding and nursing a baby go much deeper than cultural influences. As with proxemics, Birdwhistell asserts that nonverbal movements are an "active aspect" of cultural structure (1970, p. 251), but he hesitates to say that kinesics are entirely a product of cultural entity. He makes the distinction between structure and process, which is not so important for the purposes of determining origin, but these ideas to help in conveying the complexity of the considerations when thinking about origins. Birdwhistell prefers to think about these issues in terms of cultural generalizations and communicational generalizations. Knapp and Hall believe that some human nonverbal movements are dependent on inherited neurological programs and others are more strongly influenced by culture and environment. Many are influenced by both (Knapp & Hall, 1992, p. 409). In looking at the evidence for the origins of the channel of kinesics it seems again that the neurological forces have to come first (unless we would wis
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Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page)

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