Nonverbal behaviour

an opportunity to see nonverbal behavior in action.

Many communication scholars argue that nonverbal behavior employed by various cultures is rule- governed. Unfortunately, we don’t know what the rules are until we violate them. For this assignment, choose one of the dimensions addressed in the book: appearance, kinesics, eye contact, haptics, paralanguage, or proxemics and design a nonverbal violation. Note: This is not a license to commit an illegal and/or harassing/abusive act. All students WILL be held accountable to the university’s code of student conduct. Try to avoid obvious violations, such as sustained eye contact or intrusion of space in an elevator. Once you have developed the idea, implement it and observe the reaction you receive. In an analysis paper ranging between two and three typed, double-spaced pages, address the following:

1. What violation did you employ? Describe the situation in full. What did you do, when, where, and how? What reaction (positive and/or negative) did you receive? Use scholarly journal article to research expectancy violation theory and explain why you think you received this particular reaction.

2. In a second paragraph, analyze the rule you violated. Do you believe this to be a significant rule?
Why? What does the rule say about our culture?

3. In a final paragraph, address how this rule is complemented by other societal norms.