I did this
experiment of using no symbolic language with a friend. I explained it to her
before beginning so that she would not think I was just being rude. We were
catching up with each other after some time of not talking, so that helped to
actually keep the conversation going. During the conversation it was very hard
for me to not make signs assuring her that I was listening. For example, I had
to catch myself and stop myself from saying “Mhm” and nodding my head various
times. I also could not give her my opinion or advice on what she was talking
to me about. Therefore, it became less of a conversation since I was just a
listener, and it got a little boring. Near the end of the fifteen minutes, I
could tell that my friend was getting a little bored of talking “alone”. Her
voice became lower with less enthusiasm and it became harder for her to keep
talking. Overall, we were able to compete the experiment but I felt rude for
not holding an actual conversation with her or show her that I was actually
listening.
My partner was definitely in control
of the conversation the whole time. She was the only one allowed to talk or use
any other form of language. Therefore, she was in charge of bringing up the
topics that she wanted and changing to different topics when she wanted to. She
actually avoided asking me questions because she knew I could not respond. In
this case, my friend had complete power in this conversation. She was able to
talk about whatever she wanted and nobody would interrupt her. She could also
change subjects whenever she wanted.
In the scenario of different
cultures, the culture with the spoken language has the advantage over the one
that does not. With spoken language it is easier to communicate complex ideas.
It will be much easier to explain these ideas so people will understand what
you are trying to convey. With this advantage and many more, the speaking
culture will probably feel like they are superior to the culture that does not
use this language. Also, if the speaking culture tries to communicate with the
other they will probably get annoyed. They would have a bad attitude because
they do not receive feedback or might not understand what the other person is
saying. An example of such scenario today would be between those who can speak
and the deaf community. Although some deaf people can speak, some only use sign
language.
For the second part of the
experiment, I felt a little better because I was able to actually hold a
conversation with my friend. I was giving her feedback and we could both ask
and answer questions. However, it was still difficult to contain myself from
nodding and moving my hands. Again, there were many occasions where I had to catch
myself and put my hands down from trying to make an expression with them. It
was also difficult to not use different tones, especially when I was trying to
express agreement or excitement. I think the hardest aspect was trying to
contain my facial movements/expressions. For instance, it was very hard to not
move my eyebrows and to not smile/laugh. This time, my friend enjoyed the
conversation more. She was having a little fun trying to make me laugh, but
also calling me out when I did anything I told her I was not supposed to. She
did not have much difficulty understanding me because even without the body
language, I could express myself with words. My words were sufficient language
to explain the ideas I wanted to get across.
This part of the experiment showed
me that our signs are sort of extra. It is not necessary to have many hand
motions or facial expressions in order to get your idea across. Although these
signs do help to make a conversation more interesting or expressive, they are
not very necessary. With body language, people get to see the emotions that the
other person feels about what they are saying. They also get more descriptive
information about what they are talking. It could be showing the size of
something with hands or showing an action with the whole body. Overall, it is
and extra element that adds to the whole conversation.
The advantage of being able to read
body language is that it enables everyone to get the point across more clearly.
An example would be that if a person does not know what left means, they will
still know what way to go when a person points to the left. Benefits like this
from body language could help find resources, survive, and reproduce.
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ReplyDeletePart A: I don't understand how you conducted this experiment. You were supposed to be restricted from using symbolic language. That means no spoken, written or ASL langauge, but you had full use of your body language. You should have been able to say "mhm" or nod your head or use your hands or move your body to help you communicate. Instead, it sounds like you didn't make any attempt to communicate at all, which isn't the intent here. I'm afraid it will skew your results and conclusions.
ReplyDelete"She was the only one allowed to talk or use any other form of language."
But you were allowed to use body language.
I agree with your conclusion that your partner was in control of the conversation and had the power in the relationship, but it shouldn't have been quite this one-sided.
I agree with your conclusion regarding the two cultures and the attitudes involved.
Yes, the deaf community can serve as an real-life example, but we need to be clear first as to the parameters you are trying to mirror from the experiment. To find a real life example of this experiment, we need to find a situation where you have a speaking population and another group that doesn't speak that language, and this results in a power differential, with the speaking culture having power over the non-speaking. We can see that in the deaf culture, but the balance of that power depends upon the number of people involved. If you have one deaf person in a population of "speakers", then the advantage falls to those who can speak/hear "normally". But if you have one "speaker" in a population of those who use ASL, then the advantage shifts to the deaf culture, correct?
Part B: Better with the experiment here and it looks like you conducted it correctly. Good description.
So I was concerned with this conclusion:
"Although these signs do help to make a conversation more interesting or expressive, they are not very necessary."
But all cultures practice a form of body language. Every single one of them. That isn't a trait that sounds "unnecessary". I suggest that perhaps some more thought was needed to hear to understand the information communicated by body language. For example, humans tend to use body language as a type of lie detector. If spoken words don't match with the body language, we are more inclined to believe the body language and doubt the words. Think about how being able to detect liars might help an individual's ability to survive and reproduce. Kind of important, don't you think?
"Benefits like this from body language could help find resources, survive, and reproduce. "
I suggest there are more benefits than just being able to understand directions. Do you have any other examples here? Can body language help to attract a mate? Threaten an attacker? Coordinate a hunt? And how about being able to detect who is trying to deceive you? Couldn't that play a significant role in a person's survival?
Yes, those who are blind have difficulty reading body language, though they can hear vocal intonation. You could also include those in the autism spectrum to this list.
I would actually want to know the type of person an individual is. I suggest any time body language gives you accurate information, you should not avoid it, though you can certainly choose not to act on it. But is there any situation you can think of where body language might actually mislead you, not because the person is lying but because you don't know how to read the body language? Do all cultures use the same system of body language? They all use different systems of spoken/written language, so why would we assume their body language isn't different? If you travel to another country, can you trust the information you get from their body language?