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Degree

Master of Arts, University of Toledo, English as a Second Language, 2007.

Abstract

This thesis incorporates a study that shows a relationship between verbal and nonverbal behaviors and the outcome of a communicative event. This study was conducted by observing the communicative behaviors that potential customers exhibited after they were offered a free sample. The societal norm of reciprocity states that people who receive gifts (such as free samples) are likely to express obligatory feelings to the gift-giver (Spradly 2000). However, it was demonstrated by El-Alayli and Messe (2003) that people who receive a gift may feel that their social freedom is challenged and choose not to respond. The study shows that although the majority of people accept a free sample, they are not likely to reciprocate; and responses that are traditionally assumed to show acceptance can actually refer to denial or rejection when one observes nonverbal responses. For example, ten percent of the time when the responses of “sure”, “yeah” or “okay” were spoken by a customer after a free sample was offered, he/she did not accept the sample. Four percent of the time when the customer said “thanks” or “thank you”, he/she also did not take the sample. The outcomes of this study coincide with Hard Science Linguistics that values human communication as being comprised of all observable behaviors in real world situations. Nonverbal behaviors are important to analyze because they do not depend on the properties of the researcher to be observed. Furthermore, articulations that are traditionally viewed as positive acceptance (such as "thanks", "thank you", "sure", "yeah" or "okay") can actually be part of a denial or rejection of an offer when analyzed in combination with nonverbal responses. Evaluations of the cultural and pragmatic circumstances surrounding an event directly reflect the behaviors of potential customers when they were offered a free sample. When teaching communication, one must take into account verbal and nonverbal behaviors of the native setting in relation to the overall context or purpose of the communicative event.

Keywords

nonverbal; nonverbal communication; communication; real world; real world communication; hard science linguistics; applied linguistics; linguistics; anthropology; free samples; gifts; norm of reciprocity; reciprocity

Advisor

Douglas W. Coleman

Pages

45p.

Document number: toledo1177956267
Permalink: http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=toledo1177956267

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