VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
--- ---
PHM TH HNG NHUNG
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS
VIETNAM NATIONAL UNIVERSITY, HA NOI UNIVERSITY OF LANGUAGES AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES FACULTY OF ENGLISH LANGUAGE TEACHER EDUCATION
--- ---
PHM TH HNG NHUNG
NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH SPEAKING COUNTRIES
ACCEPTANCE PAGE
M TH H NG NHUNG, 061E5, being a I hereby state that I: PH candidate for the degree of Bachelor of Arts (TEFL) accept the requirements requirements of the college relating to the retention and use of bachelor’s graduation paper deposited in the library. In terms of these conditions, I agree that the origin of my paper deposited in the library should be accessible for the purposes of study and research, research, in accordance with the normal conditions established y the librarian for the care, loan or reproduction of the paper.
Signature
Pham Thi Hong Nhung th
Hanoi, May 4 , 2010
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to many people who
have assisted me in the completion of my research. First and foremost, I am deeply indebted to my supervisor, Mr. Dang
Ngoc
Sinh
for
his
patient
guidance,
critical
feedback,
encouragement, and constructive supervision throughout my research. I would also like to express my sincere thanks to Mrs. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, who supported me a lot and gave me valuable advice in the process of doing research. I would like to thank Mrs. Dao Thu Trang for her interesting lectures on cross-cultural communication subject, which provides me general background knowledge for the research and other teachers in English Department for their great assistance. I would like to extend my thanks to all of my friends who have always encouraged, assisted and give me a large number of useful advices during my research. My gratitude goes to all survey respondents in Hanoi who contributed to the data of this research.
ABSTRACT
A large number of studies relating to nonverbal communication and emotional expression have been carried out over the past years. From the previous studies that nonverbal cues plays an important role in emotional expression has been well-acknowledged. Little investigation, however, has been conducted to focus on nonverbal communication in sadness expresssion. expresssion. In order to fill the gap, the researcher researcher is allowed to undertake the present study. To be more specific, the objective objective of the study is to find the similarities and differences in nonverbal sadness expression and to address factors influencing sadness expression in Vietnamese and English-speaking
countries.
In
order
to
fulfill
its
objectives,
questionnaires were delivered to 50 Vietnamese and 50 Anglicist including American, British, Australian and Canadian. Results indicated that despite bearing some similarities in sadness expression via facial expression, eye, hand gesture, posture, and proxemics between Vietnamese and Anglophone culture, the differences are noticeable. Such factors as age, gender, personality, relationship, and social setting exert a
TABLE OF CONTENTS
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PAGE
Acknowledgements
i
Abstract
ii
List of figures, tables, and abbreviations
iii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
I.
Statement of the problem and the rationale for the
1
study II.
Aims and objectives of the study
2
III.
Significance of the study
2
IV.
Scope of the study
3
V.
Organisation
3
CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY
I.
Selection of subjects
25
II.
Data collection instrument
25
III.
Procedures of data collection collecti on
27
IV.
Procedures of data analysis
28
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
I.
Similarities and differences in sadness expression via
30
nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English - speaking countries II.
Factors influencing the frequency of sadness expression via nonverbal cues in Vietnam and English - speaking countries
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
47
LIST OF TABLES, FIGURES, AND ABBREVIATIONS LIST OF TABLES
Table 1: Comparison between verbal and nonverbal communication Table 2: Classification Classification of nonverbal communication Table 3: Frequency of using nonverbal communication Table 4: Eye expression in percentage Table 5: Level of sadness (eye) Table 6: Level of sadness (eyebrow) Table 7: Level of sadness (hand gesture) Table 8: Level of sadness (posture) Table 9: Proxemics expression in number Table 10: Proxemics expression in percentage Table 11: The influence of age (in percentage) Table 12: The influence of gender (in percentage) Table 13: The influence of personality (in percentage)
Chart 10: Posture expression in number Chart 11: Posture expression in percentage Chart 12: The influence of personality (in percentage)
CHAPTER 1
INTRODUCTION I. Statement of the problem and the rationale for the study
C
ommunication among people plays an integral part of everyday life. The Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary (7
th
ed.) defines communication as the
activity or process of expressing ideas and feelings
or of giving people information. It has been stated that most of us spend about 75 % of our waking hours communicating our knowledge, thoughts, and ideas to others (quoted in Do & Dao, 2006, p. 70). Nguyen (2001) divides the process of communication into two: verbal and nonverbal communication. Formerly, verbal and written language received more attention than non-verbal cues. What is sent by communication other than words has been thoroughly studied since the 1960s. That is nonverbal communication, or body language including the full range of gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and conversational distance (Levine and Adelman, 1993). Although
likely to cause miscommunication or even culture shock for interlocutors. interlocutors. Individual differences in the th e expression of emotion are also important components for nonverbal communication. All the things concerned above have offered the researcher an opportunity
to
conduct
a
study
on
‘NONVERBAL
COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS EXPRESSION IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES.’ II. Aims and objectives of the study
Regarding the aforementioned research gaps, the present study is undertaken as an attempt to find out the similarities and differences in expressing sadness through nonverbal cues in Vietnamese and Anglophone cultures. Next, the researcher would like to discover factors affecting nonverbal communication in sadness expression in two cultures. In short, the principal aims of the study could be summarized into two research questions as follows: 1.
What are similarities and differences in sadness
communication in the real life, especially in cross-cultural environment. IV. Scope of the study
Nonverbal communication in sadness expression in these two different cultures takes a lot of time and effort to do research; as a result, it is hard for the researcher to cover all aspects of these issues. Due to time constraint, resources, the researcher’s knowledge and experience, the primary focus will inevitably be on facial expression, eyes, hand gestures, postures, and proxemics. The researcher could not also deliver the questionnaire for people from all English – speaking countries, therefore, all the participants come from the UK, the US, Australia and Canada. Additionally, there is a great wealth of factors which could affect ways of sad expression in these two cultures; accordingly, the researcher will just cover five following related factors: age, gender, personality, relationship, and social settings. V. Organisation
The rest of the paper is organized as follows:
explanation of how the data will be analyzed to address the research questions would be included. CHAPTER 4 (RESULTS AND DISCUSSION) states the
results collected from the instruments, and then the interpretation would be presented. Throughout the chapter, tables, charts and other suitable graphic materials would be added to illustrate. CHAPTER 5 (CONCLUSION) contains the summary of the
main findings of the study, the brief limitations of the research and some suggestions for further studies. In addition, appendices including survey questionnaires for English and Vietnamese participants should be attached at the end of the study.
CHAPTER 2
LITERATURE REVIEW I. Communication 1. Definition of communication
Perhaps, communication might well be considered to be one of people’s most basic activities in daily life. We ourselves probably rarely stopped to think what “communication” is really about or what we should mean by “communication.” Until now, there have been quite a few scholars who have proposed their own definition of communication. Among them, Milton defined “communication” in his book “Human behavior in organizations: three levels of behavior” (1981) as basically “the process of transmitting information between two or more persons.” Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar (1997, p.6), however, note that “communication is more than just sending and receiving messages.” It is added that the process of communication needs “a channel” including “six elements: senders, receivers, messages, a context, a purpose, and feedback”. Additionally, Brooks & Heath, co-
1
the world these days should be understood. The reason for this is that the awareness of the types of communication could open the person’s mind in comprehending the things happening in daily life. If a person knows only verbal communication but nonverbal communication, then he could be “an alien” in the realm of “emotional communication,” for example. Knowing the types of communication, therefore, is of vital importance in daily communication co mmunication.. 2
There is a consensus between Uttara Manohar (2008) and an
online expert team of writers in terms of types of communication. There are two main types of communication in their point of view. Based on style and purpose of communication, there can be two broad categories of communication,
which
are
formal
communication
and
informal
communication. Both of them have their own set of characteristic features. Formal communication occurs in a set formal format such as at work, at meetings or all sorts of business communication. The style of communication in this form is very formal and official as its name; as a
As regards to the base of communication channels, communication is divided into two other subcategories: verbal and nonverbal communication.
As
stated
in
communication”
by
Manohar
two and
online
articles:
“Communication”
“Types which
of are
mentioned above, verbal communication consists of “written and oral communication.” Written communication could use snail mail or email as two means of communication. An effective writing depends on its style, the use of language, grammar, clarity, and precision of language. The other type, oral communication refers to the “spoken words in the communication process.” Meanwhile, Manohar (2008) defines nonverbal communication as the overall body language of the person who is speaking, which will include the body posture, the hand gestures, and overall body movements. The focus of the research is only nonverbal communication, thus, this type of communication will be discussed in detail in the following separate part. NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION
kinesics – we often call it body language and just mention a small part of environmental language. To put it in a simple way, nonverbal communication is everything that is communicated beyond what is expressed in words. Differences between verbal and nonverbal communication
Verbal and nonverbal communication is said to be two communication systems which constitute different languages and operate according to different laws. When we communicate person in person, we send not only “discrete, digital, verbal symbols” but also “continuous, analogical, nonverbal cues” at the same time (Brooks & Heath, 1989). However, defining the difference between verbal and nonverbal communication remains an area of disagreement among experts. Regardless of this ongoing issue, still, there are some unique characteristics to distinguish two kinds of communication. In terms of neurology, neurologists neurologists points out that the human
There are other differences between verbal and nonverbal behaviours than those of perception. Brooks and Heath (1989) suggest that “words can and do represent abstractions such as love and hate”; however, “nonverbal messages observed in one’s behaviour are more likely to be directly related to the feeling of the moment.” Moreover, as they propose, most verbal messages are produced “intentionally” because of one’s will whereas nonverbal cues are not easily controlled. The table below by the William Alanson White Psychiatric Foundation, Inc. quoted by Brooks & Heath (1989, p. 94) could possibly make the comparison between verbal and nonverbal communication clearer and easier to understand to readers. Table 1: Comparison between verbal and nonverbal communication Nonverbal communication
1
Verbal communication
Nonverbal Nonverbal communication communication is Verbal
communication
based
on
on
continuous based
is
discontinuous
acquisition of skills.
4
Understanding Understanding of nonverbal Understanding
of
verbal
denotation is based upon the denotation is based on prior participants’ assessment
emphatic verbal agreement. of
biological
similarity; no explanation is needed
for
understanding
what pain is. 5
Nonverbal
communication Verbal communication uses
uses the old structures of the younger central
and
brain
, structures
autonomic particularly the cortex.
nervous systems. 6
Nonverbal Nonverbal communication communication is Verbal learned early in life.
7
communication
is
learned later in life.
Action and objects exist in Words do not exist in their their own right.
own right. They are arbitrary symbols
representing
communication could be suggested by Brooks & Heath in their book “Speech communication” published in 1989. In their opinion, the fist principle is “one cannot not communicate.” All behaviours which can be observed or visible can bring “message value.” Brooks & Heath propose that if we do not want to communicate, we can refuse to speak. That means verbal communication can be avoided; we, however, cannot avoid communicating nonverbally. Inactivity or silence itself, for example, has its own meaning. Secondly, feelings and emotions, attitudes and relationships are effectively communicated through nonverbal behaviors. People usually use verbal communication – words to share cognitive information and to transmit knowledge, meanwhile nonverbal cues are best for conveying feelings, emotions and attitudes – noncognitive information. Watzlawick, Beavin, Jackson (1967, p.63) add that when relationship is the central concern of communication (superior-subordinate, leader-follower, helper-helped...), verbal
Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar (1997) also show their agreement with Brooks & Heath when claiming that emotions and feelings are more accurately and easily communicated through nonverbal cues. The possible reason may stem from the fact that most nonverbal ones are innate and unconscious. Last but not least, “involuntary nonverbal nonverbal messages are often of high validity” (Brooks & Heath, 1989). It implies that when verbal and nonverbal communication conflict, the nonverbal messages are characteristically the more accurate reflection of feelings and tend to be more believed. As mentioned above, verbal communication communication can be manipulated; manipulated; someone is intent on choosing words with care. Meanwhile, as Berko, Rosenfeld, & Samovar (1997) said, “nonverbal behaviors are often below the level of awareness and are not easily controlled” consciously; as a result, it could be hard to distort or deceive nonverbal messages. That is the reason why nonverbal messages are often regarded as the more accurate indicator of feelings and emotions.
behavior account for 55 %, tone of voice 38 % and words just 7 %. These percents are shown in the chart below:
Chart 1: Three elements of communication
Consequently, nonverbal behavior is an important part of helping
because
of
the
large
amount
of
information
it
communicates. Classification of nonverbal communication
Some forms of non-verbal signals are the same and universal
c. Non-verbal behaviours which have meaning in one culture but no meaning at all in the target language. In my view, this classification might be too general. Nguyen (2006) provides a detailed chart quoted by Do & Dao (2006, p.9) to put nonverbal communication into two following broad categories: Table 2: Classification of nonverbal communication Extralanguage Paralanguage
Body
Object
language
language
(Kinesics)
(Artifacts)
Environmental language
+ Vocal
+ Eye contact
+ Clothing
+ Setting
characteristics
+ Facial
+ Jewellery
+
* pitch
expressions
+ Make-up
Conversational
* volume
+ Gestures
+ Artificial
distance /
* rate
+ Postures
scents
Proxemics
* vocal quality
+ Touch /
+ Flowers
+ Time /
+ Intrapersonal communication: Intrapersonal communication is the communication that takes place within an individual. It is mostly “neurophysiological activity.” In this level, an individual talks to himself and handles events, ideas, and experiences. + Interpersonal communication: Interpersonal communication “refers to persons engaged directly in overt and covert transmission and reception of messages.” Interpersonal communication consists of dyadic communication
and
small
group
communication.
In
dyadic
communication, two people communicate directly with each other. The small group may have three people or more participating in the process of communication. The number of participants is the only difference between dyadic and small group communication. These two kinds need an essential element of direct, person-to-person interaction. + Public communication: Public communication is the process of sending a message to a public. In public communication, communication, the speaker does most, not all of the speaking and the public has the role of receivers and responders. Public communication has two kinds: speaker – audience
communication communication is a communication between between people who live liv e in the same country but come from different cultural backgrounds. Different from intercultural communication, cross-cultural communication is between people who live in different countries and come from different cultural backgrounds. Therefore, cross-cultural communication does study not only “cultural differences” but also the “similarities” and “their influences on the people’s behaviours” (Do & Dao, 2006, p. 8). II. Cultural influences on communication
Culture is not something we can reach out and touch, nor see or hear: it is something we must infer from the behaviour of others (Rohner, 1984). Some forty years ago, Kroeber & Kluckhorn (1952) assembled more than 156 definitions of culture, and a wide number of definitions persist, much to the frustration of some, who have concluded that to search for an adequate definition of culture is fruitless (Segall, 1984). Looking across the definitions, it is clear that at least one part of culture is the learned meanings that are shared by a group (Rohner, 1984). In my work I define culture simply as a shared system of socially transmitted
Culture mandates who talks to whom about what and for how long. You were not born knowing a language, how to select “in” clothing, how to spend your time, or the most appropriate ways to show respect. Your culture presented you with a blueprint for how you should live your life and how you should communicate about it. (p. 11) Culture is communicated across generations. And, culture both enables behaviour, allowing it to be created or invented and it constrains and restricts it (Adamopoulous & Lonner, 2001). Thus, understanding our culture and the diversity of cultures with which we come into contact provides a basis for deriving meaning from our communication interactions. III. Cultural influences on nonverbal communication when expressing emotion.
As with verbal language, culture influences nonverbal behaviours in a profound way. Vietnamese and Anglicist cultures are two target cultures in this
the non-verbal aspect of communications. In low-context cultures, information and meanings are explicitly stated in the message or communication (Hall, 1976). Low-context cultures tend to be more heterogeneous and individualist and accordingly have evolved a more direct communication style. Therefore, those differences between two cultures do determine differences in nonverbal communication. There is a variety of sources or channels for the nonverbal cues in emotional expression that we can interpret from others and display ourselves. This present study only includes five basic channels: facial expression, eye contact, hand gesture, posture and proxemics. Facial expression is the most important source of nonverbal communication in all cultures. Gamble & Gamble (2001) stress the importance of the face in their book “Communication works” that the face is the “single most important broadcaster of emotions and the most powerful of our non-verbal communication instruments.” To strengthen the argument, Berko, Rosenfeld & Samovar (1997) present the reason why the face is so important. From their point of view, the face is our
emotions in exactly the same ways, primarily through their faces. Matsumoto (2006) found that it was not until the mid 1960s when the psychologist Sylvan Tomkins, a pioneer in modern studies of human emotion, joined forces independently with Paul Ekman and Carroll Izard to conduct the first of what has become known today as the universality studies. Their findings demonstrated the existence of six universal expressions – anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness, and surprise – as judges all around the world agreed on what emotions was portrayed in the faces. Here are illustrations of faces:
whereas members of high-context cultures are freer to show their emotion. As a result, sometimes it can be hard to interpret the meaning through facial cues and to distinguish which expression the person is trying to convey. The second nonverbal cue is eye contact which is how and how much we look at others when we are communicating. The eyes are often the first piece of body language others see or notice. Thus, beside facial expression, eye contact is also another essential source for emotional display or interpretation. Facial cues can communicate the emotion you are experiencing, but eyes can indicate its intensity. For example, your face may communicate sadness, but the intensity of that expression comes from your eyes. In relationships, eye contact is also served to show intimacy, attention, and influence. The eyes have much to tell us; nevertheless, Brooks & Heath (1989) emphasizes that the relationship between culture and eye contact is unavoidable. A majority of people in the United States and other Anglicist cultures expect those with whom they are communicating to “look them in the eye.” Direct eye contact,
http://zindy-zone.dk/html/drawings/coa http://zindy-zone.dk/htm l/drawings/coal/sad.htm l/sad.htm Another cue which should be discussed is gesture. Gestures are movements made by a specific part of our body, namely hands, arms, and fingers. Of all parts of the human body, Axtell (1997) claims that the hands may be mostly used to send nonverbal signals. That is the reason
http://todaysseniorsnetwork.com/Depression_Leads_to_Artery_Thickeni ng.htm Concerning postures, they are specific positioning that the body takes during a timeframe. Postures are commonly acknowledged to be a means to express feelings and emotions. Baguley (1994) shows his
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-sad-women-image10503734 In terms of proxemics, in his research “Realistic simulation of emotion by animated characters,” Beck (2007) simply defines proxemics as the distance between persons during a social interaction. It might be called conversational distance. Hall (1976), the author of “The Silent Language” and “Beyond Culture” specified four different levels of
Chart 2: Proxemics (Conversational distance)
(http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/proxemics ) It can be seen that though a large number of studies relating to nonverbal communication has been conducted so far, there have still been a gap to fill in. Almost all studies investigated emotion expression in
CHAPTER 3
METHODOLOGY I.
Selection of subjects
The researcher uses probability sampling to select the sample for the study because probability samples allow the researcher to make inferences about the whole population. 100 participants are divided into two groups: 50 Vietnamese and 50 foreigners who are British, American, Australian, and Canadian. Each group has an equal number of males and females. In order to ensure the study’s reliability and validity, except the variable v ariable above, all the participants will
be
randomly
chosen
at
different
ages.
Because
the
questionnaires will be delivered mostly in Hanoi, the researcher will come to English centers to collect data from Vietnamese informants. Most of the Vietnamese here are enthusiastic and supportive enough to fulfill the questionnaire. II.
Research instrument
Survey questionnaire will be employed to address the research
questionnaire can bring the researcher a lot of advantages, it will be utilized as the major source of data collection to gather statistic data. As a wide range of questions are asked about the given issue, diversified information relating to the research topic will be gained. As regards to the design of the survey questionnaire, closedended questions are chosen because responses are easier to collect and analyze. Most items are put in multiple-choice questions. In order to gain responses which more accurately reflect what the respondents wants to say, almost all questions provide a choice for them to specify. A set of survey questionnaire contains two main parts. The first part including age, gender, nationality, occupation, characteristics
will
provide
the
researcher
the
background
information about a participant. The researcher will mostly base on the information from this part to address the second question. The main part in the survey questionnaire is nonverbal communication communication in sadness expression. In case the participants are not familiar with the term “Nonverbal communication,” the researcher also adds its
questions are illustrated with images. This type of information will be used to compare and contrast the two cultures. The survey questionnaire will be written in two languages: English and Vietnamese. English version is for Anglicist people and the researcher will translate it into Vietnamese for Vietnamese respondents so that possible misunderstandings leading to the inaccuracy of the outcomes could be avoided first. III.
Procedures of data collection
The procedure of data collection goes through 4 following stages: Stage 1: Preparing
A list of questions in survey and the interview content will be prepared with much attention to anonymity to reach the target. The researcher researcher made a start to write effective items avoiding ambiguous, repetitive, and redundant items. Stage 2: Piloting
Before formulating the final draft, the researcher will invite a supervisor to locate the problematic items, to see whether it is hard
the questionnaire will be guaranteed in order that the respondents will be more willing to choose their answers reflecting their reaction. In order to get enough questionnaires back for the study, the researcher also asks friends for help to send the survey questionnaire to their friends or acquaintances in four countries via email. Stage 4: Synthesizing figures
After collecting the data from the questionnaires, the results will quickly be synthesized to search for any unexpected outcomes. Then the data collection procedure will continue with transcribing the records and combining with data d ata analysis procedure. As the data from interviews can come in a large amount, the transcripts will be summarized with detailed notes regarding time and place of the interview. In order to avoid misinterpreting, the interviews’ words will be kept and all the irrelevant information will be eliminated. IV.
Procedures of data analysis
Descriptive statistics is used to analyze quantitative and
CHAPTER 4
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION I. SIMILARITIES
AND
DIFFERENCES
IN
SADNESS
EXPRESSION VIA NONVERBAL CUES IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES 1. Frequency of using nonverbal communication in sadness expression Respondents Frequency
Anglicist
Vietnamese
(%)
(%)
12 14 32 34 48 38 8 14 0 0 Table 3: Frequency of using nonverbal communication
a. always b. usually c. sometimes d. rarely e. never
The table above shows the information about how often
more heterogeneous and individualist. As stated in Journal of CrossCultural Psychology (1996), “people in collectivistic cultures would feel less
comfortable
expressing
negative
emotions than
people
in
individualistic cultures.” cultures.” The data d ata collected for the present p resent study supports that claim. To be specific, fewer Anglicist participants claimed to rarely show their sadness nonverbally than the other did. That means Vietnamese Vietnamese people are likely to suppress their emotional displays in order to maintain group harmony. 2. Sadness expression through eyes
As illustrated by table 4, casting down the eyes to show the sadness is chosen by the largest number of participants coming from both Anglicist and Vietnamese cultures. Nearly half of the Vietnamese participants (48%) cast down their eyes when they are are sad. Although the number of the Anglicist participants who express their sadness in the same way is smaller than that of the Vietnamese ones, this figure is still the greatest (18 out of 50 accounts for 36%). Ranking the second position is narrowed eyes which makes up 34% of Vietnamese respondents. Meanwhile, regarding Anglicist respondents, damp or tearful eyes with 28% ranks second, and it is followed by narrowed eyes at 24%. While some similarities between Anglicist and Vietnamese cultues in sadness expression through the eyes are noticeable, they still bear some minor minor differences. The number of the Anglicist Anglicist participants who choose “closed “closed eyes” is the smallest with just only 4% of the total respondents, whereas the lowest percentage belongs to 2% of Vietnamese participants who wants to hide their sadness
culture also choose to avoid eye contacts. In this case, avoidance of eye contact can be interpreted as hiding their negative emotion. The following table gives more detailed information about the level of sadness. Table 5: Level of sadness Anglicist No.
Vietnamese No.
%
%
a1
2
11
a1
3
13
a2
10
56
a2
18
75
a3
6
33
a3
3
13
b1
2
17
b1
5
29
b2
6
50
b2
6
35
b3
4
33
b3
6
35
c1
2
c2
1
33
c3
2
67
d1
10
71
d1
3
60
d2
4
29
d2
2
40
this. Pulling down the eyebrows also receives high responses from participants in Anglicist and Vietnamese culture (32% and 34% respectively). Table 6: Level of sadness Anglicist No.
Vietnamese No.
%
%
a1
6
38
a1
12
71
a2
8
50
a2
5
29
a3
2
13
b1
12
46
b1
6
43
b2
12
46
b2
4
29
b3
2
8
b3
4
29
c3
8
c1
5
26
c2
4
21
c3
10
53
Statistics for Anglicist participants in table 4 indicates that if the
Chart 7:
Chart 8: Hand gesture expression in number
50 Anglicist participants pick up “one hand covering eyes”, which is the second-best. second-best. d a e h e r o f e h t g n i r e v o c d n a h e n O
O n e h a n d
C h e e k l e a n i n g o n o n e f o l d e d h a n d
2 cupped hands covering cheeks Table 7: Level of sadness Anglicist No.
a2
4
Vietnamese No.
%
%
a1
4
27
a2
7
47
The table reveals that 10 out of 14 Anglicist people cover their forehead with their hands when they feel sad. The more they are sad, the more likely they show their sadness by covering the eyes with hands. As regards to Vietnamese participants, when two cupped hands support the cheeks or one cheek leans on one folded hand, it can be inferred that the level of sadness at that time is just average. 6. Sadness expression through postures
Here are illustrations of postures put in the questionnaire. Postures
Description
This person is sitting with
her
arms
clasping her knees. The head is hanging down. a.
This person is sitting
This person is sitting bending
the
back
down, the forehead towards the knees.
c.
This person is sitting with staring
arm-gripping, into
space.
The back is leaning against a tree.
d.
This person is sitting with arm-cross on the table. She tilts her
The table below reveals a great similarity between Anglicist and Vietnamese cultures. Out of 38 Anglicist respondents choosing B and D, the total number of people who claims that the emotional intensity is average at that time is 30, accounts for close to 80%. Similarly, slightly over 60% of Vietnamese respondents do the same. Table 8: Level of sadness Anglicist No.
Vietnamese No.
%
%
a2
2
50
a3
2
50
b1
4
20
b1
4
19
b2
16
80
b2
13
62
b3
4
19
c1
6
75
c2
2
25
c2
2
d1
4
22
d1
2
12
V
V
A
A
The older
10
The younger
5
V A
V A
10
25
30
25
13
30
25
15
12
The same age
15
10
25
30
10
10
Same sex
10
15
32
30
8
5
Opposite sex
9
16
15
25
20
Family member
13
25
25
10
12
15
Close friend
25
30
25
10
V A
5
10
10
Stranger
25
35
15
15
10
Table 9: Proxemics expression in number
Conversational distance Public Interlocutor
Intimate
Personal
Social (1-
(3.5-7.5
(0-0.5 m)
(0.5-1 m)
3.5 m)
m)
> 7.5 m
Hall (1976) suggests that the intimate distance is used by lovers, family members, and very close friends. This claim is supported by statistics to some extent. Particularly, the percentage of Anglicist and Vietnamese participants who keep intimate distance with close friends is 50% and 60% respectively. To strangers, intimate distance does not exist in both cultures. Although they bear some superficial similarities, the differences between Anglicist and Vietnamese culture are pronounced. However, in Anglicist culture, only 26% of the total participants are in direct contact with family members in intimate distance whereas the proportion of Vietnamese ones (50%) approximately doubles because in a high-context culture like Vietnam, close contact is always maintained between family members. Intimate distance is more acceptable when communicating with people at the same age than family members in Anglicist culture (30% vs. 26%). However, no intimate distance is kept with the older and younger among Anglicist people, meanwhile; more Vietnamese
people of the same sex or at the same age constitutes a significant percentage of the total (60%), half of which accepts this distance with people of opposite sex. Concerning social distance, it is likely that both Anglicist and Vietnamese people keep this distance with the older as claimed by 50% and 60% of the total informants from two cultures. Social distance is also acceptable when communicating with the younger or the people of opposite sex in Anglicist culture or with stranger in Vietnamese one. Public distance is the most preferable distance when communicating with strangers (70%) and the older (50%) in Anglicist culture. 30% of Vietnamese respondents admit that they also keep the same distance as Anglicist ones. In Vietnamese culture, people also maintain public distance with people of opposite sex, neither do Anglicist people. Commonly, physical contact between members of the same sex is normal and acceptable, direct contact with members of the opposite sex should
II. FACTORS INFLUENCING THE FREQUENCY OF SADNESS EXPRESSION VIA NONVERBAL CUES IN VIETNAM AND ENGLISH - SPEAKING COUNTRIES 1. Age Table 11: The influence of age (in percentage) Always
Usually
V
V
Interlocutor
The older
Rarely
V
V A
V
A
4
24
30
40
42
24
26
8
2
2
28
14
20
32 32
32
38
20
14
10
64
56
20
24
4
8
12
A
Never
A
The younger The same age
Sometimes
A
As can be clearly seen from the table, there is a great similarity between the two groups of subjects regarding the influence of the interlocutor’s age on the frequency of sadness expression. Two thirds of
2
Table 12: The influence of gender (in percentage) Always
Usually
V
V
Interlocutor A Same sex
12
Opposite sex
4
A
6
Sometimes
Rarely
V A
Never
V A
V A
60
32
24
48
4
12
2
24
28
64
42
8
24
6
As suggested by Ph.D. John Gray, “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”. In other words, he would like to put a heavy emphasis on the differences between two genders: men and women. Particularly, there is a strong agreement with John Gray’s idea in the article “Gender Differences and Personal Interaction”. 3
The author of this article stresses that “when it comes to body
language, men and women show definite differences in terms of nonverbal behaviors as well as the purpose behind those
of the reasons for a strong preference for sadness expression nonverbally with people of the same sex as little misunderstanding could happen between them. 3. Personality Table 13: The influence of personality (in percentage) Personality
A
V
Introverted
12%
42%
Neutral
44%
10%
Extroverted
44%
48%
extroverts really enjoy being with other people, so that the possibility of emotion expression nonverbally is higher. Additionally, from the statistics in the chart, the inference is different from Ellis’s idea (1995). He suggested in his book that “compared with foreigners, the Vietnamese often sound shy and reserved”. This manifests introversion of Vietnamese people. This might be true ten years ago; this situation, however, has changed now. The chart shows that the number of Anglicist and Vietnamese extroverts is almost the same. Therefore, emotional expression of Vietnamese people is not so limited as the time ti me before. 4. Relationship Table 14: The influence of relationship (in percentage) Always
Usually
V
V
Interlocutor A
A
Sometimes
Rarely
V A
Never
V A
V A
indicated in the table, like Vietnamese respondents, Anglicist ones are also more likely to express their sadness with their close friends rather than with members of the family. 5. Social setting Table 15: The influence of social setting (in percentage) V The place
A No.
%
No.
%
45
90%
33
66%
At the restaurant
5
10%
At the workplace
5
10%
7
14%
At home
In the park
5
10%
It is clear from the table that home is the most preferable place to show the sadness via nonverbal communication. This place is chosen by
CHAPTER 5
CONCLUSION I.
SUMMARY OF FINDINGS
On the whole, the researcher has carried out a comparative study of nonverbal communication in sadness expression in Vietnamese and English – speaking countries. Research questions have been addressed through the process of in-depth data analysis. In this part, the researcher will briefly sum up the outcomes of the study. Firstly, main findings reveal that the Anglicist people tend to express their sadness via nonverbal communication more frequently than the Vietnamese people. When sad, the Vietnamese are more likely to conceal their emotion to maintain social harmony. The similarities and differences in sadness expression through five major channels: facial expressions, eyes, hand gestures, postures and proxemics are also evident. The biggest difference lies in hand gesture expression. In Anglicist culture, sadness is often expressed through “one hand covering the forehead” or “one hand covering eyes”. On the other hand, many
Vietnamese and English-speaking countries. Those factors are age, gender, personality, relationship, and social setting. First, both Vietnamese and Anglicist people are freer to show their sadness via nonverbal cues with people of the same age than the older or the younger. Similarly, in both cultures, people of the same sex often display their emotion nonverbally with each other. Nonverbal emotional displays with the people of the opposite sex, however, are more acceptable and normal in Anglicist culture than in Vietnamese culture. Personality is another important factor. Compared to Anglicist people, Vietnamese people tend to be more introverted and their sadness expression is consequently limited. Regarding the relationship, it can be referred that a stronger bond exists between members in a Vietnamese Vietnamese family than in i n an Anglicist one. Social setting also has an impact on the frequency of using nonverbal communication in sadness expression. Unlike Vietnamese people, Anglicist people are less likely to display their emotion in public places like restaurant, café, or workplace. From the results of the study, although sadness expression is
Even though the researcher has made a considerable effort during the research time, time and resource constraint and the limitation of the researcher’s experience led to some unavoidable limitations beyond hope. The first limitation is related to research method. Though survey questionnaire was claimed to be indispensable in the present study because of a large number of advantages it brings, the researcher should conduct an interview and make a careful observation observation if possible. With the aim to triangulate the data collected, the findings will be more valuable and highly-appreciated. One more limitation is research research sampling. As the research is crosscultural, 50 for each group is rather small, which might prevent the researcher from obtaining accurate results. Kuechler (1987) suggested one way to deal with problems is to work with researchers or assistants from the host cultures being studied. However, this should be too difficult for the researcher. Despite
the
aforementioned
shortcomings,
the
researcher’s
flexibility and dedication could help gain the findings’ validity and
Another alternative is to narrow the scope of study. For instance, a comparison study between Vietnamese and American or British culture should be considered. IV.
CONTRIBUTION OF THE RESEARCH
Hopefully, this paper can be a useful reference document for teachers
and
students
who
are
interested
in
the
cross-cultural
communication. Moreover, the researcher would like to raise the awareness and understanding of possible similarities and differences in nonverbal communication in two cultures. We are living in the world in which
cross-cultural
communication
is
indispensable.
Therefore,
communication between different cultures should be improved. Then the study could be seen as an attempt to provide more knowledge about Vietnamese and Anglicist culture and to boost mutual understanding between two cultures.
REFERENCES
Adamopoulous, J. & Lonner, W. J. (2001). Culture and psychology at a crossroad: Historical perspective and theoretical analysis. In D. Matusumoto (Ed.). The Handbook of Culture and Psychology (pp. 1134). New York: Oxford University Press. Axtell, R. E. (1998). Gestures: The Do's and Taboos of Body Language around the World . John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Beck, A. (2007). Realistic Simulation of Emotion by Animated Characters. Retrieved
December
rd
3 ,
2009,
from
www.di.uniba.it/intint/DC-
ACII07/Beck.pdf Berko, R. M., Rosenfeld, L. B., & Samovar, L. A. (1997). Connecting: A Culture-Sensitive Competency (2
nd
Approach
to
Interpersonal
Communication
ed.). The United States of America: Harcourt Brace &
Company. Berry, J. W., Poortinga, Y. H., Segall, M. H., & Dasen, P. R. (1992). Crosscultural psychology: Research and applications. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
th
Emerson, R. W (n.d.). Conduct of Life. Retrieved April 12 , 2010 from http://classiclit.about.com/librar http://classiclit.a bout.com/library/bl-etexts/ y/bl-etexts/rwemerso rwemerson/bl-rwemern/bl-rwemerconduct-5.htm.. conduct-5.htm Friesen, W. V. (1972). Cultural differences in facial expressions in a social situation: An experimental test of the concept of display rules.
Unpublished Doctoral dissertation, University of California, San Francisco. th
Gamble, T. K. & Gamble, M. (2001). Communication Works (7 ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill College th
Gender Differences and Personal Interaction. (n.d.). Retrieved October 10 ,
2009
from
http://www.bodylanguageexpert.co.uk/GenderDifferncesAndPersonalInte raction.html.. raction.html Givens, D. B. (2000). Body Speak: What Are You Saying? Successful Meetings Magazine, 51.
Gudykunst, W. B. (2003). Cross-Cultural and Intercultural Communication. California: Sage Publication, Inc.
Levine, D. R. & Adelman, M. B. (1993). Beyond Language – Intercultural Communication for English as a Second Lanuguage. Prentice-Hall
Regents. Manohar, U. (2008). Types of Communication. Retrieved october 18 th, 2009 from http://www.buzzle.com/articles/types-of-communication.html . Martin, J. N. & Nakayama, T. K. (2004). Intercultural Communication in rd
Context (3 ed.). New York: McGraw Hill.
Matsumoto, D. (2006). Culture and Nonverbal behaviour . San Francisco State University
Mehrabian, A. (1981). Silent messages: Implicit communication of emotions nd
and attitudes. (2 ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth Publishing Co.
Milton, C. R. (1981). Human Behavior in Organizations: Three Levels of Behavior . The United States of America: Prentice-Hall Inc., Englewood
Cliffs. Nguyen, Q. (1998). Intercultural Intercultural Communication Communication . Hanoi: VNU Nguyen, Q. (2001). M t s v n giao ti p và giao ti p giao vă n hóa. Hanoi: VNU
Ting-Toomey, S. (1999). Communicating across Cultures. New York: The Guilford Press. Triandis, H. C. (1972). The Analysis of Subjective Culture. New York: Wiley. nd Types of Communication (n.d.). Retrieved October 22 , 2009 from
http://typesof-communication.c http://typesof-c ommunication.com/ om/ Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. H., & Jackson, D. D. (1967). The Pragmatics of Human Communication (pp. 63). New York: W. W. Norton & Company,
Inc. Wienchecki, B. (1999). Non-Verbal Communication: Classroom Activities For Raising Cross-Cultural Awareness. TEFLIN Paper.
REFERENCES FOR PICTURES
1.
http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-image-sadness-image9080621
2.
http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadnessimage6116656
3.
http://www.sdims.com http://www.sd ims.com/site/sad/sad-fac /site/sad/sad-faces.htm es.htm
4.
http://www.dreamstim http://www.dr eamstime.com/royalty e.com/royalty-free-stock-free-stock-photo-little-ch photo-little-child-inild-in-
12. http://www.dreamstime.com/stock-images-sad-women-image10503734 13. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadnessimage5958276 14. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-image-sadness-girlimage11517326 15. http://www.ta http://www.taochu.com ochu.com/pictures/?dir=/sa /pictures/?dir=/sad d 16. http://www.dreamstime.com/royalty-free-stock-images-sad-womanimage11342249
APPENDICES
SURVEY QUESTIONNAIRE I am doing research on “Nonverbal communication communication in sadness expression in Vietnam and English - speaking countries” for my graduation paper. This questionnaire is carefully designed for my study. Your completing these questions and giving your sincere answers could help me a lot in accomplishing the research successfully. Your answers will be kept confidential and used for academic purposes only. If you have any questions, please contact me at
[email protected] . Thank you very much for your contribution.
PART 1: BACKGROUND INFORMATION Age: Gender:
Male / Female
Nationality:
□ British
□ American
□ Canadian
□Australian
Others: …………..
Occupation: Characteristics:
□ Introverted
□ Neutral
□ Extroverted
PART 2: NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION IN SADNESS EXPRESSION Nonverbal communication - body language includes the full range of gestures, facial expressions, eye contact, and conversational distance (Levine and Adelman, 1993). 1. How often do you you express your sadness via nonverbal communication? communicatio n? C ircle one of these options: a. always
b. usually
c. sometimes
d. rarely
e. never
2. How often do you express your your sadness nonverbally with these people? Please tick the box that best describes you
Your partner The older The younger
Always
Usually
Sometimes
Rarely
Never
The same age Same sex Opposite sex Family member Close friend Stranger 3. Where are you more likely to express your sadness via nonverbal cues? a.
At home
b.
At the restaurant
c.
At the workplace
d.
In the park
e.
Others …………………………. (Please specify)
In question 4, 5, 6, circle the option that you mostly use and the corresponding level of sadness 1: extremely sad 2: sad 3: moderately sad 4. How do you show your sadness through facial expression? Eyes
a. eyes cast down
b. narrowed eyes
c. Closed eyes
d. Damp or tearful eyes
e. no changes
1
2
f. others …. (Please describe)
3
Eyebrows
1 2 a. pulling down
3
Lips
1 2 3 a. lips pulling laterally and downwards
1
1 2 3 b. pulling together
2
1
2
3
1
1 2 3 b. lips pinching
3
5. How do you show your sadness through hand gesture? gesture?
1
1 2 c. no changes
3 d. others …. (Please describe)
2
3
c. no changes
2
3
1
d. others …. (Please describe)
2
3
a. cheek leaning on one folded hand
b. 2 hands covering the face
c. 2 cupped hands covering
d. one hand covering eyes
e. one hand covering the forehead
f. others …. (Please describe)
cheeks
1
a.
2
1
3
1
2
2
3
1
3 1
6. How do you show your sadness through posture? b.
1
2
3
2
3
c.
2
1
3
d.
1
2
3
2
3
e.
1
2
3
f. others …. (Please describe)
1
2
3
7. How far is your conve conversational rsational distance when when you express your sadness? sadness? For each kind of one partner, partner, please tick ( √ ) one option:
Your partner
Conversational Conversational distance Intimate (0-0.5 m)
Personal (0.5-1 m)
Social (1-3.5 m)
Public (3.5-7.5 m)
The older The younger The same age Same sex Opposite sex Family member Close friend Stranger
☺♫♫♫ THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP♫♫♫☺
> 7.5 m
Câu hi kho sát Tôi tên là Phm Th Hng Nhung, sinh viên khóa 40, khoa Ngôn ng và V ăn hóa Anh M , tr t rưng i h c Ngoi Ng , i h c Qu c Gia Hà Ni. Bn kho sát này nhm ph c v cho tài khóa lun tt nghip ca tôi: “Biu l ni bun thông qua ngôn ng cơ th Vit Nam và
các nưc nói ting Anh”. Câu tr li c a b n óng góp rt l n cho s thành công ca tài này. Ti xin m b o r ng nhng thông tin cá nhân ca bn s không b tit l dưi bt kì trưng hp và dưi bt kỳ hình thc nào. Nu bn có bt kỳ câu hi nào, bn có th liên h vi tôi qua hòm thư
[email protected] , tôi xin vui lòng gii áp. Tôi xin chân thành c m ơn s hp tác ca các bn.
Phn I: Thông tin cá nhân •
Tui :
•
Gii tính:
•
Ngh nghip:
•
Tính cách:
Nam / N
□ Hưng ni
□ Trung lp
□ Hưng ngoi
Phn II: Biu l ni bun thông qua ngôn ng cơ th Vit Nam và các n ưc nói ting Anh S n t , và d ng ngôn ng c th hay còn g i là giao ti p phi ngôn t bao g m: nh ng g bi u hi n trên khuôn m t, c ch , ánh m t,
p. . (Levine and Adelman, 1993). kho ng cách giao ti p 1. Bn có thưng xuyên s dng ngôn ng cơ th biu l ni bun không? Khoanh tròn m t trong nhng la chn sau: a. luôn luôn
b. thưng xuyên
c. th nh nh thong
d. him khi
e. không bao gi
2. Bn thưng biu l ni bun vi ai? Hãy ánh du vào ô trng
Ngưi i thoi
Luôn luôn
Thưng xuyên
Thnh thong
Him khi
Không bao gi
Ngưi hơn tui Ngưi kém tui Ngưi cùng tui Cùng gii Khác gii Ngưi thân Bn thân Ngưi l 3. Bn có xu hưng hay biu l ni bun thông qua ngôn ng cơ th âu? a. nhà b. Nhà hàng c. Nơi làm vic d. Công viên e. Nơi khác (vui lòng nói rõ) …………………………………………
Trong 3 câu 4, 5, 6, b n hãy khoanh tròn 1 bi u hi n th ư ng xuyên nh c ng ng: ng: ư ng t c a b n và ch ra m c n i bu n t ư ư ng 1: r t bu n 2: bu n 3: khá là bu n
4. Bn th hin ni bun như th nào trên khuôn m t? a. nhìn xung
b. mt thu hp li
c. nhm mt
d. mt bun rũ hoc khóc
f. biu hin khác …. (Bn vui lòng miêu t)
e. không thay i
Mt
1
2
3
1
a. nhíu xung
2
1
3
2
3
b. nhíu li vi nhau
1
2
1
3
2
c. không thay i
d. biu hin khác …. (Bn vui lòng miêu t)
Lông mày
1 2 3 a. ming rng ra và kéo 2 khóe môi xung
1
1
2 3 b. bm môi
2
3
c. không thay i
d. biu hin khác …. (Bn vui lòng miêu t)
Môi
1
2
3
1
2
3
1
3
2
3
5. Bn th hin ni bun qua c ch ca bàn tay như th nào? Bn vui lòng miêu t . a. ta má vào tay
b. 2 tay che mt
c. 2 tay t lên má
d. 1 tay che m t
1
1
2
1
3
2
3
1
2
2
f. biu hin khác …. (Bn vui lòng miêu t)
e. 1 tay bóp trán
3
3
1
2
3
6. Bn th hin ni bun qua tư th, dáng iu như th nào? Bn vui lòng miêu t. a.
b.
1
2
3
c.
1
2
3
d.
1
2
3
f. biu hin khác …. (Bn vui lòng miêu t)
e.
1
2
3
1
2
3
7. Khi bn th hin ni bun, khong cách giao tip gia bn và ngưi i thoi là bao nhiêu? Bn hãy ánh du vào ô trng thích hp
Ngưi i thoi
Thân mt (t 0 0.5 mét)
Khong cách giao ti p Riêng tư (t 0.5 Xã hi (t 1 1 mét). 3.5 mét).
Ngưi hơn tui
Công cng (t 3.5 7.5 mét).
Ngưi kém tui Ngưi cùng tui Cùng gii Khác gii Ngưi thân Bn thân Ngưi l
Cm ơn các bn ã dành th i gian in vào bn kho sát.
☺♫♫♫ Tôi xin chân thành c m ơn ♫♫♫☺
> 7.5 m
