Verbal, vocal, and visible factors in judgments of another's affect.

Abstract

Columbia University Two studies investigated the extent to which variance in observers' judgments of affect made on the basis of full-channel (audiovisual) presentations is accounted for by verbal (written transcripts), vocal (content-filtered speech), and visible (silent video) information. Stimulus materials for Study 1 were taken from the 1976 Dole-Mondale vice-presidential debate, and those for Study 2 were taken from personal interviews with female undergraduates. Judges in both studies rated the emotion conveyed in each stimulus segment on scales taken from the semantic differential. Multiple regression of ratings from the full-channel conditon onto each of the single-channel conditions revealed that verbal content was the best predictor of evaluative judgments in both studies. Transcripts also proved to be the best predictor of potency and activity ratings in Study 2, although these findings were not consistent with the results of Study 1. Overall, no support was found for the widespread assumption that nonverbal channels (vocal or visible information) form the primary basis for the communication of affect. The content of human communication conventionally is partitioned into two categories: verbal and nonverbal. The nonverbal