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Nonverbal Communication

Where Nature Meets Culture

• Edited by Ullica Segerstr†le, Peter Moln r, Peter Molnar, Ullica Segerstrale

• Price: $45.00
• Binding: Hardback
• Pages: 320
• Published by: Psychology Press (formerly published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates)
• Publication Date: 1st January 1997
• ISBN: 978-0-8058-2179-6

About the Book

The search for the biological foundations of human culture inevitably leads to nonverbal communication. Superficial intuition suggests that nonverbal communication is a sine qua non for the evolution of sociality. Without it, the diversity and sophistication of today's social systems would be unimaginable. However, there is the opposite hypothesis that the evolution of nonverbal communication may in part be the result of our being thoroughly social entities: Our sociality itself may have amplified the evolution of a capacity we share with other primates but have developed to a degree unequaled by any other species. Advances in the evolution of nonverbal communication as presented in this volume will certainly contribute to further insights into the intricacies of the biological and the social worlds.

This volume grew out of a conference at the Center for Interdisciplinary Research in Bielefeld, Germany. The conference was organized by a research group working on the overarching theme of "Biological Foundations of Human Culture," so that scholars in such wide-ranging areas as biology, psychology, sociology, anthropology, economics, primatology, history, and philosophy of science could present and discuss recent approaches toward a biologically and sociologically founded understanding of human culture. This pluralistic perspective made it possible to bring the diverse disciplinary approaches into fruitful dialogue.

Table of Contents

Contents: Preface. Introduction: Nonverbal Communication: Crossing the Boundary Between Culture and Nature. Part I: New Findings on the Universality of Human Nonverbal Communication. P. Ekman, D. Keltner, Universal Facial Expressions of Emotion: An Old Controversy and New Findings. U. Dimberg, Psychophysiological Reactions to Facial Expressions. W. Schiefenhövel, Universals in Interpersonal Interactions. Part II: Development of Emotions in a Social and Cultural Context. H. Papousek, M. Papousek, Preverbal Communication in Humans and the Genesis of Culture. K. Schneider, Development of Emotions and Their Expression in Task-Oriented Situations in Infants and Preschool Children. S.S. Suomi, Nonverbal Communication in Nonhuman Primates: Implications for the Emergence of Culture. Part III: The Social Role of Nonverbal Communication and Emotions: Phylogenetic Inference. P. Marler, C.S. Evans, Communication Signals of Animals: Contributions of Emotion and Reference. S. Preuschoft, J.A.R.A.M. van Hooff, The Social Function of "Smile" and "Laughter": Variations Across Primate Species and Societies. A. Maryanski, Primate Communication and the Ecology of a Language Niche. J.H. Turner, The Evolution of Emotions: The Nonverbal Basis of Human Social Organization. Part IV: Nonverbal Communication as a Mediator Between Biology and Human Culture. W. Goldschmidt, Nonverbal Communication and Culture. M. Heller, Posture as an Interface Between Nature and Culture. A. Nitschke, Sign Languages and Gestures in Medieval Europe: Monasteries, Courts of Justice, and Society. R. Frank, Nonverbal Communciation and the Emergence of Moral Sentiments.