Explaining non-verbal behaviour: Darwin and Yuki

Overview

Darwin's evolutionary theory of non-verbal behaviour, evidence from newborns, sensory deprivation and cross-cultural research, display rules, and Yuki's emoticon study.

What you need to know

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Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1. 1

   What does Darwin's evolutionary theory claim about non-verbal communication?

   Model answer

   Darwin claimed that non-verbal communication evolved because it helped our ancestors survive and reproduce. Useful expressions were passed on to later generations through natural selection.

2. 2

   What did Darwin mean by calling non-verbal behaviour adaptive?

   Model answer

   An adaptive behaviour increases the chance of surviving and reproducing. A clear display of fear or anger could warn others of danger or scare off rivals.

3. 3

   Give an example of an expression that Darwin saw as evolved.

   Model answer

   Baring the teeth in anger is a threat display seen in humans and in animals such as dogs. The shared display suggests a common evolutionary origin.

4. 4

   How does research with newborn babies suggest non-verbal behaviour is innate?

   Model answer

   Meltzoff and Moore found babies only two to three weeks old copied adult facial expressions, such as sticking out the tongue. The babies were too young to have learned this from experience.

5. 5

   How does research with sensory-deprived people suggest facial expressions are innate?

   Model answer

   Matsumoto and Willingham found that judo athletes blind from birth made the same expressions after winning or losing as sighted athletes. Children born deaf and blind also smile, laugh and cry normally.

6. 6

   How does cross-cultural research support the idea that facial expressions are innate?

   Model answer

   Ekman found that people in many cultures, including an isolated group in Papua New Guinea, recognised the same basic emotions. Universal expressions suggest a biological origin.

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