Fundamentals of Nonverbal Behavior

Book excerpt: This volume provides a broad and comprehensive overview of current theory and research in the field of nonverbal behavior and details the major contemporary research areas within it. The contributions, written by prominent researchers in this area of study, consider nonverbal behavior from a broad perspective, focusing on the fundamental psychological processes that underlie the phenomenon. Several meanings of nonverbal behavior are employed throughout the volume and the contributors, whose work represents disparate research traditions and methodologies, consider biological and neuropsychological approaches, cognitive processes, gestures, facial expressions, and other symbolic behavior. The papers are united by a shared conviction that nonverbal behavior represents an important phenomenon with implications both for people's understanding of their own phenomenological and emotional worlds and for the nature of their social interactions with others.