Categories of Implicit Interpersonal Communication

Abstract

The purpose of the present study was to develop a set of eight nonverbal displays consistent with the eight interpersonal roles specified by Leary in 1957. The development of these displays was also based on the notion of a convergence of theory and fact based on the work of Leary, Osgood, and Schlosberg. Naive subjects' reactions to each of the eight displays were elicited on Leary's Interpersonal Check List and a simplified bipolar adjective instrument. Naive subjects placed the nonverbal displays as predicted. The present study is viewed as a first step in determining if in fact these eight displays represent major categories of nonverbal behavior used in implicit communication.