Psychology Wiki

Assessment | Biopsychology | Comparative | Cognitive | Developmental | Language | Individual differences | Personality | Philosophy | Social |
Methods | Statistics | Clinical | Educational | Industrial | Professional items | World psychology |

Cognitive Psychology: Attention · Decision making · Learning · Judgement · Memory · Motivation · Perception · Reasoning · Thinking  - Cognitive processes Cognition - Outline Index


Nonverbal meaning is meaning ascribed to nonverbal inputs, for example gesture, dance, architecture, clothes on washing lines. It differs from nonverbal communication.

Symbol and metaphor[]

The decoding of such information depends in part on understanding or socially constructing the symbolic systems underlying the production of the material, and the significance of metaphorical content embedded consciously or unconsciously by the producers of the inputs.

Effects of neurological deficits on understanding nonverbal meaning[]

Nonverbal meaning in psychosis[]

In psychosis part of peoples difficulty may be that they read a meaning into objects. For example, the colour and order of clothes on a washing line may signal the winner of the general election, or a horse race or the imminent arrival of aliens.

See also[]

Further reading[]

Books[]

  • Brannon, E. M., & Roitman, J. D. (2003). Nonverbal representations of time and number in animals and human infants. Boca Raton, FL: CRC Press.
  • Haskell, R. (2001). Deep listening: Uncovering the hidden meanings in everyday conversation. Cambridge, MA: Perseus Publishing.
  • McLaughlin, J. T. (1989). The relevance of infant observational research for the analytic understanding of adult patients' nonverbal behaviors. Madison, CT: International Universities Press, Inc.
  • McNeill, D. (2005). Gesture and thought. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
  • Mehrabian, A. (2008). Communication without words. New Brunswick, NJ: Transaction Publishers
  • Rapoport, A. (1988). Levels of meaning in the built environment. Ashland, OH: Hogrefe & Huber Publishers.

Papers[]

  • Beattie, G., & Shovelton, H. (2002). An experimental investigation of some properties of individual iconic gestures that mediate their communicative power: British Journal of Psychology Vol 93(2) May 2002, 179-192.
  • Berckmans, P. R. (1996). Behavioral expression and related concepts: Behavior and Philosophy Vol 24(2) Fal 1996, 85-98.
  • Bucci, W. (1984). Linking words and things: Basic processes and individual variation: Cognition Vol 17(2) Jul 1984, 137-153.
  • Buller, D. B., & Aune, R. K. (1987). Nonverbal cues to deception among intimates, friends, and strangers: Journal of Nonverbal Behavior Vol 11(4) Win 1987, 269-290.
  • Crowe, S. F. (1997). Deterioration in the production of verbal and nonverbal material as a function of time is contingent upon the meaningfulness of the items: Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology Vol 12(7) 1997, 661-666.
  • Dumont, C., & Ska, B. (2000). Pantomime recognition impairment in Alzheimer's disease: Brain and Cognition Vol 43(1-3) Jun-Aug 2000, 177-181.
  • Duncum, P. (1993). Ten types of narrative drawing among children's spontaneous picture-making: Visual Arts Research Vol 19(1)[37] Spr 1993, 20-29.
  • Ericsson, K. A. (2002). Towards a procedure for eliciting verbal expression of non-verbal experience without reactivity: Interpreting the verbal overshadowing effect within the theoretical framework for protocol analysis: Applied Cognitive Psychology Vol 16(8) Dec 2002, 981-987.
  • Erkkila, J. (1997). From the unconscious to the conscious: Musical improvisation and drawings as tools in the music therapy of children: Nordisk tidskrift for musikkterapi - Nordic Journal of Music Therapy Vol 6(2) 1997, 112-120.
  • Feldman, R. S., Coats, E. J., & Spielman, D. A. (1996). Television exposure and children's decoding of nonverbal behavior: Journal of Applied Social Psychology Vol 26(19) Oct 1996, 1718-1733.
  • Foa, U. G., Foa, E. B., & Schwarz, L. M. (1981). Nonverbal communication: Toward syntax, by way of semantics: Journal of Nonverbal Behavior Vol 6(2) Win 1981, 67-83.
  • French, P. (1981). Comparability of verbal and nonverbal measures of affective meaning in bilinguals' two languages: Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 52(1) Feb 1981, 251-254.
  • Gallagher, H. L., Happe, F., Brunswick, N., Fletcher, P. C., Frith, U., & Frith, C. D. (2000). Reading the mind in cartoons and stories: an fMRI study of 'theory of the mind' in verbal and nonverbal tasks: Neuropsychologia Vol 38(1) Jan 2000, 11-21.
  • Gampel, Y. (1993). Access to the non-verbal through modelling in the psychoanalytic situation: British Journal of Psychotherapy Vol 9(3) Spr 1993, 280-290.
  • Giannini, A. J., & Fellows, K. W. (1986). Enhanced interpretation of nonverbal facial cues in male rapists: A preliminary study: Archives of Sexual Behavior Vol 15(2) Apr 1986, 153-156.
  • Griffith, P. L., Robinson, J. H., & Panagos, J. M. (1981). Perception of iconicity in American Sign Language by hearing and deaf students: Journal of Speech & Hearing Disorders Vol 46(4) Nov 1981, 388-397.
  • Heffner, R. S. (1977). Developmental auditory agnosia in retarded adolescents: A preliminary investigation: Brain and Language Vol 4(4) Oct 1977, 521-536.
  • Horgan, T. G., & Smith, J. L. (2006). Interpersonal Reasons for Interpersonal Perceptions: Gender-incongruent Purpose Goals and Nonverbal Judgment Accuracy: Journal of Nonverbal Behavior Vol 30(3) Sep 2006, 127-140.
  • Ickes, W. (1995). How Much Can We Say Without Words?: PsycCRITIQUES Vol 40 (2), Feb, 1995.
  • Johnson, W. R., & Smith, E. W. (1974). Responsivity to incongruent verbal and non-verbal communications and A-B therapist type: Perceptual and Motor Skills Vol 38(3, Pt 2) Jun 1974, 1066.
  • Kunst, J. (1986). Social cognitions and musical emotions: Communication & Cognition Vol 19(2) 1986, 221-227.
  • Leite Haudenschild, T. R. (2002). Flashes of selected facts at nonverbal levels of apprehension and communication: Revista Brasileira de Psicanalise Vol 36(2) 2002, 323-331.
  • Loman, S., & Merman, H. (1996). The KMP: A tool for dance/movement therapy: American Journal of Dance Therapy Vol 18(1) Spr-Sum 1996, 29-52.
  • Mittelberg, I. (2007). Review of Gesture & thought: Metaphor and Symbol Vol 22(3) 2007, 281-290.
  • Monaghan, L. (2007). Review of Gesture and thought: Language in Society Vol 36(5) Nov 2007, 764-768.
  • Mortensen, C. (2002). Paradoxes inside and outside language: Language & Communication Vol 22(3) Jul 2002, 301-311.
  • Newman, E. H. (1977). Resolution of inconsistent attitude communications in normal and schizophrenic subjects: Journal of Abnormal Psychology Vol 86(1) Feb 1977, 41-46.
  • Nguyen, M. L., Heslin, R., & Nguyen, T. D. (1976). The meaning of touch: Sex and marital status differences: Representative Research in Social Psychology Vol 7(1) 1976, 13-18.
  • Ritchey, G. H. (1980). Picture superiority in free recall: The effects of organization and elaboration: Journal of Experimental Child Psychology Vol 29(3) Jun 1980, 460-474.
  • Rowe, E. J., & Cake, L. J. (1977). Retention of order information for sounds and words: Canadian Journal of Psychology/Revue canadienne de psychologie Vol 31(1) Mar 1977, 14-23.
  • Rubin, J. A., & Levy, P. (1975). Art-awareness: A method for working with groups: Group Psychotherapy & Psychodrama Vol 28 10 1975, 8-117.
  • Sarfati, Y., Hardy-Bayle, M.-C., Nadel, J., Chevalier, J.-F., & Widlocher, D. (1997). Attribution of mental states to others by schizophrenic patients: Cognitive Neuropsychiatry Vol 2(1) 1997, 1-17.
  • Scott, P. A., & Charteris, J. (1986). Gesture identification: Southern African ratings compared with European responses: International Journal of Psychology Vol 21(6) Dec 1986, 753-768.
  • Smekal, V., & Dvoracek, V. (1977). Relationship of perceptual interference and personality variables in 7th-grade students: Psychologia a Patopsychologia Dietata Vol 12(1) 1977, 47-54.
  • Veneziano, E. (1981). Early language and nonverbal representation: A reassessment: Journal of Child Language Vol 8(3) Oct 1981, 541-563.
  • Wada, Y., Yamada, H., & Oyama, T. (2000). Studies of form cognition (6): Effect of the meaningfulness of forms on visual memory: Japanese Journal of Psychonomic Science Vol 19(1) Sep 2000, 47-48.
  • Yan'shin, P. V. (1989). The semantics of projective drawing in the context of the language of nonverbal meanings: Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta - Seriya 14: Psikhologiya No 1 Jan-Mar 1989, 45-51.

Dissertations[]

  • Balasubramanian, S. K. (1987). The processing of verbal/nonverbal content in television advertisements: A theory and its empirical investigation: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Breault, L. J. (1991). Nonverbal memory assessment using two forms of a complex figure test: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Cartier, S. V. (1972). The relationship between introversion-extroversion and the ability to assess nonverbal behavior patterns: Dissertation Abstracts International Vol.
  • Hanner, L. J. (1997). Utilization of a sound task to differentiate dementia of the Alzheimer's type, depressed elderly, and elderly controls. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering.
  • Houldin, B. K. (1981). A non-linguistic test of abstract thinking for deaf and hearing children: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Johnson, E. A. (1977). Developmental levels of criteria for categorization on verbal and nonverbal classification tasks: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Levin, M. (1978). The effects of inconsistent interpersonal communication upon verbal output: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Martinson, B. E. (1992). Information representation: A comparison of data structures represented in pictorial and non-pictorial formats: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Parker, M. M. (1979). An exploratory investigation of responses of young children to nonverbal auditory cues in messages: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Polich, J. M. (1977). Hemispheric differences in visual information processing: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Ramsey, S. J. (1977). A method of validating selected nonverbal behaviors in small groups: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Reilly, S. S. (1977). Normal adults, normal children, disturbed adults, and disturbed children's evaluative responses to videotaped inconsistent messages: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Scagnelli, M. G. (1981). Differing methodologies in nonverbal studies: An experiment investigating two types of spontaneous nonverbal behavior: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Stelzer, S. R. (1972). The effect of verbal labels on the meaning and the recall of the meaning of pictures: Dissertation Abstracts International Vol.
  • Verbrugge, R. R. (1975). The comprehension of analogy: Dissertation Abstracts International.
  • Wayland, S. V. (1986). Storage and retrieval of verbal and non-verbal information from memory following brain injury: Dissertation Abstracts International.