The Communication of Inferior and Superior Attitudes by Verbal and Non‐verbal Signals*

TLDR: This article found that non-verbal cues now had 4.3 times the effect of verbal cues on shifts of ratings, and accounted for 10.5 times as most variance; verbal cues were only able to act as multipliers of consistent nonverbal cues.

Abstract: Ratings were made by 120 subjects of 18 video-tapes in which verbal and non-verbal cues for Inferior, Equal and Superior were varied and combined in a 3 times 3 design. The typed messages (verbal alone) were rated by further subjects, as were video-tapes of a performer reading numbers (non-verbal alone); the two sets of cues alone had identical effects on ratings. In combination, both kinds of cue had a reduced effect, but it was found that non-verbal cues now had 4.3 times the effect of verbal cues on shifts of ratings, and accounted for 10.3 times as most variance; verbal cues were only able to act as multipliers of consistent nonverbal cues. There was little evidence of double-bind effects. Analysis of individual differences showed that females were relatively more responsive to non-verbal compared with verbal cues, and that more neurotic subjects found the combination of Superior (non-verbal) with Inferior (verbal) unpleasant, and responded more to verbal cues for Inferior-Superior.