Nonverbal Communication in Man with a Cooperative Conditioning Task

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Abstract
The cooperative conditioning method for investigation of nonverbal sending and receiving ability has proven to be a useful tool for probing nonverbal signaling in the monkey. The present experiment was developed to adapt cooperative conditioning principles to study nonverbal signaling in man. Ss were 10 (eight male and two female) junior medical students; each S served as both a “stimulus” and a “responder” to all other Ss. Ss' facial expressions were videotaped while they attempted to solve a task involving a “slot machine.” The tapes were then shown to responders who utilized only expressive cues of the stimulus S to solve the slot machine task. Data reveal that this method is sensitive to differences in nonverbal abilities of Ss. Physiological responses obtained during the stimulus and responder phases of the experiment indicated that the responses were related to both expressiveness and ability to decode the expressions of others.

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