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Abstract

Increased awareness of nonverbal communication in organizations raises the issue of how subordinates integrate the various components of superiors' messages. The double-bind theory and other research suggest that a dependent relationship such as that between organizational subordinate and superior might alter the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal information. Responses to hypothetical messages composed of verbal, vocal, and facial information from an organizational superior were compared with responses to messages from a peer. In the superior condition, subjects gave greatest weight to verbal content in judgments of overall supportiveness, while messages from peers were judged more by facial expression. In both conditions negative information had more impact than positive information. No significant differences between conditions were found in perception of sincerity. Inconsistency between any two channels caused the message to be perceived as insincere.

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Nonverbal Communication from Superiors and Peers

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