Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport
The current paper addresses two methodological problems pertinent to the analysis of observer studies in nonverbal rapport and beyond. These problems concern: (1) the production of standardized stimulus materials that allow for unbiased observer ratings and (2) the objective measurement of nonverbal...
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2020-12-01
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doaj-bcac3f4caa5946ab8cfa46d0ddecbcae2021-04-14T11:03:16ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782020-12-011110.3389/fpsyg.2020.599703599703Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal RapportGary Bente0Eric Novotny1Daniel Roth2Ahmad Al-Issa3Department of Communication, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, United StatesGrady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, GA, United StatesDepartment of Computer Aided Medical Procedures and Augmented Reality, Technical University of Munich, Munich, GermanyDepartment of English, American University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab EmiratesThe current paper addresses two methodological problems pertinent to the analysis of observer studies in nonverbal rapport and beyond. These problems concern: (1) the production of standardized stimulus materials that allow for unbiased observer ratings and (2) the objective measurement of nonverbal behaviors to identify the dyadic patterns underlying the observer impressions. We suggest motion capture and character animation as possible solutions to these problems and exemplarily apply the novel methodology to the study of gender and cultural differences in nonverbal rapport. We compared a Western, individualistic culture with an egalitarian gender-role conception (Germany) and a collectivistic culture with a more traditional gender role conceptions (Middle East, Gulf States). Motion capture data were collected for five male and five female dyadic interactions in each culture. Character animations based on the motion capture data served as stimuli in the observation study. Female and male observers from both cultures rated the perceived rapport continuously while watching the 1 min sequences and guessed gender and cultural background of the dyads after each clip. Results show that masking of gender and culture in the stimuli was successful, as hit rates for both aspects remained at chance level. Further the results revealed high levels of agreement in the rapport ratings across gender and culture, pointing to universal judgment policies. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA for gender and culture of stimuli and observers showed that female dyads were rated significantly higher on rapport across the board and that the contrast between female and male dyads was more pronounced in the Arab sample as compared to the German sample. nonverbal parameters extracted from the motion capture protocols were submitted to a series of algorithms to identify dyadic activity levels and coordination patterns relevant to the perception of rapport. The results are critically discussed with regard to the role of nonverbal coordination as a constituent of rapport.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599703/fullrapportnonverbal behaviormotion capturecharacter animationgenderculture |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Gary Bente Eric Novotny Daniel Roth Ahmad Al-Issa |
spellingShingle |
Gary Bente Eric Novotny Daniel Roth Ahmad Al-Issa Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport Frontiers in Psychology rapport nonverbal behavior motion capture character animation gender culture |
author_facet |
Gary Bente Eric Novotny Daniel Roth Ahmad Al-Issa |
author_sort |
Gary Bente |
title |
Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport |
title_short |
Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport |
title_full |
Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport |
title_fullStr |
Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport |
title_full_unstemmed |
Beyond Stereotypes: Analyzing Gender and Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Rapport |
title_sort |
beyond stereotypes: analyzing gender and cultural differences in nonverbal rapport |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
series |
Frontiers in Psychology |
issn |
1664-1078 |
publishDate |
2020-12-01 |
description |
The current paper addresses two methodological problems pertinent to the analysis of observer studies in nonverbal rapport and beyond. These problems concern: (1) the production of standardized stimulus materials that allow for unbiased observer ratings and (2) the objective measurement of nonverbal behaviors to identify the dyadic patterns underlying the observer impressions. We suggest motion capture and character animation as possible solutions to these problems and exemplarily apply the novel methodology to the study of gender and cultural differences in nonverbal rapport. We compared a Western, individualistic culture with an egalitarian gender-role conception (Germany) and a collectivistic culture with a more traditional gender role conceptions (Middle East, Gulf States). Motion capture data were collected for five male and five female dyadic interactions in each culture. Character animations based on the motion capture data served as stimuli in the observation study. Female and male observers from both cultures rated the perceived rapport continuously while watching the 1 min sequences and guessed gender and cultural background of the dyads after each clip. Results show that masking of gender and culture in the stimuli was successful, as hit rates for both aspects remained at chance level. Further the results revealed high levels of agreement in the rapport ratings across gender and culture, pointing to universal judgment policies. A 2 × 2 × 2 × 2 ANOVA for gender and culture of stimuli and observers showed that female dyads were rated significantly higher on rapport across the board and that the contrast between female and male dyads was more pronounced in the Arab sample as compared to the German sample. nonverbal parameters extracted from the motion capture protocols were submitted to a series of algorithms to identify dyadic activity levels and coordination patterns relevant to the perception of rapport. The results are critically discussed with regard to the role of nonverbal coordination as a constituent of rapport. |
topic |
rapport nonverbal behavior motion capture character animation gender culture |
url |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.599703/full |
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