Credibility is everything. Newspapers that get the facts wrong are torn to shreds and politicians lacking experience don’t get elected, while people in lab coats command our respect immediately. Communication scholars define credibility as being the perception of one’s competence, trustworthiness, and goodwill. But as you probably know, perceptions can be hacked.
According to a report published in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B, voters may naturally prefer politicians who have deeper voices. Biologists from Duke University collaborated with a political scientist from the University of Miami to determine voter preferences regarding the pitch of a candidate’s voice.
According to a new study by researchers at Penn State, what patients and their families believe about religion and genetics makes a difference in the way they react when told that they have a health problem. Roxanne Parrott, lead author of the study, explained that greater understanding of the different ways in which people react to being diagnosed with an illness helps professionals develop effective communication strategies.
The following infographic by Accenture sums up the ways in which Generation Y women differ from women of earlier generations in the workplace and details the ways in which they resemble those who came before them. For example, the majority of young women expect to be treated equally in the workplace. However, they are still much less likely to ask a superior for a raise than men of the same age.
When a speaker makes a truthful statement that implies an untruth, what do listeners hear? Are they able to see beyond the false implications and uncover the unvarnished truth? Can people divorce themselves from the context of a statement well enough to hear what is really being said, or do some words carry such strong implications that people cannot see past them?
As powerful as gestures are, however, their meanings are not always universal. Gestures often remain the same across cultures but carry dramatically different meanings and connotations. Use the following infographic to learn more about common American hand gestures and their meanings in different parts of the world.
If you’ve ever bought something even though you knew you didn’t need it and didn’t really want it, but couldn’t seem to tell the salesperson no, then you know you were manipulated. However, manipulation isn’t always so obvious.
A new study from the University of Portsmouth in Great Britain provides insight into the differences between the ways in which native English speakers and native Polish speakers use language during day-to-day interactions with family. The researchers hope their findings will lead to a greater understanding between members of the two groups and reduce misunderstandings based on cultural differences.
Stories about perfect online dates who bear no resemblance to their online profiles have become fodder for television sitcom plots, late-night punch lines and, unfortunately, crime headlines. Whether these examples reflect the reality of the online dating world or simply the public’s anxieties and fears regarding online matchmaking, the truth remains that online daters can easily get away with lying about themselves for at least as long as it takes to get a foot in the door.
At some point in your life, you may have found yourself unable to get a point across to another person. This frustrating experience may have been a result of basic differences in the way individual humans perceive and process information.
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