Gestures, Haptics, Space

Gestures, another form of kinesics, are culturally specific. Researchers have sub-divided gestures into four areas, emblems, or gestures that substitute for words and phrases, such as raising your shoulders for "I don't know," illustrators help illustrate what we are trying to say, perhaps by indicating "this big;" regulators are used to control, maintain, or "regulate" the pace and flow of conversation, such as putting up your forefinger to indicate that you are not finished speaking; and adaptors are habits or gestures that fulfill some kind of psychological need, such as picking lint off your shirt or playing with your hair. Some cultures rely far more heavily on gestures as accompaniments to their verbal communication than others. For example, the Italian language employs such a high degree of emblems that entire conversations can almost be held using emblems alone. Adaptors are often employed when someone is nervous or perhaps being dishonest, but not always. Because gestures are culturally specific, their intended meaning can become very confusing when communicating across cultures.

Haptics is the study of touch, and its rules vary considerably across cultures. Arabic men often hold hands while most U.S. men would not dare. In the U.S., we often hug hello and goodbye while in many other nations kisses on the cheeks are the standard salutations. There are also different places on the body where touch is appropriate given your relationship with that person. It is generally considered fine around the globe to pat buttocks on sports teams, but try this with your boss and you are probably asking for trouble.

The study of space is proxemics, and it too is culturally regulated. We each live within our personal "bubble," the space around us reserved for intimate others, and feel offended or at least awakened when someone violates the boundary of that space bubble without the permission that accompanies greater intimacy. Some cultures are comfortable speaking at a distance of 12-18 inches with non-intimate others while other cultures need at least 2 feet, and others still require as much as 5-6 feet of distance when speaking with a non-intimate conversation partner. These differences can create discomfort and confusion when you accidentally violate someone's space bubble. The next section discusses this concept in detail.