<p>A related theory of latent dimensions of emotional expression is Affect Control Theory (ACT), which can be broken into four separate dimensions in "<a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18031411" rel="nofollow noreferrer">The World of Emotions Is Not Two-Dimensional</a>" by Fontaine et al. Three of these dimensions map easily onto Honest Signals. This is shown in the table below:</p>

<p><a href="https://i.sstatic.net/GEuhh.png" rel="nofollow noreferrer"><img src="https://i.sstatic.net/GEuhh.png" alt="comparison table"></a></p>

<p>The mismatching dimensions of ACT and Honest Signals are Valence/Pleasantness and Mimicry. This makes sense since ACT is more focused on the expression and perception of emotions, whereas Honest Signals is more about the co-operation of two individuals. In other words, when two people are interacting, it's more important if one person is responding to that other person's emotions than what that emotion is. This is interestingly confirmed in <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_Communication#Four_components" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Non-Violent Communication</a>, which establishes that mirroring an emotion must be done before the root cause of that emotion can be addressed.</p>

CC BY-SA 3.0
2017-01-31T06:16:53.647Z
2017-01-31T06:16:53.647Z
Seanny123
<h1>Intro</h1>

<p>In "<a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/honest-signals" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World</a>" and the related publications "<a href="http://hd.media.mit.edu/Sloan%20Management%20Review%20Honest%20Signals.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Understanding 'Honest Signals' in Business</a>" and "<a href="https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9305/efad1aff133fd5b279ae1de7b39bfbd5618d.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">Social Dynamics: Signals and Behavior</a>", Alex Petland puts forth the idea that non-semantic communication (communication we do without explicitly representing thoughts using words/drawings, such as our gestures or aspects of our voice) falls into the following four types.</p>

<h1>Types of Non-Semantic Communication</h1>

<h2>1. Consistency/Variance/Stress/Emphasis</h2>

<p>Jerky, uneven motions indicate many different thoughts indicating openness to influence. Consistent emphasis and timing indicates mental focus.</p>

<h2>2. Mimicry/Mirroring/Imitation</h2>

<p>How much the social patterns of each participant match. Correlates with trust. Verbally this is measured by sub-second utterances ("Uh-huh") and exchanges built on these utterances ("OK?", "OK!", "Done?", "Yup.").</p>

<h2>3. Engagement/Influence</h2>

<p>The amount one forces or cedes their social patterns to another. Could also be considered as who's driving the conversation.</p>

<h2>4. Activity level</h2>

<p>Describes how much energy in general is being expended in the interaction. Verbally, this can be considered by the ratio of silence to exclamations.</p>

<p>He then applies these four concepts to analyse various scenarios (speed dating, negotiation) and demonstrates their predictive power.</p>

<h1>Question</h1>

<p>Do other theories or frameworks exist with an alternative interpretation of non-semantic communication while still having the same predictive power? </p>

<social-psychology><reference-request>
Alternatives to "Honest Signals" theory of non-semantic communication
Seanny123
# Alternatives to "Honest Signals" theory of non-semantic communication

(Asked by: username_0 on 2017-01-27)

# Intro

In "[Honest Signals: How They Shape Our World](https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/honest-signals)" and the related publications "[Understanding 'Honest Signals' in Business](http://hd.media.mit.edu/Sloan%20Management%20Review%20Honest%20Signals.pdf)" and "[Social Dynamics: Signals and Behavior](https://pdfs.semanticscholar.org/9305/efad1aff133fd5b279ae1de7b39bfbd5618d.pdf)", Alex Petland puts forth the idea that non-semantic communication (communication we do without explicitly representing thoughts using words/drawings, such as our gestures or aspects of our voice) falls into the following four types.

# Types of Non-Semantic Communication

## 1. Consistency/Variance/Stress/Emphasis

Jerky, uneven motions indicate many different thoughts indicating openness to influence. Consistent emphasis and timing indicates mental focus.

## 2. Mimicry/Mirroring/Imitation

How much the social patterns of each participant match. Correlates with trust. Verbally this is measured by sub-second utterances ("Uh-huh") and exchanges built on these utterances ("OK?", "OK!", "Done?", "Yup.").

## 3. Engagement/Influence

The amount one forces or cedes their social patterns to another. Could also be considered as who's driving the conversation.

## 4. Activity level

Describes how much energy in general is being expended in the interaction. Verbally, this can be considered by the ratio of silence to exclamations.

He then applies these four concepts to analyse various scenarios (speed dating, negotiation) and demonstrates their predictive power.

# Question

Do other theories or frameworks exist with an alternative interpretation of non-semantic communication while still having the same predictive power?

**Tags:** social-psychology, reference-request


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## 1 answers

### Answer by username_0 on 2017-01-31. Score: 0 | Accepted answer

A related theory of latent dimensions of emotional expression is Affect Control Theory (ACT), which can be broken into four separate dimensions in "[The World of Emotions Is Not Two-Dimensional](https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18031411)" by Fontaine et al. Three of these dimensions map easily onto Honest Signals. This is shown in the table below:

[![comparison table](https://i.sstatic.net/GEuhh.png)](https://i.sstatic.net/GEuhh.png)

The mismatching dimensions of ACT and Honest Signals are Valence/Pleasantness and Mimicry. This makes sense since ACT is more focused on the expression and perception of emotions, whereas Honest Signals is more about the co-operation of two individuals. In other words, when two people are interacting, it's more important if one person is responding to that other person's emotions than what that emotion is. This is interestingly confirmed in [Non-Violent Communication](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nonviolent_Communication#Four_components), which establishes that mirroring an emotion must be done before the root cause of that emotion can be addressed.


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