The relative importance of verbal and nonverbal cues in the expression of confidence

Abstract

The relative contribution of verbal and nonverbal cues to the formation of impressions of confidence was assessed. Sequences, in which actresses gave street directions with different levels of verbal and nonverbal confidence, were recorded and replayed to subjects using television. Eighty male and eighty female first-year Psychology students rated the televised performances on five scales which included expressed confidence. Analysis of the ratings demonstrated that the nonverbal cues expressing confidence or its lack accounted for more than ten times the variance due to the verbal cues. The results are interpreted in the context of other experiments which similarly demonstrate that in the expression of feelings and emotions the nonverbal signals tend to dominate the verbal.