Arts and Humanities Commons^™

The Role Of Background Behavior In Televised Debates: Does Displaying Nonverbal Agreement And/Or Disagreement Benefit Either Debater?, John S. Seiter, Harry Weger Jr., Andrea Jensen, Harold J. Kinzer

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

This study examined the effects of background nonverbal behavior displayed with the purpose of undermining one's opponent in televised debates. Students watched one of four versions of a televised debate. In each, while the speaking debater appeared on the main screen, subscreens displayed her nonspeaking opponent's background nonverbal behavior. In one version, the non-speaking debater remained “stone faced” during her opponent's speech, while in the other three she nonverbally displayed occasional disagreement, nearly constant disagreement, or both agreement and disagreement. After viewing the debates, students rated the debaters' credibility, appropriateness, objectivity, and debate skills, in addition to judging who won …