Arts and Humanities Commons^™

Silent Derogation And Perceptions Of Deceptiveness: Does Communicating Nonverbal Disbelief During An Opponent's Speech Affect Perceptions Of Debaters' Veracity?, John S. Seiter

Languages, Philosophy, and Communication Studies Faculty Publications

Compared to televised debates using a single‐screen presentation, those using a split screen presenting both debaters simultaneously show viewers the nonverbal reactions of a debater's opponent. This study examined the effect of such reactions on viewers’ ratings of both the speaker's and the nonverbal communicator's veracity. Students watched one of four versions of a televised debate. One version used a single‐screen presentation, showing only the speaker, while the other three versions used a split‐screen presentation in which the speaker's opponent displayed constant, occasional, or no nonverbal disbelief regarding the content of the speaker's message. After watching the videos, students rated …