11042013 Albert Mehrabian Communication Studies
Institute of Judicial Studies
Handout 1
Albert Mehrabian Communication Studies
1. Albert Mehrabian is currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology, UCLA. He is most well known for his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages.
Mehrabian comes to two main conclusions in his studies:
1. There are basically three elements in any face-to-face communication:
•
•
•
Words
Tone of voice
Nonverbal behaviour
2. The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude, especially when they are inconsistent i.e. if words disagree with the tone of voice and nonverbal behaviour, people tend to believe the tonality and nonverbal behaviour. 2. According to Mehrabian, the three elements in point one above account differently for our liking for the person who puts forward a message concerning their feelings: words account for 7%, tone of voice accounts for 38%, and body language accounts for 55% of the liking. They are often abbreviated as the "3 Vs" for Verbal, Vocal & Visual.
For effective and meaningful communication about emotions, these three parts of the message need to support each other - they have to be "congruent”. For example:
Verbal: "I do not have a problem with you!"
Non-verbal: person avoids eye-contact, looks anxious, has a closed body language, etc.
It becomes more likely that the receiver will trust the predominant form of communication, which to Mehrabian's findings is non-verbal (38% + 55%) rather than the literal meaning of the words (7%). This is known as "the 7%-38%-55% rule".
3.
So in summary Mehrabian found:
•
•
•
7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is the way the words are said.
55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.
4.
Mehrabian did not intend the statistic to be used or applied freely to all communications and meaning as they frequently have been.
Handout 1
Albert Mehrabian Communication Studies
1. Albert Mehrabian is currently Professor Emeritus of Psychology, UCLA. He is most well known for his publications on the relative importance of verbal and nonverbal messages.
Mehrabian comes to two main conclusions in his studies:
1. There are basically three elements in any face-to-face communication:
•
•
•
Words
Tone of voice
Nonverbal behaviour
2. The non-verbal elements are particularly important for communicating feelings and attitude, especially when they are inconsistent i.e. if words disagree with the tone of voice and nonverbal behaviour, people tend to believe the tonality and nonverbal behaviour. 2. According to Mehrabian, the three elements in point one above account differently for our liking for the person who puts forward a message concerning their feelings: words account for 7%, tone of voice accounts for 38%, and body language accounts for 55% of the liking. They are often abbreviated as the "3 Vs" for Verbal, Vocal & Visual.
For effective and meaningful communication about emotions, these three parts of the message need to support each other - they have to be "congruent”. For example:
Verbal: "I do not have a problem with you!"
Non-verbal: person avoids eye-contact, looks anxious, has a closed body language, etc.
It becomes more likely that the receiver will trust the predominant form of communication, which to Mehrabian's findings is non-verbal (38% + 55%) rather than the literal meaning of the words (7%). This is known as "the 7%-38%-55% rule".
3.
So in summary Mehrabian found:
•
•
•
7% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in the words that are spoken.
38% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is the way the words are said.
55% of message pertaining to feelings and attitudes is in facial expression.
4.
Mehrabian did not intend the statistic to be used or applied freely to all communications and meaning as they frequently have been.