Non-Verbal Communication in Pre-School Children: a Cross-Cultural Study

Abstract

This thesis is concerned with non-verbal communication in Samoan and Pakeha preschool children. Non-verbal communication is seen as an essential part of the total communication process. If people from different cultural backgrounds have different patterns of non-verbal communication, misunderstanding can arise, which will have a serious effect on cross-cultural communication. My aim has been to establish whether Samoan and Pakeha preschool children show differences in non-verbal communication that might result in cross-cultural misunderstanding. Videotape recordings were made in two preschools attended by both Samoan and Pakeha children. The videotapes were analysed with respect to certain non-verbal elements observed during interactions. Differences in the communication styles of Samoan and Pakeha children were evident. Samoan children relied more on touch and gesture, and less on verbalisation, than their Pakeha peers. A marked difference in eye use was also apparent between the two groups, Pakeha children maintaining eye contact more frequently than Samoan children. Further investigation of these differences was carried out, using a series of interviews with Samoan and Pakeha parents. The implications of different patterns of non-verbal communication observed in Samoan and Pakeha preschool children, the universality of non-verbal communication, and the acquisition of culture are discussed.