Understanding Handshaking: The Result of Contextual, Interpersonal and Social Demands

The communicative functions of handshaking behavior were observed as a function of social context, interpersonal intimacy, and gender. Male and female participants were asked to imagine one of six levels of social context (Consolation, Congratulations, Hello, Farewell/Thank you, Agreement and Ritual) as they shook hands in a same or mixed-sex dyad that was characterized by one of four intimacy levels (Close friend, Acquaintance, New-stranger and Dislike). An analysis of handshake type and duration revealed that both measures of behavior varied with social context in that handshakes of consolation consistently elicited the longest handshakes and highest degrees of touching. This finding held for both sexes although gender differences were observed in handshaking behavior, as women produced overall longer average durations and more interpersonal touching; women preferred multiple pumping handshakes whereas men preferred single pumping handshakes. When shaking hands with opposite sex partners, both males and females accommodated to their partners’ styles to use their partners’ preferred handshake type. The results from this study establish empirical evidence that different types of handshakes have specific communicative functions. Handshakes vary along dimensions of type and duration to meet these communicative demands. The findings agree with previous nonverbal literature. Implications for future research studies and the relationship between the individual and social norms are discussed. The Effects of Context, Intimacy and Gender on Handshaking 5 Understanding Handshaking: The Nonverbal Result of Contextual, Interpersonal, and Social Demands Overview Imagine sitting down for a job interview with a powerful CEO whom you have never met. Now picture yourself as part of the receiving line at a relative’s wedding. Although these two situations represent different social contexts and different interpersonal relationships, you engage in the same behavior with each person: a handshake. The interview has a formal, professional atmosphere while the wedding reception is festive and celebratory. You are presumably less familiar with your interviewer than your recently married relative. Despite the many differences that exist between these two situations, handshaking is somehow the appropriate interpersonal interaction for both. Handshaking is able to communicate information appropriately in different contexts. Previous psychological research has shown that various nonverbal behaviors can reveal important interpersonal and contextual details that surround a social interaction. Presumably, these characteristics also can be expressed through handshaking behavior. Nonverbal behaviors reveal speakers’ attitudes toward one another, their overall dispositions, the intimacy of their relationship, and differences in status and power between them. This area of research is known as paralinguistics and focuses on the various features and characteristics of an interaction that accompany speech and contribute to communication (Lackie, 1977). Paralinguistic research primarily studies vocal characteristics, such as voice quality, but includes other nonverbal gestures and behaviors that may precede language. The Effects of Context, Intimacy and Gender on Handshaking 6 Paralinguistic and nonverbal messages play an important role in human communication. Individuals perceive these messages as more trustworthy and reliable than the actual words that are spoken in an interaction (Mehrabian, 1972). This may be due to the fact that individuals are less likely to consciously manipulate and have as much control over their paralinguistic and nonverbal behaviors as their language (Boltz, 2003). As a result, nonverbal behaviors provide more unbiased displays of the actor’s motivations toward other people. Nonverbal information becomes even more valuable in a social interaction when individuals are forming social judgments based on that interaction. In fact, when nonverbal and verbal information conflict with one another, individuals rely more on the nonverbal messages. As one example, in situations in which facial expression was inconsistent with a person’s words, the facial expression prevailed and determined the impact of the total message (Mehrabian, 1972). All in all, sixty to sixty-five percent of social judgments are based on nonverbal cues (Knapp, 1992). Nonverbal interactions play a significant role in communicating information that is part of all social interactions. The purpose of the present study is to focus on the information conveyed through one specific nonverbal behavior, namely, handshaking. Handshakes are very common gestures that exist ubiquitously in social interactions. Despite their common usage, there has been surprisingly little research conducted to investigate the ways that people use and perceive handshakes. Etiquette books provide tips on the most appropriate way to shake hands in order to create a positive first impression. For instance, there are tips on how far to extend the shaking hand, how tightly one should grip hands, and how long one should shake hands. These manuals indicate that people use handshakes to generate first The Effects of Context, Intimacy and Gender on Handshaking 7 impressions of other individuals. Therefore, in order to be perceived as a dominant and powerful individual, a person ought to initiate handshakes; to be perceived as open and sincere, the same person should be the last to terminate the handshake (Brown, 2002). While these suggestions make intuitive sense, there is no empirical evidence to indicate that shaking hands in the advised manner actually communicates anything specific. This study aims to determine what messages handshakes convey and more specifically, whether different handshake characteristics communicate various social meanings. To investigate this, the present study will examine two dimensions of handshaking behavior, handshake type and duration, as handshakes are produced in diverse social and interpersonal contexts. The secondary goal of this experiment is to determine whether these styles of handshaking generalize to both genders and to examine if there are any sex differences in the expression of handshakes. Methodological Strategies One of the main concerns in paralinguistic research is whether notions and rules governing nonverbal behaviors have validity, or if they merely reflect certain cultural or individual stereotypes. Many of these stereotypes exist and regulate the perception of nonverbal behaviors, but these beliefs are not necessarily accurate and may exist only as social lore. For instance, it is believed that one person can sense that another person is lying when the speaker begins to speak more slowly and in a higher pitch, speaks with greater hesitation, and averts his or her eyes (DePaulo, Stone & Lassiter, 1985b; Zuckerman, Koestner & Driver, 1981b). However, Friedman & Tucker (1990) showed that speakers do not exhibit these nonverbal displays when telling lies to others. Hence, The Effects of Context, Intimacy and Gender on Handshaking 8 it is necessary to gather empirical data in order to either prove or disprove the cultural notions and expectations that govern nonverbal behavior. There are several research strategies that can be used to investigate this topic. One approach is an observational study in which researchers watch public interactions from a distance to collect data on their variables of interest for coding analysis. Participants’ behaviors occur effortlessly and naturally and because of this, observational studies provide a clear and naturalistic account of social behavior without the false reality of an experimental setting. This objectivity is also a limitation of the observational design, however. Because the observed behaviors occur spontaneously in real-life interactions, it is impossible to recreate them. Therefore, it is impossible to test the consistency of these behaviors over time, and variation in the data may prove to be the result of different personalities and idiosyncratic styles of communicating. Furthermore, observational studies do not allow researchers to make cause-and-effect inferences about the observed behaviors. These studies provide behavioral correlations but they do not determine how certain variables may systematically influence behavior. Another possible limitation of using an observational study is the fact that nonverbal behaviors (especially handshakes) occur very quickly, which creates great room for error in gathering data points, such as duration and frequency. There is also the possibility of experimenter bias during data collection. Experimenters may (unintentionally) imagine that they have observed behaviors that fit the goals of their experiment when, in fact, those behaviors did not actually occur. To circumvent this flaw, experimenters often train individuals who are not connected with the goals of the experiment to view and measure the behaviors of interest. Despite this precaution, observational studies are The Effects of Context, Intimacy and Gender on Handshaking 9 severely limited in the extent to which they enable researchers to understand how certain factors influence, rather than correlate with, nonverbal behavioral expression. Production and perception studies are incredibly useful in combating the limitations of observational studies. In a production study, individuals produce the nonverbal behaviors (i.e. handshakes) that they believe communicate the specific requested social and emotional messages (i.e. congratulations or empathy; friendship or dislike). A perception study gathers feedback on the meaning of nonverbal behaviors. It determines whether those behaviors which were produced to convey a given social impression are in fact perceived as such by an independent group of subjects. Production and perception studies act as converging operations when the stimuli from the former are used