Development of Nonverbal Behavior in Children

by Robert S. Feldman (Editor)

When I organized a symposium on the development of nonverbal behavior for the 1980 meeting ofthe American Psychological Association, I was faced with an embarrassment of riches. Thinking about the many people who were doing important and interesting research in this area, it was hard to narrow down the choice to just a few. Eventually, I put together a panel which at least was representative of this burgeoning area of research. In planning this volume two years later, I was faced with much the same predicament, except to an even larger degree. For, during that short period, the area of children's nonverbal behavior carne to grow even larger, with more perspectives being brought to bear on the question of the processes involved in the development of children's nonverbal behav­ ior. The present volume attempts to capture these advances which have occurred as the field of children's nonverbal behavior has moved from its own infancy into middle childhood. The book is organized into five major areas, representative of the most important approaches to the study of children's nonverbal 1) Psychobiological and ethological approaches, 2) social developmental approaches, 3) encoding and decoding skill approaches, 4) discrepant verbal-nonverbal communication approaches, and 5) personality and individual difference approaches. The discreteness of these categories should not be overemphasized, as there is a good deal of overlap between the various approaches. Nonetheless, they do represent the major areas of interest in the field ofthe development ofnonverbal behavior in children.

315 pages, Hardcover

First published November 1, 1982

About the author

Robert S. Feldman is Dean in the College of Social and Behavioral Sciences, and Professor of Psychology at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Feldman, who is winner of the College Distinguished Teacher award, has also taught courses at Mount Holyoke College, Wesleyan University, and Virginia Commonwealth University.

A Fellow of the American Psychological Association and the American Psychological Society, Feldman received a B.A. with High Honors from Wesleyan University and an M.S. and Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He is winner of a Fulbright Senior Research Scholar and Lecturer award and has written more than 100 books, book chapters, and scientific articles. In addition, he is on the Board of Directors of the Federation of Associations in Behavioral and Brain Sciences (FABBS).

His books, which have been translated into languages ranging from Spanish and French to Chinese and Japanese, include The Liar in Your Life, Understanding Psychology, Essentials of Understanding Psychology, Fundamentals of Nonverbal Behavior, Development of Nonverbal Behavior in Children, Social Psychology, Development Across the Life Span, and P.O.W.E.R. Learning: Strategies for Success in College and Life. His research interests include honesty and deception and impression management. His research has been supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the National Institute on Disabilities and Rehabilitation Research.