Schwartz, L. M., Foa, U. G., & Foa, E. B. (1983). Multichannel nonverbal communication: Evidence for combinatory rules. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 45(2), 274-281.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.45.2.274
Tested the hypothesis that Ss who view certain combinations of nonverbal behaviors in 3 channels—eye contact, posture, and distance—agree strongly about the specific meanings of these combinations. However, other combinations of these same channels, as well as unichannel behaviors, will result in little agreement about their meanings. An actor's nonverbal behaviors were filmed simultaneously by 4 cameras. One camera recorded behaviors in all 3 channels, but each of the other cameras filmed the behavior of a single channel. The Ss, 320 undergraduates, assigned meanings to the filmed behaviors by selecting from a list of 20 adjectives those that best described the actor's behavior. A panel of judges had previously found that these adjectives portrayed one of the following meanings: deprivation of status or esteem, deprivation of love or affection, provision of love or affection, provision of status or esteem. Five adjectives were selected from each class of meaning. In general, the results support the hypothesis. Some deviations were found and are discussed. (16 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)