Compensation in Nonverbal Immediacy Behaviors: A Review

Abstract

The relationships among the nonverbal immediacy behaviors are examined in the context of Argyle and Dean's (1965) hypothesis of compensation. The immediacy behaviors, which include physical distance, eye contact, body orientation, and body lean, are critical in the non-verbal communication of interpersonal attitudes. The process of compensation predicts that when an equilibrium point is reached in the nonverbal expression of interpersonal intimacy, any substantial change in one of the behaviors requires a reciprocal change in one or more of the other behaviors. Both correlational and experimental evidence support the proposed compensatory process. The problems involved in evaluating the relevant research and the implications for further work are discussed.

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