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From: colonel@ellie.UUCP (Col. G. L. Sicherman)
Newsgroups: net.singles
Subject: Re: meta-messages
Message-ID: <889@ellie.UUCP>
Date: Thu, 13-Mar-86 15:46:45 EST
Article-I.D.: ellie.889
Posted: Thu Mar 13 15:46:45 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 18-Mar-86 01:19:28 EST
References: <162@gsg.UUCP> <632@nbires.UUCP> <645@hounx.UUCP>
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In article <645@hounx.UUCP>, kort@hounx.UUCP (B.KORT) writes:
> Steve Dunn, following up a posting by Kathryn Smith, observes that
> he pays more attention to a person's words (taken literally), and
> less attention to tone of voice or other body language.
> 
> In S. I. Hayakawa's landmark book, _Language in Thought and Action_,
> the well-known semanticist introduces the distinction between the
> *message* (the literal meaning of an utterance) and the *meta-message*
> encoded in tone of voice or body language.  The meta-message may
> reinforce or contradict the message ("Your lips say `No' but there's
> Yes-Yes in your eyes).

"Meta-message"?  I'm glad to see a semanticist distinguish between
verbal and non-verbal communication, but the term "meta-message"
implies that the verbal message is needed.  Usually it's not.

Some psychotherapists are trained to listen to patients' voices
and not to their words.


	"There is absolutely no inevitablity as long as there
	 is a willingness to contemplate what is happening."

		--H. M. McLuhan and Q. Fiore,
		_The Medium is the Massage: An Inventory of Effects_
-- 
Col. G. L. Sicherman
UU: ...{rocksvax|decvax}!sunybcs!colonel
CS: colonel@buffalo-cs
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