What is congruence and why is it important for understanding nonverbal communication?

The Congruence Approach to Interpreting Body Language

When our body languageOpens in new window, our words, and the tone of voiceOpens in new window all match, then we have congruenceOpens in new window. If we are not being congruent, then our listeners will believe our body language, not our words.

While we check for congruence, it is important to observe all related gesturesOpens in new window, in their smallest segments, so as not to make rash judgments or label a person’s attitude haphazardly in a given situation or speech. Although it is fairly simple to observe and become aware of gesturesOpens in new window but it is a rather tricky business to interpret them so as not to make rash judgments or label a person’s attitude haphazardly.

Indeed, what we should look for are attitudinal gestures that not only endorse one another but serve to make a cluster. By mentally matching the congruent gestures that form clustersOpens in new window, we can understand the attitudes expressed and discover their meaning.

Sigmund FreudOpens in new window (Pease, 1993) cites an experience of one of his counseling sessions. A client was once verbally expressing happiness with her marriage and at the same time unconsciously slipping her wedding ring on and off her finger. Freud took a note of this gesture. Later in the session the woman revealed some deep marriage problems.

When we are perceptive enough to detect congruency of behavior, then we may feel equipped to monitor our interpretation of a person’s attitudes and give his actions meaning. The sensitivity to detect congruency serves as an ‘anti-assumption’ (Nierenberg and Calero, 1975) control that forces us to observe further rather than jump to a conclusion.

Congruence-incongruence must also be observed in the context of group behavior. In a group where people copy each others’ body positions, it reflects their congruency of attitudes and action. In fact, in such a situation, when one member of the group shifts position, the others eventually follow suit. One may safely conclude that the group members are all in agreement and share the same viewpoints.

Should there be disagreement; the advocates of each viewpoint will take different positions. In such a case, each person will imitate the positions of the like-minded members and clusters of congruent positions will ensue. Members who wish to show that they are a cut above the rest of the group may deliberately take a non-congruent position.

When two friends argue, even though their thoughts are at variance, they will adopt congruent positions to indicate that their mental differences have not affected their emotional ties. A husband and wife who are very close will adopt congruent postures that indicate that they are not inimical to each other, even though one is ‘attacking’ the other in an argument.

the verbal exchange.Note: Meaning attached to non-verbal behaviour can vary from one culture to another.NOTE:For cooperation to be enhanced in an organization, everybody in the organization shouldbe able to recognize and respond appropriately to non-verbal cues.9.5 BARRIERS TO EFFECTIVE COMMUNICATIONAccording to various psychologists, approximately 50 percent of message loses its meaningwhile conveying from sender to receiver due to various barriers. Below we discuss five keybarriers to effective communication.Take your time to do further studies on barriers to effectivecommunication.a)MATERIAL OR PHYSICAL BARRIER---Physical barriers to effectivecommunication may include:environmental barriers……these may include too muchhumidity in atmosphere, light in excess, lofty temperature or bad ventilation;Challenging Stimulus……If there is loud music or noise in the background and there isdistance between sender and receiver then it becomes very difficult to send the correctmessage by the sender to the receiver;Subjective strain…..Due to bad health, too muchmental stress, lack of proper sleep or consumption of medicines, the receiver can neverunderstand the message appropriately;Media ignorance…..Receiver not beingconversant with the medium by which sender is sending his message. For example,explaining things to people by maps or charts with which they are not familiar will hindereffective communication. Communicators should choose conductive environments andappropriate medium of communication to enhance effective communication.b)LINGUISTIC BARRIER--- Language is vague in nature and its words are symbolswhich seldom represent only one meaning. The meanings of these symbols or words areunderstood by the sender and receiver in their own way which can result inmisinterpretation. If communicator uses difficult or inappropriate words or if message isnot explained in proper manner then it can result in misinterpretation. It is thus important

What is congruence in nonverbal communication?

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