Kinesics and Proxemics
By: Peyton Cavnar Marroquin 5
Kinesics
Kinesics is the study of the use of body language and motions to communicate. It is a form of non-verbal communication.
Kinesics example #1
This picture shows a woman who you can tell is very stressed and upset. This is because her body language (holding her head and facial expressions) gives you hints of her emotions. Even though she is not verbally speaking her mind, you still have at least an idea of how she is reacting to a event or situation because of her posture.
Kinesics Example #2
You can clearly see that this man is exited and happy, he has a sense of accomplishment and joy. His body language and facial expressions tell you that. You would not see a sad or depressed person jumping up and down with a smile on their face...would you?
Kinesics Example #3
This woman displays body language and facial expressions that suggests she is scared. Her tense posture and timid look show submissiveness. There are many different body language motions and positions that represent different feelings or emotions.
Proxemics
Proxemics is the study of distance (the distance between others) communication. It deals with the amount of space people feel the need to set between themselves and others (their proximity).
Proxemics Example #1
You can tell that since they are touching and close, that these two people know each other and feel comfortable around each other.
You can also tell that they are happy and in a positive mood because they are smiling. Most of the time kinesics and proxemics work together.
Proxemics Exapple #2
You can tell that these people know each other from a past encounter because the are sitting in close proximity. Strangers would sit on the opposite sides of the bench, but these people are at least friends so they are sitting right next to each other.
Proxemics Example #3
This picture shows an ordinary mall. Because of proxemics, you can tell that the man in the yellow shirt standing by the plant has never met the man in the yellow shirt sitting on the bench behind him. If they wanted to interact, (people who don't know each other usually don't want to interact) they would be walking or standing closer to each other.