chapter 3 - Pearson Learning Solutions

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taste communicates. It encompasses the communication aspects of such factors as
the classifications of taste, the role of culture on taste, the role of food deprivation,
food preferences, taste expectations, and color and textures as an encourager
or discourager of eating and drinking.
Taste qualities have been classified: bitter, salty, sweet, and sour are taste identifiers
with which you are probably familiar. We receive these signals much the
same as we do smells. We come in physical contact with the object that brings
about the sense reaction within us. These sense reactions are located not on our
tongue but in various regions of our mouth and throat. The taste buds of the
mouth are the most common tasters.
It is interesting to note that just as some people have smell blindness, and others
can’t smell all or some odors, some people have taste blindness—the inability to
taste. This can either be a defect in their senses at birth or the destruction of the
tasters through an accident or illness. This can be long or short term. It is estimated,
for example, that 30 to 50 percent of all expectant mothers temporarily suffer taste
loss during the first three months of pregnancy. 103 Other people have extremely
sensitive tasting abilities. They react very strongly to the slightest taste, they may find
slightly spicy foods to be very offensive, and the taste of certain foods may stimulate
allergic reactions.
Another phenomenon associated with gustorics is taste adaptation. Taste
adaptation takes place when a person becomes used to a taste to the degree that
he or she can eat a substance and not taste it. People who eat a lot of very spicy
foods may eventually develop an insensitivity to the tang.
Using Nonverbal Communication
Chapter 3 Nonverbal Communication 81
Nonverbal communication has become a weapon in the war on terrorism. Law
enforcement officers are being exposed to behavior pattern recognition, which is
training in detecting signs that could indicate a terrorist plot. The officers are
taught to look for something outside the normal range of behavior—such as people
exhibiting odd or suspicious nonverbal behavior, including wearing heavy or
large baggy clothes on a hot day, loitering without luggage, or going through
checkpoints and glancing around excessively or looking nervous—and to listen for
verbal stammering when a person is answering questions. The technique is not
new to the government. Customs agents use similar techniques to look for smugglers
at border crossings. 104
A question arises as to why, if nonverbal communication is such an important
aspect of communication, most people aren’t aware of it or don’t pay much
overt attention to its powers. One reason is that most people have not been taught
that actions communicate as clearly as words communicate, so they don’t look for
the nonverbal components. Schools don’t generally teach courses in the subject,
and what we do learn tends to be through subtle cultural communication. You
may have been told that if you didn’t look someone in the eye as you speak, that
person might not believe you, or that you should stand up straight and walk with
pride, or that you are judged by what you wear. These messages actually say, “Pay
attention to the nonverbals,” but most of us don’t tie that to the fact that nonverbal
communication is carrying messages.
Being aware that nonverbal communication exists, being aware that you
need to listen to others with your eyes as well as your ears, and monitoring what
you do as a nonverbal communicator will help you to become a more competent
communicator.
NONVERBALS’ ROLE
IN PERSUASION
Perhaps you believe visuals
won’t help you persuade. If so,
consider a Columbia University
study that shows the percentages
each sense usually plays
in interpreting messages.
Touch 65%
Taste 1.5%
Smell 6%
Hearing 11%
Sight 80%
Source: Creative Negotiating:
Proven Techniques for Getting
What You Want From Any Negotiation,
by Stephen Kozicki,
Adams Media Corp., 260 Center
St., Holbrook, MA 02343.
Communicating: A Social and Career Focus, Tenth Edition, by Roy M. Berko, Andrew D. Wolvin, and Darlyn R. Wolvin. Published by Allyn & Bacon.
Copyright © 2007 by Pearson Education, Inc.
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