Non-Verbal Communication

Artifactual Communication

Artifactual communication is a way we express non-verbal communication through judging others by their appearance.  People also make inferences about our age, social and economic status, education level, group membership, athletic ability, personality, and relationships to others by the way we dress, our use of artifactual communication provides important nonverbal clues to a person.  Many people react to us on the basis of our clothing which impacts first impressions and exert influences that lead to acceptance and rejection.  Either way you look at non-verbal communication, the truth is that it communicates information about you. 

           
The environment and social and cultural artifacts are vital for understanding of nonverbal communication.  The environment is the physical place in which communication takes place.  The objects in the environment can provide a form of stimulus to the communicators.  This all plays a role in something called proxemics which can be defined as personal space and what we do with our personal space.

The choices we make in the colors we wear, clothing, hairstyle, and makeup are all means of nonverbal communication.  Different colors can invoke changes in mood and affects humans psychologically through their emotions and acceptance of colors.  Color psychology has demonstrated that different colors can invoke changes in mood.  Physiological reactions of others, their judgement and interpretations can be altered by our appearance.  Just think of all the subtle judgments you quickly make about someone based on his or her appearance. These first impressions are important, which is why experts suggest that job seekers dress appropriately for interviews with potential employers.  

Nationality is another way we communicate non-verbally.  It shows us the nationality we belong to and our appearance is another way we use communicative artifacts.  The picture shows an example of how someone might judge another person based on their nationality just be looking at their personal appearance.  Tattoos and the jewelry we wear is another type of artifactual communication.  Notice this man has put different a gage in his ears and his body is full of tattoos that all communicate a variety of messages to others.  Some people may react negatively to body art and some may see it as a sense of creativity.  But, most humans tend to treat others based on these stereotypes.  This type of space decoration informs others about their working status, interest, and priorities.  One way to get to know each other better is to pay attention to artifactual communication to get a better understanding of each other and what our interests are.