-
![]()
2-6
I consulted my friend Google and did some research. Yes, experinments were
conducted by Albert Mehrabian, currently professor emeritus* of psychology at the
the research in question was done in
University of California at Los Angeles. But
1967, using one word at a time to measure what the listener believed to be the feeling of
20
the speaker and determine if the listener liked the speaker. The experiment was never
intended to measure how well the listeners understood what the speaker was trying to
communicate.
Mehrabian has published his work and findings in the book Silent Messages. On
his website, Mehrabian states: “Silent Messages contains a detailed discussion of my
25
findings on inconsistent messages of feelings and attitudes (and the relative importance
of words vs. nonverbal cues).” I found that the professor says (a his findings have been
misquoted. Max Atkinson, a communications researcher in Wells, Somerset, United
Kingdom, quoted from a personal e-mail he received from Mehrabian; in the e-mail,
Mehrabian said:
30
