communication

Meaning: Communication is the transfer of information from a sender to a receiver. Verbal communication uses language, spoken or written. Nonverbal communication uses facial expressions, gestures, posture, eye contact, tone of voice, and personal space. People use it to express emotion, manage impressions, and read others' states. Many animals signal with pheromones, calls, and courtship displays.

On the MCAT: A passage may have participants judge emotions from photographs or compare gestures across cultures. Expect facial expressions of basic emotions to be recognized widely across cultures, while display rules, the cultural norms for when to show emotion, differ. Goffman's dramaturgical approach treats communication as impression management before an audience. Animal questions ask how a signal, such as an alarm call or courtship display, could be favored by natural selection through its effect on fitness.

Common confusion: Nonverbal cues are not a universal code. Basic facial expressions are broadly shared, but gestures, eye contact, and personal space vary with culture, so one gesture can mean different things in different places. Nonverbal signals also differ from language, which is a symbolic system with grammar.