At its core, communication includes how individuals convey messages to one another. Behavior, in this context, often aligns with conscious actions undertaken to transfer information—those that reflect a person's thoughts, feelings, or intentions. However, this raises important questions: Is all behavior a form of communication, even if unintentional, or can it also incorporate subconscious or unconscious actions?
Empathy and Advocacy in Non-verbal Communication
It is important to first recognize who benefits, or in other words, who advocates for considering every behavior as a form of communication. Many view this perspective as compassionate, as it is often used in media to promote empathy and advocacy for those who cannot speak for themselves. This highlights non-verbal communication in infants or people with disabilities or disorders. We often perceive these individuals as highly vulnerable, sometimes disturbingly comparing them to animals—unable to care for themselves, they use gestures or sounds to express their needs.
This type of communication often boils down to satisfying basic needs. This perspective aligns with social psychology theories that suggest behavior communicates our responses to social environments (Watzlawick, Beavin, & Jackson, 1967). Skinner’s (1953) operant conditioning supports this view by proposing that behavior is shaped by social feedback, which inherently communicates what is acceptable or rewarding in each context. Through positive or negative reinforcement, individuals learn to adapt their actions to express their needs effectively, allowing them to use non-verbal cues to seek the support they require from their environment.
Watzlawick’s Axiom: Communication Beyond Intention
The idea that behavior must be communicative likely stems from Watzlawick’s (1967) axiom, “You cannot not communicate,” which posits that in interpersonal settings, all actions carry communicative value, whether intentional or not. For example, this might be true for some autistic children who avoid eye contact or engage in repetitive hand movements as a way to express discomfort or anxiety. Because they lack the ability to express their emotions in words, such non-verbal cues serve as a means of communication. In these cases, while the behavior is not traditionally communicative, it is nevertheless understood by others as conveying emotional states or needs.
The Limits of Communication: Unconscious Behaviors
Conversely, it can be argued that not all exhibited behavior is meaningful or intended as communication. Humans also exhibit unconscious reflexes, like yawning or sneezing, which can be triggered involuntarily or subconsciously, similar to Pavlov’s (1927) conditioned reflexes. Many psychologists, including Bavelas (1990), argue a reverse claim: even though "you cannot not communicate," it doesn't mean that every action has to serve as communication. The logic behind this distinction is that while "all behavior is communication" assumes every action is inherently communicative, "one cannot not communicate" refers to the fact that, in the presence of others, some behavior will always be interpreted as communication.
Context and Overinterpretation
Weiner et al. (1972) quickly identified this dilemma and distinguished it between non-verbal behavior and non-verbal communication. Non-verbal communication is treated as a subgroup of non-verbal behavior, emphasizing a clear boundary between conscious and unconscious actions. Communicative behavior refers to intentional actions aimed at conveying a message, to which another person responds. Informative behavior, on the other hand, is not intended to communicate but may still be interpreted as communication by an observer. In such cases, the interpretation heavily depends on the context and assumptions of the observer. This situation, while not easily researched through empirical observation, has become prevalent in recent years under the umbrella of “overthinking,” where people overinterpret someone’s behavior as intentional communication.
For instance, an illustration can be found in the behavior of a child fidgeting. The child may not intend to communicate anything, but adults might interpret the behavior as a sign of disinterest, discomfort, or tiredness. Drawing on knowledge about ADHD, adults might try to approach the situation empathically. While promoting inclusive strategies in parenting and teaching is crucial, it is important not to overextend these parallels. Similarly, a student sleeping in class might be interpreted by the teacher as signaling boredom or exhaustion, but the same student sleeping at home likely has no intent to send any message. The difference lies in the social and physical context of the behavior.
Conclusion
While some behaviors can indeed be perceived as communication, it is essential to differentiate between intentional communicative actions and unintentional behaviors, such as informative behavior. The idea that each behavior carries a person-independent meaning is flawed; as contextualized meaning varies with circumstances, the claim that 'all behavior is communication' should not be generalized. This claim holds true only when both the messenger and receiver are aware of the intentionality behind the message, rather than leaving the receiver to interpret it independently
References
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Godat, D. and Czerny, E. J. (2021) ‘The Big Misunderstanding: Not Everything Is Communication!’, Journal of Solution Focused Practices, 5(1), pp. 31-37. Available at:https://digitalscholarship.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1146&context=journalsfp (Accessed: 17 October 2024).
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Pavlov, I.P. (1927) Conditioned Reflexes: An Investigation of the Physiological Activity of the Cerebral Cortex. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
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Watzlawick, P., Beavin, J. and Jackson, D. (1967) Pragmatics of Human Communication: A Study of Interactional Patterns, Pathologies, and Paradoxes. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
Weiner, N. and Rosenblueth, A. (1972) ‘Behavior, Purpose, and Teleology’, Psychological Review, 79(3), pp. 227-248.
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