wait

WAITING TIME

Time talks. --Edward T. Hall (The Silent Language)

Until the early 1300s, the length of an hour in London could vary from 38 minutes to 82 minutes. It wasn't because they had lousy clocks in the Middle Ages. They just had a different attitude toward the passage of that mysterious thing called time. --Curt Suplee (1994:H1)

Never check your watch at a party, unless it's time to go. --VÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â©ronique Vienne (1997:156)

Chronemic cue. The number of minutes, hours, days, or weeks spent between a scheduled appointment and a meeting with a business associate, medical professional, program administrator, or friend.

Usage: Waiting time varies across cultures. Appointments with business executives or government officials in Latin America, e.g., may require longer waiting times than are customary for U.S. workers. The different cultural norms for time spent waiting may trigger anger and strain rapport. (N.B.: Waiting time is usually less with attractive, liked, and high-status individuals.)

Cultural differences. 1. "In northern Europe, the people are exact and precise about time, much like Americans on the East Coast. The northern Germans and Swiss are particularly punctual" (Vargas 1986:127). 2. "In South America, most people know no other way of living and never explain or apologize [for being late]. To my upper Midwest sensitivity, their lack of respect for clock time is almost unbelievable" (Vargas 1986:127).

Media. "In Italy . . . television stations make no effort to begin their programs on the hour or half hour. One program is run until finished, and a new one begins with no concern for clock times or schedules" (Vargas 1986:127).

Salesmanship. "It is vitally important that you do not hesitate or pause in your entrance" (Delmar 1984:31).

Time sense. Along with balance, hearing, sight, smell, taste, and touch, human beings have a highly developed sense of time. So time oriented has our species become that we define distance in chronometric terms. By international agreement, ". . . the meter is defined as the distance light travels in 1/299,792,458 of a second" (Itano and Ramsey 1993:64).

RESEARCH REPORTS. As a nonverbal sign, waiting time (in the U.S.) has eight levels of duration: immediate, very short, short, neutral, long, very long, terribly long, and forever (Hall 1959).

SLOW MOTION

Chronemic cue. A sequence of audio or visual behaviors performed or recorded in slower-than-normal speed.

Usage. Slow motion may be used to call attention to, or dramatize, nonverbal units in the stream of behavior (see ACTION UNIT). Electronically recorded auditory cues, body movements, facial expressions and gestures may be played back in slower-than-normal time for purposes of teaching, transcription and dramatization.

Teaching. Since expressive elements in nonverbal communication can be numerous and fast-paced, slow motion may be effective for use as a teaching tool. In slower-than-normal time, viewers are able to see relationships among individual facial cues (e.g., blinks, eyebrows and head-nods), and among facial expressions and hand gestures. Matters of serial order and temporal overlap may be more easily observed and recorded.

Transcription. Slow motion enables greater accuracy in recording nonverbal behavior via available alpha-numeric notation systems and coding schemes (see, e.g., FACS).

Dramatization. Viewed in slow motion, facial expressions, gestures and body movements may appear more visually dramatic than when viewed in real time. Body movements given and received in spoken conversations, e.g., appear more serious and dramatic when slowed to below-normal speed. In particular, behavioral synchrony and stimulus-response relationships evident in the behavioral stream may stand out.

Slow sound. The sound of music (see MUSIC) may be rendered more dramatic and serious when slowed, as in allegretto, larghetto and lento modes.

Media. In televised sports such as American football, competitive gymnastics and ice skating, some body movements may be blurred in real time. In the latter sport, e.g., a twirled quadruple jump is difficult to see unless played back at slower-than-normal speed. Movie directors may use slow motion as a dramatic device to call attention to or enhance selected behavioral scenes. Cinematic contrast between real and slowed time may bring notice through a viewer's orienting reflex.

See also FAST MOTION.

QUEUE WAIT

Proxemic delay. Nonverbally, the often uncomfortable act of waiting behind another person similarly waiting in line for food, goods (see CONSUMER PRODUCT) or services.

Usage. For safety and ease of travel, animals from ants to elephants may walk long distances—single file—in orderly lines. Similarly, human beings often walk single file on hiking trails, sidewalks and parade grounds (see PARADE, PROCESSION).

Waiting lines. Unlike generally pleasant linear walking, human beings may find linear waiting in queues at bank windows, check-out counters and service desks unpleasant. Patrons may uncomfortably face away from nearby patrons in line (see ANGULAR DISTANCE), avoid mutual gaze (see EYE CONTACT) and wear neutral, socially-discouraging facial expressions (see BLANK FACE). The proxemics of waiting lines simply may be too close for comfort (see STRANGER ANXIETY). Some 75 percent of British respondents, e.g., felt that coming within touching distance of another’s clothing in a checkout line was “too close” (Tensator Ltd. N.D.). Fewer than three percent of British shoppers talk to others in line (Tensator Ltd. N.D.).

Crowding. Of particular distaste for humans is the specter of someone crowding-in. When “queue jumping” occurs—even though 92 percent of British respondents consider the habit “very annoying,” it has been estimated that 67 percent of patrons will refrain from verbally challenging a crowder (Tensator Ltd. N.D.). U.S. patrons may respond nonverbally by frowning (see EYEBROW-LOWER) and tensing the lips (see LIP-COMPRESSION) or with unfriendly vocalizations (see GROAN, TSK [anecdotal observations by David Givens]).

See also WAITING TIME, WALK.

Reference:

(Tensator Ltd. N.D.). “Psychology of Queuing—What Are Customers Thinking About Whilst Queuing?” (Danbury Court, Linford Wood Milton Keynes, Bucks, MK14 6TS, UK [https://www.tensator.com/psychology-of-queuing/ (accessed April 22, 2020)]).