Nonverbal interaction process in four triadic discussion groups was examined for this study. Through time lapse photography, discrete visual time samples in the form of film frames were analyzed. Each frame defined a state of the interaction process.
Configurations of group behavior for each of three levels of the nonverbal communication subsystem (head, body, and arm movements) were coded from each frame. Through the Stochastic theory of Markov chains, sequences of configurations, then, operationalized group process.
The research questions directing this study concerned the characteristic nonverbal behaviors displayed during group interaction, the characteristic sequences of behavior, and the stability of these behaviors across similarly structured groups.
Results indicated that sequences of head movement are extremely varied; body and arm movement sequences are more predictible. The most frequent sequence of behavior is for each level-configuration to remain constant from t to t+1. Behavior sequences are not stable across groups, however.
This application of the time lapse photography-Markov analysis design shows promise for further investigations of nonverbal process.