When her group members asked Sally if she was upset, she answered in a very tense and clipped tone, "I'm perfectly fine." The group did not believe her. This illustrates which principle of nonverbal communication?
A) When the verbal and nonverbal behaviors clash, people believe the nonverbal.
B) None of these answer is correct.
C) All of these answers are correct.
D) People cannot stop sending messages.
E) Nonverbal behaviors are ambiguous.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

When verbal and nonverbal messages conflict, individuals tend to trust the nonverbal cues more than the verbal ones. In this scenario, Sally's tense and clipped tone (a nonverbal cue) contradicted her words ("I'm perfectly fine"), leading her group members to doubt her verbal message.

When Her Group Members Asked Sally If She Was Upset