Nonverbal behavior is most commonly discussed in terms of its sep- arate
channels or modalities, that is, one chapter on distance, another on
gaze, a third on facial expression, and so forth. Representative of this
approach are a text by Knapp (1978), Harper, Wiens, and Ma- tarazzo's
(1978) scholarly review, Weitz's (1979) book of readings, and Siegman
and Feldstein's (1978) edited volume of chapters by prom- inent
researchers. This book examines nonverbal behavior from a different per-
spective. It is organized around those dominant themes in social psy-
chology which have particular relevance for nonverbal behavior. Ob-
viously, not all of the major topics in social psychology are
represented here, but many receive some coverage in one or more of the
chapters. The following areas are those having broad chapter coverage:
(1) research approaches, (2) attraction, (3) social influence, (4)
social reg- ulation, (5) emotions, (6) individual and group differences,
and (7) theoretical and applied issues.