The Science (and Pseudoscience) of Non-Verbal Communication
For decades now, researchers from a variety of disciplines study nonverbal cues and behaviours such as facial expressions, gaze patterns, postures, and body movements. However, while scientific knowledge is substantial (more than 30 000 peer-reviewed publications), a variety of unfounded, discredited, and pseudoscientific claims are disseminated on traditional and social medias. This presentation will present an overview of the scientific research on nonverbal communication, and its relevance for practitioners. Popular unfounded, discredited, and pseudoscientific claims, and the implication of their use, will also be addressed.
About Vincent Denault
Vincent Denault is a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology of McGill University, and a Lecturer in the Faculty of Law of University of Sherbrooke. His past positions include Lecturer in the Department of Communication of University of Montreal, Postdoctoral Scholar at the International Centre for Comparative Criminology and the Public Law Research Center of University of Montreal, and Research Consultant at the Department of Communication of University of California, Santa Barbara. He holds a Ph.D. in Communication (University of Montreal, 2020) and a Master of Laws (University of Quebec in Montreal, 2015). His research focuses on issues related to witness testimony, credibility assessment, deception detection, and nonverbal behavior in courtrooms. Vincent Denault is the co-founder of the Center for Studies in Nonverbal Communication Sciences of the Research Center of the Montreal Mental Health University Institute, and the co-founder of the Deception Research Society. He is the recipient of several grants and awards, including the inaugural Emerging Scholar Award (2016) of the Nonverbal Division of the National Communication Association. In addition to his work in academia, Vincent Denault is a lawyer and a coroner investigating deaths that occurred as a result of negligence or in obscure or violent circumstances.