Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Prediction of Students' Evaluations from Brief Instances of Professors' Nonverbal Behavior in Defined Instructional Situations

  • Published:
Social Psychology of Education Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This study examined the power of judges' ratings of professors' nonverbal (NV) classroom behavior in content-free brief instances (nine seconds) to predict actual end-of-course students' ratings of teaching (SRT). Professors in 67 courses were videotaped in 4 instructional situations: First class session; Lecturing; Interacting with students; and Talking about the course. The overall finding was that thin slices of professors' content-free NV behavior could indeed predict SRT, but different patterns were found for defined instructional situations. Positive judgments of brief instances of NV lecturing behavior predicted positive post-course SRT components pertaining to the instructor. Positive judgments of NV behavior while interacting with students were negatively related to favorable SRTs. This counter-intuitive finding was tentatively explained by the fact that SRTs were negatively related to course difficulty, and professors presumably might have made greater efforts in their interaction with students in difficult courses, but these courses received lower ratings anyway. Micro-analyses of 44 molecular variables illuminated the NV profile of effective lecturing, and showed distinctions between NV profiles of effective professors and effective TV interviewers from a previous study. Social-educational implications of the findings for the SRT literature and for the NV literature were discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Abrami, P., Leventhal, L., &; Perry, R. (1982). Educational seduction. Review of Educational Research, 52, 445-464.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Abrami, P., d'Apollonia, S., &; Cohen, P. (1990). Validity of student ratings of instruction: What we know and what we do not. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 219-231.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambady, N. &; Rosenthal, R. (1992). Thin slices of behavior as predictors on interpersonal consequences: a meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 256-274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambady, N. &; Rosenthal, R. (1993). Half a minute: predicting teacher evaluations from thin slices of behavior and physical attractiveness. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 64, 431-441.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambady, N., Hallahan, M., &; Rosenthal, R. (1995). On judging and being judged accurately in zero-acquaintance situations. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 69, 518-529.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ambady, N., Bernieri, F., &; Richeson, J. (2000). Toward a histology of social behavior: Judgmental accuracy from thin slices of the behavioral stream. In M. Zanna (Ed.), Advances in experimental social psychology (Vol. 32). Boston: Academic Press; pp. 201-271.

    Google Scholar 

  • Archer, D. &; Akert, R. (1984). Problems of context and criterion in nonverbal communication: a new look at the accuracy issue. In M. Cook (Ed.), Issues in person perception. New York: Methuen; pp. 114-144.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E. (1999). Preferential treatment in television interviewing: evidence from nonverbal behavior. Political Communication, 16, 337-358.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E. &; Taylor, P. (1992). Transparency of teacher expectancies across language, cultural boundaries. Journal of Educational Research, 86, 120-125.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E., Avni-Babad, D., &; Rosenthal, R. (2003). Teachers brief nonverbal behaviors in defined instructional situations can predict students' evaluations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 553-562.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E., Bernieri, F., &; Rosenthal, R. (1989). When less information is more informative: diagnosing teacher expectations from brief samples of behavior. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 59, 281-295.

    Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E., Bernieri, F., &; Rosenthal, R. (1991). Students as judges of teachers' verbal and nonverbal behavior. American Educational Research Journal, 28, 211-234.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Babad, E., Darley, J., &; Kaplowitz, H. (1999). A ‘classic’ revisited: students' immediate and delayed evaluations of a warm/cold instructor. Journal of Educational Psychology, 91, 157-168.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blanck, P., Rosenthal, R., &; Cordell, L. (1985). The appearance of justice: judges' verbal and nonverbal behavior in criminal jury trials. Stanford Law Review, 38, 89-164.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, P. (1990). Bringing research into practice. In M. Theall &; J. Franklin (Eds.), Student ratings of instruction: issues for improving practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; pp. 123-132.

    Google Scholar 

  • d'Apollonia, S. &; Abrami, P. (1997). Navigating student ratings of instruction. American Psychologist, 52, 1198-1208.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • DePaulo, B. (1992). Nonverbal behavior and self-presentation. Psychological Bulletin, 111, 203-243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, P. &; Friesen, W. (1969). The repertoire of nonverbal behavior: categories, origins, usages and coding. Semiotica, 1, 49-98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, K. (1986). The perceived instructional effectiveness of college teachers as related to their personality and attitudinal characteristics. Research in Higher Education, 24, 139-213.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, R. (Ed.). (1992). Applications of nonverbal behavioral theories and research. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Feldman, R. &; Rime, B. (Eds.). (1991). Fundamentals of nonverbal behavior. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Funder, D. (1995). On the accuracy of personality judgment: a realistic approach. Psychological Review, 102, 652-670.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gada-Jain, N. (1999). Intentional synchrony effects on job interview evaluation. Unpublished Master's Thesis, University of Toledo.

  • Greenwald, A. (1997). Validity concerns and usefulness of student ratings of instruction. American Psychologist, 52, 1182-1186.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. &; Gillmore, S. (1997a). No pain, no gain? The importance of measuring course workload in student ratings of instruction. Journal of Educational Psychology, 89, 743-751.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Greenwald, A. &; Gillmore, S. (1997b). Grading leniency is a removable containment of student ratings. American Psychologist, 52, 1209-1217.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hart, A. (1995). Naturally occurring expectation effects. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68, 109-115.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenny, D. (1991). A general model of consensus and accuracy in interpersonal perception. Psychological Review, 98, 155-163.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Knapp, M. (1980). Essentials of nonverbal communication. NY: Holt, Rinehart &; Winston.

    Google Scholar 

  • L'Hommedieu, R., Menges, R., &; Brinko, K. (1990). Methodological explanations for the modest effects of feedback data from student ratings. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 232-241.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. (1982). Validity of students' evaluations of college teaching: a multitrait-multimethod analysis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 74, 264-279.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. (1984). Student evaluation of university teaching: dimensionality, reliability, validity, potential biases, and utility. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 707-754.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. (1987). Students' evaluation of university teaching: Research findings, methodological issues and directions for future research. Elmford, NY: Pergamon Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. &; Roche, L. (1997). Making students' evaluation of teaching effectiveness effective. American Psychologist, 52, 1187-1197.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Marsh, H. &; Roche, L. (2000). Effects of grading leniency and low workload on students' evaluations of teaching: popular myth, bias, validity, or innocent bystanders? Journal of Educational Psychology, 92, 202-228.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKeachie, W. (1997). Student ratings: the validity of use. American Psychologist, 52, 1218-1225.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McKnight, P. (1990). The evaluation of postsecondary classroom teaching: a wicked problem? In M. Theall &; J. Franklin (Eds.), Student ratings of instruction: issues for improving practice. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass; pp. 57-62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Murray, H., Rushton, J., &; Panuonen, S. (1990). Teacher personality traits and student instructional ratings in six types of university courses. Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 250-261.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Naftulin, D., Ware, J., &; Donnelly, F. (1973). The Doctor Fox lecture: a paradigm of educational seduction. Journal of Medical Education, 48, 630-635.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R. (1987). Judgment studies. London: Cambridge University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R. &; DePaulo, B. (1979). Sex differences in eavesdropping of nonverbal cues. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37, 273-285.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R. &; Rosnow, R. (1991). Essentials of behavioral research: methods and data analysis (2nd edn). New York: McGraw Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R. &; Rubin, D. (1996). Reliability of measurement in psychology: from Spearman-Brown to maximal reliability. Psychological Methods, 1, 98-107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rosenthal, R., Blanck, P., &; Vannicelli, M. (1984). Speaking to and about patients: predicting therapists' tone of voice. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 52, 679-686.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Siegman, A. &; Feldstein, S. (Eds.). (1987). Nonverbal behavior and communication (2nd edn). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Theall, M. &; Franklin, J. (Eds.). (1990). Student ratings of instruction: issues for improving practice. (New Directions for Teaching and Learning, No. 43). San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wood, A. (1998). The effects of teacher enthusiasm on student motivation, selective attention, and text memory. Doctoral Dissertation, University of Western Ontario. Dissertation Abstracts International, Section A: Humanities &; Social Sciences. US, 1999 March 59(9-A): p. 3355.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Education, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Mt. Scopus, Jerusalem, 91905, Israel

    Elisha Babad & Dinah Avni-Babad

  2. Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA

    Robert Rosenthal

Authors
  1. Elisha Babad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Dinah Avni-Babad
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert Rosenthal
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Babad, E., Avni-Babad, D. & Rosenthal, R. Prediction of Students' Evaluations from Brief Instances of Professors' Nonverbal Behavior in Defined Instructional Situations. Social Psychology of Education 7, 3–33 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000010672.97522.c5

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:SPOE.0000010672.97522.c5

Keywords

Search

Navigation