ABSTRACT
Video recordings of two styles of consultation were created to assess how a physician's nonverbal communication behavior affects patients. A physician spoke the same lines for both recordings but demonstrated different nonverbal behavior: “immediacy” in one recording and “psychological distance” in the other. The frequency and length of the physician's nonverbal communication behavior were measured. Then two groups of subjects were asked to watch one of the recordings ( “immediacy” recording, n=32, and “psychological distance” recording, n=34) and rate the nonverbal behavior on a scale of 1 to 5. Subjects recognized that the physician was warmer, smiled and nodded more often, and made more eye contact with the patient in the “immediacy” recording than in the “psychological distance” recording. These video recordings could be used in patient-satisfaction surveys and medical education.