Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-t5pn6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-18T08:11:38.885Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Nonverbal contention and contempt in U.K. parliamentary oversight hearings on fiscal and monetary policy

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 July 2017

Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey
Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey*
Affiliation:
Department of Government, London School of Economics and Political Science
*
Correspondence: Cheryl Schonhardt-Bailey, Government Department, London School of Economics and Political Science, Houghton Street, London WC2A 2AE. Email: c.m.schonhardt-bailey@lse.ac.uk
Get access

Abstract

In parliamentary committee oversight hearings on fiscal policy, monetary policy, and financial stability, where verbal deliberation is the focus, nonverbal communication may be crucial in the acceptance or rejection of arguments proffered by policymakers. Systematic qualitative coding of these hearings in the 2010–15 U.K. Parliament finds the following: (1) facial expressions, particularly in the form of anger and contempt, are more prevalent in fiscal policy hearings, where backbench parliamentarians hold frontbench parliamentarians to account, than in monetary policy or financial stability hearings, where the witnesses being held to account are unelected policy experts; (2) comparing committees across chambers, hearings in the House of Lords committee yield more reassuring facial expressions relative to hearings in the House of Commons committee, suggesting a more relaxed and less adversarial context in the former; and (3) central bank witnesses appearing before both the Lords and Commons committees tend toward expressions of appeasement, suggesting a willingness to defer to Parliament.

Keywords

Nonverbal communicationparliamentary committeesdeliberationoversighteconomic policydeliberation
Type
Articles
Information
Politics and the Life Sciences , Volume 36 , Issue 1 , Spring 2017 , pp. 27 - 46
Copyright
© Association for Politics and the Life Sciences 2017 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blinder, Alan, Central Banking in Theory and Practice (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 1998).Google Scholar
U.K. Parliament, “Select committees in the House of Commons,” 2011, http://www.parliament.uk/about/podcasts/theworkofparliament/select-committees-in-the-house-of-commons/, accessed May 24, 2017.Google Scholar
Bovens, Mark, “Two concepts of accountability: Accountability as a virtue and as a mechanism,” West European Politics , 2010, 33(5): 946–967, at p. 951.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl, Deliberating American Monetary Policy: A Textual Analysis (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 2013).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schonhardt-Bailey, Cheryl, “Explanations and accountability: Deliberation in U.K. select committees,” paper presented at the Conference on the Political Development of Parties and Legislatures in Canada, Britain, and the United States (Toronto: University of Toronto, 2015).Google Scholar
House of Commons, Revisiting Rebuilding the House: The Impact of the Wright Reforms, Third Report of Session 2013–14 (Political and Constitutional Reform Committee) (London: Stationery Office, 2013).Google Scholar
Chan, Szu Ping, “Charlotte Hogg resigns as Bank of England deputy governor,” The Telegraph, March 14, 2017.Google Scholar
Maurer, Marcus and Reinemann, Carsten, “Do uninvolved voters rely on visual message elements? A test of a central assumption of the ELM in the context of televised debates,” paper presented at the European Consortium for Political Research General Conference (Bordeaux, France, 2013).Google Scholar
Bucy, Erik P. and Gong, Zijian Harrison, “Image bite analysis of presidential debates,” in Exploring the C-SPAN Archives: Advancing the Research Agenda, Browning, Robert X., ed. (West Lafayette, IN: Purdue University Press, 2016), pp. 45–75.Google Scholar
Gong, Zijian Harrison and Bucy, Erik P., “When style obscures substance: Visual attention to display appropriateness in the 2012 presidential debates,” Communication Monographs , 2016, 83(3): 349–372.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Knapp, Mark L. and Hall, Judith A., Nonverbal Communication in Human Interaction 7th ed. (Boston: Wadsworth Cengage Learning, 2010).Google Scholar
Bucy, Erik P. and Grabe, Maria Elizabeth, “Taking television seriously: A sound and image bite analysis of presidential campaign coverage, 1992–2004,” Journal of Communication , 2007, 57(4): 652–675.Google Scholar
Bucy, Erik P. and Grabe, Maria Elizabeth, “‘Happy warriors’ revisited: Hedonic and agonic display repertoires of presidential candidates on the evening news,” Politics and the Life Sciences , 2008, 27(1): 78–98.Google ScholarPubMed
Stewart, Patrick A., Bucy, Eric P., and Mehu, Marc, “Strengthening bonds and connecting with followers: A biobehavioral inventory of political smiles,” Politics and the Life Sciences , 2015, 34(1): 73–92.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabe, Maria Elizabeth and Bucy, Erik Page, Image Bite Politics: News and the Visual Framing of Elections (New York: Oxford University Press, 2009).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabe and Bucy, 2009, p. 12.Google Scholar
Knapp and Hall, 2010, pp. 11, 20.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucy, Erik P., “Nonverbal communication, emotion, and political evaluation,” in The Routledge Handbook of Emotions and Mass Media, Döveling, Katrin, von Scheve, Christian, and Konijn, Elly A., eds. (London: Routledge, 2011), pp. 195–220, at p. 197.Google Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J., “American business, public policy, case studies, and political theory,” World Politics , 1964, 16: 677–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowi, Theodore J., “Four systems of policy, politics, and choice,” Public Administration Review , 1972, 32(4): 298–310.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cobb, Michael D. and Kuklinski, James H., “Changing minds: Political arguments and political persuasion,” American Journal of Political Science , 1997, 41(1): 88–121.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Druckman, James N., “On the limits of framing effects: Who can frame?,” Journal of Politics , 2001, 63(4): 1041–1066.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Druckman, James N., “Political preference formation: Competition, deliberation, and the (ir)relevance of framing effects,” American Political Science Review , 2004, 98(4): 671–686.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, Daniel, Thinking, Fast and Slow (London: Penguin, 2011), pp. 20–21.Google Scholar
Olivola, Christopher Y. and Todorov, Alexander, “Elected in 100 milliseconds: Appearance-based trait inferences and voting,” Journal of Nonverbal Behavior , 2010, 34(2): 83–110.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Grabe and Bucy, 2009, pp. 12–13.Google Scholar
Matsumoto, David, Frank, Mark G., and Hwang, Hyi Sung, “Reading people: Introduction to the world of nonverbal behavior,” in Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications, Matsumoto, David, Frank, Mark G., and Hwang, Hyi Sung, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013), pp. 3–14, at p. 8.Google Scholar
Izard, Carroll E., “Emotions and facial expressions: A perspective from differential emotions theory,” in The Psychology of Facial Expression, Russell, James A. and Fernández-Dols, Jose Miguel, eds. (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1997), pp. 57–77.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matsumoto, David and Hwang, Hyi Sung, “Facial expressions,” in Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications, Matsumoto, David, Frank, Mark G., and Hwang, Hyi Sung, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013), pp. 15–52, at p. 25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ekman, Paul, Emotions Revealed: Understanding Faces and Feelings (London: Orion Books, 2004).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rendall, Drew, Owren, Michael J., and Ryan, Michael J., “What do animal signals mean?,” Animal Behaviour , 2009, 78: 233–240.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Yik, Michelle S. M. and Russell, James A., “Interpretation of faces: A cross-cultural study of a prediction from Fridlund’s theory,” Cognition and Emotion , 1999, 13(1): 93–104.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fridlund, Alan J., Human Facial Expression: An Evolutionary View (San Diego, CA: Academic Press, 1994).Google Scholar
Fridlund, 1994.Google Scholar
Stewart, Bucy, and Mehu, 2015.Google Scholar
Stewart, Bucy, and Mehu, 2015.Google Scholar
McHugo, Gregory J., Lanzetta, John T., Sullivan, Dennis G., and Englis, Basil, “Emotional reactions to a political leader’s expressive displays,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 1985, 49(6): 1513–1529.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucy and Grabe, 2008.Google Scholar
Stewart, Bucy, and Mehu, 2015.Google Scholar
Masters, Roger D. and Sullivan, Denis G., “Nonverbal displays and political leadership in France and the United States,” Political Behavior , 1989, 11(2): 123–156.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, Peter E., Posture and Gesture (Oxford: Pergamon Press, 1987).Google Scholar
Knapp and Hall, 2010.Google Scholar
Bucy and Grabe, 2008.Google Scholar
Reed, Lawrence Ian, Zeglen, Katherine N., and Schmidt, Karen L., “Facial expressions as honest signals of cooperative intent in a one-shot anonymous prisoner’s dilemma game,” Evolution and Human Behavior , 2012, 33(3): 200–209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bucy and Grabe, 2008.Google Scholar
Beattie, Geoffrey, Rethinking Body Language: How Hand Movements Reveal Hidden Thoughts (London: Routledge, 2016).CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Izard, 1997, p. 71.Google Scholar
Darwin, Charles, The Expression of the Emotions in Man and Animals: Definitive Edition (New York: Harper Perennial, 2009), [1872].Google Scholar
Izard, 1997.Google Scholar
Knapp and Hall, 2010.Google Scholar
Grabe and Bucy, 2009.Google Scholar
Stewart, Bucy, and Mehu, 2015, p. 48.Google Scholar
Blinder, 1998.Google Scholar
Stewart, Patrick A., Méhu, Marc, and Salter, Frank K., “Sex and leadership: Interpreting competitive and affiliative facial displays based on workplace status,” International Public Management Journal , 2015, 18(2): 190–208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, Méhu, and Salter, 2015, p. 192.Google Scholar
Masters and Sullivan, 1989.Google Scholar
Frank, Mark G., Maroulis, Andreas, and Griffin, Darrin J., “The voice,” in Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications, Matsumoto, David, Frank, Mark G., and Hwang, Hyi Sung, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013), pp. 53–74, at p. 63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dumitrescu, Delia, “Nonverbal communication in politics: A review of research developments, 2005–2015,” American Behavioral Scientist , 2016, 60(14): 1656–1675.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, Maroulis, and Griffin, 2013, pp. 58–59.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Frank, Maroulis, and Griffin, 2013, p. 67.Google Scholar
Stewart, Patrick A., Eubanks, Austin D., and Miller, Jason, ““Please clap”: Applause, laughter, and booing during the 2016 GOP presidential primary debates,” PS: Political Science & Politics , 2016, 49(4): 696–700.Google Scholar
Stewart, Patrick A., “Presidential laugh lines: Candidate display behavior and audience laughter in the 2008 primary debates,” Politics and the Life Sciences , 2010, 29(2): 55–72.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kimmel, Christopher M., Stewart, Patrick A., and Schreckhise, William D., “Of closed minds and open mouths: Indicators of Supreme Court justice votes during the 2009 and 2010 sessions,” The Forum , 2012, 10(2): Article 3.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schubert, James N., Peterson, Steven A., Schubert, Glendon, and Wasby, Stephen, “Observing Supreme Court oral argument: A biosocial approach,” Politics and the Life Sciences , 1992, 11(1): 35–51.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beňuš, Štefan, Levitan, Rivka, and Hirschberg, Julia, “Entrainment in spontaneous speech: The case of filled pauses in Supreme Court hearings,” paper presented at the 3rd IEEE Conference on Cognitive Infocommunications (Kosice, Slovakia, 2012).Google Scholar
Matsumoto, David and Hwang, Hyi Sung, “Body and gestures,” in Nonverbal Communication: Science and Applications, Matsumoto, David, Frank, Mark G., and Hwang, Hyi Sung, eds. (Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage, 2013), pp. 75–96, at pp. 76–79.Google Scholar
Bull, 1987, p. 33.Google Scholar
Rogers, William T., “The contribution of kinesic illustrators toward the comprehension of verbal behaviour within utterances,” Human Communication Research , 1978, 5(1): 54–62.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, 1987.Google Scholar
Everitt, Joanna, Best, Lisa A., and Gaudet, Derek, “Candidate gender, behavioral style, and willingness to vote: Support for female candidates depends on conformity to gender norms,” American Behavioral Scientist , 2016, 60(14): 1737–1755.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Beattie, 2016.Google Scholar
Beattie, 2015, p. 150.Google Scholar
Stewart, Eubanks, and Miller, 2016, pp. 48–50.Google Scholar
Schonhardt-Bailey, 2015.Google Scholar
Borg, James, Body Language: How to Know What’s REALLY Being Said (Harlow, UK: Pearson Education, 2011).Google Scholar
Bull, Peter, The Microanalysis of Political Communication: Claptrap and Ambiguity (London: Routledge, 2003), p. 86.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hayes, Andrew F. and Krippendorff, Klaus, “Answering the call for a standard reliability measure for coding data,” Communication Methods and Measures , 2007, 1(1): 77–89.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schubert et al. 1992, p. 49.Google Scholar
Bucy and Gong, 2016, pp. 55–58.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Stewart, Patrick A., Salter, Frank K., and Mehu, Marc, “Taking leaders at face value: Ethology and the analysis of televised leader displays,” Politics and the Life Sciences , 2009, 28(1): 48–74, at pp. 57–58.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, Salter, and Mehu, 2009.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, Annie, Newhagen, John, and Reeves, Byron, “Negative video as structure: Emotion, attention, capacity, and memory,” Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media , 1996, 40(4): 460–477.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lang, Annie, Sanders-Jackson, Ashley, Wang, Zheng, and Rubenking, Bridget, “Motivated message processing: How motivational activation influences resource allocation, encoding, and storage of TV messages,” Motivation and Emotion , 2013, 37(9): 508–517.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bull, 2003.Google Scholar
Lewinski, Peter, “Automated facial coding software outperforms people in recognizing neutral faces as neutral from standardized datasets,” Frontiers in Psychology , 2015, 6: 1–6.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pedrini, Seraina, Bächtiger, André, and Steenbergen, Marco R., “Deliberative inclusion of minorities: Patterns of reciprocity among linguistic groups in Switzerland,” European Political Science Review , 2013, 5(3): 483–512, at 488.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pedrini, Bachtiger, and Steenbergen, 2013, p. 488.Google Scholar
Keohane, Nigel and Broughton, Nida, The Politics of Housing (London: Social Market Foundation for National Housing Federation, 2013).Google Scholar
Norton, Philip, “Legislative scrutiny in the House of Lords,” in Parliament: Legislation and Accountability, Horne, Alexander and Le Sueur, Andrew, eds. (London: Bloomsbury, 2016), pp. 117–136.Google Scholar
Norton, 2016, p. 129.Google Scholar
Broom, Mark, Koenig, Andreas, and Borries, Carola, “Variation in dominance hierarchies among group-living animals: Modeling stability and the likelihood of coalitions,” Behavioral Ecology , 2009, 20(4): 844–855.Google Scholar
Dominiczak, Peter, “David Cameron praises George Osborne for his weight loss,” The Telegraph , 2015, January 26.Google Scholar
Fenton, Siobhan, “George Osborne failed to suppress a smirk at the mention of more austerity cuts during PMQs,” The Independent , 2016, March 6.Google Scholar
Ekman, Paul, Davidson, Richard J., and Friesen, Wallace V., “The Duchenne smile: Emotional expression and brain physiology II,” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology , 1990, 58(2): 342–353.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Stewart, Bucy, and Mehu, 2015.Google Scholar
Bucy, 2011.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: File

Schonhardt-Bailey supplementary material

Appendix

Download Schonhardt-Bailey supplementary material(File)
File 56.1 KB