Abstract

COMMENTARIES Ross Buck Department of Communication Sciences University of Connecticut Rapport, along with concepts such as empathy, social sen- expressions in the other cannot respond to them. The pattern sitivity, and accuracy in person perception, has been of in- of attention to the cues provided by the other is learned: terest to psychologists virtually from the beginnings of the Gibsonian theory refers to it as an education of attention. science, but it has been extremely difficult to define in a Rapport and Emotional Expressiveness theoretically productive way, and even more difficult to oper- ationalize. Tickle-Degnen and Rosenthal approach rapport The expressive person encourages others to be expressive, as an aspect of the interaction between individuals, and dis- and therefore has this expressive information to draw on in tinguish three essential components of rapport: mutual atten- social interaction. The nonexpressive person, in contrast, tiveness, positivity, and coordination. They emphasize both tends to "turn off expression in others. Psychotherapists the experiential quality of rapport and the behaviors related to have noted the difficulty of working with patients with psy- those feelings: (a) behaviors of mutual attention foster feel- chosomatic disorders because, although such patients can ings of mutual interest, (b) positive