PSY373 End-of-Course Assessment – January Semester 2026

This ECA carries 50% of the course marks for PSY373 Psychology of Nonverbal Behaviours and is a compulsory component. It is to be done individually and not collaboratively with other students.

ECA Submission Deadline: 27 March 2026 (Friday), 12:00 noon

ECA Submission Guidelines

Submit TWO files for your ECA via Canvas:

Answer ALL questions.

Question 1 (100 marks)

READ: Han, E., DeVeaux, C., Hancock, J. T., Ram, N., Harari, G. M., & Bailenson, J. N. (2024). The influence of spatial dimensions of virtual environments on attitudes and nonverbal behaviors during social interactions. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 95(6), Article 102269.

Our environments can have an impact on our emotional, psychological, and social functioning. Han et al. (2024) used immersive virtual reality to study the effects of a specific spatial dimension in our environment: ceiling heights. The researchers found that environments with high ceilings were associated with positive affect (emotions) and increased social behaviours in participants.

Taking reference from the paper by Han et al. (2024), conduct a similar observational study to examine your own and others’ nonverbal behaviours (NVBs) in environments with different ceiling heights.

Observation Instructions

• Visit two public locations – one with a high ceiling and another with a low ceiling. Suggested locations:
  • High ceilings: The Canopy @ Geneo at Singapore Science Park, CapitaSpring Sky Garden (Green Oasis, Level 17–20), or Parkview Square lobby
  • Low ceilings: some basements of heartland malls, or basements of walkway malls linking underground MRT stations
• Examine the similarities and/or differences between the two locations in (i) how you feel emotionally (your affect), (ii) your NVBs, and (iii) the NVBs of other people interacting with the environment and/or with one another.
• At each location, find a spot to conduct your observation. The recommended duration is 20 to 30 minutes per location.

Research Questions

Appraise the results of your observational study and answer the following research questions:

1. Would environments with high ceilings be associated with more positive affect and increased social interactions?
2. Would differences in ceiling height be associated with different NVBs?

Q1a. One-Page Research Poster (30 marks)

Analyse your results and support your answers with the scores obtained from each social interaction. Present your findings in a one-page research poster with these four headings:

1. Introduction
2. Method
3. Results
4. Discussion

Where appropriate, basic arithmetic (e.g., sums, averages) may be used. Statistical analysis is not necessary for this assessment.

Poster guidelines:

• Created using an MS Word document and within ONE page
• Default document margins
• Portrait orientation
• Single spacing; font size not smaller than 10
• Use of other software (e.g., Canva/PPT) is not permitted
• Reference list on a separate page, after your one-page poster

Q1b. 3-Minute-Thesis Presentation (70 marks)

Apply your knowledge of nonverbal behaviours to analyse the results of your experiment. Present your findings in a 3-minute thesis presentation video, following the guidelines for a 3-minute thesis presentation. Your presentation should be targeted at a non-specialist audience.

Slide requirements:

• Present the results of your experiment in ONE slide.
• The slide should feature in your video at an appropriate time and must not be the same as your poster in Q1a.
• The slide should be clear, concise, not wordy, and focused on the results of your experiment.

Video requirements:

• You must be visibly featured in the video and show effective nonverbal behaviours throughout.
• Your upper torso should be clearly visible so that facial expressions, posture and gestures can be seen; avoid a small Zoom-style screen or a video zoomed in on your face only.
• The audio playback should not be sped up.

—– End of ECA Paper —–