Message congruence
Dissertation. When what is said and what is shown disagree, or when one nonverbal channel contradicts another, how do people notice, and what do they conclude? I am building a theory of congruence between messages.
Ph.D. Candidate · Communication · UC Santa Barbara
Alan Crawley
I study how kinesics (the face and the body), the voice and words combine into a single message, and what people do when they don’t agree.
↑ 00:13–00:18: the channels align. My dissertation asks what perceivers do when they don’t.
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Research
Theory construction and multimodal measurement in nonverbal communication.
The nonverbal communication of passion
What passion looks and sounds like, and how to measure it computationally from video.
WAGS/ProQuest thesis award 2025 · NCA Top Paper 2026Nonverbal skill and calibration
With Ronald E. Riggio: nonverbal skills as abilities that can fail in both directions, and calibration as their essential core.
Three book chapters, 2022–in pressGroups, trust and technology
Trust and power in teams playing a cooperative game, how exoskeletons change interpersonal dynamics, moral reasoning across large language models, and the moral signatures of elite political messages.
HICSS Top Paper 2026Book chapters
- in press
Dunbar, N. E., Terzi, H., & Crawley, A. Behavioral observation and relational turbulence: From coding schemes to computational analysis. In J. A. Theiss, R. M. McLaren, L. K. Knobloch, & D. H. Solomon (Eds.), The Cambridge handbook of relational turbulence. Cambridge University Press.
- in press
Crawley, A., & Riggio, R. E. The essential core of nonverbal skills: Calibration. In A. Kostić & D. Chadee (Eds.), The social psychology of nonverbal communication (2nd ed.). Palgrave Macmillan.
- 2024
Crawley, A., & Riggio, R. E. Emotions expressed in body movements, postures, gait, and dance. In D. Chadee & A. Kostić (Eds.), Body language communication. Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-031-70064-4_10
- 2022
Riggio, R. E., & Crawley, A. Nonverbal skills in relationships: Too little or too much may be a bad thing. In R. J. Sternberg & A. Kostić (Eds.), Nonverbal communication in close relationships: What words don’t tell us (pp. 341–361). Palgrave Macmillan. doi:10.1007/978-3-030-94492-6
Journal articles and proceedings
- 2026
Oliver, A., Crawley, A., De, S., & Jeay-Bizot, L. Mapping the moral foundations of machines: A vignette-based inquiry into moral reasoning across six large language model platforms. In T. X. Bui (Ed.), Proceedings of the 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences. doi:10.24251/HICSS.2026.482Top Paper
- 2023
Crawley, A. Clap, clap, clap: Unsystematic review essay on clapping and applause. Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science. doi:10.1007/s12124-023-09786-9
- 2023
Cestero Mancera, A. M., & Crawley, A. Desarrollo multidisciplinar de los estudios de comunicación no verbal en el siglo XXI: Una gran deuda con Fernando Poyatos. Anejos de la revista Oralia, 7, 19–62.
Earlier work in clinical psychology (2020–2023, 5 items)
- 2023
Rodríguez Quiroga, A., Aufenacker, S., Crawley, A., et al. A multicentre study: Comparison of 3-LM group output and therapeutic outcome measures. Adding to the trustworthiness of the 3-LM? Part 2. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 104(1), 96–121.
- 2023
Rodríguez Quiroga, A., Juan, S., Waldron, S., et al. Qualitative multi-centered study: Trustworthiness of the three-level model (3-LM), Part 1. The International Journal of Psychoanalysis, 104(1), 69–95.
- 2022
Rodríguez Quiroga, A., Aufenacker, S. I., Bongiardino, L., & Crawley, A. Capacidad de mentalización y soledad en estudiantes de psicología de la Universidad del Salvador durante y después de la cuarentena por COVID-19. Anuario de Investigación USAL, (9).
- 2020
Rodríguez Quiroga de Pereira, A., Bongiardino, L., Borensztein, L., Botero, C., Crawley, A., Vázquez, N., & Aufenacker, S. I. Adaptación del MacArthur Competence Assessment Tool for Treatment (MacCAT-T): Un instrumento para evaluar la toma de decisiones en adolescentes. Subjetividad y Procesos Cognitivos, 24(1), 143–168.
- 2020
Rodríguez Quiroga, A., Bongiardino, L., Aufenacker, S. I., et al. Capacidad de mentalización en los estudiantes de la carrera de Psicología de la UCA. XII Congreso Internacional de Investigación y Práctica Profesional en Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires.
Conference presentations
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2026Oliver, A., & Crawley, A. Moral signatures in elite political communication: Stability, co-occurrence, and engagement on X/Twitter. National Communication Association, Political Communication Division, New Orleans, LA.
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2026Crawley, A., & Dunbar, N. E. Visual fireworks: A computational measure of the nonverbal communication of passion. National Communication Association, Nonverbal Communication Division, New Orleans, LA.Top Paper
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2026Dunbar, N. E., Terzi, H., Crawley, A., DeLeeuw, B., & Soleymani, M. The captain is dead: Trust and power in teams. 19th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology, Tucson, AZ.
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2026Crawley, A., & Goldberg, J. The words of passion: Content analysis of spontaneous speeches on preferred activities. 19th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology, Tucson, AZ.
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2026Oliver, A., Crawley, A., De, S., & Jeay-Bizot, L. Mapping the moral foundations of machines. 59th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences, Maui, HI.Top Paper
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2024Dunbar, N. E., Wilkenfeld, J. N., Crawley, A., Fang, C., & Srinivasan, D. Fractured trust: The impact of exoskeletons on human interpersonal dynamics. 18th International Conference on Language and Social Psychology, Tallinn, Estonia. Funded by the National Science Foundation (#1839946).
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Teaching
GSA Excellence in Teaching Award, 2025.
“Do it with passion, or not at all.”
Four courses designed and taught as instructor of record, each built from scratch, 2025–2026.
- COMM 111 · Nonverbal CommunicationFall 2025 · Spring 2026
- COMM 143 · Public SpeakingSummer 2026
- COMM 164 · Communicating Science to AudiencesSummer 2026
- INT 93LS · The Science of the Face: Expression, Perception, and Inner StatesSummer 2026
I teach in English and Spanish.
Teaching assistant every quarter since Fall 2023: seven lower-division and three upper-division courses.
Guest lectures: three in COMM 1 Introduction to Communication, about 300 students each; two in COMM 111 Nonverbal Communication (Winter and Spring 2024); two in COMM 142 Power and Communication (Fall 2024); University of Bern (2023); Universidad de Alcalá (2022).
Student evaluations
UCSB end-of-quarter surveys, 1–5 scale (5 = best).
- Instructor of record · COMM 1114.62Mean of seven items; 93% agree or strongly agree
69 responses · Fall 2025, Spring 2026 · 66–74% response rate - Teaching assistant · 5 courses, 8 sections4.44Mean across all rated items, 2024–2025
130 responses · COMM 1, COMM 111, COMM 138, INT 95A, INT 93LS
As teaching assistant, by course context
Section was well organized
not asked
Explanations of course material
Answers to student questions
Opportunities for interaction
not asked
Feedback on assignments
Learning atmosphere
not asked
Accessible for help
Show as table
| Item | Lower division n = 26 | Upper division n = 56 | Summer academies n = 48 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Section was well organized | 4.40 | — | 4.26 |
| Explanations of course material | 4.40 | 4.47 | 4.14 |
| Answers to student questions | 4.45 | 4.43 | 4.32 |
| Opportunities for interaction | 4.80 | — | 4.51 |
| Feedback on assignments | 4.30 | 4.24 | 4.50 |
| Learning atmosphere | 4.55 | — | 4.44 |
| Accessible for help | 4.75 | 4.57 | 4.68 |
From student evaluations · Rate My Professors
“He’s created a perfect learning environment for a subject that is often uncomfortable for others.”
“I was surprised to learn this was his first time teaching this course when everything was so well organized and meticulously detailed.”
“He was super engaging, passionate about teaching, and made coming to lecture actually fun.”
“He organized the course in a way that made concepts and topics easier to learn.”
“Seriously one of the best comm professors I’ve had here at UCSB so far.”
“He graded pretty hard, which is a good thing for people looking to improve in their writing and research.”
“He carved out hours to give detailed, insightful feedback on everyone’s essays.”
“It was clear that he genuinely cared about both his students’ academic success and well-being.”
“One of the best lectures I have seen in my time at UCSB.”
Mentoring
≈14
Undergraduate research assistants trained and supervised in the lab.
10
Student research projects directed at the same time in the UCSB Summer Research Academies.
Selected student projects
- Aging features and false alarms: The limits of automated pain metrics
- Nonverbal responses to unsolicited flattery
- Facial expressions: Action unit variability and head pose confounds
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Projects
Tools and materials I build for research and teaching.
NVC Library
≈ 6,100 papers · 2,187-node taxonomy
A private research system over the nonverbal communication literature: full-text and semantic search, a 14-level taxonomy of the field, a field map of 72 topic tags, and citation verification against the source texts.
Expressivity indices
Kinesics · voice
A pipeline that estimates facial, bodily and vocal expressivity from video and audio, built on open-source face and pose tracking.
Communication theory songs
20 songs
Songs made with generative AI that teach core communication theories, used in discussion sections as memory aids. Listen to the playlist
The 1,000 most cited papers, read
85 papers · 9 topics
A Spanish-language reading guide built on Plusquellec and Denault’s (2018) bibliometric analysis. Read the guide
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Five books
that changed my mind.
- The Demon-Haunted WorldCarl Sagan · 1995
Science as a way of thinking rather than a collection of facts, in prose anyone can follow.
- SyncSteven Strogatz · 2003
The universe coordinates itself without a conductor.
- PeoplewatchingDesmond Morris · 2002
Human behavior studied through the eyes of an animal behaviorist.
- Style: Ten Lessons in Clarity and GraceJoseph M. Williams
Writing with clarity and concision sharpens the ability to think and to express oneself.
- The Scientific AttitudeLee McIntyre · 2019
The willingness to change your mind is a prerequisite for science.
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Public scholarship
Through Sin Verba I write, record and speak in Spanish about what the science of nonverbal communication knows, and does not know, about “body language”: a blog, a podcast, a YouTube channel, and talks in the United States, Mexico, Colombia, Spain, Switzerland and the Czech Republic.
From 2020 to 2023 I trained more than 60 specialists from over 15 Spanish-speaking countries. With the Behavior & Law Foundation I coordinated the online Certificate in Nonverbal Communication at Heritage University (2021–2023), designed the program of the 2021 International Conference on Nonverbal Communication, and recorded five video lessons for a master’s program in nonverbal behavior.
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Service
Ad hoc reviewer
- Journal
Communication Reports
- Journal
Journal of Leadership & Organizational Studies
Ph.D., Communication (STEM), University of California, Santa BarbaraAdvisor: Norah E. Dunbar
2023–2028 (exp.)M.A., Communication (STEM), University of California, Santa BarbaraThesis: “Nonverbal Fireworks: The Nonverbal Communication of Passion”
2025Licenciatura in Psychology, with honors, Universidad del Salvador, Buenos Aires
2018Diploma in Nonverbal Communication, Universidad Austral, Buenos Aires
2016Certified FACS coder, Paul Ekman Group
2015
Honors
- 2026
Top Paper Award, Nonverbal Communication Division, National Communication Association
- 2026
Top Paper Award, Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences
- 2025
WAGS/ProQuest Distinguished Master’s Thesis Award, UC Santa Barbara campus winner (Humanities, Social Sciences, Education, and Business)
- 2025
Excellence in Teaching Award, Graduate Student Association, UC Santa Barbara
Languages: Spanish (native), English (IELTS 8).
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Contact
alancrawley@ucsb.edu
Department of Communication, University of California, Santa Barbara, CA 93106