Fascinating silent science
Silence is the absence of intentional sound or purposeful silence-for many people, this is quite disturbing, especially for Westerners. A study by the University of Groningen in the Netherlands found that Americans only need four seconds of silence in a conversation to feel more upset, rejected or insecure. Contrast this with another study, which found that Japanese people are happy to sit still with others for 8.2 seconds. Considering the Japanese proverb "The silent person is the best" and the Japanese concept of haragei (literally "abdominal sensitivity"), their tolerance may not be surprising, indicating that the most effective way of communication is actually not talking.
