TV relationships

The show that I watched was an episode of Scooby Doo with my son.  The characters in the show are two boys, two girls, and a dog. 

I thought from watching that the characters were a group of friends who were traveling in a van.  One of the boys seemed to be in a romantic relationship with one of the girls.  Their body language was that of a couple.  They sat close to each other in van and would look at each other more than they did the other two.  The other girl who was not as stylish as the other seemed to be on the outside of the group.  She would stand farther part that the others and did most of the talking.  The tall skinny boy must have been the dog’s owner.  He would hang with the dog and they both ate a lot.

The feelings that I observed are rejection from the one girl who is apart from the group.  I also see the “couple” as happy and affectionate towards each other.  They touch each other more frequently.  The tall skinny boy is a loner with his dog and oblivious to what is going on around them. 

When I turned the sound on and re-watched the show I was able to check my observations.  The assumption that I made about the characters were similar to the true relationship.  They were a group of friends who traveled around in their van.  The two (Fred and Daphne) that I thought might be a couple were not.  The girl (Velma) who stood apart from the group turned out to be the leader of the group.  Tall skinny boy (Shaggy) and his dog Scooby were best friends who did like to eat a lot.  They would get into more trouble by trying to stay out of it. 

My assumptions would have been more correct with a show I know well because I already know the background information on the show. 

What I learned was that background knowledge is better than basic assumptions.  We need to know more about a situation before we make a judgment on a situation or relationship.  I have also learned that body movement is a huge part of our communication.  People can’t seem to talk without their hands or movement.