In an effort to establish the domain of organizational communication (OC), this paper defines variables, presents models of their relationships, explains the three dominant approaches to OC, and proposes ways to test their competing claims. Having defined characteristic, causal, and result variables, the paper stresses the importance of…

This paper contains an examination of equity theory, which is based on the assumption that when a state of equity exists in an exchange situation, there is a perceived balance between the effort and reward ratios of the individuals involved in the exchange. The paper offers a rationale for examining equity theory in a communication context,…

Self-disclosure may be viewed through the framework of the role-taking processes by which we come to know ourselves and to be known to others. Because individuals ground utterances contextually, in anticipation of another's responses and according to the prescriptions of the situation itself, self-disclosure is more likely to be flexibly scripted…

Research has documented two behavior patterns known as Type A and Type B. Type A behavior is characterized by competitive striving, a sense of urgency, and hostility, while Type B behavior is less aggressive and more relaxed. It has been theorized that individuals exhibiting Type A behavior have a strong need to maintain control over their…

Noting that considerable research has been conducted in the area of political communication, this paper points out that little attention has been given to direct legislation techniques--means by which citizens participate in the legislative decision making process. To establish a rationale for the study of direct legislation efforts, the paper…

A study investigated whether various measures of communication competence would be more positively associated with constructive message strategies than with either destructive or avoidance strategies, and whether individuals would prefer a partner to be constructive rather than being constructive themselves. Subjects were 114 college students who…

A study investigated whether females use more supportive behaviors than males and whether males demonstrate more delayed responses than females in observable listening behavior. It was hypothesized that females would use higher levels of gaze and a greater frequency of head nods and supportive back-channels (SBCs) than males, and that males would…

Three studies investigated the purposes of teasing and the reaction to it. The first study asked 26 college students to describe one instance when they were teased and one when they teased someone else. In addition, they were asked to explain why the teasing had occurred and why they categorized it as teasing. The second study, involving 24…

A study investigated whether receivers who detect senders behaving deceitfully will automatically become more resistent to the message being presented. By developing predictions derived from the Elaboration Likelihood Model (ELM), the study hypothesized that only noninvolved receivers would respond negatively to deceptive nonverbal cues in a…

The major dimensions of ethnicity are examined in this paper. The first section reviews research literature in three content areas--ethnicity, stratification, and communication and in each of these areas generates hypotheses based on the available evidence in sociological, anthropological, and psychological literature. The second section of the…

Defining "willingness to communicate" as the degree to which an individual will talk to others in various situations, a study was conducted to test the hypothesis that a linear composite of the dimensions of communication apprehension and willingness to communicate is significantly related to a linear composite of the dimensions of…

Four studies were conducted to investigate the relationship between communication and predictive accuracy. Subjects, students enrolled in various college speech and communication classes, completed the Allport-Vernon-Lindzey Study of Values, first in terms of their own values and then in terms of how they believed a specified target would respond.…

A study was conducted to determine how Washington, D.C., reporters cover business policy issues and to explain why they report this news as they do. The study used J. Grunig's situational theory of communication behavior as a basis for developing a typology of Washington reporters based upon their perceptions of four business policy issues. A…

Communication competence has been approached primarily from three perspectives in the communication literature: (1) as cognitive understanding of communication, (2) as a capability of performing certain communication skills, and (3) as achieving effective communication. Most scholars who write about communication competence view competence either…

Drawing upon the philosophical and technical frameworks of discourse analysis, this paper suggests the rules governing linguistic choices in constructing negotiation. First, it clarifies the philosophical assumptions underlying different approaches to analysis, specifying a conceptual focus, particularly with regard to the situation and the…