The research findings of profane language usage need to be extended so that more may be learned about human communication. In order to establish profane language usage norms, eighty-six university students were asked to estimate their profane language usage in each of three categories (excretory, religious, and sexual) in reference to three…

The degree to which vocal accommodation occurred in the interaction of mothers with 27 infants 3- to 5-months old equally divided among three diagnostic groups (heart disease, Down Syndrome, and no known abnormalities) was investigated. Videotapes were made of the infants during 3 minutes of face-to-face play with their mothers. Tapes were coded…

This research was undertaken with the idea that it may be possible to learn about teachers' work lives through the investigation of teacher behavior and attitudes in an out-of-work setting. Group and individual behavior of teachers who habitually gathered at the same bar on Friday afternoons was observed in order to examine patterns of interaction…

Selected aspects of Kenneth Burke's "dramatistic" model of symbolic interaction were operationalized to describe and compare verbal patterns in transactions between five pairs of friends and five pairs of strangers. Based on Altman and Taylor's social penetration theory, it was predicted that interactants would display verbal patterns unique to…

A study investigated (1) how adult responses vary with children who display different rates of positive social behaviors, and (2) predictive sequential relationships between specific types of child and adult behavior within an interaction. Pretest data were used to select nine girls from 4 to 6 years of age who ranged from low to high in their…

The major purpose of this study was to define the particular ways children's informal interactions in groups are important in their negotiations of playground games within school settings. Data, gathered over a 3-month period on the playgrounds of three elementary schools, consisted of 23 audiotaped records of children's spontaneously organized…

A major problem in the study of marital interaction has been the lack of attention to contextual determinants of differences within couples' behavioral exchanges. To compare spouses' control behaviors in overt and ongoing communication as a function of both conflict and intimacy situational contexts, and to analyze the influence of spouse's role,…

The value of proctor written feedback on college students' graded quizzes in a Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) was investigated. In Experiment I, the amount of time 67 students reviewed their graded quizzes was determined. Results indicated that 63% of the students did not review their graded quizzes, suggesting students do not use the…

Assuming that counseling is an interlocking system of mutual influence and that the effect of various counselor/client responses on the behavior of the other is probabilistic, then it becomes important to understand what categories of factors contribute to the probabilistic tendencies of counselor and client to respond in different ways. One…

Modern psychological theory implies that behavior and neural function are correlated. Models of the operation of the nervous system can be used to predict and explain behavioral events. The purposes of this paper are to briefly outline a model at the biopsychological level that leads to predictions about the retention of verbal material, to show…

The norms of social responsibility and reciprocity govern altruistic behavior. Children and adults show a consistent developmental trend in comparisons of their responses to positive reciprocal situations and their subsequent altruism. Research indicates, however, that children, given the choice to behaviorally aid a needy individual, choose more…

The verbal behavior of teachers and students in elementary stenography classes is described. Observational data, consisting of the verbal behavior of teachers and students in 30 elementary stenography classes, were categorized and analyzed. From this initial analysis, a basic model of teacher-student behavior was defined. Deviations from the basic…

Kindergarten teachers' directives uttered during the first month of school were compared with those uttered three months later. It was expected that changes associated with different classroom organizational structures, with increasing child sophistication, and with size of group being addressed, would influence the type and clarity of teacher…

This study examined the effects of functional communication patterns on interpersonal attraction, using a ten-category system of interaction analysis. Eight undergraduates were randomly selected and assigned to four unacquainted male-female pairs. After completing a physical attraction measure of their partners in the pairs, members of two pairs…

The major objective of this study was to identify verbally reticent (V.R.) students in the community college population, beginning with first-term speech students. A total of 527 students enrolled in first-term daytime speech classes completed the V.R. Scale (Verbal Reticence Test Developed by Myron W. Lustig) during the first week of classes.…