Responds to an article in the same issue of this journal claiming that the Behavior Alteration Technique checklist suffers from an item desirability bias. Argues that the article's entire allegation rests on a faulty premise and on an indefensible research design which fails to test the contention. (SR)

Examines college students' resistance decisions in the classroom. Finds a greater likelihood of using teacher-owned techniques (teacher is at fault) with nonimmediate teachers and student-owned strategies (student assumes responsibility) with immediate teachers. Finds that neither teachers' compliance-gaining strategy type nor students' gender…

A study verified and extended the utility of three topologies of embarrassment (types of embarrassment, face saving strategies, and goals of embarrassment) to the college classroom context. Subjects, 209 undergraduate students enrolled in 12 introductory, lower-division, interpersonal communication classes at a large western United States…

Examines the impact of teacher immediacy (teacher behavior that communicates positive attitudes toward students and subject matter) on students' attitudes toward learning in different types of classes: people-oriented-courses (communication skills) vs. task-oriented-courses (accounting).

Conducted as part of a research program examining teachers' use of compliance gaining strategies to control specific student misbehaviors, a study investigated the strategies used by experienced teachers in dealing with student misbehaviors. The purpose was to compare the findings with those of an earlier study with prospective teachers. Subjects…

Generated a list of power strategies or behavior alteration techniques (BATs) that elementary and secondary teachers perceive as effective in managing student behavior. Investigated their use and found that teachers rely primarily on reward-type BATs and frequently use the student's "audience" to effect change. (PD)

As part of a research project on teacher power in the classroom, a study examined behavior alteration techniques (BATs) and behavior representative messages (BAMs) used by elementary and secondary school teachers in classroom management. In the first phase of the study, 177 college students generated lists of BATs and BAMs, and then, working in…

As the fourth in a series of investigations of teacher power in the classroom, a study focused primarily on extending and refining the classification of behavior alteration techniques (BATs) and behavior alteration messages (BAMs) that teachers report as representative of the classroom environment. The study took place in three phases. First,…

A study examined college students' resistance decisions in the classroom. Initial validation tests of the resistance typology developed by N. Burroghs, P. Kearney and T. Plax (1989) confirmed the existence of all 19 resistance categories. Further analyses indicated that the categories could be meaningfully reduced to two dimensions: Teacher-Owned…

To change the way classroom discipline and student discipline are examined, a two-study investigation, rather than focusing on student noncompliance and other types of student misbehaviors, examined teachers themselves as potential sources of instructional and/or motivational problems in the college classroom. The first study was designed to…

Investigates the effects of teacher nonverbal immediacy and strategy type on college students' likelihood of resisting teacher compliance-gaining attempts. Suggests that the relative effectiveness of prosocial strategies and antisocial strategies may be contingent on teachers' nonverbal immediacy, with students reporting a greater likelihood of…

Recognizing that inexperienced teachers may differ substantially from experienced teachers in their perceptions of student control, a study examined both preteachers' and experienced teachers' strategy selections when confronted with student misbehavior scenarios that reflected particular situational determinants. Subjects, 522 prospective and…