Examines the relationship between an individual's ability to differentiate communication with his or her sensitivity to conversation. Shows a link between conversational sensitivity and cognitive complexity. (SR)

Offers evidence that brain hemispheres process information differently, and that semantics influence hemispheric processing. Suggests directions for research on message style, source perception, and threat perception. (MS)

A study investigated the impact of a one-time persuasive message presented to subjects across two media--audio and audiovisual. A second variable, distraction, was also examined for its induced impact on conferring resistance to the message. Subjects were 170 college undergraduates, 46 of whom were assigned to a control group that did not see or…

A study examined the impact of a working commitment to corporate communication and corporate communication education on perceptions of management and managerial style and the more general perceptions of the organization. Subjects, 15 male mid-level managers at a large southeastern chemical plant that had in place a continuing corporate…

Surveys regional communication association members to assess perceptions of the Southern States Communication Association, and three other regional communication associations. Finds a consistent stereotype both within and outside the associations' membership, a view of the associations as rhetoric-research oriented, dominated by a few individuals,…

Considers how communication scholars who write a large number of articles remains the same, despite changes to ranking methods. Finds that there is a substantial similarity between authors who are frequently cited by others and the number of articles that have been published by these authors. Discusses how the most frequently published authors of…

Research shows that information received by one brain hemisphere (e.g., auditory messages entering the right ear) is processed and transferred to the other, interpretation being a combination of right and left brain processing, with high intensity messages shifting control from the left to the right brain. If information is received by one…

Results show that a basic course in speech communication (1) produced significant reduction in a students' communication apprehension scores; (2) yielded more positiveness about self-disclosure; and (3) reduced discrepancies between self-concepts and ideal self-concepts. (PD)

The unexpected result of this study was that, of the subjects who scored high in complexity, more were categorized as undifferentiated as contrasted with androgynous, masculine, or feminine. (PD)

In a study conducted to examine the impact of language choice on cognitive complexity (the number of constructs in a person's interpersonal construct system), 93 undergraduate students completed a role category questionnaire that asked each subject to write a description of two people they knew. In one case that description was to be of a…

Based on a prior model on modularity of the brain, a new modular model of intrapersonal communication was developed which focuses on brain processing, encompassing both the structures and the functions of those structures in the creation of messages. The modular mind is a bio-social model of communication which presupposes a relationship between…

Various communication studies have revealed the existence of a "preverbal" stage of communication consisting of centers within the brain that exists in an innate form or a form preprogrammed for future information acquired from the environment through experience (socialization). Such centers serve to prepare the individual for…

Approximately 150 college students participated in a study that investigated the effects of self-concept, self-disclosure, and type of basic speech course on communication apprehension. The subjects were drawn from three basic speech course populations at two universities. They had been free to enroll in either a public speaking, interpersonal…

Results of an experiment manipulating violations of distancing expectations and physical attractiveness indicate that both may be sources of distraction. Offers modest support for the prediction that attractive individuals engaging in violations of expectations will serve as positive sources of distraction, leading to greater susceptibility to…

Explores the basic communication research course for undergraduates. Discusses several key notions for making this course valuable to the undergraduate: the attitude of the instructor, the attitude of the students, course requirements and activities, and evaluation techniques. (SR)