Content analysis of 461 phone calls between complaining consumers and customer service representatives showed that both groups performed distinct communication roles; communication evolves from discussion of performance to attribution to equity issues; and communication is not standardized across service representatives. Implications for training…

Indicates that, of the 11 types of regrettable messages that people reported, most (1) were said to those with whom they had a close relationship, (2) resulted from unchecked drives or feelings, and (3) were recognized and regretted immediately. (JD)

Performance of 15 language-impaired children (average age eight years) on a referential communication task requiring verbal encoding of novel referents was compared to performance of normally developing age-mates and language-mates. Subjects used known referent, graphic, and mixed strategies about equally with language-impaired children less…

This study investigated the effects of oral communication apprehension and writing communication apprehension on student contact with instructors outside the classroom and the effects of apprehension on academic achievement. Results indicated that apprehension negatively affects both student assistance outside the classroom and academic…

Recent findings on the communicative functions of the left versus the right hemisphere of the brain may suggest that there is a distinction between the intentional use of symbols for the sending of specific messages or propositions (language, signing, pantomime) and spontaneous expressive behaviors that signal their meaning through a natural…

Examined frequency of verbal attention-seeking responses (VASRs) as an indication of level of social confidence. Veteran drug addicts received communication skills and assertiveness training. Comparison of VASRs indicated communication training was effective in improving social confidence. (RC)

Examines the narrative accounts of the aesthetic performance experience as related by high communication apprehensives (HCA's) and low communication apprehensives (LCA's). Indicates that while both HCA's and LCA's commonly label themselves as apprehensive about performance, their characterizations of the performance experience differ significantly…

The two studies described in this monograph were designed to generate new ideas about the development of children's metacommunicative understanding and comprehension-monitoring abilities. Older subjects were more likely than younger subjects to detect inadequacies in communication; furthermore, younger children responded differently to…

A study examined the manner in which conversants and observers of conversants attribute intent to messages in ongoing information-seeking conversations. College students were used to evolve and test three scenarios, in which evasion was more or less likely, and a system of classifying intention in information seeking conversations. Fifty-four…

Patient noncompliance with medical advice is of major concern to physicians. Although many do not consider compliance their responsibility, research studies indicate that physicians can control many of the variables influencing compliance. Physicians' verbal and nonverbal communication habits that convey directiveness, coldness, complexity, and…

Student writers must be aware of the limits and needs of their readers if they are to transmit messages with clarity and precision. Psychological research in referential communication and the development of social-cognitive skills supports the theory that a writer's egocentrism and audience awareness affect composition. At the high school and…

This study analyzes videotaped conversations between various family members of a child with cerebral palsy and medical professionals. The conversations are examined for information elaboration and condensation, information negotiation, as well as methodological benefits. The medical interviews elicited new information in various contexts and…

Considers aspects of teachers' communication and their effect on clarity. Finds that clarity was positively correlated with the instructor's perceived nonverbal immediacy and sociocommunicative style, and with enhanced student affect toward the instructor and course. Argues that teachers need to be clear in their oral and written communication to…

A study analyzed the verbal interactions of married couples in high, moderate, and low marital satisfaction groups to determine whether (1) the interaction processes within the three satisfaction groups differed and (2) there were different communication patterns that characterized the interaction processes of the groups. Subjects were 34 young…

The possibility that judges' expectancy effects may adversely affect the results of jury trials is a problem that needs careful theoretical analysis and innovative methods of resolution. Traditional efforts by the legal community to counteract the threat of verbal/nonverbal bias by judges include the "Code of Judicial Conduct," curative…