Objective: The authors quantitatively examined differences in psychiatric residents' and attending physicians' communication profiles and voice tones. Methods: Audiotaped recordings of 49 resident-patient and 35 attending-patient medication-management appointments at four ambulatory sites were analyzed with the Roter Interaction Analysis System…

Knowing is an enacted, communicated process that is difficult to observe, let alone manage, in organizations. Communities of practice (CoPs) offer a productive solution for improving knowledge and knowledge management, but the communicative processes that enact CoPs have not been explored, leaving CoPs as an organizational black box. This research…

Tests several contrasting predictions from uncertainty reduction theory and predicted outcome value theory. Finds strong support for the predicted outcome value perspective and its claim that uncertainty reduction processes are subservient to outcome maximization goals in initial interactions. (SR)

Examines three cognitive theories which account for variations in verbal disagreement tactics. Finds that, of 40 dyadic interactions, planning measures strongly correlate with the use of integrative conflict tactics, and the individual difference measure is strongly associated with the quality of plans. Suggests that integrative models are needed…

Explores how individuals' conceptions of their family vary across stages of family development. Compares several hypotheses of how key interpersonal relationships shape individuals' intrapsychic experience of their family. Finds scant support for socialization theory but considerable support for social transaction theory. (SR)

Investigates how cultural groups differ in the relative importance they attach to conversational constraints. Suggests that the perceived importance of clarity is higher in the more individualistic cultures but that the perceived importance of avoiding hurting the hearer's feelings and of minimizing imposition is higher in the more collectivistic…

Types of utterances used by mothers in two different situations with children 13- to 14.5 months old were compared. A set of toys was provided for free play. The toys were also represented in a picture book. Mothers' utterances were classified into five categories: description, attention focus, language elicitation, label, and behavior regulation.…

A study compared the newly developed Interpersonal Complexity Sort (ICS) with the widely used measure of cognitive differentiation, the Role Category Questionnaire (RCQ). Both measures were tested for relationships between the two measures and between each measure and previous associated impression structure dependent measures. Using a trait…

Noting that children of alcoholic parents come from home settings similar to those identified as potential sources of communication apprehension, a study compared communication apprehension scores of adult children of alcoholics (ACoA) with those of non-ACoAs. Subjects, 85 men and 109 women, were drawn from a local church, undergraduate and…

Compares discourse management strategies in face-to-face and computer-mediated interactions involving four decision-making tasks. Examines these issues in qualitative and quantitative analyses of data using an utterance-unit coding system to identify discourse functions. Finds that participants compensate for decreased efficiency by adopting…

Finds the rank-ordering of request strategies along five interactive constraint dimensions to be similar between Koreans and Americans except for effectiveness of strategies. Shows the U.S. participants considered the direct statement strategy as the most effective way of making a request, whereas Korean participants rated it as the least…

A study examined the uses and functions of broadcast sports programming as compared with in-person attendance of sporting events by focusing on the motivations, behavior, and attitudes of audiences toward such activities. Subjects, 219 students from a major western university, completed a survey instrument. Findings indicated that: (1) sports…

Given that elderly adults depend more heavily on their ability to communicate as independent activity becomes more restricted, their ability to alter the supersegmental component of the message becomes crucial. A study investigated the ability of older speakers to alter their speaking rate and to determine the strategies used to accomplish rate…

A study was conducted to explore how males and females differ in their use of interpersonal conflict management styles. Subjects were 71 male and 76 female students from an introductory interpersonal communication course at a large midwestern state university. They were instructed to think of an important relationship with either an opposite-sex…

Investigates specific differences in self-reports of shy and not-shy individuals regarding their communication behavior: social composure, social confirmation, social experience, appropriate disclosure, articulation, and wit. Finds significant differences on social composure, articulation, and social experience. (SR)