This study assumes that companionship among married couples varies according to the social status of the wife. It is predicted that a couple's mutual participation increases as socioeconomic status and urban background increase, but that it decreases with age and length of marriage. (Author)

A group of female medical students banded together to deal with what was perceived to be a hostile environment. Co-therapists found the group process was blocked initially in that individuals in the group were unable to share experiences, or to become intimate, and did not develop cohesiveness as a group. (Author)

Study delineates the five most frequently utilized strategies of relational conflict resolution: manipulation, nonnegotiation, emotional appeal, personal rejection, and empathic understanding. (PD)

An individualized, free-response self-disclosure measurement questionnaire was developed to study differences in self-disclosure patterns of female subjects as a function of target roles. Findings indicated significantly more reported self-disclosure to females than males and to friends than relatives. This discrepancy suggests informant reports…

Operant principles were used to design an activity for a group of handicapped, elderly women in a home for the aged; the activity was monitored to study its impact on their levels of participation and social interaction. Results are described. (Author)

Investigates in a controlled setting effects of a suicide threat. Produced greater self-rated anxiety and tension, greater physiological arousal, and an increase in the likelihood that the subject would talk to the stimulus person about suicide, death, or dying. (Author)

Relationships--categorized as no growth, low growth, or high growth--were monitored over a two-week period with structured diaries kept by one party to the relationship. Overall differences were found between males and females, primarily on the four variables of satisfaction, importance, effectiveness, and personalness. (PD)

A study investigated the use of nonverbal cues by male and female subjects during relatively pleasant and unpleasant interactions. Five nonverbal behaviors found to be effective in controlling both the quantity and the quality of interactions were examined: gaze, smiling, arm position, interpersonal distance, and personal space. It was expected…

Past research predicts that males will be more likely to withdraw in one-on-one interactions versus groups, whereas females will be more likely to withdraw in groups than in one-on-one interactions. Ninety-eight 10-year-old children engaged in a word generation task either in same-sex dyads or in groups. Boys completed significantly more words in…

This study investigated verbal play, including teasing and self-mocking in a naturally occurring conversation, among four Chinese female friends. The study illustrates how these speakers engage in teasing activities and then discusses the implications and significance of verbal play. Examples are taken from a casual, playful conversation…

The generally held hypothesis that a client will be more verbally accessible if she thinks her interviewer is like herself was not supported. In fact, the opposite was significantly true. The authors discuss possible reasons for the unexpected results they obtained. (SE)

Despite the apparent universality of the jealousy phenomenon, communication in couples is inhibited by the social disapproval associated with its occurrance, and consequently discrepancies such as those evidenced in this study may pass entirely unobserved. As a result, jealousy problems remain unresolved and may serve to trigger further…

Interpersonal communication competence has been conceptualized as a function of impressions of competence formed in the context of a dyadic relationship, and also in terms of individual behaviors. The Measure of Relational Competence, along with individual self-reports for empathy, role taking, and self-monitoring, were administered for 36…

Examines the quality of communicative interaction and task performance among younger and older women in relation to conversation distance and density. Results indicate that older persons exhibit positive communication behaviors in response to spatial intrusions while younger subjects show the negative, compensatory withdrawal behaviors normally…