New technologies transform research specialties and potentiate new fields. Sociometers--wearable electronic sensors collecting quantitative, dynamic data about embodied social interactions at hyperfine scales--represent such a possibility for small group research. This article introduces this new method and its distinctive qualities and…

An abundance of academic research has focused on identifying, explicating, operationalizing, and analyzing variables used to understand the dynamics of customer service. Despite this scholarly attention, applied researchers and the popular press have long reported consumers' dissatisfaction with the service received during their customer…

The implications of the dialectical perspective for research methodology are reviewed and illustrated with examples from research on memory and memory development. Three conversations or dialogues are described: within the researcher, between the researcher and the research participants, and between the researcher and social-historical context. It…

The purposes of this paper are to note specific weaknesses characterizing small group research and to propose suggestions for their solution. Adapted from a speech given at the Second National Conference about the Teaching of Group: Theory and Practice, Temple University, Philadelphia, February 1976. (Author)

This paper reports a methodological study in which live communication between young married spouses was compared with a self-reporting of their communication processes. Results support the use of observational research as a methodological tool in the search for an understanding of marital communication patterns. (Author)

When an interview is used as a research technique, the process of the dialogue between the experimenter and the subject is a part of the experimental conditions. The dialogue can be extensively structured, or it can be open-ended. Though the latter situation may provide more information about the subject's thought processes, there is a greater…

The contradiction between the family's lowly position in Soviet social science and the great popular and governmental interest in the family is likely to continue to exist for some time to come. (Author)

Reviews psychotherapeutic outcomes as they are related to such therapist interpersonal skills as empathy, regard, and genuineness. Includes recommendations for future research in this area. (BD)

An unobtrusive experimental manipulation was used to test the hypothesis that the mere presence of others can influence an individual's performance. A task was employed for which there were no clear performance criteria, and which was very unlikely to engender evaluation apprehension. Concludes that the mere presence of others is a sufficient…

Written transcripts of spouses' discussions were coded using two different systems. Findings indicate that the results obtained from one coding system cannot easily be compared with results obtained from the other system. Author calls for resolution of differences in coding procedures if relational communication research is to be usefully…

Containing a methodological and conceptual critique of rules theory, this paper argues that rules theory cannot adequately explain enigmatic episodes because of its reliance on the practical syllogism and the concept of coordination. It proposes structural analysis as an alternative approach to analyzing and conceiving of enigmatic episodes. The…

Describes a method for determining the effects of sex (or any other dichotomous characteristic) from the individual correlated behavioral responses observed in dyadic interactional situations. (Author/MP)

IN VARIOUS STUDIES, BRIEFLY DESCRIBED IN THIS PAPER, SOUND FILMS WERE MADE OF PEOPLE ENGAGED IN VERBAL COMMUNICATION. THE FILMS WERE ANALYZED TO NOTE RELATIONSHIPS BETWEEN PHYSICAL MOVEMENT AND THE ACTUAL CONTENT OF THE CONVERSATION. THE FRAMES OF THE FILM WERE SEQUENTIALLY NUMBERED TO CORRELATE THEM TO THE NEAREST FRAME WITH THE SOUND RECORDING.…

Reexamines the conceptualization, measurement, and relationships among trust, disclosure and interpersonal solidarity. (MH)

Methods currently used to investigate interaction during marital conflict limit the validity and generalizability of findings concerning the determinants and consequences of couples' interaction styles. The respective advantages and limitations of two research strategies--questionnaires and simulation strategies--are critically evaluated. Several…