Facial expressions used by children defending their possession of a disputed object were studied in 72 pairs of kindergarten children. Results showed a relationship between the facial expressions a child used and both his own subsequent behavior and that of his partner. (Author/JMB)

In a microanalysis of the behaviors of examiners and handicapped children during videotaped testing sessions, handicapped students performed better with familiar examiners than with unfamiliar examiners. The children spoke significantly more often and longer when tested by familiar examiners who exercised more frequent and longer intervals of…

Describes a study designed to test the circumplexical order hypothesis at the phenomenological level of conscious communication. (MH)

Examines whether the use of a particular unit of interaction behavior enhances reliability in interaction analysis research. (Author)

A study was conducted to describe the speech patterns of four adolescent girls. All four subjects were in the same eighth grade class and knew each other. Approximately 19 hours of observational data and 9 hours of interview data were collected. The descriptive framework of D. Hymes (1972), which focuses specifically on settings, participants,…

Presents a model of meanings in coherent conversation taking the form of a hierarchy of levels of cognitive interpolations between the stream of behavior and archetypal patterns in conversations. A study of indirect responses in conversation is reported which supports the hierarchical structure of the model. (JMF)

Presents a computer analysis of talk-silence patterns of mixed sex triads related to levels of communication apprehension. Results indicate that high apprehensives talk less, talk less often, and are interrupted less often than low apprehensives. Discusses the implications of computer use in talk-silence behavior research. (JMF)

This study was undertaken to determine which verbal behaviors teachers value, where they acquired their verbal behaviors, and how they justify them. (JD)

Outlines conceptual distinction among avoidance, cooperation, and competitive conflict resolution strategies used by marital partners. Couples (N=43) were audiotaped as they discussed previous disagreements. Found the temporal aspects of speech, including turn-taking and interruptions, need to be considered in the study of couples' conflict…

Five components of communication competence have been derived from research: affiliation/support, empathy, behavioral flexibility, social relaxation, and interaction management. This paper describes these dimensions of communication competence; it then reports on a study in which two college females judged by their peers to be effective…

Among other findings, results of this study strongly indicate that (1) males and females differ in their communication behavior in initial interaction depending on whom they are talking to; and (2) a unique pattern of female interaction does exist which is different from interaction in dyads of other sex composition. (PD)

A five-month ethnographic study of conversations in a Philadelphia nursing home revealed some of the rules governing situationally appropriate conversational behavior. The social communicational perspective of the study differed from both psychological and discourse analysis approaches. Analysis of the data indicated that sustained…

Analyzes audio- and videotapes of actual employment interviews conducted at a university placement center to determine (1) relationships among interviewers' verbal behaviors such as silence, interruptions, probing questions, etc.; (2) applicants' perceptions of their interviewers as empathic listeners; and (3) interview outcomes in terms of second…

Studied one aspect of communication competency: how people express emotions through verbal behavior. Found, among other conclusions, that references to unpleasant emotions outnumber references to pleasant emotions almost two to one. (PD)

The purpose of this paper is to introduce a model of the psychological processes that take place when a persuader decides to use or not to use a given persuasive message. The assumption is made that if the perceived emotional impact of a message is more positive than an ethical threshold (which varies from person to person), the persuader will use…