In this brief forum article, the author suggests studying the instructor-student relationship as a superior-subordinate relationship offers an alternative way to view how student learning occurs in the college classroom, and can provide instructional communication researchers with the opportunity to explore how structural and institutional…

Guided by emotional response theory, this study examined how students' emotional responses mediated the relationship between their instructors' dramatic teaching behaviors (i.e., humor, self-disclosure, narrative) and their approach-avoidance behaviors (i.e., oral in-class participation, out-of-class communication, classroom citizenship…

This study utilized the longitudinal survey research design using students' motives to communicate with their instructors as a test case. Participants were 282 undergraduate students enrolled in introductory communication courses at a large Mid-Atlantic university who completed the Student Communication Motives scale at three points (Time 1:…

The purpose of this study was to identify whether students' motives for communicating with their instructors are related to their classroom effort and their perceptions of course workload. Participants were 119 undergraduate students who completed the Student Motives to Communicate scale (Martin, Myers, & Mottet, 1999), the Student Effort…

The purpose of this investigation was to identify the types of citizenship behavior students use in the college classroom, and to examine the link between their use of citizenship behavior and their perceptions of classroom climate, interest, and self-reports of learning outcomes. Participants were 416 undergraduate students enrolled at a large…

Three studies (N = 1119) were conducted to replicate and expand upon Kearney, Plax, Hays, and Ivey's seminal research on instructor misbehaviors. In study 1 (n = 233), a replication of Kearney et al.'s study revealed 43 categories of perceived instructor misbehaviors; 27 of the misbehaviors were originally identified by Kearney et al. and 16 new…

The purpose of this study was to examine student use of conflict-handling styles in regard to four perceived instructor communicative characteristics: clarity, relevance, caring, and verbal aggressiveness. Participants were 286 undergraduate students who (a) completed a series of four instruments in reference to a course instructor and (b)…

This study investigated the relationship between students' motives to communicate (i.e., relational, functional, participatory, excuse making, and sycophantic) with their instructors and perceived instructor credibility, attractiveness, and homophily. 150 undergraduate students (85 men, 64 women, one did not indicate sex) enrolled at a large…

A growing body of research indicates that classroom justice concerns are important to students. When students perceive their instructors are not concerned about justice, they report a host of negative outcomes. Due to the importance of justice assigned to students, the present study sought to understand how instructors view justice. Results…

The purpose of this study was to examine the relationships between perceived instructor immediacy and student challenge behavior (i.e., procedural, evaluation, power play, practicality) in the college classroom. Participants were 403 students who listened to and reported on a 15 minute guest lecturer in an introductory communication class. Results…

The purpose of this study was to examine a theoretical model explaining the influence of instructor power (i.e., coercive, reward, legitimate, expert, referent) on students' relational and social influence communication behaviors (i.e., student affinity-seeking strategies, student behavior alteration techniques) across two cultures. Participants…

Nagging is a persuasive tactic yet to be fully explored in instructional communication. Nagging involves an exchange in which a student makes persistent requests of an instructor who fails to comply. The purpose of the study was to examine student nagging behavior and, specifically, to examine nagging as a potentially face threatening act as part…

This study tested two theoretical models of learner empowerment as a potential mediator of teacher power use and students' ratings of instruction. Participants included 1,416 undergraduate students from four different institutions in the United States. Results of structural equation modeling provided more support for the partial mediation model…

A live lecture experiment was conducted where teacher confirmation was manipulated (i.e., not confirming, somewhat confirming, confirming) across three college courses. After the lecture, students completed a post test assessing positive (i.e., student communication motives, student participation) and negative (i.e., challenge behaviors)…

This study investigated the link between college students' perceptions of instructors' aggressive communication and students' involvement in and out of the classroom. Participants were 218 students enrolled in introductory communication courses. Results indicated that students' reports of instructor argumentativeness were not positively associated…