Four mothers and their six-month-old infants were video-taped in their homes during the six- to eight-month period of the infants' lives in order to investigate the relationship between mother-infant vocal patterns and the emotional expression. Overall, findings suggested that emotional expression provides important cues around which mothers and…

Studied effects of verbal accounts offered by a threatener on targets' (N=82) subsequent attributions of the threatener's social motives. Results showed a cooperative account led to an inference of cooperative disposition, a transrelational equity account led to attribution of deceit, and an excuse of ignorance was linked with apathy. (WAS)

An observational study of the discourse of making amends was undertaken to produce a performance grammar accounting for the sequence of moves in this domain of social interaction. Findings are discussed in light of strengths and limitations of the grammar for describing discourse. (Author/RH)

Examined changes in response control patterns exhibited by five married couples who participated in two brief psychotherapy groups. Used the Ericson-Rogers Relational Coding System to score the control direction of interactions between group members. Found individual flexibility increased for each of these relationships over the course of group…

Discusses the relationship of visual art and language as modes of communication. Words are cumulative in effect, while visual images communicate more directly. Art education provides students with a means of interpreting and evaluating visual images. (AM)

Investigated effects of different verbal counseling styles, nonverbal behaviors, and client sex on facilitative conditions of the counseling relationship. Verbal style included an affective and behavioral interactive communication style. Nonverbal behaviors were eye contact, smiling, head nodding, and trunk lean-forward. Certain nonverbal…

Compared specific verbal response mode (VRM) indices with the more global Experiencing (EXP) Scale. Stile's VRM taxonomy was used to code transcribed interviews published in the EXP manual. The strongest VRM correlate of EXP level was the percentage of utterances that were disclosure in form and intent. (Author)

The effect of field independence-dependence match or mismatch within the context of a communication task was examined. Results showed field-independent matched dyads performed better than field-dependent matched dyads, with the mismatched conditions' performance falling between the matched ones. (Author/GK)

Proposes a distinction between: (1) social interactional rules as those governing social behavior within social structural contexts and (2) sociolinguistic roles governing the use of resources of spoken and written language within sets of social structural constraints. Also distinguishes between system-specific rules and rules which may be common…

Research findings suggest that behavioral feedback is rated by group members as more effective than interpretive or mixed feedback. (Author)

Compared communication training, interaction insight training, and no treatment for changes in marital verbal interaction and spouses' ratings of each other on the Barrett-Lennard Relationship Inventory. Communication training produced increases in assertive requests. Both treatments reduced disagreement. Communication training produced a decrease…

This article reports the results of an experimental study on the effectiveness of a highly structured communication program designed to modify students' verbal behavior in residence halls. Results indicate that the program was an effective method for improving communication. (Author)

Calls for a new, nonprescriptive pedagogy of writing based on the concept of writing as conversation. An addendum describes an experimental writing course based on a design borrowed from the traditional life-drawing class. (HOD)

Presents and critiques commonly used verbal feedback techniques and proposes a nonverbal feedback technique comprising a set of hand signals, each of which is used to indicate a certain error type. Discusses value of use of negative feedback. (Author/BK)

Suggests use of games, role play, and simulations as a way to involve learners in the second language and developing interaction with others in the target language for communicative purposes. Gives examples of teachers' questions and possible answers concerning these methods. (BK)