Effects of age and gender of preschool children and sex of parent on parental teaching strategies in a fantasy play situation were examined. Relations of parental strategies to children's fantasy play were assessed. Play sessions were held in a small playroom equipped with materials which facilitated dramatic production. The linguistic strategies…

Every day, observations and predictions are made about people's gender on the basis of their communicative behaviors and the roles individuals play in their culture. Although interest in the relationship between biological sex and communication may be traced to the beginning of this century, much of the research on gender and communication has…

Joseph Cyprien Nadal's "Dictionnaire d'Eloquence Sacree" is an outstanding work because of Nadal's thorough treatment of all the elements young speakers should know as they embark on a platform career. The most important of these elements are invention, disposition, style, memory, and delivery. In addition, the book discusses five duties…

A study was conducted to assess the effects of verbal reinforcement on task performance of black preschool children. Subjects were 36 black children in preschool centers serving families of two income levels. The children were stratified by age, sex, and income level and were randomly assigned to four groups: (1) middle income, praise; (2) middle…

The prime function of human communication is to enable people to survive their environment. The special function of an argument is to adjust the environment to satisfy felt needs. Whether argument takes the cognitive form of thought, the textual form of an essay, or the interpersonal form of a conversation, it serves this general function.…

The only people who are qualified to confront are those who demonstrate high levels of understanding which go beyond what is being said, who demonstrate deep and appropriately changing levels of regard and affect, who possess a high level of physical energy, and who possess a large and growing repertoire of helping skills. (Author)

Article discussed the producers of television messages, the encoding and decoding of those messages by viewers, and how television influences cultural factors. (RK)

Systems for analysing the verbal interaction in the classroom are reviewed and one method is developed to provide a structural and functional analysis of classroom discourse. (Editor)

Since ancient times, the use of metaphor in rhetorical speeches has been a powerful tool for persuasive impact on audiences. Study of 84 important persuasive speeches, from classic to modern, reveals 52 metaphor types. Among these, 11 types account for 60% of all of the examples. These "archetypal" metaphors are used in speeches, not because of…

Idiosyncratic studies illumintate the unique characteristics of a phenomenon, while generic studies create general statements based on the conformity of many phenomena. This document explicates Joseph Hayes' article, "Gayspeak," in terms of this distinction and seeks to define gay studies as a legitimate academic discipline. The way in which Hayes…

Confirms that listeners rely on communicators' levels of linguistic nonimmediacy (the degree of verbal indirectness with which communicators refer to themselves) for impression formation. (RB)

Evaluates tenses as to (1) communicative importance, (2) frequency, and (3) range. Under (1), finds actual tense less important than accompanying adverbials and extra-linguistic factors. Discusses chief difficulties appearing in use and interpretation of past tenses, and how the results of linguistic research may help to deal with them. (Text is…

Utilizing careful, empirical definitions of lesson kinetic structure, the authors tested two hypotheses: student content achievement is directly related to lesson content structure; and, awareness of commonality and theme development is directly related to lesson content structure. Student achievement seems to be related to communication…

New findings from research, leading to new insights, have in the past ten years revealed that effective couple communication is a vital key to effective marital interaction. Some of these insights are listed and described, and the new concepts which have emerged are discussed. (Author)

College males identified as either "normal" or "neurotic" by their scores on the Maudsley Personality Inventory were exposed to a confederate who disclosed either intimate or superficial information about himself. Results suggest that neuroticism may be related to inappropriate or nonnormative disclosure. (Author)