Examines how differences in the verbal and nonverbal behaviors available to persons influence their accuracy in detecting deceptive communication. (JMF)

Studies children (grades 1-6) recalling watching television with someone who became scared--they described how they comforted the individual, rated aspects of viewing situation, described how they would comfort a hypothetical friend, and completed a self-report measure of empathy. Finds empathy related to comforting level in both…

Argues that the topos of moral agony (resembling Kenneth Burke's purifying concept of mortification) adopted by some abortion rights rhetors to allay public discomfort with abortion is rhetorically and politically self-defeating. Shows how it couches moral anguish in atypical tales of tragic circumstances and unattainable motherhood. Argues that…

Develops a typology of persuasive attack strategies. Identifies two key components of persuasive attack: responsibility and offensiveness. Describes several strategies for intensifying each of these elements. Applies this analysis to "Dateline NBC"'s allegations that Wal-Mart's "Buy American" campaign was deceptive. Concludes…

Argues that nonverbal cues act much like other behaviors in triggering attribution-making in couples' interactions. Finds that negative behaviors were more likely than positive nonverbal cues to be noticed; satisfaction was related to attributions for positive behaviors; mutual attributions for the same behaviors differed significantly; and…

Finds that request forms that addressed an obstacle were perceived to be more conventional and more polite than were request forms that did not specify an obstacle. Shows refusers generated more unstable obstacles when no time was proposed, and conversely, that time-ambiguous requests were met with more stable obstacles than were time-specific…

Compares one form of synchronous computer-mediated communication, Daedalus InterChange, with analogous spoken and written corpora. Finds that the InterChange discourse mode is not merely intermediate between speaking and writing; rather the electronic medium uniquely fosters some behaviors and inhibits others, in support of the view that physical…

Finds that electronic mail messages with socioemotional content were generally avoided in downward and diagonal communication but were more commonly sent by nonmanagers and younger people, who were less often involved in decision making. Shows that socioemotion use was positively related to perceived quality of work. (SR)

Presents results from two studies surveying managers, finding that the top three competencies considered when hiring college graduates for entry-level positions are oral communications, problem solving, and self-motivation; and the oral skills most important for entry-level graduates are following instructions, listening, conversing, and giving…

Tests in international environments models previously developed within United States high-technology organizations. Demonstrates that relationships among organizational culture themes, employee values, organizational communication activities, and perceptions of a variety of organizational outcomes are similar but not identical for United States…

Tests effectiveness of inoculation treatments on 790 undergraduate students. Probes relationship between threat and involvement, their role in inoculation, and nature of cognitive processes triggered via inoculation. Suggests inoculation elicits threat, threat contributes to resistance, and resistance is most pronounced for more involved receivers…

Analyzes coverage of the "Sokal Affair", in which physicist Alan Sokal submitted a fraudulent article and then criticized the journal for publishing it. Examines the four currents that overdetermined the Sokal Affair: antliberalism, anti-intellectualism, debates among the left about what constitutes a legitimate left, and the…

Finds the internal consistency and temporal stability of the Adolescent Argumentativeness Scale and the Adolescent Verbal Aggressiveness Scale are reliable when used to assess these predispositions in adolescent populations, and that they demonstrated satisfactory face, concurrent, convergent, and discriminant validity. Indicates that, unlike…

Examines how news frames in campaign coverage affect an individual's interpretation of campaigns. Conceptualizes framing effects in terms of a construction of a mental model and emphasizes how news interpretation is influenced by news texts and by interpreter's social knowledge. Explores message structures of the strategy and issue frames, and…

Explores whether individuals have implicit theories of persuasion. Examines how persuasive strategies are cognitively represented--identifies types of tactics in attitude change and social acceptability of persuasive strategies. Finds implicit theories of persuasion reflect the audience's familiarity with the topic. Finds also that implicit…