Proposes and experimentally tests mood adjustment approach, complementing mood management theory. Discusses how results regarding self-exposure across time show that patterns of popular music listening among a group of undergraduate students differ with initial mood and anticipation, lending support to mood adjustment hypotheses. Describes how…

Participant observations of two youth organizations identified more than 400 communications in which aggression served prosocial functions. Misinterpretation of these cultural communication codes could lead to overidentification of African American males in special education and, ultimately, correctional facilities. (Contains 41 references.) (JOW)

Considers how much of an impact service learning pedagogies have had among those who teach journalism and mass communication. Attempts to fill the research void by assessing the current state of this pedagogical movement within the journalism/mass communication discipline, and suggests that a formal process for incorporating service learning into…

Notes that there is consistent evidence that individuals tend to be dissatisfied with their relationships if they report that topics are frequently avoided in those relationships. Compares the utility of two explanations--perceptual and interpersonal processes--with data gathered from heterosexual college dating couples and parent-child dyads.…

Notes that in communication research, attempts to enhance external validity usually focus on techniques to enhance surface representativeness. Suggests that the findings of a study should be examined in light of its contribution to theory. Argues surface representativeness is usually not a good indicator of contribution to theory. Suggests journal…

Reviews the importance of intercoder agreement for content analysis in mass communication research. Describes several indices for calculating this type of reliability (varying in appropriateness, complexity, and apparent prevalence of use). Presents a content analysis of content analyses reported in communication journals to establish how…

Notes that organizational communication and organizational learning share a common focus on how message processing occurs in institutional settings and how they affect and are affected by people and relationships. Proposes that the assessment of organizational learning represents an assessment of a subset of communication processes in an…

Discusses two themes developed by recent theoretical work in organizational identification. Contributes to scholarship and practice by illustrating the multiplicity and duality of identification, by introducing a procedure to assess multiple identity structures simultaneously, and by calling attention to the influence of activity patterns in…

Addresses how fundamental questions associated with research on gender and employment interviewing might be inherently biased. Contends that gender bias is prevalent in the workplace. Examines employment interviewing and what appears to be inconclusive evidence of gender bias in this context. Suggests guidelines for researchers interested in…

Investigates the knowledge about listening strategies among German university students. Shows that the scope of listening skills is rather limited even among experienced listeners and that there is considerable room for modifying listening behavior. Argues that listening represents a set of activities that control and shape the cognitive processes…

Examines the influence of dependence power on appraisals and communicative decisions related to an individual's own problematic behavior. Finds that individuals (undergraduate students) were most likely to withhold communication about problematic events when their partners were not committed, but had few relational alternatives. Notes that when…

Focuses attention on the potential strengths and weaknesses of "vernacular" studies within the sub-field of legal rhetoric in order to defend contentions about some of the silences and articulations that are involved in modern rhetorical criticism. Defends the heuristic importance of vernacular legal theory for future judicial…

Offers an agenda for the future of mass communication research. Suggests that equating mass communication with mass media invites the risk of economic success for mass media and societal failure for mass communication. Advocates conducting experiments in democratic behavior from a research and development context. (MG)

Examines the depth and denials of the past as well as the present relationship between rhetoric and the social science of communication. Argues for a broader, unitary view to replace the fragmentation strategy. Argues that the greater question is what might be gained from the marriage of rhetoric and communication science. (KEH)

Examines willingness to discuss the issue of abortion. Finds that persons whose opinions are congruent with those of the national majority are more willing to speak to a stranger than are those whose opinions are shared only by a minority. Finds that involvement and knowledge directly influence opinion expression, whereas education and gender…