Effects of sex of speaker and sex of dyad partner on selected linguistic variables were examined in four-minute segments of 20 conversations between previously unacquainted college students. Five male dyads, five female dyads, and ten mixed dyads were studied. Three significant interaction effects were found. Males and females produced about the…

Developmental differences in preschool children's abilities to communicate about basic and subordinate level semantic contrasts were examined in a referential communication situation. Twenty-four three, four, and five-year-old children communicated with children of the same age and adults about pictures' referents. Speakers talked about one…

Calling upon attribution theory, a study was conducted to determine whether chronically lonely individuals would manifest significantly more communication apprehension (CA) than would situationally lonely individuals. The UCLA loneliness scale (LS) and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension (PRCA) were administered to 170 college…

Data collected from 161 married couples were analyzed for communication patterns indicative of "domineeringness" and "transactional redundancy" (the degree of randomness contained within a couple's communicative behavior). From this data came the following observations: There is a negative correlation between domineeringness, particularly by the…

Results from a previous experiment relating sex role typing to verbal nonassertiveness are reviewed in this paper in light of other findings in the sex role literature. The first conclusion offered by the review suggests that, with respect to speech behavior, the expected correspondence between androgynous behavior and sex role typing requires…

A theoretical model was tested for its ability to explain persistence and delayed credibility (or "sleeper") effects in attitude change via persuasive variables. The model predicted opinion effects from two major components: a multiplicative effect of message repetition and credibility, and a simple effect of time since receipt of message. The…

Research was conducted to test six hypotheses about the social effectiveness of mainstreaming orthopedically handicapped children. Data were collected on the network structures of the social relationships among handicapped and nonhandicapped children in first, third, and sixth grade classrooms. The three samples of children used in the study…

The bulk of communication research has approached competency from a trait perspective and has attempted to identify the individual characteristics that are presumed to generalize across all social settings. The role of social situation and the possibility that some individuals can be competent in some settings and incompetent in others have not…

Pointing out that linear causal models can organize the interrelationships of a large number of variables, this paper contends that such models are particularly useful to mass communication research, which must by necessity deal with complex systems of variables. The paper first outlines briefly the philosophical requirements for establishing a…

The scientist who uses the experimental form does so in order to explain that which is verified through prediction. The prerequisites for prediction include a universe that is ordered, stable, independent, and knowable. Some assumptions of the predictive argument with respect to communication research are: the operating elements of the message are…

A study was undertaken to examine the impact of the paralinguistic channel on the ability to encode facial expressions of emotion. The first set of subjects, 19 encoders, were asked to encode facial expressions for five emotions (fear, sadness, anger, happiness, and disgust). The emotions were produced in three encoding conditions: facial channel…

Three distinct theoretical explanations for the effect of attire on aiding behavior were examined in a study. The reinforcing value of attire itself predicted that well-dressed persons would always receive more assistance than poorly dressed persons. The reinforcing value of perceived similarity predicted that similar persons would receive more…

To help organizational communication scholars locate appropriate financial support, this paper classifies organizational communication into nine major categories, and notes 13 national agencies and organizations that provide research money for projects in one or more of those classifications. The paper also discusses some general principles to…

Four hypotheses concerning the relationship between communication apprehension and four types of hand movements were formulated and tested in a study involving 74 students at an eastern university. The hand movements were emblems (hand movement not related to speech), illustrators (hand movement which accompanies speech), self-adaptors (nervous…

Many research studies have revealed links between open communication and organizational success. A correlational study was conducted to determine whether that relationship is indirect, rather than direct. To simplify the analysis only one intervening variable--innovativeness--was employed. The subjects in the study--94 members of six…