Suggests (1) family sex communication is infrequent and ineffective, (2) frequent, effective family sex communication may serve as a contextual model for children's communication patterns, (3) strong family sex communication orientation seems to facilitate children's open discussion with dates and parents, and develops responsible pre-parenting…

Examines developmental changes in children's ability to comprehend visual and verbal narrative. Finds that understanding and integrating temporal aspects of a narrative is more difficult for young children when the story is presented visually than when presented verbally, whereas older children comprehend narratives in both formats equally well.…

Examines elementary school-aged children's knowledge of directives. Presents findings of cross-sectional research which contrasted first-, third-, and fifth-grade students' comprehension, production of, and reasoning about directives varying in degree of explicitness. Indicates that children's knowledge of directives continues to develop during…

Examines the influence of intraparty political debates during the 1984 presidential campaign. Indicates significant influence on undergraduate college students' attitudes about candidates and their interest in the campaign. Demonstrates that candidate violations of expectations provide a useful theoretical explanation for significant shifts in…

Examines the society of a sixth grade class, which relies on "unofficial literacy" to cope with the social hierarchy and conflicts of home, school, parents, teachers, and friends. Concludes that teachers must be aware of how formal reading and writing skills are transferred into the classroom culture. (MM)

Reviews aspects of the educational environment that impact on apprehensive students; examines the influence of task structure on student performance; and suggests ways structure can be used effectively to enhance communication competence among students at various need levels, specifically those with high or low communication apprehension. (JD)

Indicates that communication skills of neglected children are, in general, only slightly less advanced than those of accepted children, whereas children rejected by their peers are usually deficient with respect to several communication skills. Claims to be the first investigation to examine the influence of comforting skill on peer acceptance.…

Exploring material from the ERIC database and other sources, the report (1) annotates introductory articles regarding the assessment, categorization, and implications of learning styles, showing how they relate to communication literature research; (2) describes H. Witkin's extensive cognitive style research; and (3) details L. Curry's review of…

Discusses the significant differences between the public speaking skills and delivery styles faculty and alumni think important. Examines the disparity between the speaking skills and delivery styles taught in basic university public speaking courses and those actually used by alumni in the workplace. (AEW)

Describes a study conducted to determine the effects of task type and participation pattern on language classroom interaction. Evidence suggests that tasks which require information exchange are crucial to conversational modification of classroom interaction and that group and dyad interaction patterns produce more modification than…

Describes two experiments comparing how children evaluate three types of uninformative messages (ambiguous, incomplete, inconsistent) and whether and why the speaker's age affects the evaluation of each. (HOD)

This study of students (grades 1-12) concluded that the relationship between social-cognitive ability and the communication skill of comforting is contingent on age. (Comforting strategies are those messages having the intended function of alleviating, moderating, or salving the distressed emotional states of others.) (PD)

Explores the discourse and speech acts used by Black children between the ages of 5 and 10 in one Midwestern community. Examines the rhetorical devices of teasing, name-calling, riddles, and joke-stories and hypothesizes as to the functional significance of each in the cultural environment. (SA)

Reports an investigation into pupil-talk in small groups during a computer simulation. The role of language as a communication and understanding aid is considered, along with the microcomputer's potential as a stimulus to and generator of discussion. The contents of participants' conversations, at and away from the microcomputer, are analyzed.…

Data from two studies suggest that (1) people who make friends in their home culture also tend to make friends while in another culture and (2) close intracultural and intercultural relationships have analogous patterns. (PD)