The role of two nonverbal variables, conversational distance and physical self-presentation, were examined as potential sources of distraction and for their consequent effects on susceptibility to persuasion. The distraction literature was reviewed and synthesized into five propositions, which served as a starting point for predicting how…

"Achieving Dialog," a model course in one-to-one communication for close relationships, is described and presented as a possible new course for the speech communication curriculum of colleges and universities. Research findings from a comprehensive evaluation of the course are summarized, and the societal need for such a course is…

The major hypothesis of the present study is that interest and competence in interacting with age-mates emerges in two-year-olds out of the process of defining self as separate from other in the context of the mother-child bond during the first two years. Seventy-eight two-year-old boys were administered four measures of self-definition and 40…

To determine the effects of potentially difficult behaviors (tendency to talk too much, difficulty in processing what others are saying, inattention to details, inappropriate responses to the feelings and emotions of others, and emphasis on sameness and ritualistic behaviors) on community based programs, the records of five autistic youths and…

A study of 28 mother/child dyads (children aged 3 to 6) in which half the children were deaf was undertaken to compare communication skills between hearing and deaf children and the characteristics of functional communication between mothers and their children. Tapes of a half hour free play situation between mother and child were studied for each…

Toman's theory of the relation of birth-order compatibility and interpersonal relations was extended to dyads (pairs) with members of the same sex. It was predicted that interpersonal compatibility between members of same-sex dyads (50 female, 27 male pairs of Vassar College roommates) would be positively correlated with birth-order compatibility…

A study was designed to examine debater characteristics in terms of perceived social style (assertiveness and responsiveness) and to explore the effects of debater social style in terms of perceived substantive and interpersonal conflict and debate success. Measures of perceived assertiveness, responsiveness, social style, and conflict were…

The Individual Counseling Skills Training Course is a three-unit, 11-day course for alcoholism and drug counselors. One unit, dealing with individual counseling skills and client management, is presented here. The course was originally conceived for paraprofessionals in front-line counseling positions who have little or no formal academic…

This paper proposes that interpersonal skills be developed through the use of a skill/subskill strategy which is effected by means of an Experiential Training Unit (ETU), or series of sequential training activities. Specifically, ETU training activities focus on the development of several skills: cognitive, transformation, activation, preliminary…

The papers collected in this volume were originally presented at a conference, funded by the University of Wyoming humanities program, designed to stimulate discussion of the issues surrounding the role of communication in establishing healthy human interaction. Section one contains the major position paper of the conference: John Stewart's "Where…

Although most information exchanged in an initial interaction is superficial, relationships often develop or terminate depending on the evaluations made during the first three to four minutes of a conversation. In order to investigate the content and process levels of the information exchanged during the initial interactions, 90 subjects watched…

Intervention studies in which peer social initiations were used to increase the social and play skills of withdrawn preschool and school aged children are reviewed. A discussion follows of such practical application issues as selection of peer trainers, training of peer trainers, arrangement of the setting for peer intervention, and teacher…

The two studies of predisposition toward verbal behavior (PVB) reported in this paper examined the behavior of interactants who have dissimilar verbal predispositions in task-oriented discussions. In the first study, 20 groups of three members each were given an interpersonal task that involved reaching a consensus. In the second study, 17 pairs…

The purpose of this book is to help the reader to become a more effective facilitator of learning. Based on the assumption that the most valuable learning is founded in self-knowledge and a resultant knowledge of others, the book presents a view of teaching as helping and caring with a supportive yet flexible structure. It states that the goal of…

In this study, each of 33 middle class children from grades 3 and 4 was administered one of three experimental conditions designed to test in what ways coaching in social play skills improves the sociometric status of the children with their peers. The subjects were selected because of their low ratings on sociometric questionnaires. Condition 1…