Showing papers on "Interpersonal communication published in 1976"

The Problem-solving approach to adjustment

Abstract: Social maladjustment is, to a significant extent, a function of an individual's inability to effectively identify and solve problems of an interpersonal life situation. The Interpersonal Cognitive Problem Solving (ICPS) training approach was developed to enhance social adjustment and interpersonal competence by increasing one's interpersonal problem solving abilities. Emphasis is placed on enhancing the trainee's ability to: (a) generate problem solutions (b) determine suitable means of achieving end goals, while c) recognizing the consequences of alternate strategies. Research results and program evaluation indicate the validity and viability of this approach for children as young as 4 and 5 years of age.

The interpersonal communication book

Abstract: I. INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION PRELIMINARIES. 1. Universals of Interpersonal Communication. 2. Axioms of Interpersonal Communication. 3. Culture in Interpersonal Communication. 4. The Self in Interpersonal Communication. 5. Apprehension and Assertiveness. 6. Perception in Interpersonal Communication. 7. Listening in Interpersonal Communication. 8. Effectiveness in Interpersonal Communication. II. MESSAGES: VERBAL AND NONVERBAL. 9. Universals of Verbal and Nonverbal Messages. 10. Verbal Messages: Understanding Principles and Pitfalls. 11. Verbal Messages: Reducing Barriers to Interaction. 12. Nonverbal Messages: Body and Sound. 13. Nonverbal Messages: Space and Time. 14. Messages and Conversation. III. INTERPERSONAL RELATIONSHIPS. 15. Universals of Interpersonal Relationships. 16. Relationship Development and Deterioration. 17. Relationship Maintenance and Repair. 18. Power in Interpersonal Relationships. 19. Conflict in Interpersonal Relationships. 20. Friends and Lovers. 21. Primary and Family Relationships. 22. Interpersonal Communication and Relationships in the Workplace.

Experiential knowledge: a new concept for the analysis of self-help groups.

Abstract: Experiential knowledge (truth based on personal experience with a phenomenon) is introduced as a new analytical concept that characterizes self-help groups. The attributes of experiential and professional knowledge are compared. This new concept is useful in considering the theoretical and practical issues regarding the relationship between self-help groups and professionals.

Assessing Communication Competency for Intercultural Adaptation

Abstract: One of the recurrent problems associated with interpersonal, group, organizational, and intercultural training in communication is the as sessment of outcomes. An approach is suggested for the eval...

Perceived dimensions of interpersonal relations.

Abstract: A questionnaire study was conducted to discover the fundamental dimensions underlying people's perceptions of interpersonal relations. In the sections of the questionnaire relevant to this report, 87 subjects rated 20 of their own interpersonal relations (e.g., between you and your spouse) and 25 typical, or role, relations (e.g., between husband and wife) on numerous bipolar scales. A multidimensional scaling analysis of the data revealed four dimensions, which were interpreted as cooperative and friendly versus competitive and hostile, equal versus unequal, intense versus superficial, and socioemotional and informal versus task-oriented and formal. The relative importance of these dimensions varied systematically across various subgroups based on biographical characteristics of the subjects. The four dimensions were compared to those from studies of personality, person perception, and individual behavior in interpersonal situations. The stability of the dimensions suggests that they should provide a valuable framework for future research on interpersonal relations and communication.

An arousal model of interpersonal intimacy.

Abstract: A theoretical model designed to explain and predict reactive changes in the expression of interpersonal intimacy is presented. The model basically proposes that in an interaction, sufficient changes in one person's intimacy behaviors (e.g., interpersonal distance, eye contact, touch) precipitate arousal change in the other person. Depending upon the type of relationship, the setting, and other factors, this arousal change may be labeled either a positive or negative emotional state. The model predicts that positively labeled states facilitate reciprocal or enhancing reactions to the other person's intimacy changes, while negatively labeled states facilitate compensatory reactions. Applications and limitations of the model are discussed. Research into the role of nonverbal communication in social interaction has increased rapidly over the last several years. Although there is considerable disagreement regarding the use of the label communication to describe these behaviors (see Ekman & Friesen, 1969; Wiener, Devoe, Rubinow, & Geller, 1972), there is little doubt that a wide variety of nonverbal behaviors is important in the interaction process. Argyle and Dean (196S) have suggested that one set of these behaviors, primarily nonverbal and including interpersonal distance, eye contact, leaning, smiling, and intimacy of topic, is critical in indicating interpersonal intimacy. Mehrabian (1969) has discussed many of the same behaviors in a review and has used the label immediacy to refer to a limited number of dimensions including touch, distance, eye contact, body lean, and body orientation. Mehrabian cited considerable evidence indicating that increased immediacy in one or more of these dimensions is related to a more positive attitude toward another. Thus, both Argyle and Dean (1965) and Mehrabian (1969) seem to be describing a common process in postulating a direct relationship between in

A Conceptual Analysis

Abstract: This paper presents a ,theoretical analysis of the concept of privacy which emphasizes its role as an interpersonal boundary control process. The paper also analyzes mechanisms and dynamics of privacy, including verbal and paraverbal behavior, personal space, territorial behavior, and culturally based responses. Finally, several functions of privacy are proposed, including regulation of interpersonal interaction, self-other definitional processes, and self-identity. The concept of privacy appears in the literature of several disciplines-psychology, sociology, anthropology, political science, law, architecture, and the design professions. One group of definitions of the term emphasizes seclusion, withdrawal, and avoidance of interaction with others. For example:

Field dependence and interpersonal behavior

Abstract: People with a field-dependent or field-independent cognitive style are different in their interpersonal behavior in ways predicted from the theory of psychological differentiation. Field-dependent people make greater use of external social referents, but only when the situation is ambiguous and these referents provide information that helps remove the ambiguity; field-independent people function with greater autonomy from others under such conditions. Field-dependent people are more attentive to social cues than field-independent people. Field-dependent people have an interpersonal orientation: they show strong interest in others, prefer to be physically close to people, are emotionally open and gravitate toward social situations. Field-independent people have an impersonal orientation: they are not very interested in others, show both physical and psychological distancing from people and prefer nonsocial situations. Finally, field-dependent and field-independent people are different in an array of characteristics which make it likely that field-dependent people will get along better with others. Altogether, field-dependent people have a set of social skills that are less evident in field-independent people. On the other hand, field-independent people have greater skill in cognitive analysis and structuring. This pattern suggests that, with regard to value judgments, the field-dependence-independence dimension is bipolar; each of the contrasting cognitive styles has components adaptive to particular situations.

Explorations in interpersonal communication

Abstract: As interest in interpersonal communication grew among communication researchers during the late 70's, contemporary researchers in social psychology and sociology worked on the fields of personal perception, interpersonal attraction and non-verbal communication. The papers in this volume reflect the issues of concern to those researchers. 'Without exception, the contributors treat communication as it exists in the real world...This focus on research related to real problems, rather than to the study of communication in a vacuum is to be commended...the last article...is sufficiently interesting that it is like the end of a good movie...You will simply recommend it (and the entire book) to friends, as I am doing here.' -- Southern Speech Communication Journal, Winter 1978

Interpersonal Relationships and Personal Space: Research Review and Theoretical Model'

Abstract: This article reviews research concerning interpersonal distance as a function of interpersonal relationships, attraction, and reactions to spatial invasion. To integrate research findings, we propose a simple model, based on the idea that people seek an optimal distance from others that becomes smaller with friends and larger for individuals who do not expect to interact. The model describes comfort-discomfort as a function of interaction distance in three situations: interacting friends, interacting strangers, and strangers who do not expect interaction. These three personal space profiles are discussed in terms of qualifying variables, such as seated vs. standing interaction, sex composition of the dyad, intimacy of conversation topics, and situational variables.

The golden section hypothesis

Abstract: The golden section is a proportion the aesthetic properties of which have been extolled since antiquity. The data from five experiments in which subjects made dichotomous judgements of acquaintances on bipolar dimensions (e.g. pleasant-unpleasant) were reported. These data indicated that the mean proportion of positive adjectives used in making interpersonal judgements is an excellent approximation of the golden section. An explanation of this finding was offered in terms of Berlyne's ‘strikingness hypothesis’. It was suggested that Boucher & Osgood's ‘Pollyanna hypothesis’ should be extended to include the possibility that, by tending to organize his judgements in the golden section ratio, the person is able to pay special attention to negative events.

Good News‐Bad News: Affective and Interpersonal Effects1

Abstract: News broadcasts conveying “good news” or “bad news” were played to subjects who subsequently made evaluative responses of anonymous others. The news broadcasts were shown to differentially elicit positive and negative affective responses and to affect subjects' evaluations of others. Additionally, reported affect was shown to be positively related to those interpersonal evaluations.

Sex differences in group communication: A review of relevant research

Abstract: (1976). Sex differences in group communication: A review of relevant research. Quarterly Journal of Speech: Vol. 62, No. 2, pp. 179-192.

A Causal Model of Communication Patterns of Foreign Immigrants in the Process of Acculturation.

Abstract: Communication patterns-of foreign immigrants in the process of acculturation are conceptualized on cognitive and behavioral levels The cognitive level is observed in the complexity of an immigrant's perception of the host society; the behavioral level, in the immigrant's involvement in the host society through interpersonal and mass communication Three causal factors are identified as major determinants of the immigrant's communication patterns: language competence, acculturation motivation, and accessibility to host communication channels Nine propositions,are offered which explain the relationship umong the three causal factors, behavioral participation in host communication channels, ana cognitive structure in perceivina the host society The theory was tested and supported by a survey of '400 randomly selected Korean immigrants in the Chicago area (AutLor/AA)

Attribution Processes and Interpersonal Accommodation in a Bilingual Setting

Abstract: A theory of interpersonal accommodation has proposed that if a member of one ethnolinguistic group adopts the language of the other group member, this will evoke positive attitudes in the other and also result in that ethnic member making an effort to accommodate back to the initiator. The present study was designed to demonstrate that using the other's language may not necessarily lead to positive evaluation and reciprocal accommodation. Guided by attribution theory, three conditions were created involving English Canadians who spoke French or English to French Canadian subjects: (1) Subjects were given no information about the language capacity of the English Canadian speaker, (2) the speaker was externally pressured to use French or English, and (3) Subjects were aware that the speaker was capable of speaking French. The results demonstrated that the accommodation model was not sufficient in its original form to account for language choice in all contexts and an elaboration was suggested in attribution...

The effects of communication apprehension on nonverbal behavior

Abstract: This paper summarizes recent research on communication apprehension indicating the breadth of the impact of this handicap in interpersonal communication. Drawing upon theoretical propositions generated from previous research, it provides suggestions for future research on the impact of communication apprehension on nonverbal elements in interpersonal communication.

Language‐action: A paradigm for communication

Abstract: (1976). Language‐action: A paradigm for communication. Quarterly Journal of Speech: Vol. 62, No. 4, pp. 333-349.

The mystification of meaning: doctor-patient encounters.

Abstract: The symbolic and communicative aspects of illness and treatment are examined. A number of factors that complicate interpersonal communication are identified and found to exist in their most extreme form in medical settings. New directions in research and training are suggested that might prepare medical personnel to respond more sensitively and flexibly to the symbolic aspects of illness.

Self Disclosure, Intimacy and Communication in Families.

Abstract: Self disclosure communication, as it relates to the development of intimacy in human relationships is investigated. The focus of the study is exploratory and relates variables as they influence characteristic communication patterns, primarily within husband-wife relationships. Research is cited which suggests a curvilinear relationship between self disclosure and interpersonal satisfaction in long term relationships such as marriage. The disturbingfindings are analyzed within the framework of "intimacy", suggesting the need to re-think the current constructs of self disclosure and intimacy.