Showing papers on "Interpersonal communication published in 1986"

Assessment of Basic Social Skills

Abstract: California State University, FullertonFollowing recent developments in the measurement of individual differences in nonverbal socialskills, we proposed a conceptual framework for defining and assessing basic social skills. Preliminarytesting resulted in the development of a 105-item, pencil-and-paper measure of seven basic dimen-sions of social skills, called the Social Skills Inventory (SSI). In a series of validation studies usingundergraduate students, the SSI demonstrated convergent and discriminant validity in relation toother measures of nonverbal social skill and traditional personality scales. Scores on the SSI alsopredicted some social group memberships, typical social behaviors, and the depth of social networks.This evidence suggests that the SSI could prove to be a valuable tool for research in personality andsocial psychology and for work in applied settings.In recent years there has been increased attention to denningand assessing individual differences in social abilities and inter-personal skills. Work in this area is progressing on severalfronts. Psychologists have become increasingly concerned withthe assessment and development of social skills for assistingclinical populations (see Curran & Monti, 1982; Trower, Bry-ant, & Argyle, 1978; Wine & Smye, 1981). Personality and so-cial psychologists have developed standardized instruments thatassess dimensions related to interpersonal skill and social effec-tiveness, for example, measures of constructs such as empathy(Hogan, 1969; Mehrabian & Epstein, 1972), shyness, sociabil-ity, (Cheek & Buss, 1981), and self-monitoring (Snyder, 1974,1979). Communication researchers have concerned themselveswith the assessment of communicative competence (Diez,1984;Wiemann, 1977;WiemannB E. L. Thorndike, 1920;R. L. Thorndike, 1936; R. L. Thorndike & Stein, 1937). How-ever, difficulties in assessing social intelligence, particularly theinability to discriminate social intelligence from general intelli-gence, led to the demise of this line of research. It was manyyears later that research on the measurement of social abilitieswas revived with the work of Ouilford and his colleagues onbehavioral intelligence (Guilford, 1967) and the development ofscales to assess empathy (Dymond, 1949; Hogan, 1969). MoreThis research was supported by intramural grants from CaliforniaState University, Fullerton (CSUF) and from a CSUF President's Sum-mer Research Grant.Special thanks go to Barbara Throckmorton, Kathy Lang, and BruceSmith for their tremendous assistance in data collection and to MariaHale, Patti Hopkinson, Larisa Lamb, Mary Lybeck, Kevin McNulty,Mitch Okada, and Debbie White for their help. Chris Cozby, RichardLippa, Keith Widaman, Stan Woll, and Judy Zimmerman made manyhelpful comments and suggestions.Correspondence concerning this article should be addressed to Ron-ald E. Riggio, Department of Psychology, California State University,Fullerton, California 92634.recent are the attempts to measure individual differences innonverbal communication skill (Rosenthal, 1979; see alsoO'Sullivan, 1983, for a historical overview).Although the present research is most closely aligned withthis latest orientation, it is impossible to define social skillswithout incorporating the work of a vast array of social scienceresearchers. There is perhaps no adequate single definition ofsocial skills. The variety and assortment of dimensions labeledas social skills is enormous. Yet there are certain consistenciesin the varying theoretical perspectives. Many social skill re-searchers agree that the basic sending and receiving of informa-tion represent key social skills. Indeed, Hall (1979) divided so-cial communication skills into two broad classes of sending andreceiving. Additional social skills involve cognitive abilitiessuch as interpersonal problem-solving skills and role-playingabilities (Meichenbaum, Butler, & Gruson, 1981).Many existing measures of social skills focus on a single, spe-cific type of skill, skill deficit, or skill-related construct such asassertiveness (Rathus, 1973), nonverbal sensitivity (Rosenthal,Hall, DiMatteo, Rogers, & Archer, 1979), fear of negative evalu-ation (Watson & Friend, 1969), or communication apprehen-sion (McCroskey, 1977). Some instruments that purport tomeasure singular dimensions of social skill may, in fact, be as-sessing constructs that are truly multidimensional; that is, com-prised of more basic independent social skills. Such appears tobe the case with Snyder's Self-Monitoring Scale (SMS, Snyder,1974), which may be composed of three more basic social skills(Briggs , Cheek & Buss 1980 ; Riggio Friedman 1982 seealso Lennox & Wolfe, 1984). Similar multidimensionality mayunderly the constructs of empathy (Davis, 1983) and assertive-ness (Galassi, Galassi, & Vedder, 1981).The presen t study is an attemp to develop general frame-work for several basic dimensions of social skill and to reporton the construction of a self-report assessment tool to measurethese basic skill dimensions. This framework is derived frommultidisciplinary research on social and interpersonal skills,but it springs most directly from the attempts of social personal-ity psychologists to measure individual differences in nonverbalcommunication skills. Most notable of these attempts are thework of Rosenthal and his colleagues (Rosenthal et al., 1979)and Buck (1984) on measuring nonverbal sensitivity, Friedman

Experiments in group decision making: Communication process and outcome in face-to-face versus computerized conferences.

Abstract: A 2 × 2 factorial design was used to explore the process and outcome of small group problem-solving discussions for two modes of communication (face-to-face and computerized conferencing) and two types of tasks (a qualitative human relations task and a scientific ranking test with a criterion solution). Interaction process was coded using Bales Interaction Process Analysis. There were two to three times as many communication units in the face to-face groups consisting of five members each as in the computerized conferencing mode of communication during the same elapsed time. Group decisions were equally good in the two modes, but the groups were less likely to reach agreement in the computerized conferencing mode. There were proportionately more of the types of task-oriented communication associated with decision quality in the computerized conferences.

Verbal aggressiveness: An interpersonal model and measure

Abstract: Verbal agressiveness is conceptualized as a personality trait that predisposes persons to attack the self‐concepts of other people instead of, or in addition to, their positions on topics of communication. This conception is positioned with respect to the trait structure of personality and also in relation to other aggressive personality traits: hostility, assertiveness, and argumentativeness. An interpersonal model is developed that specifies the types of verbally aggressive messages in interpersonal relations, their effects, and their causes. A rationale is developed for studying verbal aggression apart from other types of aggression, and several studies developing a Verbal Aggressiveness Scale are reported. Results indicate that the Scale is valid and reliable. Implications are discussed, especially in terms of understanding and controlling physical aggression.

Communication satisfaction, job satisfaction, and job performance

Abstract: This field study of 327 hospital nurses investigated the relationship between perceived satisfaction with organizational communication and job satisfaction and job performance. The researcher developed a research model incorporating nine dimensions of communication satisfaction and hypothesized their varying relationships with job satisfaction and job performance. Correlation, multiple regression, and canonical correlation analyses revealed significant positive relationships between communication satisfaction and job satisfaction, and communication satisfaction and job performance. The communication satisfaction-job satisfaction link was stronger. The same facets of communication—supervisor communication, communication climate, and personal feedback—were found to be most strongly related to both job satisfaction and performance. Although the importance of the superior-subordinate communication relationship was confirmed, top management communication also was substantially related to job satisfaction and, to a lesser degree, job performance. Rank-order correlation results of this study were compared to several other studies and some congruent patterns were found.

A Revision of the Extended Version of the Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status: An Identity Instrument for Use with Late Adolescents

Abstract: Previous work with the Extended Objective Measure of Ego Identity Status (EOM-EIS) has improved the assessment ability of the instrument. However, the interpersonal items were less consistent in ego identity classification than the ideological items. The interpersonal items were revised and, using a sample of 106 college students, tested to establish reliability and validity. The results from the revised EOM-EIS interpersonal and original ideological items were compared with scores on identity, intimacy, selfacceptance, authoritarian and social desirability scales. Convergent, discriminate, concurrent, and predictive validity and internal consistency (reliability) analyses demonstrate the interpersonal and ideological items can adequately measure identity status during late adolescence.

Communication, Meaning, and Organized Action.

Abstract: Gerald Salancik discussed this theory in a colloquium at the College of Commerce and Business Administration, University of Illinois, Champaign, in 1979. Two current perspectives on the relationship between meaning and action differ with respect to the amount of shared meaning necessary for organization. We argue that these two perspectives can be integrated if we understand how communication links meaning and action. We provide empirical evidence to show that through communication, organized action can occur despite differences of interpretation among organizational members. Communication enables members to create equifinal meaning, from which organized action can follow. Our data revealed four communication mechanisms that generate and sustain equifinal meaning: metaphor, logical argument, affect modulation, and linguistic indirection.e

Sex Segregation in Voluntary Associations

Abstract: Strodtbeck, Fred L., and Richard D. Mann. 1956. "Sex Role Differentiation in Jury Deliberations." Sociometry 19:3-11. Ward, D., and J. Balswick. 1978. "Strong Men and Virtuous Women: A Content Analysis of Sex Role Stereotypes." Pacific Sociological Review 21:45-53. Whittaker, J. 0. 1965. "Sex Diffrences and Susceptibility in Interpersonal Persuasion." Journal of Social Psychology 66:91-2. Zelditch, Morris, Jr. 1980. "Can You Really Study an Army in the Laboratory?" Pp. 531-39 in A Sociological Reader on Complex Organizations. 3rd ed. Edited by Amitai Etzioni and Edward W. Lehman. New York: Holt. Zimmerman, Don H., and Candace West. 1975. "Sex Roles, Interruptions and Silences in Conversations." Pp. 105-29 in Language and Sex: Difference and Dominance, edited by Barrie Thorne and N. Henley. Rawley, MA: Newbury House.

The effects of nonverbal cues on gender differences in perceptions of sexual intent

Abstract: The effects of several nonverbal cues on perceptions of male and female stimulus persons' sexuality were examined. Based on the findings of Abbey (“Sex Differences in Attributions for Friendly Behavior: Do Males Misperceive Females' Friendliness?” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 1982, 42, 830–838) and other investigators, we hypothesized that in general males would attribute more sexuality to both male and female targets than would females. Furthermore, we hypothesized that males' and females' perceptions of sexual intent would be most divergent in situations in which the nonverbal cues were most ambiguous (e.g., causal touch, moderate interpersonal distance). To test this hypothesis, the effects of three nonverbalcues were examined: interpersonal distance, eye contact, and touch. Males rated female targets as more seductive, sexy, and promiscuous, and expressed more sexual attraction to the opposite-sexed target, than females did for both ambiguous and nonambiguous nonverbal cues. Males' ratings of the male targets' sexuality were higher than females' ratings in two of the three studies. Also, across the three studies both female and male subjects rated the female target higher than the male target on the sexual traits. The implications of these findings for future research are discussed.

Research Notes: Interpersonal Affect and Rating Errors

Abstract: In this article the authors discuss research they conducted that examined the relationship between interpersonal affect and rating errors in employee rating measures. The authors discuss pervious r...

A Handbook of communication skills

Abstract: A comprehensive volume on the subjects of social skills and communication skills, with contributions from world leaders in their particular fields.

The Changing Functions of Friends in Childhood: A Neo-Sullivanian Perspective

Abstract: Although friendships are important throughout the lifespan, they seem to be particularly important during middle childhood and adolescence. Prior to this time, parents command center stage; after this period, heterosexual relationships become the primary concern. By examining friendship as it develops into a significant form of relationship during this period, we hope to shed light on the functional importance of friendship. In particular, we consider three ways that friends contribute to social development and adjustment: (a) the fulfillment of interpersonal needs, (b) the socialization of interpersonal competence, & (c) the provision of natural therapeutic experiences. Our approach is developmental in that we trace the path by which friendship grows to its mature form. It is also comparative in that we consider the relative role of friendship within the child’s broad network of relationships.

Successful nonverbal communication : principles and applications

Abstract: "Summary" ends each chapter. I.NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION. 1. The Nature of Nonverbal Communication. The Functional Importance of Nonverbal Communication. Definitional Perspective: Nonverbal and Verbal Communication. The Functions of Nonverbal Cues. Communicating Nonverbally in Specific Contexts. 2. Facial Expressions. The Face as the Most Important Source of Emotional Information. The Face as a Means of Identifying Individuals. The Deceptive Face: How to Recognize It and Guard Against It. Measuring Sensitivity to Facial Expressions. The Judgmental Process. Developing Sensitivity to Facial Expressions: Training Program. 3. Eye Behaviors. The Language of the Eyes. The Functions of Eye Behaviors. Using the Communicative Potential of Eye Behaviors. 4. Bodily Communication. The Nature of Bodily Cues. Gestures versus Postures. Major Communicative Functions of Bodily Cues. Functional and Dysfunctional Uses of Bodily Cues. 5. Proxemic Communication. The Proximate Environment. The Communicative Functions of Proxemics. The Effects of Violating Proxemic Norms and Expectations. 6. Tactile Communication. The Nature of Touch. Touching Norms. The Semantics of Touch. The Communicative Functions of Touch. 7. Personal Appearance. Features of Physical Attractiveness. Body Image. Effects of Personal Appearance. The Nature of Artifactual Communication. The Communicative Functions of Personal Appearance. 8. Vocalic Communication. The Semantics of Sound. The Communicative Functions of Vocal Cues. Developing the Ability to Encode and Decode Vocalic Messages. II.DEVELOPING THE SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATOR. 9. Impression Formation. The Importance of Nonverbal Cues in Interpersonal Perception. Defining Components of Impression Formation. Principles of Impression Formation. 10. Impression Management. The Nature of Impression Management. The Impression Management Process. The Impression Manager in Action. 11. Selling Yourself Nonverbally. Dimensions of Credibility. Illustrating the Impact of Nonverbal Cues on Credibility. Developing Personal Credibility. Monitoring the Communicator's Nonverbal Cues. 12. Detecting Deception. Nonverbal Indicators of Deception. Nonverbal Profile of the Deceptive Communicator-Type I. Nonverbal Profile of the Deceptive Communicator-Type II. The Deception Process. 13. Communicating Consistently. The Nature of Inconsistent Messages. Decoding Inconsistent Messages. Reasons for Inconsistent Messages. Guidelines for Communicating Consistently. III.SUCCESSFUL COMMUNICATION IN APPLIED SETTINGS. 14. Nonverbal Determinants of Successful Interviews. The Job Interview. The Counseling Interview. The Interviewer's Perspective. 15. Female-Male Interaction. Sex-Role Stereotyping. Differences in Nonverbal Communication of Women and Men. 16. Successful Intercultural Communication. Cross-Cultural Similarities in Nonverbal Communication. Cross-Cultural Differences in Nonverbal Communication. Communicating Nonverbally with the Japanese and the Arabs. Guidelines for More Successful Intercultural Communication. 17. Physican/Patient Interaction. Potential Problems in Physician-Patient Communication Interaction. The Functional Importance of Nonverbal Communication in the Medical Setting. Actual Features of Physician-Patient Nonverbal Communication. Desired Features of Physician-Patient Nonverbal Communication. 18. Courtroom Interaction. The Functional Importance of Nonverbal Communication in the Courtroom. The Functions of Nonverbal Communication in the Courtroom. The Logistics of Measuring Impressions. Nonverbal Impression Formation and Management in the Courtroom. 19. The Communicative Impact of Micro-environmental Variables. Context as Communication. The Classroom Environment. The Conference Room Environment. The Office Environment. The Fast-Food Restaurant Environment. Appendix. Index.

Referent Role and Styles of Handling Interpersonal Conflict

Abstract: This study explored the relationship between referent role (superior, subordinate, and peer) and the styles of handling interpersonal conflict (integrating, obliging, dominating, avoiding, and compromising). These styles were measured by the Rahim (1983c) Organizational Conflict Inventory-II with a national random sample of managers (N = 1,219). The results of a multiple discriminant analysis indicated that the respondents were mainly obliging with superiors, integrating with subordinates, and compromising with peers. To a lesser extent, they were compromising and dominating with superiors and avoiding with subordinates.

Organizational Communication: Theory and Practice

Abstract: I. INTRODUCTION. 1. Communicating and Organizing. 2. Human Communication Processes. II. PERSPECTIVES ON THE ORGANIZING PROCESS. 3. The Classical Theory of Organization. 4. The Human Relations Theory of Organization. 5. The Social Systems Theory Model of Organization. 6. Weick,s Model of Organizing. 7. The Organizational-Culture Theory of Organization. III. COMMUNICATION AND ORGANIZING. 8. Interpersonal Communication and Organizing. 9. Group Communication and Organizing. 10. Internal Organizational Communication Systems. 11. External Organizational Communication Systems. IV. CONCLUSION. 12. Ethical Constraints on Organizational Communication. 13. Information and Organizational.

An Approach for Enhancing the Symbolic, Communicative, and Interpersonal Functioning of Young Children with Autism or Severe Emotional Handicaps:

Abstract: An intervention approach emphasizing development of symbolic thought, communication, and interpersonal relationships was Implemented with 26 children (ages 2 through 6) who had infantile autism, pe...

Self-Efficacy, Social Anxiety, and Inhibition in Interpersonal Encounters

Abstract: This paper presents a refinement of the self-presentational model of social anxiety that includes concepts borrowed from self-efficacy theory. Specifically, the distinction between self-efficacy and outcome expectancies is incorporated into the self-presentational approach, and literature is reviewed that demonstrates that people experience social anxiety when their self-presentational efficacy or outcome expectancies are low. In addition, the self-efficacy and self-presentation approaches are integrated to explain why people tend to become inhibited when they feel socially anxious, and implications of the two theories for the treatment of chronically socially anxious individuals are discussed.

Parent-child communication about sex and young adolescents sexual knowledge and attitudes.

Abstract: Previous studies indicate that adolescents whose parents talk to them about sex tend to be less sexually active and more likely to use an effective means of contraception. This study sought to determine the relationship between parent-child communication about sex and young adolescents' reproductive and contraceptive knowledge and sexual attitudes. Twenty-two 12- to 14-year-olds and their parents completed sexual-knowledge, sexual-attitude, and contraceptive-choice questionnaires. Families were divided into high-communication and low-communication groups. There were no significant differences in the sexual knowledge, attitudes, or contraceptive choices of the children in the two groups, but the correlation between parents' and children's sexual attitudes in the high-communication group was significantly higher than that of the low-communication group. Although this was a correlational study, it seems likely that the similarity in sexual values was the result of parent-child discussion about sex.

"Come to think of it…": Interrogative probes, deceptive communication, and deception detection.

Abstract: In Phase 1 of this study, communicators responded truthfully or deceptively to positive or negative interrogative probes. In Phase 2, the interviews were shown, at four levels of probe exposure, to observers who rated the communicators' eracity. In Phase 3, verbal and nonverbal cues were correlated with actual and perceived deception. Although exposure level had no effect on detection accuracy, liars and trulhtellers exposed to negative interrogative probes were judged more truthful than those exposed to positive probes. Analysis of the verbal and nonverbal cues revealed that none of the nonverbal cues relied on as indicators of deception were related to actual deception, and only one of the verbal cues (verbal content) was related to actual message veracity. Implications of these findings and suggestions for future research are offered.

Interpersonal Communication and News Comprehension

Abstract: This study examines the role of interpersonal and mass media channels in public awareness and comprehension of major news stories. Unlike previous research which asks about respondent perceptions of their "main source" for news, this study attempts to determine actual comprehension of stories that had been in the news during the previous week. On the basis of two separate probability samples, respondent awareness and comprehension of a week's news was measured and related to demographic, news media use, and interpersonal discussions variables. A Multiple Classification Analysis of the data indicates that conversation about the news is a major and often overlooked correlate of comprehension, and that interpersonal channels may play at least as important a role in the public's awareness and understanding of the news as exposure to the news media. John P. Robinson is the Director of the Survey Research Center and a Professor of Sociology at the University of Maryland. Mark R. Levy is an Associate Professor of Journalism and a Research Associate of the Center for Research in Public Communication, University of Maryland. An earlier version of this article was presented to the 40th annual meeting of the American Association for Public Opinion Research, McAfee, NJ, May 1983. Support for this study was provided by the John and Mary Marke Foundation. Public Opinion Quarterly Vol. 50:160-175 ? 1986 by the American Association for Public Opinion Research Published by The University of Chicago Press 0033-362X/86/0050-160/$2.50 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.27 on Wed, 07 Sep 2016 05:15:05 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms INTERPERSONAL COMMUNICATION AND NEWS COMPREHENSION 161 channel influence measure neither actual information gain nor, perhaps more important, how well that information is comprehended. These shortcomings have hindered our ability to understand the role of the mass media in the opinion formation process and suggest the need for studies based on better measures of information gain and comprehen-

Communication and Community: Implications of Martin Buber's Dialogue

Abstract: Martin Buber s work suggests that real life begins with two individuals engaged in dialogue, not just taking care of one s own needs as described in social Darwinism.Arnett argues that the end of the age of abundance demands that we give up the communicative strategies of the past and seek to work together in the midst of limited resources and an uncertain future. Today s situation calls for an unwavering commitment to Buber s narrow ridge concern for both self and community.Arnett illustrates the narrow ridge definition of interpersonal communication with rich examples. His vignettes demonstrate effective and ineffective approaches to human community. An effective approach, he makes clear, incorporates not only openness to others points of view but also a willingness to be persuaded."

The Influence of Cultural Variability on Perceptions of Communication Behavior Associated with Relationship Terms

Abstract: A framework for incorporating the influence of cultural variability into theories of communication in interpersonal relationships is presented and several hypotheses derived from the framework tested. Data from two studies conducted with samples from Japan and the United States revealed that variation along Hofstede's (1980) dimensions of culture are related to intimacy ratings of relationship terms, as well as perceptions of the degree of personalization, synchrony, and difficulty of communication associated with relationships anchored by six specific terms (stranger, acquaintance, classmate, friend, best friend, and lover). Implications of the framework and findings for developing cross-culturally generalizable theories of communication are elaborated.