Assesses the impact of oral, receiver and written communication apprehension on classroom achievement and contends that oral and receiver communication apprehension have a significant negative effect on achievement. (MH)

Defines the rhetorical impreative (i.e. you know?, you see?, okay) as a "non-ah" type of speech disturbance wherein the rhetorical nature of the inherent questions neither seeks nor desires a response. Relates anxiety and floor control to rhetorical interrogatives in experimental testing conditions. (MH)

Examines various ways of reducing upward communication distortion and concludes that the communication channel used is a significant variable in the upward communication process. (MH)

Relational intimacy was studied for its influence on choice of interpersonal conflict strategies. Data were collected from 143 speech communication students who were randomly distributed among three groups representing different levels of intimacy (stranger, acquaintance, intimate) and were asked to imagine serious conflict with a person of the…

Reports two experiments designed to further understanding of the effects of systematic desensitization (SD) training on college students and presents experimental test results indicating that students in SD do not differ significantly from those who choose not to join SD. (MH)

Examines the nature of communication symbols in American society in an attempt to interpret features of racist language. See CS 703 548 for availability. (MH)

The purpose of this essay is to examine some of the reasons for the low implementation potential of most social psychological research (both in psychology and communication) and to suggest some ways in which the speech communication discipline can increase the applicability of its knowledge to the solution of contemporary individual and social…

Discusses a study designed to specify the interpersonal communication related determinants of anomia within a close friendship context. (MH)

A model of the generation of initial trusting attitudes toward groups by individuals who were not members of those groups was developed from the literature on interpersonal trust. The model proposed that perceptions of situational threat would be preconditions to the saliency of trust as a concept. Given that trust was a salient concept, the model…

Perhaps the most effective way to increase the utilization of behavioral science knowledge by policy-makers is for the behavioral scientist to become one. The psychologist who serves as a policy-maker becomes aware of the policy issues in addition to relevant empirical evidence. The author, a psychologist, relates his experience as a member of a…

A study was designed to evaluate the use of summated rating (Likert) scales of agreement, evaluation, and frequency. The subjects, 58 female and 45 male college students, rank ordered the descriptive adjectives for the areas of agreement, evaluation, and frequency on a scale of 1 to 100. They also completed the Personal Report of Communication…