Communication is not only cross-cultural but interdisciplinary--in fact, even supradisciplinary. The problem of effective communication lies in coordinating various cognitive structures and in overcoming the lack of knowledge about an individual's perceptual mechanization. In this volume, some twenty-five contributors and discussants from five…

Describes a perspective designed to examine the structure, function, and process of interpersonal communication to locate the major sources of problems in particular interactions. States assumptions of the perspective, defines the elements and processes of interpersonal communication, suggests ways to use the framework, and describes current…

Three studies were conducted to ascertain the relationship between predisposition for group work climate and the types of procedural messages that group members employ. In the studies, expectations about group work procedures fell into two categories: high procedural order (HPO) and low procedural order (LPO). Each category consisted of four…

This paper proposes the use of interaction process analysis to study negotiation behaviors. Following a review of current literature in the field, the paper presents a theoretical framework for the analysis of both labor/management and social negotiation processes. Central to the framework described are two systems of activities that together…

Presents results from two studies of how lower-back-pain patients communicate to health care providers. Suggests specific directions for future research. (MS)

A study analyzed the verbal interactions of married couples in high, moderate, and low marital satisfaction groups to determine whether (1) the interaction processes within the three satisfaction groups differed and (2) there were different communication patterns that characterized the interaction processes of the groups. Subjects were 34 young…

Currently researchers are reexamining the validity of viewing alcoholics outside of their most important social unit: the family. However, a review of the current research shows little directly addressing how communication patterns influence and possibly sustain alcoholic behavior within the family setting. One study suggests that alcoholism and…

After describing scenes that reveal a pattern in which whites regard blacks' speech behavior as threatening, aggressive, or hostile, and in which blacks disagree with their interpretation, this paper explores differences between black and white cultural assumptions, values, and conventions of aggressive behavior to account for the different…

While the Hill Interaction Matrix was developed as a research instrument to assess interview process, it is also generally useful in any undertaking requiring the evaluation of verbal interaction and, hence, can be used as an aid in modifying communication in order to increase its therapeutic effect. The Hill Interaction Matrix with accompanying…

Communication imposes a social order and interaction patterns which individuals accept as children, but it is not known to what extent or when in the life cycle preferred rhythms of social involvement and withdrawal are established. To assess the extent to which the elderly lose control of their patterns of interaction, case studies of four…