A total of 440 adult couples were observed in eight different kinds of public places. Couples with children were observed to touch, talk, and smile less at one another. But children are disruptive of adult touching and talking, which means that couples with children experience reduced reward levels and less adequate communication. (Author)

The effects of an instigator's and a respondent's disclosure on impressions of the revealing respondent were examined in a pair of experiments. The first experiment assessed the effects of both own and other's disclosure on a participant perceiver. After meeting a confederate partner, female undergraduate subjects (N=83) were induced to make an…

This paper examines the relationship between the extent of shared participation of husbands and wives in leisure activities and the extent of communication and task sharing in the marriage. Because marriage is an interactional system and leisure activities vary in their interactional requirements, a theory is proposed linking leisure activity…

The early 1970's was a period of rapid decline for all fertility indicators in the United States. This paper explores some of the reasons for this decline. Data from a National longitudinal survey of young women are used to examine changes in expectations for lifetime births from 1971 to 1973. These young women decreased their birth expectations…

This paper discusses the functionality of the linguistic code in communication processes of a family in a crisis situation and in need of concealing its plight. Basic concepts of verbal interaction are discussed to show the difficulties of any open exchange of messages within a family with a dying patient. (Author)

Groups of married couples (N=4) were studied using a measure of their marital communication habits and an intensive personal interview. Analysis of the data revealed that the quality of interpersonal communication between spouses significantly deteriorated across the groups as the degree of suicidal behavior increased. (Author)

An experiment was conducted in which perceptions of an individual responding to an initial disclosure were examined. Observer subjects (N=315) read a brief description of a first encounter between two women. During the meeting one of the women made either an intimate or a non-intimate disclosure (low vs. high initial intimacy). The other woman…

This study sought information regarding levels of cross-cultural interaction, barriers to successful interaction, and methods by which to increase interaction. The results are discussed in light of the need to promote intensive interpersonal interaction and open communication between American and foreign students. (Author)

Undergraduates (N = 41) viewed a videotape of role-played problems and responded as though in face-to-face contact with the speakers. Half took the role of counselor and half the role of friend. Analysis of covariance indicated students serving as friends made fewer reflections and gave more advice than those serving as counselors. (Author)

This study addresses three issues: (1) the influence of proxemic variables (distance, furniture presence) on dyadic interaction; (2) the consistency between measures of self-disclosure; and (3) the applicability of reciprocity and distance-equilibrium views of dyadic interaction. Dyads of male college students were randomly assigned to one of four…