A study was conducted to determine how well the advertising industry portrays the changing work roles of women. Four advertising executives were interviewed to find out their feelings about the changes in women's work roles and what action they were taking to adapt advertising to these changes, while 11 women were interviewed with similar…

An investigation of the functions performed by talk radio programs involved in-depth interviews with 184 call-in listeners to one such program over a seven-day period. During the interviews, the callers listened to tape recordings of their conversations with the program host to help them focus on the motivation that prompted their calls, the…

Focuses on the phenomenon of intentional embarrassment as a strategy for attaining goals. Finds that embarrassment is used as a deliberate strategy and that the goal attempted, as well as the tactic employed, were predictors of success in achieving goals, although no interaction effect was found. (NH)

A study analyzed responses to indirect imperatives in a large doctor's office, looking specifically at superior-subordinate relationships in an organizational setting in order to see if there are different responses to indirect and direct imperatives, and what those differences involve. Twenty hours of interaction were audiotaped and observed…

A study was conducted to determine how Washington, D.C., reporters cover business policy issues and to explain why they report this news as they do. The study used J. Grunig's situational theory of communication behavior as a basis for developing a typology of Washington reporters based upon their perceptions of four business policy issues. A…

Indicates the recognition on the part of chief executive officers that they are the company spokespersons and must have good communication skills in order to communicate effectively to the media and special interest groups. (EL)

Shows that role appropriation to the transition to parenthood is a three-part, overlapping process: expectations regarding roles, enactment of those roles, and negotiations about the roles. Shows that central dilemmas involve the accuracy/inaccuracy of role expectations, other's facilitation/inhibition of self's role enactment, and…

Examines physician-patient communication as it relates to expectations that patients and physicians hold for themselves and each other. Determines that dimensions of mutual role expectation were physician as humanistic practitioner, physician authority, patient in the sick role, and patient as consumer. Finds that patients had significantly higher…

Compares two contrasting perspectives of social contagion processes (structural equivalence and cohesion) associated with the organizational outcome variables of commitment and role ambiguity in organizations. Finds that structural equivalence was more associated with role ambiguity and that commitment was more associated with cohesion. (MS)

A study examined the effects of gender on social interaction under numerically imbalanced conditions. Specifically, the study tested R. M. Kanter's assumption that all tokens (individuals who enter a work environment where their gender is numerically scarce) respond in a similar manner to token conditions, although evidence exists that males and…

Argues that there are relationships among perceived public relations role, formal research, and organization type. Presents two lines of research, the studies of public relations roles focusing on the individual, and the approach emphasizing the organization as the principle unit of analysis; Describes three research hypotheses are and presents a…

To explore the subjective dimensions of public relations practitioner orientations toward their profession in the context of the organizational roles they play, this study combined characteristics of both large-sample survey research and indepth, intensive inquiry. Membership lists of the Public Relations Society of America, the International…

Since much of the recent literature concerning leadership has emphasized the study of verbal interactions among leaders and other group members (ignoring the role of nonverbal communication), a study was undertaken to investigate several aspects of nonverbal communication in leadership. Specifically, it examined whether (1) leadership messages…

To assess patient preferences for male as opposed to female physicians, 120 adults were asked to complete a questionnaire. The results indicated that preference for male versus female physicians was influenced by three factors: gender of respondent, nature of the clinical complaint, and specified physician attributes. Overall, the responses…

Somatotyping is a term that has evolved for the reliable recognition of the expected relationship between body type and personality traits. Using a somatotypic measure, a study was conducted to identify the developmental changes in children's attraction preferences within their own peer groups, as tested in kindergarten, third, and sixth grades.…