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Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons™
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Articles 1 - 23 of 23
Full-Text Articles in Interpersonal and Small Group Communication
Resilience In Recreation: Stories Of A Changing Climate, Casey L. Auberle
Resilience In Recreation: Stories Of A Changing Climate, Casey L. Auberle
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
As the impacts of climate change become increasingly prevalent, the outdoor activities that bond us to our local communities and environments are under threat. In Missoula, MT, drought, rising temperatures, and wildfire smoke change what it means to fish, ski, run, and recreate in our town. In a series of Q&A style podcasts, environmental philosophy graduate student Casey Auberle creates a platform to share stories of a changing climate through the lens of local recreators and climate activists. Capturing these voices invites us to consider our relationship with nature on both an individual and communal scale, to find unity in …
Building Collaborative Capacity For Coexistence With The Montana Beaver Working Group, Shane Randle
Building Collaborative Capacity For Coexistence With The Montana Beaver Working Group, Shane Randle
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
Despite beavers’ recent surge in popularity, prevailing negative attitudes and the persistence of beaver removal practices remain obstacles for those advocating living with beavers. The Montana Beaver Working Group (BWG) advances beavers’ role in ecological and community resilience through members’ collaborative efforts, including beaver-related restoration and conflict resolution projects. Bringing together people with diverse values and perspectives, the BWG builds collective understanding, develops a holistic vision for beavers in Montana, and supports members in pursuing it. As the group’s impacts and membership have grown, so too has their need to adapt. For my Civic Engagement Project, I strengthened the BWG’s …
The Laymen's Conceptualization Of The “Safe Space”, Tiffany A. Nord
The Laymen's Conceptualization Of The “Safe Space”, Tiffany A. Nord
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The term "safe space" appears frequently across academic, organizational, therapeutic, and social contexts, yet lacks conceptual clarity. While originating from LGBTQ+ and women's activist movements, contemporary usage has expanded without theoretical development, making it confusing and challenging to effectively implement for researchers and practitioners alike. This two-phase qualitative study examined how individuals define safe spaces. Phase 1 employed an open-ended questionnaire with 62 general population participants. Phase 2 involved semi-structured interviews with 22 self-identified LGBTQ+ individuals. Data were analyzed using a constructivist grounded theory methodology. Findings revealed five core elements: specified setting, enacting responsiveness, allowing candor, perceiving security, and sensing …
Developing Identity After Goodbye: Social Identity Theory And How Adolescent Survivors Navigate Suicide Loss, Elizabeth Susan Lawton
Developing Identity After Goodbye: Social Identity Theory And How Adolescent Survivors Navigate Suicide Loss, Elizabeth Susan Lawton
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Adolescents who lose a loved one to suicide, known as suicide-loss survivors, face a disruption to identity development, a life stage defined by identity formation (Adler et al., 2018) and group belonging (Pittman & Richmond, 2008). Suicide bereavement is complicated not only by grief but also by stigma, which can fracture social ties and undermine self-concept. Social identity theory (SIT) provides a framework for examining how young adults, now ages 18 to 30, reconstruct their social identities after experiencing suicide loss in adolescence. Research in other stigmatized contexts shows that adopting positive in-group identities can buffer against stigma and protect …
Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Kyla Wright
Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Kyla Wright
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
Identifying all learned ten competencies of social work incorporated into educational settings. Utilizing theoretical practices and an integrated, justified intervention for mental health success.
Love At First Words: A Communication Competency Approach To Romantic Relationship Initiation, Grace E. Wiegand
Love At First Words: A Communication Competency Approach To Romantic Relationship Initiation, Grace E. Wiegand
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Initial interactions are essential to romantic relationship formation, and both parties must desire a second interaction after an initial encounter for the relationship to advance. Many studies have explored the communication styles and tactics that are effective in a person desiring a second interaction from a dating initiation scenario. However, existing research has yet to explain why some communication strategies do or do not result in second interactions. The current study seeks to examine this phenomenon further, testing the extent to which perceived partner communication competence influences a person to want to see another again after an initial interaction. In …
"I'Ve Never Felt A Pain Like This" A Dialogic Analysis Of Parent-Child Estrangement Narratives On Reddit, Grant W. Lane
"I'Ve Never Felt A Pain Like This" A Dialogic Analysis Of Parent-Child Estrangement Narratives On Reddit, Grant W. Lane
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
How do adult children estranged from their parent(s) create meaning and make sense of their estrangement in Reddit posts on the subreddit r/EstrangedAdultChild? This study analyzed Reddit posts written by estranged adult children for a presumed audience of other estranged adult children. Using relational dialectics theory (RDT) as a lens for analysis, this research examined the competing discourses that influence the meaning-making and sense-making processes of estranged adult children in their posts when the intended audience is fellow estranged adult children. Seventy-four posts from r/EstrangedAdultChild, authored by adult children who self-identified as estranged from at least one parent, were collected …
To Revise Or Not To Revise: How Feedback Type, Interpersonal Liking, And Messenger Credibility Influence Revision, Rachel Jane Jensen
To Revise Or Not To Revise: How Feedback Type, Interpersonal Liking, And Messenger Credibility Influence Revision, Rachel Jane Jensen
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Revisions inevitably occur during project creation and curation; many of which are influenced by received feedback. Previous research has highlighted the role goals, perceptions of self, and task complexity play in revision, but little research has examined how feedback type and an individual’s feelings toward their feedback giver influence revision. A quasi-experimental design examined how feedback type (additive, subtractive, or none), interpersonal liking for a feedback-giver, and perceived credibility of a feedback-giver affected students’ (n = 155) willingness to revise, self-reports of revision, and calculated actual revision score. Results indicated that participants in a feedback-receiving condition reported higher levels of …
Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Amber Thornton
Master Of Social Work Portfolio, Amber Thornton
Graduate Student Portfolios, Professional Papers, and Capstone Projects
This reflection on my journey through the Master of Social Work (MSW) program highlights the transformative influence of critical self-reflection, research, policy analysis, and leadership in shaping my development as a social worker. The program has equipped me with key competencies to engage effectively with individuals, families, groups, and communities, promoting empowerment and advancing social justice. Through hands-on experiences in individual engagement, family assessment, group intervention, and organizational evaluation, I have gained a holistic understanding of social work that emphasizes empathy, tailored interventions, and systemic change. My involvement in policy practice and advocacy has underscored the importance of evidence-based research …
The Role Of Face Threats In Understanding Target’S Interpretation Of A Tease, Shawn M. Deegan
The Role Of Face Threats In Understanding Target’S Interpretation Of A Tease, Shawn M. Deegan
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Teasing is a common phenomenon used across the lifespan, but what teasing is and what makes it prosocial or antisocial is strongly contested. This study argues that viewing teasing as a communication strategy helps researchers focus on the content of the teasing message. Goffman’s Facework Theory was used to explore negative and positive face threats, redressive signals, and relational closeness to help explain why the tease is seen as prosocial or antisocial. In an experimental study, participants were asked to take turns engaging in a teasing game about elements of the other’s identity. The study found that negative face threat …
Retrospective And Interactive Analyses Of Parent-Adolescent Storytelling About Alcohol, Kiersten Marie Falck
Retrospective And Interactive Analyses Of Parent-Adolescent Storytelling About Alcohol, Kiersten Marie Falck
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Parent-child communication about alcohol is a beneficial method for protecting adolescents against the risks of alcohol use, and may be particularly helpful among adolescents in the athletic community, where membership is a risk factor for alcohol use. Communicated Narrative Sense-Making theory (CNSM) was used as a guiding framework to ask 10 parent-adolescent dyads in youth sports to jointly tell a story about alcohol. Analyses were conducted thematically as well as through quantitative coding of Interactional Sense-Making (ISM) behaviors. Results show that in joint storytelling about alcohol in this study, parents often communicated tragedy, sought out their child’s thoughts about alcohol, …
Comedy, Camaraderie, And Conflict: Using Humor To Defuse Disputes Among Friends, Sheena A. Bringa
Comedy, Camaraderie, And Conflict: Using Humor To Defuse Disputes Among Friends, Sheena A. Bringa
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This study sought to examine the role humor plays in defusing conflict between friends from an evolutionary perspective. Although a vast amount of research exists on humor, friendship, and conflict, no single study connects all three of these concepts together. This study attempted to fill this gap by examining how different humor styles used between friends in times of conflict relate to friendship satisfaction and life satisfaction. Specifically, the hypotheses predicted that friends who use affiliative humor to deescalate conflict are more inclined to report higher relational satisfaction and improved individual well-being than friends who use maladaptive humor to deescalate …
Impacts Of Eating Disorder Recovery On Communication Of Identity Through Food, Rosemary Willett Jeter
Impacts Of Eating Disorder Recovery On Communication Of Identity Through Food, Rosemary Willett Jeter
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Using the Communication Theory of Identity as a framework, the purpose of this thesis was to investigate how the experience of eating disorder recovery (EDR) impacts one’s communication of identity through and about food, and perceptions of others’ communication about and through food. Purposive sampling yielded 20 adult participants who self-identified as having been in EDR for at least one year. Results from a phronetic iterative data analysis of semi-structured interviews yielded several themes. When considering how EDR influences personal communication through food, main themes include: (a) the inability to share meals creates a gap between the enacted and relational …
Understanding Media Richness And Social Presence: Exploring The Impacts Of Media Channels On Individuals’ Levels Of Loneliness, Well-Being, And Belonging, Ashley M. Arsenault
Understanding Media Richness And Social Presence: Exploring The Impacts Of Media Channels On Individuals’ Levels Of Loneliness, Well-Being, And Belonging, Ashley M. Arsenault
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Loneliness is a universal part of being human and is detrimental to well-being. The need-to-belong hypothesis claims that individuals frequently having positive interactions with people close to them mitigates their loneliness. Media richness theory adds that rich media channels allow individuals to perceive higher levels of social presence and maintain those vital, close relationships. Understanding how a given media channel impacts online interactions and, in turn, the interactants is vital. This study used a pretest-posttest equivalent groups experimental design to examine if individuals who interacted with a close relationship partner over a rich media channel would have a decrease in …
Activating Hope: How Functional Support Can Improve Hope In Unemployed Individuals, Rylee P. Walter
Activating Hope: How Functional Support Can Improve Hope In Unemployed Individuals, Rylee P. Walter
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Hope is an adaptive mindset that enables one to work toward their goals and thwart obstacles they encounter in doing so. However, the stress associated with some situations, such as unemployment, can block hopeful thinking, causing one to become stuck in unmotivated and inflexible thinking patterns and therefore potentially trapped in the distressing situation. Through an online survey, this study explored whether functional support would predict reportedly low hope states in unemployed individuals (N = 235). More specifically, we predicted that functional support would encourage reappraisal of (and thus buffer against) distressing unemployment-related emotions, with that reappraisal altering the …
The Home As A Site Of Family Communicated Narrative Sense-Making: Grief, Meaning, And Identity Through “Cleaning Out The Closet”, Kendyl A. Barney
The Home As A Site Of Family Communicated Narrative Sense-Making: Grief, Meaning, And Identity Through “Cleaning Out The Closet”, Kendyl A. Barney
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This study utilized communicated narrative sense-making theory to explore the process of sorting through a deceased loved one’s belongings and changing the home after loss (referred to as “cleaning out the closet”), as the site of family communication and storytelling. Through storytelling, families make order of the disordered experience that is bereavement by negotiating meaning, identity, and family. The stories told about and within the process of “cleaning out the closet” elicit rich insight on each family’s experience with bereavement, loss, and life with each other. “Cleaning out the closet” narratives shed light on the interactions that occur between family …
Making The Most Of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing On Negative Feedback, Christopher Edward Anderson
Making The Most Of People We Do Not Like: Capitalizing On Negative Feedback, Christopher Edward Anderson
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
Capitalization was first articulated by Langston (1994) to describe how individuals increase their own positivity by sharing good news with others. This study tests the idea that sometimes people share positive news with others they do not like in an attempt to savor their dissatisfaction with shared accomplishments. A fully crossed randomized 2 X 2 experiment was used to set an initial impression (positive or negative) followed by an interview procedure where the participants would disclose some recent positive event and the confederate interviewer would provide feedback (positive or negative). This procedure was used to test capitalization processes in a …
The Role Of Bipolar Disorder, Stigma, And Hurtful Messages In Romantic Relationships, Callie Parrish
The Role Of Bipolar Disorder, Stigma, And Hurtful Messages In Romantic Relationships, Callie Parrish
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This study explores hurtful messages received by individuals diagnosed with bipolar disorder I/II from their romantic partners. Close romantic relationships present opportunities for the utterance of hurtful messages, and the stigmatization that accompanies a mental health diagnosis could affect the attributions made surrounding hurtful messages. By applying attribution theory, the current study increases understanding of how individuals with bipolar disorder experience and attribute hurtful messages. Participants (N = 99) were adults diagnosed with bipolar disorder who had received a hurtful message from their romantic partner. Data was collected via online surveys comprised of Likert scales and short answer questions. …
Beyond The Bike; Identity And Belonging Of Free Cycles Members, Caitlyn Lewis
Beyond The Bike; Identity And Belonging Of Free Cycles Members, Caitlyn Lewis
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
A qualitative analysis was conducted at the community bicycle shop, Free Cycles, in order to examine participants’ identities and belonging within a community of practice. Semi-structured interviews with 19 members of the community and 50 hours of participant observation were conducted. Data analysis followed the grounded theory methodology of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Four research questions were proposed to examine the ways participants at Free Cycles identified with the bicycle-related practices of bicycle riding and maintenance, co-constructed the collective organizational identity, and developed a sense of belonging within the community amongst other members. The constructs of identity and belonging were …
When More Information Does Not Help: The Connection Between Facebook Monitoring Behavior, Relationship Uncertainty, And Relationship Quality, Tyler Morgan, Mackenzie Salitsky, Katjana Stutzer, J R. Thomas
When More Information Does Not Help: The Connection Between Facebook Monitoring Behavior, Relationship Uncertainty, And Relationship Quality, Tyler Morgan, Mackenzie Salitsky, Katjana Stutzer, J R. Thomas
Communication Studies Student Scholarship
This study examines the connection between relationship uncertainty, relationship satisfaction, and Facebook monitoring activity. We hypothesized that (1) people who monitor a romantic partner’s Facebook activity will also report feeling less satisfied in their current relationship, (2) increased monitoring of Facebook will correlate with greater uncertainty in romantic relationships, and that (3) greater uncertainty in a relationship will adversely affect relationship quality. Using an online survey taken by a volunteer sample of 77 participants across the United States, we found support for these hypotheses.
Beyond Blood: Examining The Communicative Challenges Of Adoptive Families, Mackensie C. Minniear
Beyond Blood: Examining The Communicative Challenges Of Adoptive Families, Mackensie C. Minniear
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
This study examined how adoptive families discursively create family identity through their communication. Building on theories of discourse dependence and family communication patterns, this research examined how families whose identity does not meet a bio-genetic view of family must re-define family using communication. Often times, families that are created outside biological means must renegotiate family identity both within the family, and outside the family, from those who feel comfortable commenting and questioning their family composition. Communication becomes a tool that adoptees must use to understand their family identity, as well as their own adoptive identity. Furthermore, this study looked to …
"Trigger" For Change: Theatre As A Tool For Social Dialogue, Sydoney B. Blackmore
"Trigger" For Change: Theatre As A Tool For Social Dialogue, Sydoney B. Blackmore
Undergraduate Theses, Professional Papers, and Capstone Artifacts
Trigger for Change: Theatre as a Tool for Social Dialogue was a project consisting of three main parts oriented toward promoting dialogue on the University of Montana campus about sexual assault. The first part was a company-constructed multimedia presentation that quickly introduced the audience to facts, figures, and perspectives regarding sexual assault. The second was a performance of Carmen Aguirre's The Trigger, a stage play about the playwright’s experience before, during, and after her rape, with other characters’ perspectives interjected throughout. The purpose of this performance was to provide an experience for the audience that promoted empathy and critical …
Diabesties: How Diabetic Support On Campus Can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout, Kassandra E. Martin
Diabesties: How Diabetic Support On Campus Can Alleviate Diabetic Burnout, Kassandra E. Martin
Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers
The purpose of this study is to determine what types of supportive communication Type One diabetic students need when entering college to decrease diabetic related distress. A training program for students living with Type One Diabetes was created on the barriers they face to effective disease management on campus. This training plan was developed using Beebe, Mottet, and Roach’s (2013) Needs-Centered Training Model. The main issue that appeared from the Needs Assessment was that students are feeling high distress when it comes to keeping with a strict medical regimen. What they expressed interest in was a need for information from …