Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

The Comparative Effectiveness Of Systematic Desensitization And An Integrative Approach In Treating Public Speaking Anxiety: A Literature Review And A Preliminary Investigation, Ana M. Rossi, William J. Seiler

Department of Communication Studies: Faculty Publications

An analysis of the literature related to public speaking anxiety (PSA) and various treatments of it are discussed. PSA is a state or situational type of anxiety which can have tremendous effects on those who suffer from it. Two of the major treatments—systematic desensitization (SD) and the integrative approach (IA)—are reviewed and then experimentally tested to determine which is the more effective in treating PSA. The results are somewhat inclusive, but there is strong evidence to suggest that both SD and IA reduce trait and state anxiety. It was found, however, that IA is more effective in decreasing the symptoms …

Teaching Basic Courses: Problems And Solutions, Richard L. Weaver Ii, Howard W. Cotrell

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic speech courses enroll many students. Basic course instructors are often under great pressure to succeed and to be effective. Because of the numbers of students and the pressures, they experience many problems. Five are discussed in this article: rigor versus leniency, independence versus dependence, theory versus skills, being close versus being distant, and objective evaluation versus subjective evaluation. Solutions to these problems are likely to affect both student and instructor motivation. Solutions are also likely to affect how students perceive instructors. That's why, with respect to basic course instructors, you have to have solutions for the problems.

Opening Lines In Classroom And Social Settings: A Study Of The Initiator's First Conversational Sequence, Julie E. Hutcheson

Masters Theses

This study examined various types of opening lines that college students use with strangers in classrooms and social settings. An opening line was defined as the initial turn of the conversational sequence. The responses received by the students, through an open-ended survey, were analyzed and categorized using content analysis. The results revealed many similarities among the two settings in eight pre-established categories and three new categories except for in one of the newest categories. The social setting in one of the newest categories received more sarcastic conversational sequences than the classroom. This study provides examples pertaining to many opening lines …

Communication And Aging: Perceptions Of Family And Friend Interaction On Self Reported Life Satisfaction Among Selected Residents Of Three Nursing Homes, Patricia J. Fetzner

Masters Theses

The study of communication and aging provides great potential for enriching the lives of the elderly. Of course this should be of great interest to each of us as we are all inevitably aging. One rapidly growing area in communication research deals with how communication affects the life satisfaction of the elderly. Of particular interest is the attitudinal effect of family and friend interaction.

Early research dealing with the elderly focused on two theories: 1. Activity theory, which is the idea that social activity is essential to an older person's sense of well being and; 2. Disengagement theory, which suggests …

The Interaction Of Teacher And Student Social Styles And Learning Styles On Learning Outcomes Of The Basic Communication Course, Michael Smilowitz, Lynn A. Phelps

Basic Communication Course Annual

There has been considerable research that indicates the importance of the type and quality of teachers' communication. Too little of this research has considered the possibility of interrelationships between teacher's social and preferred learning styles with the social and preferred learning styles of students. This study examines students in basic communication courses for the effects of actual correspondence in styles as well as students' accuracy in describing the styles of their teachers. The results indicate that accurate perceptions of teachers' social styles influence course grades and actual correspondence influences student evaluations of the course.

Title Page

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Dedication

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editorial Board

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

Editor's Page, Lawrence W. Hugenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

I am excited about this inaugural Basic Course Annual. The essays published in this volume are exciting and form a solid foundation upon which future editions will rest. There are a variety of essays included, some related to the history of the basic course, others offering insights into basic course pedagogy, and others discussing the administration of multisectioned basic communication courses.

Contents

Basic Communication Course Annual

No abstract provided.

The Basic Course In Speech Communication: An Historical Perspective, Pamela L. Gray

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of this paper is to trace some of the changes that have taken place in the basic course in speech communication through the use of representative literature concerning the basic course.

In addition, a direction for the future, indicated by the literature, will be suggested. This paper should serve as both an historical perspective of this course and a summary of the changes that may have occurred as this course has responded to philosophical/ intellectual and/or pragmatic pressures.

What We Know About The Basic Course: What Has The Research Told Us?, William J. Seiler, Drew Mcgukin

Basic Communication Course Annual

Research in the basic speech communication course is vital to our understanding of what we know about it, how it is administered and taught. The paper examines theoretical as well as empirical literature relevant to the basic course. Our examination suggests that the literature is deplete of a consistent base of knowledge on which to design the basic course. The paper concludes by discussing a proposal for systematic research to help provide a foundation for teaching and administering the basic course.

A Comparison Between Psi-Based And Self-Contained Formats Of Instruction In The Introductory Speech Communication Course, Pamela L. Gray, Nancy L. Buerkel-Rothfuss, Richard W. Thomas

Basic Communication Course Annual

This study assesses differences between two instructional methods in a basic speech communication course: a modified Personalized System of Instruction (PSI) and a self contained format. Communication skills, communication apprehension, self-esteem, and academic achievement in, perceptions about, and satisfaction with the course are compared. Using t-tests to compare means and mean exchange scores, the PSI-based format was found to be more effective than the self-contained format. Comparing these data with an earlier study designed to compare the PSI-based format with more traditional lecture-recitation format, the self-contained approach appears to be a better alternative than the lecture-recitation for teaching the course, …

Using Plays And Novels As Case Studies In The Basic Course, Roger Smitter

Basic Communication Course Annual

Article presents a rationale for the use of case studies and the case study method in the undergraduate speech communication classroom. Examples are provided for using plays and novels. The advantages and disadvantages of using plays and novels as cases are presented.

A Unit On Relationship Termination For The Basic Course, Lynn A. Phelps

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic interpersonal communication courses stress relationship development but seldom address the concept of relationship termination. If addressed, termination is often viewed from a negative perspective. Yet in today's mobile society, the concept that a person will continue to develop new relationships throughout their life without terminating any of their previous relationships is ludicrous at best. The purpose of this article is to suggest units on relationship termination which are appropriate for the basic communication course.

Teaching Ethics In The Basic Survey Speech Communication Course, William A. Haskins

Basic Communication Course Annual

The teaching of ethics in speech communication courses is not new to most communication curricula. Emphasis upon teaching ethics in speech communication courses, however, appears to be growing. Attention on the teaching of ethics appears to be growing as well as in many basic speech communication classes. This paper, then, provides general suggestions on teaching ethics in a basic speech communication course.

The Necessity Of Separating Idealized Accountability From Realized Accountability: A Case Study, Karen Greenberg

Basic Communication Course Annual

This essay presents the hidden distinction between the idealized accountability and the realized accountability of the basic communication course. It illuminates this difference as this difference is evidenced in the ethical dimension of the rhetoric of basic communication course instructors'manuals. Contrary to popular myth, the basic communication course does not aim to reinforce the importance of the creation and maintenance of students' or instructors' identities, but aims to reinforce the importance of the creation and maintenance of educational systems. That is, this course mystifies one type of social hierarchy rather than elucidating many.

Implications Of Student And Instructor Involvement In The Basic Course, Samuel P. Wallace, Don B. Morlan

Basic Communication Course Annual

The purpose of the study is to test the notion that students in the basic course who possess high levels of communication competence will perform better in and subsequently will be more satisfied with the course than their counterparts with low levels of competence. Results show no support for the initial hypothesis. Further analysis, however, showed that the level of instructor competence has a significant effect on student evaluation of instructors.

Training Or Teaching? A Professional Development Program For Graduate Teaching Assistants, Douglas M. Trank

Basic Communication Course Annual

Basic course directors are urged to consider the range of roles available to them in working with graduate teaching assistants. The key element in establishing an effective professional development program is the development of an appropriate atmosphere where the graduate instructors know they are viewed as valuable members of the faculty. Such a program must remain flexible enough to meet the needs of the graduate instructors and the department it serves. Treating graduate instructors as colleagues and involving them in the process, giving them power and freedom, and valuing the teaching they do benefits the students, the graduate instructors, the …

Author Identification

Basic Communication Course Annual

Biographical information about the authors and editors who contributed to this issue

Basic Communication Course Annual Vol. 1

Basic Communication Course Annual

Full issue (212 pages; 14.6 MB)

A Relational Analysis Of Patients' Perceptions Of Physicians' Noverbal Immediacy & Patients' Satisfaction With Their Physicians, Stuart Schrader

Masters Theses & Specialist Projects

This study examines the relationship between patients' perception of physicians' nonverbal immediacy and patients' satisfaction with their physicians. Using a newly designed scale tor measuring nonverbal immediacy and patients' satisfaction with their physicians, the researcher tested one hundred and eighty-nine patients of six southern, male, caucasian doctors to determine if a significant correlation exists between composite scores. These doctors practice in Southern Kentucky, specializing as internists, general practitioners, and family practitioners. Both scales use a composite measure based on the summation of all twelve questions within the scale. Data analysis included reliability coefficients, factor analysis, multiple regression analysis, Pearson correlations, …

Communication And Socialization Profiles In Toddlers With Expressive Language Delay, Shawn Spangle-Looney

Dissertations and Theses

The purpose of this study was to compare expressive communication, receptive communication, and socialization achievement in 18- to 34-month-old ELD toddlers to the same skills in normally-speaking children. The questions this study sought to answer were, how do the three skill areas in ELD toddlers compare with the same skills in normal toddlers?, will ELD subjects evidence specific profiles of deficits involving not only expressive but receptive and social skills as well? and, within the ELD subjects will two subgroups emerge, one group having poor expressive skills only, and a second group having deficits in addition to expression.

Ua68/2 Intercambio Internacional, Vol. X, No. 2, Wku Latin American Studies

WKU Administration Documents

Newsletter created by WKU Latin American Studies program regarding science, politics and economic advances in Latin America as well as cooperative projects between WKU and universities across Latin America. The newsletter is written in both English and Spanish.

0463: William D. Birke Papers, 1925-1973, Marshall University Special Collections

Guides to Manuscript Collections

Huntington, West Virginia newspaper publisher. Collection includes scrapbooks, photographs, certificates and an autograph letter signed by Dwight D. Eisenhower.

To view materials from this collection that are digitized and available online, search the William D. Birke Papers, 1925-1973 here.

Care, Need, And Conceptions Of Love: A Reexamination, Janet Gruwell Morris

Dissertations and Theses

The present study examines the roles need and care play in such positive interpersonal attitudes as love, liking, attraction, and friendship, by both replicating and extending a 1982 study by Steck, Levitan, McLane, and Kelley. Subjects were presented with slightly revised Rubin Love Scales which were filled out as if by persons involved in relationships, and were asked to judge how much each hypothetical person loved, liked, was attracted to, and felt friendly toward their partner. In fact, the love scales had been divided into three components, i.e. need, care, and trust, and were filled out with each component at …

A Contextual Analysis Of Selected Communication Strategies Associated With Dyadic And Situation Characteristics: A Field Study, Gisele Marie Tierney

Dissertations and Theses

A contextual analysis investigation of related communication acts is concerned with the multidimensional nature of human interdependence. The communication strategy is a category of relational communication acts that can be viewed as one of the ways in which interactants promote or maintain a working consensus and enhance interpersonal discovery. Strategy use is motivated by the nature of the relationship rather than by the speaker's conscious attempts to direct outcomes.

Comparative Self-Monitoring Behavior And Recall Of Verbal And Nonverbal Interactional Information About Partner In Conversations With Ablebodied And Disabled Partners, Doris L. Werkman

Dissertations and Theses

When strangers meet, there is a high level of uncertainty due to the infinite number of possible alternatives in behavior between the two people. Previous research indicates that communicators will attempt to reduce the level of uncertainty by using available verbal and nonverbal information of the other, by seeking similarities with the other, and by observing the situation itself. This information is used to predict attitudes and beliefs, as well as to attribute characteristics of the other. Other studies indicate that a person will increase her level of self-monitoring activity when the level of uncertainty is increased.

A Multidimensional Analysis Of Physical Attractiveness In The Formation Of First Impressions, Jewel Marianna Smith Hunter

Dissertations and Theses

Before any words are spoken, an individual's appearance is his or her first line of nonverbal communication with the rest of the world. Prior research conducted on physical attractiveness has been vague and contradictory and has not assessed its many components. Rather, past investigators have perceived physical attractiveness as a "unidimensional" concept.

Several phases were involved in the task of proving or disproving the hypotheses of the study. The first general phase began with the selection of photographic subjects, progressed into the creation of a set of photographs which were to become the stimuli, and proceeded to the selection of …

Ua35/11 Student Honors Research Bulletin, Wku Honors Program

WKU Administration Documents

The WKU Student Honors Research Bulletin is dedicated to scholarly involvement and student research. These papers are representative of work done by students from throughout the university.

• Albin, Bettye. Hawthorne's Narrator in the Blithedale Romance: A New Cover for an Old Friend
• Allen, Christopher. With Just Pride: The Naval History of the Warships USS Enterprise
• Barrett, Shelly. Structuralism
• Bolton, Joe. Wallace Stevens and Twentieth Century Aesthetics
• Bush, Paul. The Acceptance of Grace in Flannery O'Connor's Short Stories
• Gasparello-Moore, Nina. A Comparison of a Naïve and Simple Regression Forecasting Model for the Dow Jones Industrial Average
• Henry, Lynn. The Bureaucratic and …