Interpersonal and Small Group Communication Commons^™

Introduction To Communication Theories, Richard Jones

Syllabi

How does communication work? Why does communication work thatway? Scholars in communication studies begin to answer these questions through the applicationof communication theory. This course serves as an introduction to a broad range ofcommunication theories related to interpersonal, group and public, intercultural, media, gender,and organizational communication. This core course is required for communication majorsbecause it serves as a building block for upper level communication courses that depend upon aworking knowledge of communication theories and processes. This course serves as part of youroverall training as a communication scholar/professional in regards to critical thinking, analyticthinking, critical reading, and listening skills. In this …

Communication Theory, W. Robinson

Syllabi

A survey of communication theories in rhetorical, public, interpersonal,organizational, and mediated contexts.

Small Group Communication, Samantha Szczur

Syllabi

This course covers the definition, structure, and functions of small groups. It examines theories and processes of communication that occur in formal and informal groups in professional, civic, and other contexts. Special attention is paid to the ways in which communication in small groups relates to critical and analytical thinking in small group decision making and problem solving, diversity in small groups, roles and leadership in small groups, and oral presentations in small groups. 

Social Interaction, Samantha Szczur

Syllabi

Human beings employ an array of communicative symbols to craft selves, identities, groups, and reality more generally.  This graduate seminar is dedicated to examining the myriad ways humans create and negotiate realities and identities through social interaction.  As such, we will attend to the individual, groups, cultures, larger social formations, and the inter-­relationships among these arenas.    Studies of social interaction are interdisciplinary and emerge from an array of research methodologies. Consequently, our readings reflect a diversity of perspectives on disciplinary and methodological levels. 

(Dis)Respect In The Classroom: A Gendered Perspective Of Academia, Abriana Nichole Vesconte

Masters Theses

The purpose of this study was to examine gendered practices and the experiences of women instructors within academia. Women face different challenges than men in the classroom, and many times, they are challenged by their students. In order to complete this study, I conducted narrative interviews with women faculty ranging from Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs), contractual instructors, as well as tenured and untenured professors at a Midwest university. I was able to interview eight women faculty members of varying positions. After completing the interviews and analyzing the data from each instructor, three prominent themes emerged. These themes are: (1) public …

Shyness In The Classroom: A Study In Nonverbal Communication Codes, Nora E. Radway

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This study examined the experiences of shy, introverted, and apprehensive students in the college classroom. This study was framed by multiple goals theory to discover how these students use nonverbal communication to achieve their task, identity, and relational goals in the classroom. Shy, introverted, and apprehensive students face challenges in the classroom especially when asked to verbally participate or give presentations that their more outgoing classmates may not face. Participants (N = 16) participated in focus groups where they discussed their experiences, perceptions, and feelings about participation in their college courses. Results showed that these students do experience apprehension …

“Standing On The Front Lines And Down In The Trenches With Her”: An Exploration Of The Dialectical Tensions And Competing Goals Of Adult Children Of Mentally Ill Parents, Kelley Hodgson

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Mental illness is a pervasive health epidemic in the United States and worldwide, and available data suggest that mentally ill adults are statistically more likely to be parents than non-parents. The prevalence and continued growth of parental mental illness means that millions of children in the United States have a parent with some form of mental health issues.

This dissertation contributes to and extends existing literature on children of mentally ill parents by exploring 15 adult children’s subjective perspectives on how they navigate the tension-wrought experience of having a mentally ill parent, and how this has implications for the management …

Cat In The Classroom: Understanding Instructor Behavior And Student Perceptions Through Communication Accommodation Theory, Terrell Kody Frey

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Adjusting one’s communication is a fundamental requirement for human interaction (Gasiorek, 2016a). Individuals adapt communication behavior according to the circumstances surrounding the situation, resulting in different patterns and forms of speech relative to spouses, family members, coworkers, or friends. Yet, researchers in instructional communication have not yet substantially applied adjustment as a theoretical lens for understanding instructor-student classroom interactions (Gasiorek & Giles, 2012; Soliz & Giles, 2014; Soliz & Bergquist, 2016). Apart from overlooking this useful theoretical approach, instructional communication scholarship can also be improved by accounting for 1) shifting group identities in higher education that change how instructors and …

Mobile Technology And Classroom Relationships, Joe C. Martin

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

This dissertation examines the relational implications of the presence of mobile technology within the basic communication course. To guide the research and interpret the results Mottet, Frymier, and Beebe’s (2006) rhetorical and relational goals theory is utilized. To investigate this phenomenon a survey design was employed, and participants were asked to respond to open-ended, closed-ended, and descriptive questions. Results of this study shed light upon how and when university students use technology, as well as the positive and detrimental results such usage has upon the development and quality of their relationships in the classroom, both with instructors and other students. …

Understanding The Interaction In Mediation Caucuses: Negotiation Positions, Disputant Assessments, Bias And Neutrality, Angela Cora Garcia

Natural & Applied Sciences Faculty Publications

Previous research on how mediation helps disputing parties to reach resolution has not addressed the interaction in caucuses (i.e. separate meetings) between mediators and individual disputants which may be held in addition to the joint mediation sessions. This discourse-analytic study of videotaped mediation caucuses reveals both constructive and potentially problematic aspects of participants’ interaction during the caucuses. While some disputants engaged in constructive actions, such as articulating their bottom line negotiating position or sharing information with the mediator which had not been revealed in the joint session, others produced negative assessments of the opposing disputants. Also, mediators’ openness in expressing …

Undoing Gender: An Analysis Of How Women Communicate Within The Agricultural Industry, Shala R. Larson

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In recent history, women have entered more business-like positions in the agricultural industry. This thesis seeks to understand how women in agriculture describe their workplace communication and whether they feel they are part of a muted group. Twelve women were interviewed regarding their experiences as women in agriculture and were asked whether they feel valued in their positions and how they communicate with their male co-workers. Specifically, interviewees were asked if they ever felt the need to alter their communication to complement, emulate, or otherwise adjust to masculine communication styles. The majority of women interviewed reported having to strategically choose …

Family Separation And The Impact Of Digital Technology On The Mental Health Of Refugee Families In The United States: Qualitative Study, Sayyed Fawad Ali Shah, Julia Meredith Hess, Jessica R. Goodkind

Research, Publications & Creative Work

Background: Conflicts around the world have resulted in a record high number of refugees. Family separation is a critical factor that impacts refugee mental health. Thus, it is important to explore refugees’ ability to maintain contact with family members across the globe and the ways in which they attempt to do so. It is increasingly common for refugees to use information and communication technologies (ICTs), which include mobile phones, the internet, and social media sites, such as Facebook, WhatsApp, Skype, and Viber, for these purposes.

Objective: The aim of this study was to explore refugees’ perceptions of the …

Journal Of Communication Pedagogy, Complete Volume, 2019

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

No abstract provided.

“More Than Just A Box”: The Co-Creation Of Social Identity Within Hispanic-Caucasian Multiethnic Family Systems, Anna-Carrie H. Beck

Theses and Dissertations--Communication

Approximately 15% of all new marriages in the United States in 2010 were between spouses that shared different racial or ethnic backgrounds from one another. Socha and Diggs (1999) began to examine race as both an outcome of family communication as well as a factor that influences children's communication development in families because of the social pressure multiethnic families endure to fit a nuclear family model. This study utilized dyadic interviews of eleven multiethnic parent couples (N = 22 individuals; 11 dyads) in order to gain a deeper understanding of Hispanic-Caucasian multiethnic family systems. Communication in families plays a foundational …

Effects Of Political Ingroup/Outgroup Rejection On Behavior And Physiology, Hannah Rose Lentfer

Honors Program Theses

Previous research shows that both exclusion and intergroup threat can increase prejudice and biological markers such as cortisol. Exclusion from an outgroup should increase prejudice and cortisol more than similar interactions in an ingroup since it incorporates both exclusion and intergroup threat. Change in cortisol and prejudice was examined in fifty participants who were excluded by either a politically-based ingroup or outgroup. Two t-tests were conducted to examine the change in a) cortisol and b) prejudice as a function of experimental ingroup/outgroup conditions. Additional analyses were also conducted to further explore cortisol changes and similarity. Cortisol increased more in participants …

Motivational Interviewing In A Team-Based Wellness Clinic: Perceptions And Fidelity, Jodi M. Winship

Theses and Dissertations

INTRODUCTION: Motivational Interviewing (MI) is an evidenced based counseling style to elicit health behavior change. Team-based student clinics are an ideal climate for students to learn and practice team-based care, yet little is understood as to how client-centered communication styles such as MI are implemented in a team setting.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this dissertation was to conduct an exploratory study using mixed methods to better understand how an MI training translates to team-based communication with clients, the factors impacting team-based implementation of MI, and how team-based MI impacts clients’ perceived autonomy at a student-led, interprofessional, team-based wellness clinic for …

Perspectives On Teaching The Family Communication Course, Tiffany R. Wang, Jeffrey T. Child

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This article discusses what undergraduate students enrolled in a family communication course should learn. It is intended to provide readers with a general direction on how to design or teach a family communication course so that students understand a communication-centered approach to family. This article highlightssome of the foundational theories and concepts grounding most family communication courses, content areas typically addressed when considering the family communication course, possible assignments that might be useful in teaching the course, and relevant issues related to teaching family communication. If instructors thoughtfully consider content and assignment decisions in the family communication course, they have …

A Pedagogical Guide To Teaching An Interpersonal Communication Course, Jordan Atkinson, David Mcmahan

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This forum article focuses on the instruction of an interpersonal communication course. Interpersonal communication courses are widely included in undergraduate communication curriculum and can be fundamental to student development. The authors provide foundational material and various content areas generally included in such a course. The authors also provide various applied assignments and issues to consider when teaching an interpersonal communication course.

Reducing Secondary Trauma And Compassion Fatigue In The Dark Side Of Interpersonal Communication Classrooms, Mary E. King, Albra Wheeler

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

This essay describes the experiences faculty may encounter when teaching tough topics. When professionals are in the position as the individual who cares for, hears about, or witnesses the trauma and suffering of others, they might themselves be at risk for experiencing vicarious stress, or secondary trauma. If ongoing and untreated, this traumatic stress can morph into compassion fatigue, which can impede professional success and contribute to burnout. This essay reflects on the experiences of teaching the Dark Side of Interpersonal Communication where students openly shared course-related personal experiences. We reflect on how to successfully manage the delicate climate of …

Hearing Is Believing: Using Audio Feedback In The Online Interpersonal Communication Course, Krista Hoffmann-Longtin

Journal of Communication Pedagogy

The introduction to interpersonal communication course (IPC) is popular for both communication majors and nonmajors alike, and as such, many departments have designed online versions of the course. Teaching IPC in this format has challenges, given its dual emphasis on theoretical understanding and skill-building. This reflection essay explores the efficacy of providing audio feedback on essays in the online IPC course, as a way to create a positive online presence, manage the grading load, and encourage students to implement the feedback. The rationale for this approach to feedback and implementation strategies are provided, as well as a discussion of outcomes …