The relationship between listening styles and conversational sensitivity

This study examines the relationship between the listening styles people tend to employ habitually and related levels of conversational sensitivity. Conversational sensitivity deals with the extent to which people enjoy listening in social interaction, can identify hidden meaning in conversations, and generally are highly aware of implicit messages that may be gained from conversations. One way in which conversational sensitivity might be apparent is in the listening styles which people rely on habitually. Conversationally sensitive receivers may favor one or two listening styles over others. The results indicate a positive relationship between the People listening style and conversational sensitivity, as well as weaker positive relationships between the Content and Action styles and sensitivity. Conversationally sensitive people are most likely to employ the People listening style. The results illustrate the conversational advantages of employing a People listening style.     

Listening styles and their correspondence with second guessing

This study examined the correspondence between four different styles of listening (people, action, content, and time) and their relationship to second‐guessing theory. Individuals often question the veracity of messages that they receive from second‐hand sources. Individuals may doubt the second‐hand source as well as the “primary” source. We explored whether different styles of listening were associated with a tendency to second guess was explained. A regression analysis revealed that two listening styles predicted second guessing, accounting for 17% of the variance. Results are discussed in terms of listener profiles and second‐guessing motivation.     

MEDIA COVERAGE AND THE FLOW OF VOTERS IN MULTIPARTY SYSTEMS: THE 1994 NATIONAL ELECTIONS IN HOLLAND AND GERMANY

Positive news is advantageous for a party, but the effects ofnegative news are less obvious, especially in a multiparty system.One possibility is an indecisionmodel in which negative informationwould push voters to the undecided category. An alternativeis a proportional model in which voters would move to otherparties in proportion to their share of the vote. A third scenariowould correspond to a proximity model in which the shift wouldbe to parties holding viewpoints similar to those of the criticizedparty. The three models were tested using the ideodynamic modelor the 1994 elections in the Netherlands and Germany. The explanatoryvariables were content analysis data obtained daily for majorprint and electronic news media. The dependent variable wasweekly survey data of party preferences of voters. The analysisshowed the proportional model to be the least plausible withthe proximity model being promising. Campaign strategists startingfrom the proximity model will both promote negative news aboutother parties and adopt their issue positions.     

PUBLIC OPINION AND PARLIAMENTARY ACTION: RESPONSIVENESS OF THE GERMAN BUNDESTAG IN COMPARATIVE PERSPECTIVE

Does the parliamentary behavior of members of parliament, parliamentaryparties, and government correspond with the public's preferencesregarding political issues? What conditions support the emergenceof congruence between public opinion and public policy? Thesequestions are central concerns of democratic theory. In thispaper, they are investigated empirically for the activitiesin the federal German legislature, the German Bundestag, between1949 and 1990. For this purpose, 94 time series of public opinionpolls have been combined with content analysis of more than3, 000 parliamentary documents (e.g. parliamentary questions,committe reports). If public opinion about a policy matter changes,approximately 60 percent of the respective parliamentary actionsare congruent with the direction of opinion change. The congruencebetween public opinion and public policy is greatest for opinionchanges in a conservative direction when the political statusquo is supported. Even more important than the direction ofopinion change is the public's majority opinion at the timeof parliamentary action.     

Attachment style and the cognitive representation of communication situations

The purpose of this study is to examine differences in the way communication situations are perceived among those with different attachment styles. The study examined the complexity of Secure, Avoidant, and Anxious/ambivalent's cognitive representations of other people and found that those with secure attachment styles to be slightly higher in cognitive complexity, on average, than those with avoidant and anxious/ambivalent styles. Further, this study found differences among the attachment styles in the way people think about interpersonal interactions. Using both categorical and continuous measures of attachment style, this study found that those with more secure attachment beliefs think about themselves as more skilled in seeking the affinity of others and define communication situations as more rewarding and attractive. Those with avoidant and anxious/ambivalent attachment styles, on the other hand, were found to perceive interpersonal situations as less rewarding, less attractive, and less useful in gaining the approval of others.     

Social support and perceived understanding in the brother relationship

Social support is an important factor in peoples' physical and psychological well‐being. Pierce, Sarason, & Sarason (1991) identified three social support styles: relationship support, relationship conflict, and interpersonal depth. This study was interested in the relationship between these three styles with perceived understanding in the brother‐brother relationship. Ninety‐six sets of brothers completed a questionnaire reporting on the styles they use with their brothers and their feelings of being understood. Results showed overall positive relationships between the styles of relationship support and interpersonal depth with perceived understanding. The style of relationship conflict was negatively related to perceived understanding. Additionally, brothers reported using similar support styles with one another.     

Trust in interpersonal communication

The present study investigated communication patterns and subsequent relational outcomes following romantic partners' deception for people with different attachment styles. Information on attachment styles, information importance of the lie, emotional intensity following discovery of the lie, communication patterns following the discovery of the lie, and relational termination outcomes of the 213 participants who reported being deceived by a relational partner were gathered. Analyses revealed that respondents with a secure attachment style were more likely to report talking about the issue, whereas anxious/ambivalents were more likely to report talking around and avoiding the issue. These two attachment groups reported being apt to continue their relationships. Conversely, respondents with an avoidant attachment style reported being more likely to avoid the person after discovery of the lie, and they tended to report terminating their romantic relationships more than the other two attachment style groups. The results were consistent with the hypothesis that communication patterns following discovery of the partner's deception are related to attachment styles, but information importance and avoiding the person were directly related to relational termination.     

Attachment Style and its Influence on the Activities,Motives, and Consequences of SNS Use

This study employs a uses and gratifications approach to explore how social network sites (SNS) users' attachment style influences SNS motives, SNS use, and related psychological outcomes, as well as the interrelationships of these factors. By modifying preexisting attachment styles, users were classified into four styles: (1) fearful-avoidant, (2) dismissive-avoidant, (3) secure, and (4) anxious-ambivalent. Findings show SNS use and SNS-related outcomes differ across attachment style groups, although SNS motive does not; and attachment style moderates the influences of SNS motive and SNS use on psychological outcomes. These findings imply potential consequences of SNS use can substantially differ depending on users' attachment style.     

Design for delivery of the sermon

In the first section, three styles of the preacher are discussed — minor melody, dogmatic and belligerent and the droning monotonous style. Causes and cures of these styles are suggested. In the second section, effective and acceptable style of delivery is defined. Intimacy, sincerity and communicative vitality are discussed with the methods for their attainment.     

Training Methods of Listening-Based Journalistic Questioning

The study introduces the pedagogy of listening-based questioning training (LBJQ) for journalism students and journalists. The approach provides basic training and is somewhat different from the usual interview training as LBJQ focuses on training in basic skills: listening and reflective responding skills, as well as the ability to use different types of questions efficiently. The aim of the exercises is to help the journalist to get the most precise information possible from people with various social skills and styles. The article explains theoretical approaches and provides sample exercises for trainers and journalists.     

Turn On,Tune In,Drop Out: Radio Listening,Ownership Policy,and Technology

Radio listening in the United States fell by more than 10% between 1998 and 2003. During this time, broadcast radio faced new competition from satellite radio and the Internet while the industry was also undergoing significant changes due to increased radio ownership caps. This article quantifies the effects of these factors on audience sizes and explores the implications for audience composition and programming content. The results show that industry consolidation played a larger role in decreasing overall listening than new technology. New technology did have a role in altering the distribution of listeners among programming formats.     

Conflict style differences between individualists and collectivists

This study investigated the fundamental beliefs regarding cross-cultural differences in conflict styles. The sample consisted of 188 graduate students from 31 different countries residing in the U.S. Findings indicated that assumptions regarding the relationship of culture to conflict style preferences may not be valid. Preference for using five conflict styles were measured: avoiding, obliging, integrating, compromising, and dominating. The integrating style is generally the most preferred; obliging and avoiding are next, followed by compromising and dominating. Avoiding is preferred by individualists rather than by collectivists. Individualists do not differ from collectivists in their preference for the dominating conflict style. We also found that collectivists prefer compromising and integrating more than individualists do, whereas individualism-collectivism had no significant linear effect on preference for the obliging style. Conflict styles are highly multidimensional for both individualists and collectivists. Even though the five conflict styles can be subsumed under four types, the items measuring the five styles cannot be generated from any two-dimensional typology. Finally, the meaning of four of the five styles is different for individualists and collectivists: Dominating is the only style interpreted similarly by both groups. Areas for future research are considered.     

MEDIA TONE AND PUBLIC OPINION: A LONGITUDINAL STUDY OF MEDIA COVERAGE AND PUBLIC OPINION ON CHANCELLOR KOHL

This study investigates the relationship between media coverageof Helmut Kohl in seven leading German print media and the opinionsof the German general public about the politician between 1975and 1984. For the content analysis evaluative assessments aboutHelmut Kohl on six different dimensions of characteristics werecoded. The analysis of public opinion is based on 72 representativesurveys in which respondents expressed their evaluations ofthe politician. The two time series were compared by means ofcross-lagged correlations. The whole period was first examinedwith aggregations of three-months-intervals; then closer attentionwas paid to the time period since Helmut Kohl took office aschancellor on the basis of monthly intervals. In both cases,the results show that evaluation shifts in the media precedesimilar evaluation shifts in public opinion with a time lagof about three to six months for the whole period of investigation,and a somewhat shorter time lag for the time of his chancellorship.Evaluation shifts in the political magazines Der Spiegel andStern were more closely related to public opinion than evaluationshifts in the national dailies.     

THE PRESS AND THE POLLS IN GERMANY, 1980-1994 POLL COVERAGE AS AN ESSENTIAL PART OF ELECTION CAMPAIGN REPORTING

Since their beginnings pre-election polls have been under attackfrom politicians and journalists. One of the most fundamentalcriticisms of polls is that they can influence the outcome ofelections. This article investigates news media reporting ofpoll results and comments on public opinion research beforeFederal elections in Germany. It presents empirical findingsfor the quantity as well as the formal and substantial qualityof this press coverage. The database is a content analysis of443 pre-election poll articles published in Germany's leadingdailies Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (FAZ), Frankfurter Rundschau(FR), Süddeutsche Zeitung (SZ), and Die Welt (Welt) between1980 and 1994. The quantity of news media reporting of publicopinion polls has improved over the years. Now, poll storiesare a standard feature of German newspapers. The frequency ofreports depends on the conditions of each election—e.g.on the expected closeness of the election outcome. The formalquality could be better—that is the conformity to AAPORstandards. Horse-race journalism isn't found as often as inthe USA. Journalists often use poll results to predict an electionoutcome. Moreover, the analysis revealed an ambivalent relationshipbetween liberal journalists and polls, while the reporting ofconservative journalists is more in favor of opinion research.     

THE DEPICTION OF SEX ROLES IN AMERICAN AND GERMAN MAGAZINE ADVERTISEMENTS*

This study provides a quantitative content analysis of the depictionsof sex roles in the American news magazine Time and the WestGerman news magazine Stern from 1969 to 1988. The underlyingassumption of the study is that advertisements reflect changesin social reality. While most studies focus on explicit aspectsof gender role depictions such as jobs, activities, interactionsand situations, this content analysis also covers implicit aspectsof role depictions such as posture, gestures, and facial expression.Some authors have claimed that these are powerful means of transmittingtraditional sex role stereotypes of women as being submissiveand of men as being dominant. Results indicate that while therehave been considerable changes in the explicit presentationof male and female roles, the implicit presentation remainedquite consistent over the 20-year period. According to thesefindings, sex roles may have changed primarily on the surface,while nonverbal sex role stereotypes still linger on. Differencesbetween the developments in Germany and the US are outlined.     

Leadership Styles in the Top Greek Media Companies: Leading People with a Mixed Style

Media companies are different from manufactures and other commercial organizations. They have both measurable economic goals and nonmeasurable social responsibilities. Leading these companies is a difficult task. The main issue is that an appropriate leadership style for media people must balance business and political goals. In this study, semi-structured interviews were used to collect data about Greek media leaders. The research explores and identifies the leadership style of CEOs heading the top media companies in Greece. These findings indicate that media leaders use a mixed leadership style involving both transformational and transactional styles in order to anticipate the peculiar external and internal media environment.     

IN HONG KONG EVEN THE GHOSTS WANT TO MIGRATE

In 1997, the British Crown Colony Hong Kong will become a specialadministrative region of the People's Republic of China (PRC).Very recent public opinion polls show that the majority of thepopulation in Hong Kong does not approve of this agreement negotiatedbetween the Chinese and the British governments. Instead, arelative majority of the respondents would prefer to maintainthe status quo. Moreover, twelve per cent of the populationanticipates today not to be living in Hong Kong in the year1997. This figure corresponded to a net outflow of no less than670,000 people, of whom a great deal will belong to those whocontribute to Hong Kong's business and workforce éliteof today.