Sibling communication satisfaction as a function of interpersonal solidarity,individualized trust,and self‐disclosure

The purpose of this study was to examine sibling communication satisfaction, with a specific focus on interpersonal solidarity, individualized trust, and self‐disclosure. Respondents (N = 360) were asked to report on a relationship with either an older sister, younger sister, older brother, or younger brother. Results indicate that interpersonal solidarity is the largest predictor of sibling communication satisfaction, followed by individualized trust, and self‐disclosure.     

The relationship between perceived understanding and self‐disclosure in the sibling relationship

This study investigated the relationship between self‐disclosure and perceived understanding in the sibling relationship. Participants (N = 227.) completed a questionnaire based on their communication with their siblings. Participants reported on their self‐disclosure(intentionality, amount, positiveness, depth, and honesty) and their feelings of being understood by their siblings. The results showed that self‐disclosure was positively related to perceived understanding. This was especially true for the relationship between honesty of self‐disclosure and perceived understanding. Analyses involving sex of the individuals in the sibling dyad showed several differences. For men, besides honesty, the only other significant results were intentionality of self‐disclosure for brothers communicating with their sisters and positiveness of self‐disclosure for brothers communicating with their brothers. In contrast, intentionality, amount, positiveness, and honesty of self‐disclosure were all significantly related for women communicating with their brothers and their sisters.     

The disguise of self‐disclosure: The relationship ruse of a Soviet Spy

The verbal disclosures of a Soviet spy masquerading as a university student are compared to those of three other group members involved in a semester‐long project. Audio‐tapes of six group meetings provide a unique opportunity to assess the relationship deception of this proficient deceiver. His communication is characterized by strategic disclosures designed to create a false impression and, thereby, to divert attention from his secret role. His conversation reveals more frequent control disclosures, attitude disclosures, personal disclosures, and dramatic disclosures than other group members. The spy also verbalized significantly more knowledge disclosures than all but one other peer. The frequency and content of his disclosures identify, in part, the communicative strategy of his disguise, whereby he drew considerable attention to himself and, thus, appeared transparent. The results underscore the importance of looking beyond the appearance of disclosures when attempting to identify relationship deception.     

Teacher’ use of humor,self‐disclosure,and narrative activity as a function of experience

This investigation reported normative data for experienced (N = 20) and less‐experienced (N = 20) college teachers’ use of humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative activities. Results indicated that both groups of teachers observed in the study incorporated the three behaviors within their 50‐minute lectures. Experienced teachers, however, used humor, self‐disclosure, and narrative activities more frequently than the less‐experienced teachers. Additionally, the experienced teachers used the behaviors to clarify course content.     

Grandparents and grandchildren: The relationship between self‐ disclosure and solidarity in an intergenerational relationship

Past research has found a linear relationship between dimensions of self‐reported self‐disclosure and solidarity when a “target” individual is identified. The present study sought to further investigate the relationship between dimensions of self‐disclosure and perceived interpersonal solidarity within an intergenerational relationship, and specifically, the grandparent‐grandchild dyad. Results supported a significant and positive relationship between the dimensions of intent, depth, honesty, and solidarity for grandparents; amount, depth, honesty, and solidarity for grandchildren. Implications of these results are discussed, and directions for future research are suggested.     

Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate,communication apprehension,and self‐perceived competence

Age and sex differences in willingness to communicate (WTC), communication apprehension, and self‐perceived communication competence were examined using three age cohorts of participants drawn from junior high, high school, and university student populations. Results indicate that junior high females are higher in WTC than their male counterparts and females at the university level are higher in communication apprehension and lower in self‐perceived competence than are male university students. Communication apprehension and self‐perceived competence show a consistent negative relationship that does not vary with age or sex in the present sample. The degree to which communication apprehension arid self‐perceived competence predict WTC varies with age and sex. In all three age cohorts, communication apprehension is a significant predictor of WTC among women. Among men, self‐perceived competence emerges as a significant predictor of WTC in all three age groups.     

The relationship of communication apprehension and interaction involvement to perceptions of computer‐mediated communication

This study investigated how the interpersonal traits of communication apprehension (CA) and interaction involvement (II) are related to one's attitudes toward and use of computer‐mediated communication (CMC). Data were collected by administering a self‐report survey to a sample of 133 participants, and results were analyzed with multiple regression. Findings revealed that CA and II failed to predict CMC attitudes. However, each trait predicted communication style during online interaction. Findings are interpreted within the context of current theories of CMC.     

Trait anticipatory public speaking anxiety as a function of self‐efficacy expectations and self‐handicapping strategies

The purpose of this study was to determine if the independent variables of self‐efficacy expectations and self‐handicapping strategies would predict trait anticipatory public speaking anxiety. A model was proposed and tested in which self‐efficacy expectations were found to be significant independent predictors of trait anticipatory public speaking anxiety. Self‐handicapping was not a significant predictor. Implications for future research are discussed.     

Willingness to communicate,communication apprehension,introversion, and self‐reported communication competence: Finnish and American comparisons

The purpose of this research was to make comparisons between Finnish persons and persons from other populations, particularly those from the United States, on a variety of common measures of communication orientations. The results of the study indicated that differences between Finnish and United States samples do exist, but the differences are primarily restricted to willingness to communicate and introversion. Data relating to communication apprehension and self‐perceived communication competence for the two cultures are remarkably similar. However, these two variables appear to be much less predictive of willingness to communicate for Finns than they are for Americans.     

The influence of fear appeals,message design,and masculinity on men's motivation to perform the testicular self‐exam

Despite the significant threat men face for contracting testicular cancer, most men remain completely unaware of this risk. Moreover, men are not regularly performing the testicular self‐exam (TSE) in order to detect this form of cancer in their bodies. The current study attempted to assess whether fear appeals targeted at men will motivate them to begin regular performance of the TSE. Additionally, the influence of message design and masculinity was also tested. Results indicate messages that follow the direction of Witte's (1992, 1994) Extended Parallel Process Model and promote both high threat and high efficacy are successful in increasing men's intentions to perform the TSE. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Social support satisfaction,on‐line communication apprehension,and perceived life stress within computer‐mediated support groups

This study used an on‐line questionnaire to examine the relationship between social support satisfaction, on‐line communication time, on‐line communication apprehension, and perceived life stress among members of various on‐line support groups (N = 140). The results indicated that on‐line support satisfaction was predictive of on‐line communication time while on‐line communication apprehension was not related to on‐line communication time. On‐line communication apprehension was found to be predictive of on‐line support satisfaction. On‐line support satisfaction was found to be predictive of perceived life stress. The implications of findings for communication and social support research as well as the limitations of the study are discussed.     

Third‐person effect,gender differences,pornography exposure and support for restriction of pornography

The interrelationship of the factors that influence attitudes in support of restrictions on pornography are explored in this study. From data gathered in a survey of Taiwanese high school students, a model is constructed to depict these relationships. Although both male and females subjects perceived pornography to have greater negative influence on others than on themselves, females who had a lower level of past exposure to pornography perceived greater negative effects of pornography on others than did male respondents. Findings also supported the hypotheses that gender, lower level of past exposure and perceived negative effects all are related to an attitude that favours control of pornography.     

Memorable messages as guides to self‐assessment of behavior: a replication and extension diary study

An investigation of memorable messages as guides to self‐assessment of daily behavior was conducted. Respondents were asked to keep diaries for five days. Each day participants were asked to recall one behavior that violated and one behavior that exceeded their personal expectations for themselves. After recalling the situation, participants were asked to recall the memorable messages, if any, which came to mind when self‐assessing these behaviors. This method used the self‐assessment of prior behavior as the entry point to a feedback loop. Control theory predicts that within the feedback loop behaviors are compared with internal principles that come from memorable messages. This comparison is predicted to result in either a positively or negatively valenced evaluation of the behavior if it either exceeds or violates personal standards represented as internal principles. The findings include the categories of behaviors that exceeded or violated personal expectations, the memorable messages, and the primary sources of the memorable messages that were recalled during the comparison process. In addition, comparisons were made between this research effort and a previous study that asked participants to self‐assess more extreme cases of behavior and the memorable messages associated with that process.     

Ego‐involvement,self‐monitoring,and conformity in small groups: A communicative analysis

This investigation compared social judgment theory and the construct self‐monitoring as explanations of conformity behavior in small groups. Highly ego‐involved discussants communicated with greater emotionality and dominance and with less reasonableness than their low ego‐involved counterparts; but, the impact of ego‐involvement was partially mediated by self‐monitoring.     

The effects of health delivery systems and self‐efficacy on patient compliance and satisfaction

This study analyzed the satisfaction and compliance of 91 in‐clinic patients based on their affiliation with a Health Delivery System and the patient's self‐efficacy. Several significant results emerged from the study. A patient's Health Delivery System and the patient's self‐efficacy interact to predict communication satisfaction. It was also discovered that a patient's Heath Delivery System and the patient's self‐efficacy interact to predict compliance. Implications and limitations of this research are discussed.     

On‐the‐job relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension,job satisfaction,and organizational citizenship behaviors

This study assessed the relationships among self‐reported oral communication apprehension (CA), job satisfaction, and organizational citizenship behaviors (OCB) for employees of a bank located in the southeastern U.S. Results indicated positive relationships between several of the job satisfaction and OCB variables, and several negative relationships between oral CA and OCB variables, and oral CA and job satisfaction variables. Also, individuals with high oral CA, in comparison to those with low oral CA, were found to score significantly lower on dimensions of organizational citizenship behavior and job satisfaction. Implications of these findings for the organization are discussed, as are reactions to the research findings by bank personnel.     

Televised violence and related variables as predictors of self‐reported verbal aggression

This study explored the relationship among several predictors of verbally aggressive behavior. Of these, the exposure to televised models of verbal and physical aggression were thought to be of greatest importance. The results of the study confirmed recent theoretical and research evidence concerning predictors of aggression such as predisposition for aggressive behavior, sex, and exposure to real life aggression. The study did not, however, find any support for an association between exposure to televised violence and aggressive behavior.     

Interpersonal construct differentiation,attitudinal confidence,and the attitude‐behavior relationship

Subjects differing in interpersonal construct differentiation completed a measure of religious attitude, a measure of attitudinal confidence, and a 20‐item religious behavior self‐report inventory. High‐confidence subjects exhibited greater attitude‐behavior consistency (r = .69) than did low‐confidence subjects (r = .51). Despite high power (N = 313), high‐ and low‐differentiation subjects did not differ significantly (r = .61 and .66, respectively), indicating that the role of differentiation as a direct mediator of non‐interpersonal attitude‐behavior consistency is a comparatively small one. But the influence of attitudinal confidence on attitude‐behavior consistency was larger for low‐differentiation subjects (r = .75 for high confidence, .51 for low) than for high‐differentiation subjects (r = .68 for high confidence, .50 for low), suggesting that interpersonal construct system development may indirectly influence the relationship of non‐interpersonal attitudes and behaviors.     

Stigma in the line of face: Self‐disclosure of patients' HIV status to health care providers

Patients who are HIV+ are often faced with the choice of whether or not they should tell their health care providers that they are HIV+. Although appropriate health care and safety require the communication of such information, the stigmatization associated with HIV puts at risk the patients’ pride, dignity, and ultimately the quality of their health. Using Goffman's (1963, 1967) notions of face and stigma, the present study described the major influential factors prompting the act of disclosure of HIV, the act itself, and the effect that act appears to have had on the patient/provider relationship. Phase I of the study gathered pilot data through in‐depth interviews, leading to a quantitative questionnaire used in Phase II. A sample was obtained through AIDS organizations around the U.S. and via electronic mail addresses for AIDS/HIV electronic discussion groups. The interviews and surveys asked respondents to recall a time when they had to make the decision to disclose or not disclose their HIV+ status to a care provider. The results indicated that patients typically did disclose their HIV+ status despite their strong feelings of stigmatization. Three key factors were related to their decisions: 1) perceived necessity of disclosure; 2) subjective feelings of comfort about the disclosure; and 3) perceptions of stigmatization. Patient satisfaction levels were also related to these factors. Implications for face maintenance and health care management as well as the determinants of subjective comfort are discussed.     

Expected versus actual responses to disclosure in relationships of HIV‐positive African American adolescent females

Ten HIV‐positive African American adolescent females were interviewed regarding disclosure of their HIV infection in various relationships. Communication Boundary Management (Petronio, 1991) provided a framework for understanding disclosure patterns in these relationships. Participants described expected (n = 113) and actual (n = 94) responses to disclosing an HIV diagnosis. The findings indicate that expected response and the target of disclosure affect adolescents’ disclosure decisions. Participants expected targets of disclosure to respond as follows: experience negative emotional reactions, provide support, treat them differently, tell others, or were unsure of a target's response. On the basis of these findings, five themes were identified related to actual responses to disclosure of HIV infection: different treatment, negative emotional reaction, received support, target told others, and treated no differently. Implications, limitations, and directions for future research are discussed.