An experimental study of the effects of speech organization upon attitudes of college students∗

The social skill deficit theory of depression states that a lack of social skill is related to the development of depression. However, the findings on this relationship are mixed, possibly due to a variety of variables surrounding the conceptualization and assessment of social skill, as well as the type of subjects used in these investigations. A meta‐analysis was conducted to determine the magnitude of the relationship between depression and social skill as measured by self‐reports, observer‐ratings, and behavioral assessments. The results showed moderate, but not unequivocal, support for the social skill deficit theory. Depression was most strongly related to social skill deficits when they were measured via self‐reports. Observer‐ratings and behavioral analyses of social skill revealed weaker and more sporadic relationships with depression. Several moderator variables as well as a tendency toward negative self‐evaluation in depression appear to influence these relationships.     

An analysis of the dynamic vocabulary of junior college students∗

In organizational communication studies, empowerment has come to connote flatter structures, participation programs, and other techniques thought to enhance member competence and control through increased self-direction. We contend that this model-and, arguably, organizational communication studies more broadly-presumes a particular employment contract. We report a study of a different contract: staff-volunteer relations at a nonprofit organization. Our results indicate that, while volunteers prioritized the role of social support in accomplishing empowerment, staff members treated volunteers as pseudo-employees to be empowered through enhanced authority and participation. Ironically, the staff's model impeded volunteer empowerment. We use the case to mark the contingent character of empowerment, and specifically, (a) its contextual and intersubjective nature, (b) its relational and emotional aspects, and (c) the importance of members' temporal investment in the organization. We conclude that attention to diverse membership contracts and contexts can complicate and enrich empowerment theory.     

An experimental study of the effect of four speech variables on listener comprehension∗

The essay develops a theory of and models for a perspective on epistemology which may be referred to as “knowledge‐as‐status.” The perspective is intended to provide a particular conception of knowledge and a practical method for analyzing the development of and change in what we call knowledge. Toward those ends, the essay introduces the perspective, explains it as a way of understanding both the attainment of knowledge and changes in knowledge, and finally summarizes the issue of describing changes in knowledge.     

The relative effect on audience attitude of the first versus the second argumentative speech of a series∗

This research sought (a) to distinguish between the concepts of apathy and neutrality toward contemporary issues, (b) to model, via computer simulation, apathetic and neutral audiences in order to predict reactions to persuasive messages, and (c) to validate, by means of both attitude and behavioral measures, the efficacy of the model. A computer program was developed and modified by data gathered in the field. The program provides recommendations for messages which can be presented to audiences in order to test their effectiveness. Neutral individuals and apathetic individuals shifted attitudes significantly in this study. A measure of “commitment to action” revealed mixed responses.     

Development and application of a method for measuring the effectiveness of instruction in a basic speech course∗

This essay develops a phenomenological perspective of silence and illustrates its principles through a study of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial. Traditionally viewed as the absence of speech, silence is discussed as a potential human response to all forms of symbolic expression. Encounters experienced as silent present a challenge; they also provide the opportunity for authentic self‐discovery, which has implications for the relationship of the individual to others and to the state. The Vietnam Veterans Memorial is discussed as an architectural instance of object‐silence. The meanings individuals find at the Memorial can be distinguished in terms of various public signs of understanding that characterize their interplay with the Memorial.     

The communications explosion and the study of speech∗

The characteristics and consequences of the communication explosion are interpreted as a world wide expansion of the uses of speech. Graduate studies in speech are shown also to have increased dramatically within the last ten years. Suggestions are made for possible developments and trends in speech education as ways of better coping with the rapidly developing field of communication in our time.     

Abstracts of theses in the field of speech,XVI∗

The effects of interpersonal reward and violations of conversational distancing expectations on compliance and interaction behaviors were tested in three retail shopping settings. Subjects were salespeople (N = 70, N = 49, N = 104) who were approached by confederates posing as customers or students conducting interviews on consumer behavior. Two levels of interpersonal reward (high versus low levels of apparent status, attractiveness, purchasing power and/or expertise) and three levels of distance (close violation, norm, far violation) were manipulated. Results showed high reward to induce more compliance with a request and more favorable interaction patterns than low reward. Distance violations evoked more arousal, activation and apparent distraction, while the favorability of reactions to distance violations tended to vary by reward level, as expected. Confounding effects of gender, confederate communication style, and possible nonverbal norms for compensation and reciprocity are also discussed.     

Abstracts of theses in the field of speech,XIV∗

In this paper we report on a longitudinal case study of an administrative unit of a large nonfederal government following the election of a new Chief Elective Official. In this case, the changing climate becomes a dominant characteristic of the emerging situation. Poole and McPhee's (1983) extension of Giddens' Structuration Theory is employed as an analytic framework, tracing through the evolution and transformation of climate themes in the case. We find new categories of, and conditions affecting, climate—theme emergence, spread, and sedimentation. More particularly, the case demonstrates the complexity of organizational climate, with several processes interacting simultaneously to generate a constantly changing climate in the course of reproducing the organization's culture and beliefs. Importantly, the case shows how these complex climate processes are related to demoralization and counterintentional results in organizational change.     

Abstracts of theses in the field of speech and drama,VI∗

Two studies tested the assumption that relational contexts affect the way people react to messages that hurt their feelings. In the first, the range of responses people have to hurtful messages was explored, and underlying dimensions reflecting the responses were identified. Participants’ reactions were characterized by three broad dimensions: active verbal responses (e.g., attacking the other, defending the self, asking for an explanation), acquiescent responses (e.g., crying, apologizing), and invulnerable responses (e.g., ignoring the message, laughing). Analyses indicated that people who felt extremely hurt tended to react more often by acquiescing than those who were less hurt. Abo, those who felt the impact of hurt on their relationship was relatively low responded more often with invulnerability than those who felt the impact was high. In the second study, the association between people's reactions to hurt and the quality of their relationship with the person who hurt them was examined, as was the influence of particular types of relationships (e.g., those between family members or romantic partners) on individuab’ responses to hurt. Among other findings, the results suggested that relational satisfaction was positively associated with active verbal responses and negatively correlated both with the degree of experienced hurt and the perceived impact of the hurtful message on the relationship. Further, hurtful messages from family members tended to elicit greater feelings of hurt than those from other people—regardless of the closeness, similarity, amount of contact, or level of satisfaction reported by respondents. By comparison, messages from romantic partners had a greater effect on participants’ relationships than did those from individuab involved in family or non‐family/non‐romantic relationships.