THE PALO ALTO GROUP: DIFFICULTIES AND DIRECTIONS OF THE INTERACTIONAL VIEW FOR HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

During the past two decades the network of communication researchers known informally as the “Palo Alto Group” has published several hundred articles and more than 20 books on what has been variously termed the “New Communication” and the “Interactional View.” The work of this group, however, has been largely neglected in human communication research. The objectives of this essay are: (1) to summarize the theoretical and epistemological bases of the Interactional View, noting the pragmatic instances for which this framework is invoked as explanation and justification; (2) to introduce some of the conceptual and methodological difficulties which need be addressed in formulating appropriate research; and (3) to suggest several general and specific directions for research in human communication.     

A CONVERSATION WITH COLIN CHERRY

Born in 1914, Colin Cherry received his B.Sc. in engineering with First Class Honors in 1936. During the Second World War, he worked with the British Ministry of Aircraft Production on radar research and flying trials. In 1945 he joined the staff of the Manchester College of Technology for two years before moving to Imperial College of Science and Technology, University of London. He was awarded the D.Sc. in engineering in 1956, and in 1968 received his present appointment as Henry Mark Pease Professor of Telecommunication at Imperial College. Colin Cherry has travelled widely, and lectured in more than 20 countries. He has published more than 100 papers in journals of engineering, psychology, linguistics, and other fields. In addition to his cornerstone work On Human Communication (John Wiley, 1957; MIT Press, 1966), Cherry has published several other books, including World Communication: Threat or Promise (John Wiley, 1971), and is currently at work on a third edition of On Human Communication to be published by MIT Press.     

Should I Brag? Nature and Impact of Positive and Boastful Disclosures for Women and Men

What is the nature of a “positive” disclosure versus a “boastful” one? How are those who use these different types of disclosures differentially construed? A set of three studies was designed to investigate three general issues. Study 1 asked respondents to rate characters who disclosed in a boastful, positive, or negative fashion. Boasters and positive disclosers were viewed as more competent than negative disclosers, negative and positive disclosers were viewed as more socially sensitive than boasters, and positive disclosers were best liked. In Study 2, the gender of the target disclosing positively or boastfully was manipulated. Compared to the boaster, the positive discloser was rated as more socially involved and feminine (less masculine) but less competent. Polarized judgments were made by both genders. Study 3 had individuals generate “boasts” and “positive statements.” The few gender differences that emerged suggest that although females’ bragging strategies may be less extreme or extensive, it is only when gender information is known that the brags of men and women are differentially construed. The present work suggests that men and women, as perceivers, may differentially activate cognitive structures (involving social involvement and femininity, on one hand, and competence and masculinity, on the other) when evaluating men versus women. The nature of the communication itself (boasts being perceived as more masculine and positive disclosures as more feminine) may exacerbate such differential activation in the construction of “mental models” of another's communication.     

Romantic and dating behaviors among single parents in the United States

Little research has focused on the dating attitudes and behaviors of singles with dependent‐age children. Using data collected from a nationally representative U.S. probability sample of single adults, we provide findings on dating attitudes and behaviors among 747 single parents in the United States, aged 21 years and older, who had one or more children under the age of 18 years. Findings show gender differences between single men and single women concerning how they balance being a single parent and make time for dating. Both single fathers and single mothers considered their child's opinion about their dating life, and most parents involved their child(ren) once they knew they wanted or had established a committed romantic relationship with a new partner.