Three Approaches to Research Training in Counseling

Three approaches to training counseling students in the processes of research and publication are described. The major difference is in the duration, from a span of several years to one semester to a half-day workshop. Ideas are presented about working productively within each of those time frames.     

Form and Function in Motor Mimicry Topographic Evidence that the Primary Function Is Communicative

Motor mimicry is behavior by an observer that is appropriate to the situation of the other person, for example, wincing at the other's injury or ducking when the other does. Traditional theories of motor mimicry view this behavior as an indicator of a vicarious cognitive or empathic experience, that is, of taking the role of the other or of “feeling oneself into” the other person. However, Bavelas, Black, Lemery, and Mullett (1986) have shown that motor mimicry of pain is affected by communicative variables and acts as a nonverbal message indicating that the observer is aware of and concerned about the other's situation. This raises a more general question: Is communication its primary or secondary function? We propose (i) that motor mimicry functions as a nonverbal, analogic, relationship message about similarity between observer and other and (ii) that this message is encoded according to Gestalt principles of form, in that the observer physically mirrors the other. In other words, the observer maintains a relationship with the other. The special case of left/right leaning when observer and other are facing each other permits a test of our theory against two theories that treat motor mimicry as an indicator of vicarious experience. The results of three experiments showed that when motor mimicry by an observer facing someone who is leaning left or right occurs, it is both displayed and decoded in the form consistent with a communication theory; this form is called reflection symmetry. We conclude that, because of the topography of the response, the primary function of motor mimicry must be communicative and that any relationship to vicarious processes is secondary. A similar analysis of other nonverbal behaviors may well reveal that they are also expressions to another person rather than expressions of infrapsychic states.     

On Bridging the Communication Gap

While we endorse recent calls for greater collaboration between mass communication and interpersonal communication researchers, in this response we delineate four factors that account for the relative lack of integration of these two areas of communication inquiry. The social policy focus of mass communication research, the high level of public concern over media effects, a variety of methodological cleavages, and different cognate field referents are cited as forces that support segregation of the two research areas. The recent turn to cognitive explanations of communication in both of these domains may create the climate necessary for meaningful collaboration between researchers.     

A Regional Job and Educational Opportunities Fair

This article describes a regional job and educational opportunity project initiated by the Jefferson Personnel and Guidance Association, a chapter of the Virginia branch.     

Where Have We Been, How Did We Get There, and Where Shall We Go?

Commentators expressed a wide variety of views on my evaluation of the state of assessment center (AC) research and practice. In this response, I first trace the evolution of the construct validity paradox "urban legend." Next, I consider the commentators' comments as they relate to (a) my recommendation to abandon dimension-based ACs in lieu of task- or role-based structures (b) my recommendation to discontinue design fix attempts toward making ACs conform to multitrait–multimethod construct validity criteria, and (c) considerations of construct validity and validation evidence. Finally, I offer some directions for future AC research and practice.