VERBAL BEHAVIOR AS A FUNCTION OF APPREHENSION AND SOCIAL CONTEXT

This study examined the effect of high and low communication apprehension in conjunction with social and personal settings upon verbal behavior. Step wise multiple discriminant analysis of the data indicated a linear combination of language indices (number of syllables, Noun-Verb/Adjective-Adverb ratio, and phrase repetitions) which discriminated between the high apprehensive-personal setting group and the remaining three groups. Results are discussed relative to theoretical projections and the potential for sensitivity toward communication behavior being operative within the communication apprehension framework.     

A comparison of two measures of egocentrism

This study examined the relationship between two prominent measures of egocentrism, Enright's Adolescent Egocentrism Scale (AES) and Elkind's Imaginary Audience Scale (IAS), in a sample of 458 adolescents, between 10 and 15 years old. Both correlational and factor analyses indicated that the two measures assess distinctly different phenomena. As predicted, IAS scores were correlated with self-reported levels of shyness, nervousness, and social skills. These results provide partial evidence for the validity of the IAS as a measure of self-consciousness, though not necessarily egocentrism per se. The validity of the AES was not examined.     

Factors associated with maintenance and relapse following self-management training

In this study, we examined factors associated with relapse and maintenance following a self-management training course. Thirty-five community professionals participated in a 3-week (30-hr) graduate-level extension course in self-management, which included a self-modification project. Results at a 10-week follow-up showed that end-of-class self-efficacy and outcome expectancy correctly classified over 80% of those who maintained gains in their projects versus those who relapsed. The professionals in the relapsed group also reported significantly more difficulty with anticipated high-risk situations than did those in the maintenance group.     

The emotions of professional writers

In this study, 24 professional writers completed a short pencil-and-paper questionnaire on which they indicated how they felt before, at a pause, and after specific writing episodes. The intensity with which they experienced 20 emotions was assessed, as was the frequency with which these emotions were experienced when writing in general. Results indicated that the professionals experienced positive emotions significantly more often when writing in general than they experienced either negative-active or negative-passive emotions. Negative-passive emotions such as boredom, shame, and shyness were particularly rare and weak. During the actual writing process, positive emotions tended to intensify, whereas negative-passive and negative-active emotions resisted change. Sponsorship of writing had little impact on the quality of emotions experienced during the process. The professional poets, however, experienced negative-active emotions significantly more often when writing in general than did the prose writers.     

The Public and Private Use of Consensus-Raising Excuses

ABSTRACT Two experiments tested the proposition that people use consensus-raising excuses more in private than in public when the audience has information that could refute subjects' claims about others In Experiment 1, subjects received success or failure feedback and made public or private attributions to ability, effort, task difficulty, and luck In Experiment 2, subjects received positive or negative feedback and evaluated themselves and others on the trait Task difficulty attributions and evaluations of others are consensus-raising measures Consistent with our hypothesis, subjects receiving negative feedback in Experiment 1 claimed that the task was more difficult, and in Experiment 2 evaluated the other more negatively in private than in public.