Do Time Press,Stimulus, and Creative Prompt Influence the Divergent Production of Undergraduate Students? Yes,Yes, and No,Not Very Much

This study examined the influence of time press, specific stimulus, and type of creativity prompt on fluency and flexibility scores of 75 undergraduates randomly assigned to condition. Three stimuli were administered, in three time allotments (2.5, 5.0, and 7.5 min), counterbalanced with three types of prompt intended to elicit higher fluency, flexibility, or originality scores. Dependent variables were fluency and flexibility scores. The results suggest that time press has a strong, and typically linear influence on both fluency and flexibility scores. When scores were adjusted by time allowed, a significant difference across stimuli was observed for flexibility, but not for fluency scores. Prompts had very small and nonsignificant effects. Performance did not differ for groups exposed to longer/shorter vs. shorter/longer time patterns on successive tasks.     

A Formal Model for the Study of Communication Support Systems

The lack of conceptual frameworks available for integrating research on organizational computer-based communication technologies is documented. An integrated model for studying communication support phenomena in organizations is formalized from a knowledge management perspective using set-theoretic notation. Key constructs for understanding and exploring communication support systems are identified, such as knowledge workers, knowledge management activities, communicate-abilities, and knowledge management episodes. The implications associated with the identification and formalization of each of the foregoing constructs is discussed and further research avenues are explored. The model provides researchers and system developers with a means of studying both human and computer-based knowledge workers in organizations. Two types of communication support systems are defined.     

THE ROLE OF COMMUNICATION IN BARGAINING

This essay classifies, reviews, and critiques the current literature on the role of communication in the bargaining process. As such, it provides an up-to-date review of the research findings within four areas: communication opportunity, information exchange, message strategies, and categories of interaction. These areas illustrate three different perspectives of communication: the mechanistic, the psychological, and the pragmatic views. Integration of this literature reveals that bargaining interaction differs from group problem solving in the types of messages used and in the evolution of bargaining stages, and that communication patterns distinguish between the initial and the latter stages of bargaining.     

An Emotional Control Card for Inappropriate and Appropriate Emotions in Using Rational-Emotive Imagery

The author suggests a revision of the emotional control card technique of Sklare, Taylor, and Hyland (1985).