SIGNIFICANCE AND SUBSTANCE: AN EXAMINATION OF EXPERIMENTAL EFFECTS

The dimension of obtained effect size (OES) was examined in this report. The 1977 volumes of Communication Monographs, Human Communication Research, and the Journal of Communication were reviewed, and a comparison of OES magnitude, reporting, and interpretation was conducted. Additional data gleaned from the 1975, 1976, and 1978 volumes of Human Communication Research were also included. The magnitude of experimental effects was relatively high in Communication Monographs and Human Communication Research. The number of authors reporting OES was most pronounced in Human Communication Research. The role of OES in relation to significance was discussed, and some recommendations for the reporting of data were advanced.     

ANXIETY AROUSING MESSAGES AND EGO-INVOLVEMENT AS DETERMINANTS OF COMMUNICATIVE PREDISPOSITIONS

A theoretically integrated rationale was generated combining affiliation, ego-involvement, and balance-restoring responses and research was conducted testing hypotheses: (1) slightly involved subjects will demonstrate a greater desire to communicate upon receipt of an anxiety-arousing discrepant message than highly involved subjects; and (2) slightly involved subjects will demonstrate a greater desire to communicate upon receipt of a nonanxiety-arousing discrepant message than highly involved subjects. Results confirmed both hypotheses and the findings were discussed in terms of a proposed theoretic framework identifying the effects of message impact on communicative predispositions.