Expectations About Initial Interaction An Examination of the Effects of Global Uncertainty

This inquiry extended uncertainty reduction theory to include actors’ uncertainty about acquaintanceship in general (global uncertainty). Study 1 involved examination of the self-reports of 139 female and 85 male participants. Results of the analysis showed that participants high in global uncertainty define initial interaction in comparatively negative ways, more frequently attempt to avoid conversations with unfamiliar targets, perform less effectively when meeting others for the first time, and develop less satisfactory long-term relationships than persons low in global uncertainty. Global uncertainty also combined with participants’ sense of the self-assuredness-awkwardness of first encounters to predict initial interaction performance. Study 2 examined the conversational performance of 48 females and 28 males who had participated in the first investigation. This analysis revealed that, during the first minute of interaction, persons high in global uncertainty engaged in comparatively low levels of question asking but relatively high levels of disclosure. High globally uncertain participants were also rated less competent by their partners than were persons low in global uncertainty. Study 3 explored the relationship between global uncertainty, communication competence, and communication apprehension. Examination of the self-reports of 63 females and 49 males showed that persons high in global uncertainty are apprehensive when meeting strangers and enact acquaintanceship episodes relatively inexpertly, although the magnitude of correlations between the constructs provide strong evidence that global uncertainty is distinguishable from both competence and apprehension. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

Children's Representations of the World of Drugs

The changing profile of drug use has highlighted the need for age-appropriate education which requires insight into children's representations of drugs. Representations were elicited from 134 children aged between 5 and 11 years, drawn from two schools, by asking them to draw and write their responses to questions relating to a story about losing and finding a bag of drugs. Relevant responses were generated by 119 children aged between 8 and 11 years. A content analysis of these responses revealed differences with school and age. Older children were more likely to recognize that drugs can be good or bad depending on type, quantity taken and reason for use. The children had firm ideas about who takes drugs and their motivations and were knowledgeable about methods of use. They recognized that drugs can be dangerous, but had little understanding of how or why. The children's representations were characterized by fear and uncertainty and most wanted to know more. These findings are used to argue that there is a need for child-centred constructivist approaches to drug education which seek to demystify drugs and drug use and to orientate children to the realities of the world of drugs in the 1990s.     

Emotional intelligence: A promise unfulfilled?

Emotional intelligence (EI) is a relatively new construct in differential psychology. Proponents of EI have made strong claims for its importance in basic and applied psychology. This article considers whether the promise of EI has been fulfilled. We examine various fundamental challenges to establishing EI as a major individual differences factor, including cross‐cultural issues. We then examine strategies for assessing EI as a personal quality distinct from general intelligence and personality, and evaluate leading tests and scales for EI. Various sources of validity evidence demonstrate the value of research on EI, but we also identify various weaknesses of existing instruments. It appears that there is no strong, over‐arching general factor of EI that shapes human emotional functioning across a range of diverse contexts. Instead, we advocate a “multipolar” conception of EI that discriminates temperament, information‐processing, emotion‐regulation and acquired skills. Focusing research on more narrowly defined but conceptually coherent research domains may be a more productive strategy than seeking to define an all‐embracing general EI.     

A CROSS-CULTURAL TEST OF UNCERTAINTY REDUCTION THEORY

A model of uncertainty reduction theory was tested that was derived from Berger and Calabrese's (1975) theory of initial interactions and recent extensions of the theory (e.g., Berger, 1979; Berger & Bradac, 1982) across three relationships (acquaintances, friends, and dates) in three cultures: Japan, Korea, and the United States. The model was tested using LISREL and found to be a reasonable fit to the data for all three relationships in all three cultures. The percentage of variance explained in attributional confidence was found to be lower for friends than for dates and acquaintances. For the United States data more variance was explained in attributional confidence in acquaintances than dates; however, the findings were reverse for the Japanese and Korean data. These findings were discussed in light of previous research on uncertainty reduction theory and relationship development. Shortcomings of the model also were pointed out based on early critiques of the theory (e.g., Bochner, 1978) and a recent elaboration that examined the context in which romantic relationships develop (Parks & Adelman, 1983).