The usability of a Norwegian adaptation of the Children's Communication Checklist Second Edition (CCC-2) in differentiating between language impaired and non-language impaired 6- to 12-year-olds

The aim of the present study was to evaluate if the Norwegian adaptation of the Children's Communication Checklist-2 (CCC-2) differentiates between a language impaired and a non-language impaired population and to make a first evaluation of the psychometric qualities of the questionnaire on a Norwegian sample. A total of 153 children aged 6–12 years participated in the study (45 language impaired and 108 non-language impaired). The Norwegian adaptation of the CCC-2 distinguished language impaired from non-language impaired children and thus seems to provide a useful screening tool for communication impairments in Norwegian children. The reliability of the CCC-2 appeared to be reasonable with internal consistency values ranging from 0.73 to 0.89.     

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN COMMUNICATION APPREHENSION AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

A series of studies are reported which indicate that high communication apprehensives have lower academic achievement in traditional interaction-oriented educational systems than low communication apprehensives, but that no similar relationship exists in a communication-restricted educational system. Data are also reported indicating that high communication apprehensives prefer mass lecture classes over small classes while moderate and low communication apprehensives' preferences are the reverse. The implications of these results for choosing or designing instructional systems are discussed.     

CANDIDATE VALENCE AS A PREDICTOR OF VOTER PREFERENCE

The effects of source valence, including its components source credibility, attraction, and homophily, on voter preference were examined in this study. A systematic sample with a random start of 350 registered Democratic voters in Tallahassee, Florida, was used to test the effects of eight dimensions of source valence on voter preference. The differential valence of the two candidates was the best predictor of voter preference. The eight-variable model accounted for 61% of the variance in voter preference, while attitude homophily alone accounted for 58% of that variance.     

An Empirical Comparison of Three Theories of Nonverbal Immediacy Exchange

This study provides a contrastive test of three immediacy-exchange theories: Burgeon's expectancy violations theory (EVT), Cappella and Greene's discrepancy-arousal theory (DAT), and Andersen's cognitive valence theory (CVT). EVT predicts that high immediacy, by rewarding communicators, leads to an orientation response and positive behavioral and affective outcomes. In contrast, DAT and CVT predict aversive arousal and compensatory responses in response to high immediacy increases. Findings from opposite-sex friend dyads failed to find unequivocal support for a single theory. Targets showed a mix of reciprocal and compensatory responses in the higher immediacy condition, indicating that existing immediacy-exchange theories should consider incorporating elements from all three theories and perhaps from dialectics theory to explain the complex reactions that occur in response to high immediacy changes from friends.     

Rorschach-profile in panic disorder

The Rorschach test was applied to four groups: 41 Panic Disorder (PD), 14 Major Depression (MD), 11 Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and 18 normal subjects. The aims were to describe the test profile of PD patients and to discuss implications for cognitive processing ability and personality structure. A hypothesis of a borderline personality structure in PD patients, based on psychodynamic literature, was tested, but was not unambiguously supported. A "loose", borderline-like personality structure and disturbances in processing abilities, however, characterized PD-patients. The normal subjects surprisingly provided many Fabulized Combinations, a response type, considered suspect of borderline pathology, but also showed more signs of integrative and synthesizing abilities than the other groups.     

Verbal and visuo-spatial memory Two clinical tests administered to a group of normal subjects

Abstract.— A group of 165 normal subjects were examined on two memory tests in clinical use, the Word Pairs Test and the Visual Gestalts Test. The purpose of the study was to establish norms with the variables of age, sex, and length of schooling being taken into consideration. During the learning phase a complex interaction between all three factors was found for the Word Pairs, whereas in the Visual Gestalts scores were only affected by age. In the delayed memory task used in both tests, age was again found to be the only significant factor. Using quartile scores, it was found that females performed better than males on the verbal test and vice versa on the visuo-spatial test. Normative data are presented for three age groups. A significant decline in performance appeared in the age group 40–49 years. The data became more heterogenous with an increase in the age of the subjects.     

IMPLICATIONS OF A NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL APPROACH FOR THE STUDY OF A NONVERBAL COMMUNICATION

This article reviews the neurophysiological literature as it pertains to nonverbal communication. It provides an overview of research on the function of the cerebral hemispheres as related to communication, with particular emphasis on the right hemisphere where most nonverbal communication is processed. Limitations of the neurophysiological approach are discussed. Finally, implications of the neurophysiological approach are discussed for: (1) defining nonverbal communication, (2) the phylogenetic development of communication in humans, and (3) communication research and theory.     

A REASSESSMENT OF STATISTICAL POWER ANALYSIS IN HUMAN COMMUNICATION RESEARCH

This study conducted a statistical power analysis of 64 articles appearing in the first four volumes of Human Communication Research, 1974–1978. Each article was examined, using Cohen's revised handbook, assuming nondirectional null hypotheses and an alpha level of .05. Statistical power, the probability of rejecting a false null hypothesis, was calculated for small, medium, and large experimental effect sizes and averaged by article and volume. Results indicated that the average probability of beta errors appears to have decreased over time, providing a greater chance of rejecting false null hypotheses, but this also raised several power-related issues relevant to communication research in general.