This meta-analysis examined the impact of a mother's decision to disclose her HIV positive serostatus to her children. Results indicated that disclosure to a child improves the parent-child relationship (average r = + 0.171). There was a corresponding increase in internalized negative emotions (average r = + 0.108) and negative externalized…

This report uses meta-analysis to derive correlations between the variables of teacher immediacy, cognitive learning, and affective learning. A model was constructed such that the perception of teacher immediacy, a behavior, generates an intermediate outcome of affect, a motivation, which in turn increases cognitive learning outcome. The data…

Analyzes manuscripts that have studied the treatment of communication apprehension. Concludes that all forms of treatment (cognitive modification, systematic desensitization, and skills training) were effective in reducing public speaking anxiety and that the type of self-report scale did not affect the observed effect size. (MS)

Describes a meta-analysis comparing the persuasiveness of one-sided and two-sided messages. Demonstrates that a two-sided message with refutation is more persuasive than a one-sided message, whereas a one-sided message is more persuasive than a two-sided message without refutation. (SR)

Examines, through meta-analytic review, the connection between communication apprehension and communication behavior. Indicates a consistent negative relationship between the level of communication apprehension and communication skills, using a total of 36 studies involving 3742 participants. Finds that as a person becomes more apprehensive both…

Conducts a meta-analysis of 23 manuscripts containing information on 30 experiments that examined communication apprehension and cognitive performance. Finds a statistically significant negative correlation between communication apprehension and cognitive performance. (MG)

Summarizes the literature examining the association between acceptance of rape myths and exposure to pornography. States that nonexperimental methodology shows that exposure to pornography does not increase rape myth acceptance, while experimental studies show that exposure to pornography increases rape myth acceptance. Concludes that experimental…

A meta-analysis explored the association between past studies on intercultural communication effectiveness and intercultural communication competence, and examined the relationship between knowledge-based and skill-based attributes in predicting intercultural communication competence. A total of 16 studies met the criteria of having recoverable…

Examines by meta-analysis the effect that exposure to pornography produces on aggressive behavior under laboratory conditions considering a variety of possible moderating conditions. Demonstrates a homogeneous set of results showing that pictorial nudity reduces subsequent violent behavior, but that depictions of nonviolent sexual behavior and…

Responds to an analysis by D. O'Keefe (in the same issue of this journal) of a research study by the author. States that most of what O'Keefe suggests contains merit but that acceptance of the suggestions still generates a conclusion that two-sided refutational messages constitute the most persuasive form of message. (SR)

Sex differences in language use have been examined for many years, but no clear-cut conclusions exist. A meta-analysis of the existing literature was conducted regarding powerful/powerless language use, including 30 studies, with a total combined sample size of 3,012. The overall correlation indicated that men use more powerful language than…

Uses meta-analysis to test three models of the "sleeper" effect (a theory proposing that in the long term low credible sources may actually attain greater attitude change in message recipients than high credible sources). Concludes that the sleeper effect does exist, and offers suggestions for practitioners and theorists. (SR)

Compares the persuasiveness of using statistical versus narrative evidence (case studies or examples) across 15 investigations. Indicates that when comparing messages, statistical evidence is more persuasive than narrative evidence. (PA)

A study quantitatively summarized the literature examining the association between acceptance of rape myths and exposure to pornography to address disputes in the academic community regarding the consistency of such research. The entire collection of "Psychological Abstracts" and "Sociological Abstracts" was manually searched…

Reports on meta-analysis of 183 experiments comparing the effect sizes (average amount of change observed) of measurement techniques for assessing the effectiveness of public speaking anxiety treatments. Shows differences between self-report, observer, and physiological measurement techniques. Finds no interaction between type of therapy and type…