Finds that self-efficacy mediates the effect of past experience and situation difficulty on interpersonal communication outcomes, with interpersonal communication competence directly effecting rewarding, satisfying communication. Provides concurrent validity information on the Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale. (SR)

Studies the relationships among student teachers' communication skills, motivation, and knowledge in relation to their perceived effectiveness. Concludes that communication skill instruments may help in differentiating successful from unsuccessful student teachers. (MS)

Discusses efforts to develop and validate an instrument that could be used to ascertain the motives individuals have for interpersonal communication. Results indicate six prominent motives, namely: (1) pleasure, (2) affection, (3) inclusion, (4) escape, (5) relaxation, and (6) control. (JAD)

Behavioral flexibility has long been recognized as an essential component of communication competence. A study served to develop a communication flexibility scale and corresponding validity and reliability information, and examined the relationship between communication flexibility and related constructs. The Communication Flexibility Scale…

Shows that, for students in a basic communication class, communication competence increased and communication apprehension decreased, and communication competence with strangers increased and communication apprehension in groups decreased. Shows that high apprehensive and low competence students experienced greater changes in their scores than did…

Examines social and parasocial interaction from interpersonal attribution perspectives. Finds subjects' relationships with soap opera characters, like social relationships with real people, are based on reduction of uncertainty and ability to predict the character's feelings and attitudes. Discusses implications for uncertainty reduction theory…

Explores and develops a contextual age concept as an alternative to the chronological age concept in communication and aging research. Investigates the dimensions of contextual age and their relationships to the sociodemographics and television viewing patterns of aged persons. (PD)

Reporting validity information, this study concludes that the CCAI is a valid and reliable instrument tapping a variety of situations in which students communicate. The method of operationalizing the construct--observation of communication behavior--is clearly superior to self-report methods. (PD)

In recent years, a number of concepts have been introduced by communication researchers in an effort to transcend the limitations of the chronological age concept. Among these is the idea of contextual age, which asserts that social and environmental factors are better indicators of aging and communication behavior than is chronological age. A…

Surveys communication researchers about the importance of 116 research questions and 24 general areas in communication education to identify future research needs for the discipline. Indicates that priority should be placed on investigations of student and teacher communication competence, effects of teacher communication on learning, and…

Examines the conceptual and methodological similarities and differences of three listening measures--the Watson-Barker Listening Test, Kentucky Comprehensive Listening Test, and the Communication Competency Assessment Instrument. Provides information on the concepts being assessed in each and illuminates major methodological issues for listening…

Divided into two sections, this report describes research on the range and degree of assessment of students' communication skills in colleges and universities and includes the following findings: (1) of the 384 respondents from college speech communication departments, 45 reported using large-scale, uniform testing of students; (2) these…

Forty-one college students participated in a study designed to gather validity and reliability information on a procedure used to measure communication competence, the Communication Competency Assessment Instrument (CCAI). The study, in confirming operationalization validity, found that self-report measures correlated only slightly with…

Two studies were conducted examining the sex role stereotyping and status differentiation of college professors by their students. The first study examined student perceptions of college professors' ideal traits to ascertain possible influences of sex role stereotyping. A total of 184 students participated in a three-stage process of selecting the…

Examined relationships among cognitive complexity (social perception skill), verbal ability, and communication competence in classroom communication. Found (1) moderate correlations between cognitive complexity and verbal ability and between communication competence and verbal ability and (2) minimal association between the overall communication…