Evaluates the stability of the Relational Dimensions Instrument (RDI) as a measure of people's general beliefs about the characteristics of the ideal marriage. Shows little stability for these judgments in college students who took the test twice, one year apart. Casts doubt on whether college students' implicit theories of marriage are tapped by…

Examines the relationship between communication apprehension and dating exclusivity in relation to the desired number of dates, the actual number of dates, the probability of accepting a blind date, uncertainty on first dates, and the amount of contact prior to dating. Partially supports previous research. (JMF)

Examines teachers themselves as potential sources of instructional and/or motivational problems. Indicates 28 categories of student-reported teacher misbehaviors, and notes the frequency of each. Reduces the misbehaviors to three factors: teacher incompetence, offensiveness, and indolence. Discusses implications for managing student resistance in…

Explores the basic communication research course for undergraduates. Discusses several key notions for making this course valuable to the undergraduate: the attitude of the instructor, the attitude of the students, course requirements and activities, and evaluation techniques. (SR)

Finds that graduate teaching assistants (GTAs) experience eight interrelated types of communication concern (self, task, impact, role conflict, teaching, area knowledge, procedural knowledge, and time management). Shows that GTA variables of expected duties, prior teaching experience, newness to area, foreign or domestic birth, and age are likely…

Finds significant relationships between levels of teaching assistant dress and student cognitive learning, student affective learning, and ratings of instruction. Finds significant negative relationship between casual instructor attire and student likelihood of misbehavior, with misbehaviors less likely for teaching assistants with high…

Examines the impact of teacher immediacy (teacher behavior that communicates positive attitudes toward students and subject matter) on students' attitudes toward learning in different types of classes: people-oriented-courses (communication skills) vs. task-oriented-courses (accounting).

Examines combinations of the following variables and their influence on student attitudes and intentions toward affective and behavioral learning: (1) teacher sex; (2) teacher sex-role orientation; and (3) teacher use of power strategies. (SR)

Investigates how students' ethnic backgrounds relate to their views of instructional communication processes. Assesses the structural relationships among teacher immediacy, course utility, and teaching effectiveness for Anglo-American, Latino, African-American, and Asian-American students at the middle and end of a 10-week term. (SR)