Research on nonverbal vocal cues and verbal irony has often relied on the concept of an "ironic tone of voice". Here we provide acoustic analysis and experimental evidence that this notion is oversimplified and misguided. Acoustic analyses of spontaneous ironic speech extracted from talk radio shows, both ambiguous and unambiguous in…

A total of 227 college students from Joliet, Illinois in the USA and Shanghai in the People's Republic of China (PRC) answered open-ended questions on their perception of being old. Topics also included participant's knowledge about older adults' regular activities, social policies and benefits for senior citizens, the happiest and the most…

Previous research has highlighted some of the problems faced by lesbian, gay, and bisexual college students. This study examined attitudes of faculty, staff, and students regarding lesbian, gay, and bisexual issues at a large public research university. Of the 1,952 faculty and staff who returned a survey on issues related to sexual orientation,…

Self-initiation of activities by individuals may have an affect on their mood. To study the relationship between the appraisal of self-initiated activities and dimensions of positive or negative affect 36 graduate students (22 female and 14 male) engaging in a total of 202 activities appraised dimensions of the activities and responded to a…

This action research was conducted during the counseling practicum for trainees from the Bachelor of Education (Guidance and Counseling) program from one of the local universities in Malaysia. There was a great concern about the attitudes of counseling practicum trainees. The assessment of their attitudes shows some levels of positiveness, but it…

A study sought to determine if a relationship existed between heterosexual college students' attitudes toward lesbianism and male homosexuality and their feelings about their own sexuality, including sex guilt. High sex guilt proved to be related to negative attitudes toward homosexuals of both sexes. (Authors/PP)

The correlation between communication apprehension and fear of negative evaluation was significantly stronger for volunteers than nonvolunteers. The results demonstrated a network of behavioral relationships beyond the self-selected problem. Knowledge of these correlates could significantly influence decisions about the design of interventions.…

It is commonly assumed that worry and anxiety are synonymous. However, there is growing evidence that anxiety and worry are separate, yet related, constructs (i.e., Davey, Hampton, Farrell, & Davidson, 1992; Davey, 1993; Gana, Martin, & Canouet, 2001 ). Worry, is generally defined as a stream of negative thoughts (Kelly & Miller,…

Research suggests that males tend to have a more positive attitude toward computers than do females; that males outnumber females in computer camps; and that males have greater access to, and report more frequent use of, computers at home than do females. It has been suggested that these findings may be based on sex role differences and not on…

The willingness of interactants to disclose information about themselves in relationships from which they wish to disengage was compared with their willingness to self-disclose in relationships they wish to maintain. The subjects, 102 college students, were randomly assigned to one of four hypothetical scenarios: one in which the respondent wished…

This paper examines the negative messages that Appalachian students receive about pursuing a college education. Appalachian culture has traditionally valued loyalty to family and community, hard work, self-reliance, strong sense of religion, and resistance to change. While most of these values seem positive, they may be a factor in perpetuating…

Assessed university students' attitudes toward rape and rape mythology and measured impact on these attitudes following exposure to acquaintance rape education program. Findings from 821 students revealed that women readily changed rape supportive attitudes, whereas men were resistant to date rape education program. Findings suggest need for new…

Examined attitudes of human-resource management students (n=143) from three major Mississippi universities toward persons with disabilities using Form O of the Attitudes toward Disabled Persons Scale. Found that African-American human-resource management students manifested more negative attitudes toward persons with disabilities than did white…