Memory for discourse by older adults was examined by comparing their performance with that of younger subjects on a text recognition task. Results showed that the old were better at detecting lexical substitutions than subject-object reversals, suggesting that the old retain lexical items better than the relations between them. (FL)

Children (ages 5-8) were presented with a communication task under four different experimental conditions, to find contexts which would encourage their use of the indefinite article. Even older children failed to identify their referents consistently, although nearly all subjects used indefinite expressions intermittently when mentioning new…

Restates A. D. Baddeley's hypothesis about the limited capacity for information processing: an individual's limited capacity to handle information (including production and storage), although presumably never reached in actual performance, exercises a definable constraint on performance. (RL)

A study of the reported sampling methods and respondent/subject characteristics in 297 published communication research studies suggests that the vast majority of published communication research literature does not meet minimal scholarly standards for reporting research results. (GT)

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…

Presents a developmental model of intimacy and explicitness. Finds that affection for a partner had a significantly more negative association with episodic explicitness when closeness was low versus high. Finds that intimacy was negatively correlated with explicitness from low to moderate levels of intimacy, but positively correlated from moderate…

Analyzes data from five different kinds of organizations, showing that, regardless of how much information organization members reported receiving, they wanted more, thus revealing a general belief in the communication metamyth that more communication is better. (SR)

Studies the conference as a strategic communication tool used to facilitate complex interorganizational business relationships. Develops and tests a model of the necessary prior conditions for conference success, conference process variables, conference outcomes, and the long-term consequences of effective integration for an organization. (SR)

Studies 35 organizational meetings (each from a different organization) to examine the development and use of five primary tools for planning and managing meetings (agendas, support documents, announcements, meeting minutes, and evaluations). Analyzes the relationships of these tools to meeting processes, and looks at control of these tools by…

Examines key words in 100 abstracts of articles published between 1988 and 1994 in this journal to uncover major concepts of the study of business communication. Suggests a central clustering of research in the field around the frequently used concepts of personnel, employees, written skills, sales, and listening, as well as other more diverse…

Investigates circumstances under which communication variables contribute significantly to the constitution of group decisions. Postulates two variables, homogeneity of task-relevant information possessed by group members and task demonstrability, to moderate the impact of communication and group member ability on quality of group outcomes.…

Focuses on understanding mental models people develop for judging veracity. Hypothesizes that individual differences in models predict participants' attributions and confidence in making attributions. Indicates that participants' mental models for detecting deception are detailed, changing, and idiosyncratic, varying in structure and degree of…

Contends personal narratives present self to others, crossing racial, ethnic, and cultural boundaries. Examines how self- perception is communicated to familiar others, "questioning targets," and receivers. Finds self-concept is presented through personal narrative; self-presentations function as impression management; view of other is…

Explores effects of differential quality of leader-member exchange on cooperative communication among work group members. Suggests that the nature of an individual's exchange with his/her leader and his/her leader's upward leader-member exchange significantly impact perceived use of coworker cooperative communication. Provides evidence of linkage…

States that current guidance for organizational spokespersons lacks a clear theoretical and empirical foundation. Describes a study designed to rank preferences for five previously identified rhetorical strategies for responding to hostile questions in environmental meetings based on speech act theory. Finds responses based on the timing strategy…