C. Leigh Nelson

The Influence of Family Communication Patterns on Religious Orientation Among College Students

A web survey of 215 participants was conducted to determine if the Revised Family Communication Patterns (RFCP) scale predicted a variety of dependent variables related to religiosity, including extrinsic and intrinsic orientations toward religion, along with strength of religious faith. Both dimensions of the RFCP significantly predicted strength of religious faith, intrinsic orientation and extrinsic orientation beyond the amount of variance predicted by demographic variables and church attendance in the family of origin. Implications for family communication patterns for the socialization of religious values are considered.

Online Technological Media in the Higher Education Classroom: An Exploratory Investigation of Varied Levels of Twitter Use

An exploratory quasi-experiment of college-level students was used to examine the difference in a variety of course indicators among instructors when they did not use Twitter as a supplement to their courses, when they moderately used Twitter, and when they used Twitter a great deal in their courses. When instructors used Twitter in their classes, perceived learning via technological mediums, perceived classroom community with regard to technological media, perceived pedagogical affect, perceived course effectiveness, perceived learning performance, and perceived perception of learning from Twitter were all greater than when they did not use Twitter in their courses. Overall results of this study recommend further research and a continued focus on the usage of Twitter in the higher education classroom.

Don't Drink and Speak: The Relationships among Alcohol Use, Practice, Motivation, Anxiety, and Speech Performance

A diary study was conducted for five days prior to a speech to determine whether there was a relationship among motivation, trait speech anxiety, practice, alcohol consumption, and speech performance. Practice and motivation were positively correlated. Speech performance was negatively correlated with alcohol consumed. Motivation and anxiety were negatively correlated. As the speech event approached, motivation and practice increased and alcohol use decreased. Using average motivation, average anxiety, total practice, and total alcohol consumption as predictors of speech performance, alcohol use was the only significant predictor (negative). Alcohol consumption was a more compelling predictor of speech performance than traditional variables.

RateMyProfessors.com: A Validity Exercise.

Course: Introduction to Research Methods Objectives: Students will analyze different types of validity using the popular web site, RateMyProfessors.com.

Does Watching Television Actually Make One Nicer? The Use of Conflict Management Message Styles

A telephone survey of 122 respondents was conducted to examine whether exposure to television predicted the use of certain conflict management message styles. Television exposure was not a significant predictor of using a “self-oriented” or “issue-oriented” approach. However, it was a significant predictor of using an “other-oriented” approach to conflict management. Viewers with greater exposure to television were more likely to report using positive message responses when dealing with conflict than their lighter-viewing counterparts.