Carolyn M. Anderson

The cognitive flexibility scale: Three validity studies

The complexities of everyday life reinforce the need to be cognitively flexible. Cognitive flexibility refers to a persons awareness of communication alternatives, willingness to adapt to the situation, and self‐efficacy in being flexible. Three studies were conducted to establish further the validity of the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (Martin & Rubin, 1995). In Study One, cognitive flexibility was positively related to two other identified constructs of communication competence, assertiveness and responsiveness. In Study Two, respondents’ assessments of their own cognitive flexibility were positively related to ratings from their friends. In Study Three, a positive relationship was found between being cognitively flexible and confidence in performing communication behaviors.

Roommate similarity: Are roommates who are similar in their communication traits more satisfied?

This study investigated whether roommates who were similar in their communication traits would express more satisfaction with and affinity for their roommates. Specifically, the communication traits of willingness to communicate, interpersonal communication competence, and verbal aggressiveness were considered. Participants (college students and their roommates) completed measures of their own communication traits and their feelings about their roommates. Results showed that roommates who were prosocially similar (when both roommates were high in willingness to communicate, when both roommates were high in interpersonal communication competence, and when both roommates were low in verbal aggressiveness) reported the highest roommate satisfaction and liking.

Verbal Aggression in Sibling Relationships.

This study focused on verbal aggression in sibling relationships. The study examined the relationship between (a) verbal aggressiveness with satisfaction and interpersonal trust, (b) the relationship between teasing and verbal aggressiveness, (c) whether people more satisfied with their siblings report that receiving verbal aggression is more personally hurtful, and (d) whether sibling sex influenced verbal aggression in the relationship. Results support the destructiveness of verbal aggression in that verbal aggressiveness was negatively related to satisfaction and trust. Teasing was found to be positively related to being verbally aggressive. Sibling satisfaction was positively related to being hurt from receiving verbally aggressive messages. Results involving sex show that women are more satisfied and report using less verbal aggression and teasing than the other sibling dyads. Conclusions, future directions, and limitations are discussed.

The relationship of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness to cohesion, consensus, and satisfaction in small groups

The communication traits of argumentativeness and verbal aggressiveness were investigated for their relationships with small group members’ perceptions of communication satisfaction, cohesion, and consensus. Participants (N = 208) in on‐going task groups were surveyed. The results suggest that group members who are argumentative and not verbally aggressive are satisfied with their groups communication, and they perceive that the groups are more likely to reach consensus and experience a sense of cohesion. The results discuss the importance of communication traits in investigating small group communication.

The father‐young adult relationship: Interpersonal motives, self‐disclosure, and satisfaction

This study investigated self‐disclosure, interpersonal communication motives, and communication satisfaction in the father‐young adult relationship. A total of 159 father‐young adult dyads participated. Individuals reported on how they communicated with the other person in their relationship. The results of this study indicated that: (a) young adults and fathers are similar in their interpersonal motives and self‐disclosures in communicating with each other; (b) interpersonal motives for communicating are related to self‐disclosure behavior; and peoples’ motives and self‐disclosures in the young adult‐father relationship explain their satisfaction with that relationship. The findings of this study support the proposition that the communication that takes place in the family and the reasons for that communication affects the satisfaction that is felt by members of the family.

Feelings about Verbal Aggression: Justifications for Sending and Hurt from Receiving Verbally Aggressive Messages.

To learn more about peoples feelings about verbal aggressiveness, this study investigated (a) whether receiving verbally aggressive messages was more hurtful depending on the source of that message, (b) if trait verbal aggressiveness is related to believing verbal aggression is justified, and (c) if the perceived hurt of verbally aggressive messages is related to a tendency to be verbally aggressive. The results showed that messages from friends cause more hurt than messages from acquaintances, that verbal aggressiveness is related to believing verbal aggression is justified, and that hurt from receiving verbally aggressive messages is unrelated to being verbally aggressive. Suggestions for future research are discussed.

Aggressive communication traits: How similar are young adults and their parents in argumentativeness, assertiveness, and verbal aggressiveness

As a step in learning more about aggressive communication in families, this study investigated the similarities between three aggressive communication traits (argumentativeness, assertiveness, and verbal aggressiveness) of young adults and their parents. College students (N = 160) and their parents (N = 320) completed measures of their aggressive traits. Results showed that similarities existed between mothers and their daughters and sons for all three traits; however, no significant relationships between fathers and their daughters and sons for the traits were found.

Communication motives of assertive and responsive communicators

Communicators, in one of four groups based on their assertive and responsive behaviors, were investigated for differences in their interpersonal motives for communicating. Competent communicators (high assertive, high responsive) communicated from needs for affection, pleasure, and inclusion more than noncompetent (low assertive, low responsive), submissive (low assertive, high responsive) and aggressive (high assertive, low responsive) individuals. Aggressive types communicated more from control needs, while noncompetent communicators communicated from escape needs. Implications for future research are discussed.

Communication traits: A cross‐generalization investigation

This study considered age and sex differences on aggressive and responsive communication traits. Participants reported their argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, communication apprehension, assertiveness, responsiveness, cognitive flexibility, and affective orientation. Significant interactions were found for argumentativeness, verbal aggressiveness, dyadic communication apprehension, and cognitive flexibility. There were main effects for age and sex for responsiveness and affective orientation, and a main effect for sex for assertiveness. Implications are that studying age along with sex allows for a better understanding of differences on communication traits

Small group relational satisfaction scale: Development, reliability and validity

A 12‐item Relational Satisfaction Scale (RSS) was developed and examined for reliability and validity. Reliability (Cronbachs alpha) for the RSS was high at .89 (M = 43.91, SD = 6.89). In Study I, full time employees (N = 228) reported attitudes about group work, assertiveness, responsiveness, perceptions of feedback and relational satisfaction in work groups. All four variables were positively correlated to relational satisfaction. In Study 2, the RSS along with measures of loneliness, cohesion and consensus were administered to 210 students involved in on‐going decision‐making projects. Positive relationships were found for relational satisfaction and cohesion and consensus, with a negative relationship for loneliness. Implications for future research are discussed.