Kathleen M. Long

Students’ Predispositions and Orientations toward Communication and Perceptions of Instructor Reciprocity and Learning

This study examined whether college students’ communication avoidance and socio-communicative orientation were related to perceptions of instructors’ immediacy, socio-communication style, satisfaction with instructors and learning. Students high in communication apprehension and/or less immediate perceived their instructors as less immediate and less assertive/responsive. Moreover, those who were more apprehensive and/or less immediate reported less satisfaction with instructors and felt that they learned less. Students’ assertiveness and responsiveness correlated positively with perceptions of instructors’ immediacy and assertiveness/responsiveness, affect for instructors, and classroom learning.

The impact of compulsive communicators on the self‐perceived competence of classroom peers: An investigation and test of instructional strategies

Two studies assess the influence of student communication behavior on peer self‐evaluation in basic communication courses. Study 1 explores whether students who are compulsive communicators influence the self‐perceived communication competence of their peers. Results show that students in classes with compulsive communicators have significantly smaller gains in self‐perceived communication competence over the course of a semester than students in classes without compulsive communicators. Study 2 assesses the effects of implementing a cognitive learning strategies model of instruction on students’ self‐perceived communication competence. Results indicate that the cognitive learning strategies model eliminates the suppression effect found in course sections with compulsive communicators.

Examining variation among compulsive communicators in classroom settings

The present study investigates variance among compulsive communicators on the traits of communication apprehension, verbal aggressiveness and argumentativeness and the relationship between these three communication traits and self‐perceived competence. Results confirmed a positive relationship between self‐perceived communication competence (SPCC) and argumentativeness and a negative relationship between SPCC and communication apprehension. The hypothesized relationship between SPCC and verbal aggressiveness was not confirmed within the sample studied. These results suggest that compulsive communicators are not a monolithic group but possess a range of competence.