Katie Neary Dunleavy

The Relationship between Student Perceptions of Instructor Power and Classroom Justice This manuscript was presented as part of the Top Paper Panel to the Instructional Practices Interest Group of the Eastern Communication Association at its annual meeting in Pittsburgh, 2005.

The study investigated the relationships between student perceptions of instructor power and classroom justice. Partial correlations controlling for student grade expectations indicated that student perceptions of their instructors’ use of coercive, legitimate, referent, and expert power were related to perceptions of fairness in the classroom. Student perceptions of instructor use of reward power were not related to perceptions of any type of classroom justice.

Student Nagging Behavior in the College Classroom

Nagging is a persuasive tactic yet to be fully explored in instructional communication. Nagging involves an exchange in which a student makes persistent requests of an instructor who fails to comply. The purpose of the study was to examine student nagging behavior and, specifically, to examine nagging as a potentially face threatening act as part of Politeness Theory. Students (n=189) described a nagging exchange with an instructor by reporting on one of eight nagging strategies. Nagging is threatening to the positive and negative face of both students and instructors, with the Elicit Sympathy nag the most threatening to the students’ positive face, and the Demonstrate Frustration with the Instructor nag the most threatening to the instructors’ positive face. The Strike a Deal nag was found to be the most threatening to the students’ negative face, and the Flatter Instructor nag the most threatening to the instructors’ negative face. The majority of these face threatening acts are committed off record, or indirectly, and with a degree of ambiguity.

Organizational Dissent as a Function of Organizational Justice

This study examined the relationships between perceptions of organizational justice and enacting organizational dissent. Participants were 107 full-time employees working in various organizations. Results indicated that employee perceptions of distributive and interpersonal justice negatively predicted latent dissent, while perceptions of informational justice positively predicted latent dissent. Perceptions of interpersonal justice were the strongest predictor of latent dissent. Perceptions of justice were not related to articulated or displaced dissent. Future research should continue to explore triggering agents of dissent in organizations.

Siblings' Motives for Talking to Each Other

ABSTRACT The sibling relationship is an involuntary one that individuals often maintain throughout life (V. G. Cicirelli, 1995; M. A. Fitzpatrick & D. M. Badzinski, 1994; P. Noller & M. A. Fitzpatrick, 1993). The authors investigated interpersonal communication motives in sibling relationships to examine the way in which siblings voluntarily maintain their relationships with one another over time. R. B. Rubin, E. M. Perse, and C. A. Barbato (1988) identified 6 primary motives that people have for communicating: affection, control, escape, inclusion, pleasure, and relaxation. Participants were 323 individuals who reported on why they communicated with 1 of their siblings. The authors found differences between male and females participants and between intact and nonintact families. The number of siblings and the birth order of siblings also appeared to affect motives for communicating. The authors discuss the implications and limitations.

Exploring the Concept of Student Nagging Behavior

The purpose of this study was to identify the nagging behaviors college students report using with their instructors. One hundred and forty-four participants described instances in which they nagged instructors or instances in which they observed others nagging instructors. Students identified eight strategies for nagging instructors: the elicit student support nag, the demonstrate frustration with instructor nag, the strike a deal nag, the challenge instructor authority nag, the elicit sympathy nag, the suggest instructor incompetence nag, the flatter instructor nag, and the barrage instructor with requests nag.

Daughters' Perceptions of Communication with Their Fathers: The Role of Skill Similarity and Co-Orientation in Relationship Satisfaction

This study examines the communication skill similarity between fathers and daughters. Participants were 186 daughters who identified perceptions of both their own communication competence and their fathers communication competence. Results indicated that perceived similarity was related to relational satisfaction and quantity of communication. Using the Family Communication Pattern (FCP) model, father-daughter relationship satisfaction and communication skill similarity varied depending on the family type (i.e., consensual, pluralistic, protective, laissez-faire).

Idiomatic Communication in the Stages of Coming Together and Falling Apart

Idiomatic communication is a strategic and unique form of communication that is indicative of a close relationship. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between idiomatic communication with solidarity and satisfaction to validate Social Penetration Theory using Knapps stages of escalation and de-escalation. The results of the study (N = 275) found that couples in de-escalation stages report less idioms, and use idioms with less frequency, than couples in the escalation stages. Couples in de-escalating stages use confrontation, nickname, and teasing insult idioms with more negative effects than escalating couples. Finally, the use of idiomatic communication is significantly related to solidarity and relational satisfaction.

Instructors' and Students' Perspectives of Student Nagging: Frequency, Appropriateness, and Effectiveness

Nagging is a persistent tactic students use to persuade instructors. The purpose of this study was to compare student (n = 280) and instructor (n = 97) perceptions of student nagging in the classroom, and to examine the relationship between student nagging and instructor satisfaction. Results show that instructors perceive students as using four nagging strategies with significantly greater frequency than students do. In addition, students perceive all seven nagging strategies to be significantly more effective and appropriate than instructors. Finally, there is a significant relationship between particular nagging strategies and instructor satisfaction.

Marital Partners' Perceptions of Effective Message Repair

Typologies exist for both hurtful messages and repair strategies. The typologies help relational partners reconcile problems that arise in relationships, but it can be challenging to know when the problem is truly resolved. The purpose of this study was to examine the perception of the effectiveness of attempts at repair. One hundred thirty-one currently married individuals provided qualitative data to explain how they knew the marriage progressed after a hurtful message. Six categories emerged from the data: identification, nonverbal affirmation, behavior alteration, taboo topics, triviality, and ineffective repairs.