San Bolkan

The Development and Validation of the Student Communication Satisfaction Scale

Four studies (N = 639) were conducted to develop and validate a global measure of student communication satisfaction with an instructor. In study one, participants were 155 students who reported on an instructor from their smallest class during the semester. Participants completed the Student Communication Satisfaction Scale (SCSS), the Interpersonal Communication Satisfaction Inventory, and the Conversational Appropriateness Scale. Results indicated that the SCSS is unidimensional, has initial concurrent validity, and is internally reliable. In study two, participants were 161 students who completed the SCSS, Attributional Confidence Scale, Revised Affective Learning Measure, and Student Motives for Communicating Scale in an attempt to establish additional concurrent validity. The SCSS was correlated positively with attributional confidence for the instructor, affect for the course and instructor, and the relational, functional, participatory, and sycophancy motives, while excuse-making was correlated negatively with communication satisfaction. Additionally, results of a confirmatory factor analysis yielded a single-factor solution. In study three, a confirmatory factor analysis of the scale using another sample (N=165) yielded a single-factor solution. In study four (N=158), discriminant validity was established as the SCSS loaded on a separate factor than the ICSI and was correlated positively with a host of instructional outcomes, student communication behavior, and perceived instructor communication.

Behavioral Indicators of Transformational Leadership in the College Classroom

The purpose of this study was to identify which instructor communication behaviors students believe promote transformational leadership (i.e., charisma, individualized consideration, and intellectual stimulation) in the college classroom. Participants were 166 undergraduate students who wrote three narratives describing behaviors their instructors engaged in that created perceptions of transformational leadership according to Basss (1985) operationalization. Results of a content analysis (in rank order for each dimension) revealed that (a) charisma was communicated through teacher confirmation, nonverbal immediacy, humor, caring, availability, content relevance, verbal immediacy, attitude homophily, equality, and self-disclosure; (b) individualized consideration was communicated through teacher availability, individualized feedback, verbal immediacy, personalized content, conveying interest, special considerations, student history, and encouraging participation; and (c) intellectual stimulation was communicated through teaching style, challenging students, independent thought, classroom participation, humor, and content relevance.

Student Motives for Communicating with Instructors as a Function of Perceived Instructor Misbehaviors

The purpose of this study was to examine the extent to which student motives for communicating with an instructor (i.e., relational, functional, participatory, excuse-making, and sycophancy) were associated with perceived instructor misbehaviors (i.e., incompetence, indolence, and offensiveness). Participants were 265 students who completed a questionnaire consisting of the Student Communication Motives Scale and the Teacher Misbehaviors Scale in reference to a class they had attended prior to data collection. Results of canonical correlation analysis revealed that (a) students who perceived their instructors as offensive, indolent, and, to a lesser extent, incompetent, were unmotivated to communicate for the functional motive; and (b) students who perceived their instructors as incompetent were unmotivated to communicate for the relational, participatory, and sycophancy motives, and, to a lesser extent, the functional and excuse-making motives.

Organizational Responses to Consumer Complaints: An Examination of Effective Remediation Tactics

Mistakes are common in business and can lead to negative repercussions for organizations. However, through the use of explanations, firms can diminish the negative consequences of their errors. The current study used a field stimulation to examine organizational explanations (excuses, justifications, and excuses) and their components (believable, appropriate, considerate, and responsible) to determine which factors make a difference in consumer satisfaction following organizational failures. Results, interpreted through the lens of expectancy violations theory, suggest that various components of explanations and the form of explanations used in remedial responses influence peoples perceptions of organizations and organizational responses following complaints about failures.

No Complain, No Gain: Students' Organizational, Relational, and Personal Reasons for Withholding Rhetorical Dissent from their College Instructors

Dissatisfaction between students and faculty is not uncommon, but the majority of students do not complain to their instructors when they have issues that need addressing. Because complaining to instructors gives them the potential to fix student problems, we conducted this study to determine why students choose not to complain to their instructors when they experience dissatisfaction. We used a qualitative approach to answering this question and asked a sample of 186 participants to report their reasons for withholding rhetorical dissent. Our data indicated that students withheld dissent from their instructors due to organizational factors and, to a lesser extent, relational and personal factors. We discuss these results and identify implications for instructors.

Teacher Leadership and Intellectual Stimulation: Improving Students' Approaches to Studying through Intrinsic Motivation

Teachers provide leadership in college classrooms, and the behaviors they exhibit as leaders impact a variety of student outcomes (Bolkan & Goodboy, 2009, 2010; Pounder, 2008). Specifically, transformational leadership (Bass, 1985) has been shown to be an important predictor of student learning (Bolkan & Goodboy, 2009). This study examined a specific component of transformational leadership to investigate how communicating intellectual stimulation transforms the nature of the classroom by encouraging student motivation and, subsequently, students’ approaches to their studying. Results suggest that when teachers influence students’ intrinsic motivation through the use of intellectually stimulating behaviors, students approach their learning in deep and strategic ways, and are less likely to adopt a surface-level approach to their studies.

Attachment and the Use of Negative Relational Maintenance Behaviors in Romantic Relationships

The purpose of this study was to examine the link between adult attachment (i.e., secure, preoccupied, fearful-avoidant, and dismissive) and the use of negative relational maintenance behaviors (i.e., jealousy induction, avoidance, spying, infidelity, destructive conflict, and allowing control) in romantic relationships. Participants were 232 adults who completed a questionnaire and were currently involved in a romantic relationship. Results revealed inverse relationships between secure attachment and the use of negative relational maintenance behaviors, as well as positive relationships between dismissive and fearful-avoidant attachments and some negative relational maintenance behaviors. After controlling for the influence of relationship satisfaction, the dismissive and preoccupied attachment styles were the most salient predictors of negative relational maintenance.

Two Meta-analyses Exploring the Relationship between Teacher Clarity and Student Learning

This article reports the findings of two meta-analyses that explored the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning. Combined, the results suggest that teacher clarity has a larger effect for student affective learning than for cognitive learning. However, neither the effects for cognitive learning nor affective learning were homogeneous. Heterogeneous effects were observed for several additional subsets of the datasets. The first meta-analysis reviews the findings of 144 reported effects (N = 73,281) examining the relationship between teacher clarity and student learning outcomes. The cumulative evidence indicates that teacher clarity accounts for approximately 13% of the variance in student learning. The second meta-analysis reports a random-effects meta-analysis of 46 studies (N = 13,501). Moderators were examined and revealed that study design (i.e., survey versus experiment) moderated the impact of instructor clarity on affective learning. No significant moderators were found for cognitive learning. The cumulative results confirm that teacher clarity has a moderate effect on student affective and cognitive learning; however, persistent heterogeneity among the samples implies the presence of one or more moderating variables. Theoretical, practical, and methodological implications are discussed. Recommendations are made for future clarity researchers including a shift back to using low-inference behavioral measurements instead of high-inference perceptual measurements.

Antecedents of Consumer Repatronage Intentions and Negative Word-of-Mouth Behaviors Following an Organizational Failure: A Test of Investment Model Predictions

The purpose of this study was to examine the antecedents of consumers’ repatronage intentions and negative word-of-mouth behaviors following organizational failures. Participants were 233 people who had actually complained to organizations. Using Rusbults investment model of relational stability, consumers’ perceptions of their investments, alternatives, satisfaction, and commitment were measured with respect to their impact on customers’ intent to do business with organizations in the future and willingness to spread negative publicity about an organization following a business failure. Results indicated that a modified version of the investment model helped to predict significant variance in consumers’ repatronage intentions and negative word-of-mouth behaviors.

Instructional Dissent as a Function of Student Conflict Styles

The purpose of this study was to examine how students’ conflict styles (i.e., integrating, avoiding, dominating, obliging, and compromising) were related to the expression of instructional dissent (i.e., expressive, rhetorical, and vengeful). Participants were 160 undergraduate students, who completed a questionnaire measuring their conflict-handling communication with an instructor and how frequently they engaged in instructional dissent throughout the semester. Results of a canonical correlation revealed that (a) when students used the integrating, dominating, and compromising conflict styles, but did not use the avoiding style, they communicated more rhetorical dissent, and (b) when students used the dominating style, but not the integrating or obliging styles, they communicated more expressive, rhetorical, and vengeful dissent.