This poster presentation describes the group dynamics within a collaborative learning setting. In the Parenting class, which is a requirement within the Human Development and Family Science major, students are encouraged to choose their own groups which will then function as family units for the duration of the semester. The learning principle behind these team exercises is twofold: on the one hand the groups have to cover curricular material and access information related to best parenting practices. On the other hand, by being part of a group themselves, they have to reflect on the challenges that may occur within family units, and this entails meta-cognition. The groups have to collaborate to complete tasks similar to the way families deal with real-life challenges. One of the first tasks concerns parenting techniques in the case of disruptive behavior of children. The groups have to access best parenting practices and resources by accessing sites that list and describe evidence based parenting programs. They have to find best outcomes as a family, and outline the appropriate parenting techniques. It becomes apparent to group members that a family unit has a permanence that has to be accepted, respected, and used a as tool. Not exiting from a group necessitates negotiating skills, display of mutual acceptance and collaboration. The instructor of the class has been trained in the basics of group dynamics, and serves as a resource to guide the students; and can comment on the observed process. Theoretically groups are predicted to go through phases of forming, norming, storming, performing and ultimately adjourning, first described by Tuckman (1965). This sequence is illustrated with descriptions of real-life events occurring in the classroom. When students choose their own groups, the underlying learning principle is to make them responsible for their choices and deal with the unanticipated surprises and challenges. This strategy is intentional. Inevitably, during the semester, cracks appear in these happy units, and students complain that they cannot work in this group, or with that person. When there is dissent in the group, it also provides the perfect learning opportunity. Dynamics of dissent can occur in any group, including family groups. Students are reminded that family groups have permanence and in a similar fashion they cannot change their groups once they have chosen them. Hence the focus shifts to finding techniques and ways of restoring the group homeostasis and thereby implied functioning. In doing so, students are encouraged to follow several steps: one is to understand their group’s behavior according to a systems approach and becoming acquainted with systems theory. Subsequently they need to find ways to resolve the conflict in a respectful manner and become productive. Students realize the parallel between their functioning as a group and many parenting situations. As part of the conflict resolution they need to implement structure in combination with the welcoming qualities of nurture. The student working groups find that just like families, they ultimately have to display constructive coping strategies to support group cohesion and functionality.

Working from a communication theory paradigm and from previous literature, the purpose of this study was to empirically examine significant receiver correlates which predict adoption behavior of Sigma Nu Fraternity on three campuses. Drawing from past research, the present study utilized a unique combination of social and communication variables as predictors of fraternity membership. A stepwise multiple discriminant analysis using five factors derived from the thirteen independent variables yielded a highly significant three factor discriminant function (p < .001) which explained 46.65 percent of the common variance in adoption/non-adoption behavior of Sigma Nu. The significant factors were labeled peer group behavior, parental economic support, and social attitudes. Based on intuitive interpretation features of the data, the researcher suspects that adopters are more socially oriented, have a wider variety o: friends, are less dependent on parental economic support, and exhibit higher scores on measures such as self-esteem, liberalism, conservatism, and the need for identification with groups.

This thesis details a study of the interlanguage of advanced speakers of English as a Second Language. The purpose of the study was to see what errors these students made when speaking the language in a communicative environment. In approaching the issue of interlanguage, the writer surveys the research in language acquisition as well as in interlanguage, error analysis and language learning theories. Based on this research and the results of this study, the writer explores the implications of both the research and the study and offers suggestions to teachers of advanced conversation classes.

The purpose of this investigation was to determine at which age levels, between four and eight years, children express Praise, Apology, Commiseration, Blame, Challenge, Endearment, and both a Positive and Negative State. Subjects were thirty children, six from each age level between four and eight years, selected from an elementary and preschool within the Portland area. Sixteen picture cards and stories were designed to elicit the eight different feelings. Each subject responded to questions at the end of the story and was given two chances to express the appropriate feeling. Each response was judged as appropriate or inappropriate and scored accordingly.

The purpose of this study was to compare expressive communication, receptive communication, and socialization achievement in 18- to 34-month-old ELD toddlers to the same skills in normally-speaking children. The questions this study sought to answer were, how do the three skill areas in ELD toddlers compare with the same skills in normal toddlers?, will ELD subjects evidence specific profiles of deficits involving not only expressive but receptive and social skills as well? and, within the ELD subjects will two subgroups emerge, one group having poor expressive skills only, and a second group having deficits in addition to expression.

Communication problems and conflict may occur between partners in intimate dyads when systematic gender differences in language contribute to misinterpretations. This research investigated effects of gender on interpretations of hypothetical conversations between dyads, and also on judgments of likelihood of conflict.

This study sought to conceptualize forgiveness-granting communication as a facework phenomenon through utilizing the concepts of face concerns, degree of face loss, and facework strategies. Participants from public speaking courses (N = 248) completed a self-report survey questionnaire asking them to recall a recent forgiveness episode. Statistical analyses were conducted to discover the relationship between face and forgiveness-granting communication. The results of this study indicated the following important findings: (a) the greater one’s self-face concern, the less likely one’s forgiveness-granting communication is to be direct; (b) self-face concern positively predicted conditional forgiveness-granting communication; (c) degree of face loss was a positive predictor of non-expressive forgiveness-granting communication; and (d) facework strategies were the best predictors of forgiveness-granting communication. This study revealed face as a useful theoretical paradigm for understanding forgiveness-granting communication. Although the sample was fairly homogenous and three scales had undesirable reliabilities, this study has provided greater understanding of both the role of face within the forgiveness process and how communicators choose certain strategies to grant forgiveness. Based on this study, future directions were also discussed.

Cyberbullying, defined as any behavior performed through electronic or digital media by individuals or groups that repeatedly communicates hostile or aggressive messages intended to inflict harm or discomfort on others, is a widespread problem. Bystanders play an integral role in the initiation, maintenance, and prolonged presence of such aggressive behaviors, but have thus far been overlooked in cyberbullying literature. Cyberbullying bystanders are defined in this study as those who witness cyberbullying, either within or outside their personal social network(s) and whose available responses range from inaction to intervention. Operating from a social-ecological perspective and guided by multiple goals theories, this study used focus group methodology and found that cyberbullying bystanders have an impact on perpetration and victimization by way of multiple, distinct goals, which impact their choice of behavioral response. Bystanders’ goals and behaviors served to inform the creation of a cyberbullying bystander typology inclusive of five types: the oblivious/distant bystander, the entertained bystander, the conspiring bystander, the unintentional instigating bystander, and the active/empowered bystander. By allowing a thorough, nuanced understanding of bystanders’ role in cyberbullying, the study has significant implications for communication theory and practical application in the development of prevention and intervention efforts.

This research examined how college students feel about their professors requesting them to be a Facebook friend. Recognizing the ways in which professors and students communicating through social networking could produce additional educational opportunities for collaboration and instruction, while also causing tension or awkwardness as the process develops. Semistructured interviews were utilized by the researcher to obtain information from the selected participants, and the data were analyzed by comparative methods. Through this study, it was revealed that students are split on the appropriateness of professors as Facebook friends. They prefer little to no self-disclosure from their professors. They do not see Facebook friendships with professors as an invasion of their privacy. Although most students believe Facebook can be an effective educational tool, there are mixed feelings whether using Facebook as an educational tool strips the site of its originally intended social purpose, most students will accept their professor’s Facebook request but only because they feel that they have to. This study extends the limited initial research on Facebook usage in education, namely with students.

The objective of this thesis is to provide theoretical and empirical insights on the subject of group communication and perceived performance within work teams. The theoretical section provides a definition and outlines the importance of work teams, it references selected psychological aspects and factors. This study details aspects of communication and performance in the context of work teams. It reveals opportunities to increase performance in the subject of learning teams, especially, where communication is its foundation. In addition, this thesis describes and interconnects new knowledge regarding the possibilities of improving performance, whilst exploring the relationship between communication and performance. At the same time, it presents an overview of the approaches and methods of measuring these aspects. The empirical section details the various the relationships of various communication parameters and the perceived performance within teams. The empirical section is devoted to the study of relations of communication parameters and perceived performance in teams. It is a built-in measuring tool for measuring three team constructs: group communication, team-member exchange quality and perceived performance. It provides analysis of psychometric properties, reliability and constructive...