This research was designed to assess 7-week-old infants' preference for infant directed and adult directed talk. (IDT and ADT) using the infant controlled habituation/dishabituation looking procedure. Infants were presented with short audio recordings of either a female or a male speaking in IDT during habituation and ADT during dishabituation or the reverse. In the control conditions, the stimulus did not change. Infants demonstrated preference for IDT over ADT in both male and female speaker conditions. They also demonstrated preference for the female speaker used in this study over the male speaker. Interactions among the dependent variables (first three looks), and the independent variables (infant gender, and style of speaking as well as infant gender, and speaker gender), suggest that the preference might not be as robust as the preference found in infants over 4 months. Evidence for discrimination between IDT and ADT was inferred from the between group demonstration of preference, but no evidence of within infant discrimination was found. Because the evidence suggests that 7-week-old infants demonstrate weaker preference for IDT over ADT than do infants of 4 months, it is assumed that infant preferences follow a developmental sequence. Thus, it is possible that developing preferences are influenced by experiential factors. / Arts, Faculty of / Psychology, Department of / Graduate

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This paper presents seven conversations of men from a variety of backgrounds, in a variety of environments. I analyze the discussions to determine if they can be characterized as typical gossip, and to compare their interaction styles to the men and women of past studies on gossip.

The purpose of this study is to investigate family mealtime dynamics from the adolescent's perspective and explore what topics are discussed compared to what topics they would like to discuss, and to examine the association among mealtimes and the adolescent's academic status and self-esteem.

The phenomenon of age-disparate relationships between younger men and older women is relatively under- researched and therefore open to misunderstanding. The common assumption is that the younger men enter these relationships with a view to benefiting in terms of money or material goods. This qualitative study explored the experiences of five young men from around Pretoria who are in relationships with older women to understand their motivations for entering into those relationships and their experiences in the relationships. The in-depth interviews were thematically analysed and themes that emerged indicated that, unlike what has previously been found among young women who are in relationships with older men (namely that the young women are often coerced and therefore do not have much power in their relationships), the young men entered the relationships willingly and rely on cultural norms that allow them to navigate and negotiate their roles in the relationships. It is therefore recommended that age-disparate relationships not be discouraged; instead, interventions should focus on assisting young people develop agentic power in such relationships. / Psychology / M.A. (Psychology)

This article elaborates the role of interpersonal communication in media effects. Based on an extensive literature review, two lines of arguments are illustrated: the antagonistic and the synergetic position. The literature provides theoretical and empirical support for both positions especially in the field of persuasive media input. To complete the view, two experiments with nonpersuasive media input are presented. The first experiment addresses the role of conversations in cognitive news effects. The synergetic position is supported: conversation leads to elaboration and more profound recall of media content. The second experiment deals mainly with emotional media effects in entertainment. No general impact of conversation on media effects was demonstrated. Nonetheless, the authors find evidence that conversations about the media engender a more critical and reserved stance toward the media content and protagonists. The article concludes with a discussion of the implications for further research into the field.

This thesis focuses on Catholic Charities (Hereafter CC), a non-profit agency that provides pregnancy and adoption support to families in times of crisis. Research and agency data reflect a positive association between the amount of time clients engage in services and the resolution of crises. Both theoretically and empirically, a key determinant of the depth and breadth of clients' engagement with both for-profit and non-profit services is their satisfaction with such services. In 2009-2010, CC's in-house, client surveys reported a decreasing level of client engagement with services. One clear trend was that clients discontinued services after thirty days or less. Against this trend, CC aims to provide social services for an extended period of time (i.e. longer than thirty days) in order to insure that clients have fully recovered from crises. In order to understand possible reasons for clients' low or short engagement rates, this thesis analyzes clients' satisfaction with CC services. Using a grounded-theory approach, twenty semi-structured interviews with former and current CC clients were analyzed for communication-based themes involving clients' satisfaction with services. Four macro-themes emerged: (1) Positive Caseworker Personality, (2) Feeling Emotionally Supported, (3) Feeling Helped, and (4) Positive Counseling Environment. Findings have implications for both theories of satisfaction and the offering and practice of CC services.

The purpose of this study was to compare receptive language, expressive language, and socialization skills of preschool children who have a history of expressive language delay (ELD) with age mates who have a history of normal language development.

This diploma thesis is focused on a phenomenon of interpersonal communication, and on problematic communication in particular, which is present in case of nine Czech proses published between 2011 and 2021. The ultimate goal of the thesis is to examine the usage of such communication in contemporary Czech prose from a theme-motive perspective, and to analyse how it has been constructed in narrative ways. The arrangement of the case-studies is as follows: Nejlepší pro všechny by Petra Soukupová, Tiché roky by Alena Mornštajnová, Do vnitrozemí by Vladimíra Valová, Chirurg by Petra Dvořáková, Místa ve tmě by Lidmila Kábrtová, Nonstop Eufrat by Veronika Bendová, Český ráj by Jaroslav Rudiš, Hry bez hranic by Michal Kašpárek and Logoz by David Zábranský.

Losing a close relative or friend is a traumatic event for anyone, especially for children and adolescents. This article investigates the motives and patterns of children’s and adolescents’ interpersonal online communication on bereavement platforms. A qualitative content analysis of two different youth bereavement platforms (n = 21 threads; 319 postings) illuminates how one common feature is the verbalization and illustration of missing support in the offline world. The substantial usage of social network platforms can be considered an extension of children’s and adolescents’ personal social environment. Furthermore, topics on bereavement platforms ultimately go beyond grief, as children and adolescents also include emotions such as hope, gratitude and cohesiveness. Communication within online bereavement communities thus enables a process known from offline communication as transformation from a lossoriented to restoration-oriented coping (Stroebe and Schut 2010, p. 277).