This purpose of this study was to examine the basic trait assumption of the Willingness to Communicate-Trait Form instrument (McCroskey & Richmond, 1985) in the university environment. McCroskey and Richmond's instrument contains only one target type. In order to test the trait assumption, an instrument was created to measure subjects' willingness to communicate with a different target type: university authority figures.The trait assumption posits that persons with a high level of willingness to communicate in one context or with one receiver type should also have a high level of willingness to communicate in other contexts and with other receiver types. It was found that subjects who scored high on the Willingness to Communicate-Trait Form also had high willingness to communicate with authority figures in all communication contexts tested (dyad, meeting, small group, public). Thus, support was demonstrated for the assumption that willingness to communicate is a traitlike phenomenon.The conceptual definition of willingness to communicate is discussed and conceptual correlates were introduced. It was recommended that future research be continued in the willingness to communicate and related communication areas. / Department of Speech Communication
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/183927 |
| Date | January 1990 |
| Creators | Combs, Marilyn J. |
| Contributors | Ball State University. Dept. of Speech Communication., Powers, William G. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | ix, 54 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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