“I've Fallen for You like a Blind Roofer:” Some Effects of Listener Characteristics on Interpreting Opening Lines

Until recently, the revolutionary effects of the development of metacommunication theory have been felt in message/behavioral research but have been ignored in the listening arena. In 1992, Cline and Clark (1992a) coined the term relational listening to capture the phenomenon of partners in interpersonal relationships actively attempting to decide the relational information that is embedded in interpersonal messages at an abstract level. Reasoning that relational listening begins at the beginning of a relationship (at the inception of relational contact), Cline and Clark 1992a; 1992b) focused their previous investigations of relational listening on the interpretation of opening lines. Those studies pointed listener characteristics as factors that significantly influence the interpretation of opening tines as a process of relational listening. The present investigation pursues this line of research by focusing on the listener's gender, the listener's self-perceived attractiveness, and the listener's communication predispositions as factors influencing the interpretation of opening lines.     

Bivariate and Multivariate Associations between Trait Listening Goals and Trait Communicator Preferences

This article provides validity evidence for a measure of listening goals by showing theoretically consistent relationships with an existing communication preference questionnaire. Participants (N = 257) were administered trait measures for listening goals and communicator preferences. The four listening goals—relational, task-oriented, analytical, and critical—are related to seven communicator preferences: interpersonal, intrapersonal, auditory, visual-spatial, kinesthetic, linguistic, and logical. These results are supportive of hypotheses, although there were some contradictory findings and some findings were not hypothesized. Results of multivariate correlation estimates portray a listening profile centered on relational goals and interpersonal communicator preferences. Although acknowledging several limitations, results offer theoretical and practical guidance for future work, specifically how this information may be of help to individuals, couples, and counselors in utilizing relational goals and making more careful communicative choices.     

The Mediating Role of Sibling Maintenance Behavior Expectations and Perceptions in the Relationship Between Family Communication Patterns and Relationship Satisfaction

Sibling relationships are influenced both by the behaviors performed within the relationship (e.g., relational work) and by the family system as a whole. This study extends family communication patterns theory (FCP) by examining whether communicative relationship maintenance plays a role in the relationship between FCP and sibling relationship satisfaction. Data from 327 adult siblings from across the United States tested using Hayes (2013) PROCESS revealed that conversation and conformity orientation had positive indirect effects on sibling relationship satisfaction through both (a) relational maintenance expectations and (b) perceptions of sibling actual maintenance behavior in nearly all models (i.e., including positivity, openness, assurances, networks, and tasks maintenance behaviors). The results suggest that the parent-child relationship remains important long after children become adults as it continues to influence interpersonal relationships with others. Future directions for communication scholars are discussed along with theoretical implications for research on family communication patterns and the maintenance strategy framework.     

Food Sovereignty in Everyday Life: Toward a People-centered Approach to Food Systems

Abstract

This paper proposes a theoretical approach that de-centers ‘food’ in food-related research, placing social life as the point of departure for a critical analysis of food systems and the search for alternatives. Using a relational conception of food as a nexus of multiple, intersecting social-historical processes, a ‘people-centered’ approach illuminates the social elements that can inform resonant and locally inflected strategies for food sovereignty, particularly for urban communities in the USA. Building on theoretical concepts of primitive accumulation, articulation, and everyday life, as well as empirical work with the Chicago-based Healthy Food Hub, this paper explores the relationship between everyday food practices and historical processes of proletarianization as they are produced, reproduced, and contested at multiple conjunctures. In these spaces of contestation, the capacity for diverse communities to re-articulate social relations through everyday food practices could provide a potentially powerful pathway not just to food sovereignty, but an alternative to life under capitalism.     

Cultural self-construction and identity formation in emerging adulthood: a study on Japanese university students and workers

Cultural pathways of identity formation have been largely unexplored. In many Asian cultures, youth are expected to concentrate on adaptation to their groups or relationships rather than pursuing their own uniqueness. Then, how do they develop a sense of identity while considering groups or relationships to be important? The purposes of this study were (a) to examine relationships between cultural self-construction (i.e. independence and interdependence) and identity processes (i.e. commitment, in-depth exploration, and reconsideration of commitment) in both societal and relational domains, and (b) to analyze the relationships of self-construction and identity processes with well-being, using a sample of Japanese emerging adults (i.e. university students and workers) aged 18–25 years. The findings indicated that relational identity was related to both independence and interdependence, whereas societal identity was mainly related to independence. Moreover, independence and identity in both societal and relational domains was positively related to well-being. Furthermore, the patterns of relationships among self-construction, identity, and well-being were found to be similar between university students and workers. These findings imply that while Japanese emerging adults have developmental needs to express one's own uniqueness, they are also directed to form a sense of identity emphasizing the maintenance of harmonious relationships with others.     

Young Adult Daughters' Accounts of Relationships With Nonresidential Fathers: Relational Damage,Repair, and Maintenance

This article explores processes of relational damage, repair, and maintenance within adult daughters' accounts of their current relationships with their nonresidential fathers. Drawing on research of a sample of self-selected adult daughters who experienced parental divorce in childhood, the author explores how the processes of relational damage, repair, and maintenance contribute to and are of consequence to adult daughters' understandings of their current relationships. The author demonstrates that it is through exploring the gathered relational histories that processes of relational development are highlighted, offering a way of better understanding the consequences of divorce on the construction of parent–child relationships throughout the life course.     

Toward the Establishment of General Dimensions Underlying the Listening Process

Findings from previous research (Coakley, Halone, & Wolvin, 1996; Halone, Wolvin, & Coakley, 1997; Wolvin, Coakley, & Halone, 1995) indicate that the listening process may be conceptualized primarily in (a) cognitive, (b) affective, (c) behavioral/verbal, (d) behavioral/nonverbal, and (e) behavioral/interactive terms. This report seeks to quantitatively confirm these qualitatively-derived findings. Specifically, this study sought to analyze whether each respective dimension could be generally characteristic of the listening process. Confirmatory factor analyses were conducted, providing support for each respective dimension. Results from this study have implications for how communication scholars should conceive of the listening process in theoretical, empirical, and pedagogical terms.     

Civic and Political Participation of Children and Adolescents: A Lifestyle Analysis for Positive Youth Developmental Programs

Social participation plays a key role in predicting positive youth development (PYD). As a previous step of this link, this research examined how children and adolescents' relational lifestyles influenced their participation in political and civic activities. This research provides a multi‐dimensional approach to the study of children's social participation, based on six children's lifestyles factors (i.e. family dialogue, risky behaviours, cultural activities, civic values, family supervision and peer group relationships). Using data from an international survey that included 6130 participants (2198 Spanish, 3932 Italian, Mage = 13.8), this study's results show that relational lifestyles (especially family dialogue and out‐of‐school cultural activities) are positively related to political and civic participation among children and adolescents. On the contrary, some peer group relationships decreased their social participation in those key dimensions for PYD. Limitations of the current study, implications for future policy decisions and applications to children social programs are discussed.     

The origins of distant voicing: Examining relational dimensions in public diplomacy and their effects on megaphoning

Extant literature has discussed the similarities between public relations and public diplomacy. This study seeks to contribute to existing research on the application of organization–public relationships (OPR) to public diplomacy by further exploring relational dimensions in public diplomacy and empirically testing them based on a model consisting of antecedents (i.e., political, economic, interpersonal, cultural and corporate interactions), relational dimensions (i.e., interactional bilateralism, power mutuality, trust, empathy, relational satisfaction, relational continuation, relational attentiveness and relational curiosity), and consequences (i.e., positive and negative megaphoning). A total of 490 respondents from the United States were recruited on Amazon M-Turk to respond to survey items regarding China and Mexico. Confirmatory factor analysis and regression analysis were conducted. The findings indicate: (a) positive associations between the antecedents and the relational dimensions, (b) positive associations between the relational dimensions and positive megaphoning, and (c) negative associations between the relational dimensions and negative megaphoning. (148 words)     

Embodied Heterosexual Masculinities,Part 2: Foregrounding Men’s Health and Emotions

This paper extends our previous discussion on embodied heterosexual masculinities, men’s emotional lives and health ( Monaghan and Robertson 2012 ). First, we foreground writings on men’s health within and outside of heterosexual relationships given the interrelations between masculinities and other structures (e.g. the political economy). Second, we critically consider writings on masculinities, male bodies and emotions in a relational context. In conclusion, we underscore the need for future research. Such research would foreground men’s corporeal meanings, practices and relations while also critiquing global neoliberalisation, a pernicious process that impacts everyday lives within and beyond heterosexual configurations of body‐reflexive practice.     

Coping with obsessive relational intrusion and stalking: the role of social support and coping strategies

This study investigated the extent to which social support mediates negative effects of stalking and obsessive relational intrusion (ORI) victimization. A survey of 1,068 respondents indicated that (a) ORI/stalking victimization is positively related to negative symptoms and trauma; (b) five different types of coping responses are positively related to negative symptoms; (c) four domains of social support reveal small but significant negative relationships with negative symptoms; and (d) females are more threatened by unwanted pursuit than male victims, and male pursuers are more threatening than female pursuers. Structural equation modeling indicates that the influence of ORI/stalking on negative symptoms is mediated by the use of coping strategies and the adequacy of social support. Discussion speculates on the functional theoretical value of coping and support processes in managing unwanted pursuit and stalking.     

Listening in a Way that Recognizes/Realizes the World of ‘the Other’

Freshmen in an orientation course at a state university answered questionnaires about their peer mentors' listening and how well their peer mentors help them balance dialectical tensions of socialization. Results showed that perceived directive and emotional listening help the protégé manage these tensions. Perceived emotional listening discriminated between high and low levels of liking and relational closeness but was only a slightly better predictor of reducing the protégé's socialization tensions. Both types of perceived listening responses are important to effective mentoring: emotional listening helps protégés form positive relationships with their mentors and directive listening meets protégés' expectations.     

Making choices in my life: Listening to the ideas and experiences of young people in the UK who communicate non-verbally

Service user participation and making choices are frequently advocated, however, they are complex concepts and how they are translated and/or experienced in everyday life can vary amongst different groups of service users. Recognising the importance of participation in current international guidance and UK government policy this paper seeks to explore how research can include a frequently marginalised group of disabled young people, in particular young people with learning disabilities and/or who communicate non-verbally. The paper discusses the use of non-traditional research methods, especially symbol based interviews developed in an ongoing English longitudinal study exploring choices and decision-making processes for young people with life-limiting conditions. The paper then presents some research findings and concludes by discussing their implications. In particular, it demonstrates how the use of symbol based interviews can inform policy makers about how these young people can be included in research and that listening to them can inform our understanding of decision-making processes.     

Living with dementia,interdependence and citizenship: narratives of everyday decision-making

This article argues that interdependent relationships are key in realising inclusion and citizenship for people living with dementia. We focus on decision-making as one aspect of everyday life which reflects opportunities and challenges associated with citizenship. Accounts of everyday decision-making from people living with dementia provide insight into strategies for negotiating responsibilities as they shifted with dementia. An inductive, secondary data analysis developed decision narratives from the data of 61 interviews conducted in the United Kingdom. The interviews were with 12 people with a diagnosis of dementia plus their nominated care-partner in a qualitative study which focused on information management and sense of self. The secondary data analysis identified strategies for inclusion, emphasising relational interdependency amidst challenges. The five-stage framework of an Ethic of Care positions this interdependency as a response to barriers to inclusion and citizenship. Interdependency, therefore, emerges as key to realising relational citizenship.     

Prioritizing relationships: The investment model and relationship maintenance strategies in organizational crises

Crisis communication and crisis management are dominated by research in image repair and restoration, but much has to be done to address the lack of research that engages relational perspectives in these fields. Adopting the investment model (Rusbult, 1980) as a theoretical framework and using structural equation modeling, the study develops a crisis relational maintenance model to explain how organizations can (re)build relationships with publics. Survey results show that publics’ commitment and publics’ trust are two significant mediators that influence publics’ relational behaviors post-crisis. The investment model provides a suitable framework to explain publics’ commitment to an organization, with explained variance more than 90 percent, and an organization’s relationship maintenance strategies during and post-crisis significantly affect publics’ trust. Whether an organization’s relationships with the publics can be maintained or repaired depends on whether an organization engages in these relationship maintenance strategies that prioritize publics’ need, which can be reciprocated from publics as publics reorient themselves along with the long-term goals and well-being of the relationships. Results of this study call for further attention on relationship maintenance approaches in crisis communication and management research.     

Relational Victimization and Telomere Length in Adolescent Girls

An emerging body of research suggests that telomere length (TL)—a measure of cellular aging—is inversely associated with experiences of childhood stress. Given the salience of peer relationships in childhood and adolescence, we tested whether relational victimization is a unique and specific predictor of salivary TL in girls. Results examining 122 girls (ages 9–15) revealed that greater relational victimization was related to shorter TL but that similar associations were not evident for other measures of social relationships nor accounted for by factors related to depression, life stress, or 5‐HTTLPR genotype. The present findings suggest that relational victimization is uniquely associated with TL in adolescence, revealing a link between key aspects of social relationships and biological processes.     

Listening Behaviors of Married Couples: An Exploration of Nonverbal Presentation to a Relational Outsider

This study examined the nonverbal behaviors of spouses as they listened to their partners present an area of disagreement in their marriage to a relational outsider. Ninety-four married couples, representing a range of marital satisfaction levels, engaged in an interview with a researcher about areas of disagreement in their relationships. A rating system was used to capture the nonverbal listening behaviors of spouses from tapes of the interactions. Husbands and wives demonstrated similar composites of listening behaviors overall, but there were some differences in how the particular behaviors were enacted. Specifically, both husbands and wives enacted nonverbal listening behaviors that demonstrated negative emotion and nonverbal involvement. Results also indicated that displays of negative emotion predicted relational dissatisfaction for husbands. Displays of negative emotion did not predict relational dissatisfaction for wives. Nonverbal involvement did not predict relational satisfaction for husbands or wives in this study. These results suggest that it may be important for husbands and wives, regardless of satisfaction level, to demonstrate nonverbal involvement to both their partners and a relational outsider and that the nonverbal expression of negative emotion may be used by dissatisfied husbands as a way to let the relational outsider as well as their wives know that they disagree or are displeased with what their wives are saying.     

A Study of Effective and Ineffective Listening Dyads Using the Systems Theory Principle of Entropy

In this investigation, listening was conceptualized as the process of how individuals perceive, process, remember, and understand oral messages (Bostrom, 1990; Rhodes, 1989; Watson and Barker, 1984; Wolvin &; Coakley, 1992). Using the Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI; Bem, 1976; Bem, 1985) and the Listening Styles Profile (Watson, Barker, &; Weaver, 1995); four predominant listening styles were examined as a function of respondent sex and gender-role self-perception. Consistent with expectations, the data show that gender-role self-perception mediated reported listener styles. Independent of sex, the findings revealed that communal respondents prefer a people-oriented listening style; whereas agentic respondents prefer an action, time, and content-oriented listening style. Significant sex-differences were also evident in listening styles. Females reported a relational, people-oriented style of listening while males reported a more action, content, and time-oriented style of listening. Further, no sex by gender role self-perception interaction was evident. The implications of these findings for future research and application are discussed.     

The Longitudinal Relationships Among Injunctive Norms and Hooking Up Attitudes and Behaviors in College Students

Limited research has explored the influence of perceived injunctive norms for distal (e.g., typical student) and proximal (e.g., close friend and parents) referents on hooking up. The current study examined the longitudinal relationships among perceived injunctive norms, personal approval, and hooking up behavior, and the moderating effects of gender in a sample of heavy-drinking college students. At Time 1, participants completed Web-based assessments of personal approval of hooking up and perceptions of close friend, parent, and typical student approval. Three months later, participants reported on whether they had hooked up. The results of a path analysis indicated that greater perceived friend and parent approval predicted greater personal approval. Further, greater perceived approval by close friends and parents indirectly contributed to hooking up behavior as mediated by participants’ own approval. Multigroup analyses indicated that close friend injunctive norms were a stronger predictor of student approval for men as compared to women. While previous research has often failed to find an association between perceived injunctive norms and hooking up, the current findings suggest that this may reflect the use of distal referents. The findings underscore that perceptions of close friend and family approval may be useful predictors of hooking up behavior.     

Conceptualising Listening to Young Children as an Ethic of Care in Early Childhood Education and Care

This paper focuses on recent discourses and practices of listening to young children, in order to highlight listening as an ethical practice in early childhood education and care settings. The paper asks how discourses of listening should be viewed in theoretical terms and explores the work of a diverse range of authors who define autonomy and rights issues as relational. Central to the paper is a consideration of feminist critique of Foucault’s ethics of care argument. To contextualise this, the paper discusses examples of recent research in the field of listening to young children and highlights issues facing the status of the early years workforce. In summary, the paper contends that an ethical view of listening can bring adults and children together in democratic care practices which challenge conceptions of childhood and reconnect ideas of care and education.