Framed in communication privacy management theory, this study examined privacy rule foundations, recipients of students’ academic private information, and contextual factors related to sharing academic private information. Participants’ (N = 168) responses to open-ended questions were inductively coded to allow their core and catalyst privacy rules to emerge from the data (e.g., privacy orientations and risk-benefit considerations). The privacy rules that emerged predicted the amount of academic private information shared with faculty. Results underscore the importance of investigating privacy orientations and risk-benefit assessments in making sense of what, how, and with whom students share private information.

The present study extends previous work on communication after sexual activity by investigating the influence of “pillow talk” over time within relationships that have experienced a recent transgression. Thirty-six participants who had experienced a transgression committed by a current dating partner provided information about their levels of relational uncertainty, amount of pillow talk, and relational outcomes. Findings revealed that, over the course of a month, increased changes in pillow talk were negatively associated with uncertainty and positively associated with several relational outcomes. Self and relationship uncertainty also mediated the associations between pillow talk and several relational outcomes. These results provide insight into how pillow talk might play a protective function in helping dating partners manage uncertainty following a relational transgression.

People tend to prefer lean communication channels (i.e., those with fewer cues and a time lag between message receipt and reply) when they anticipate that an interaction will threaten their face. However, the role of relationship type in this phenomenon is underexplored. Participants (N = 231) responded to hypothetical face-threatening scenarios about close or casual friends. Participants who reported on casual friends perceived higher face threat and were more likely to prefer lean channels. Perceived effectiveness and appropriateness of channels also varied by relationship type and channel preference. These findings highlight the importance of relationship type in face-threatening scenarios and suggest that associations between relationship type, perceived face threat, and channel preference are more complicated than previously proposed.

This study explored the relationship between exposure to television programs featuring gay male characters and homonegativity in a diverse adult sample. Specifically, this relationship was examined at both the program and character level. Participants (N = 120) responded to an online survey that asked about exposure to television shows known to feature gay male characters that aired between 2000 and 2015. Next, participants recalled specific characters from these programs before reporting their homonegative attitudes and beliefs. Results revealed that both viewing programs featuring gay male characters and recall of specific gay male characters decreased their negative attitudes toward gay men in society, irrespective of individual difference factors (e.g., religiosity, gender, close interpersonal contact with gay men). Results are discussed in terms of mediated intergroup contact theory.

This study examined personalizing conflict as a mediator in the relationship between family communication patterns and psychological health factors. Data were collected from 249 participants, who completed measures of conversation orientation, conformity orientation, direct personalization of conflict, depressive symptoms, and self-esteem. Results showed significant indirect effects from conformity orientations to both depressive symptoms and self-esteem through direct personalization of conflict. Also, results showed a significant indirect effect from conversation orientation to depressive symptoms through direct personalization of conflict. These findings suggest that personalizing conflict interactions is one way in which family communication patterns and psychological health are linked.

This study examined a conflict management model in which students’ customer orientation toward education affected their sense of academic entitlement, which led to different conflict management preferences. Participants were 689 undergraduate students. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model and results showed that: 1) students’ customer-orientation influenced their academic entitlement and conflict preferences; and 2) academically entitled students were more likely to engage in distributive bargaining and negotiate with their instructors for a compromise. The findings imply that mitigating student customer orientation and academic entitlement is critical to improving the student–teacher relationship.

This study tested the associations among family communication patterns (i.e., conversation and conformity orientations) and young adults’ perceptions of coparental communication. Participants included 493 young adult children from intact and divorced families. Whereas conversation orientation was positively associated with perceptions of coparental communication quality, conformity orientation was negatively associated with perceptions of coparental communication quality. After controlling for divorce status and number of siblings, conversation orientation was predictive of both supportive and antagonistic coparental communication, although the effect of conversation orientation on antagonistic coparental communication was moderated by conformity orientation.

Via a communication competence lens, students’ accounts of instructor swearing were inductively analyzed to understand students’ perceptions of the swear word's function and target. Coding revealed seven functions of teacher swearing: emphasize/elaborate, accommodate students, be humorous, show frustration, gain attention, instructor personality/disposition, and accidental. Six targets of teacher swearing were also found: swearing directed toward course content, noncourse content, the self (instructor), students, course assignments, and job tools. Swearing directed at course content, swearing used to emphasize/elaborate, to gain attention, and to be humorous were perceived as more appropriate than other categories. Classroom implications and instructor recommendations are offered.

The current study explored whether causal uncertainty (CU), or doubts about one's ability to understand causes of social events, predicts relational uncertainty (RU) and, in turn, negative relational outcomes in romantic relationships. Seventy-nine couples completed measures of RU, perceived relationship quality, CU, depression, and attachment style. As predicted, higher levels of CU were associated with more partner and relationship uncertainty, and lower relationship quality, even when controlling for depression and attachment. Mediational analyses further demonstrated that causally uncertain participants’ negative perceptions of relationship quality stemmed primarily from doubts about their partner's involvement in the relationship.

Extant research demonstrates interrelationships among attachment style, love, and affectionate expression, but is less edifying regarding how these constructs work together. Informed by attachment theory (Bowlby, 1980) and the conceptualization of love as a motivational force (Rempel & Burris, 2005), the current study posits love as a mediator of the associations among attachment styles and affectionate communication. To examine this claim, 173 individuals in romantic relationships completed a questionnaire assessing the variables of interest. A path model revealed significant indirect effects (with the exception of the secure attachment style), and love mediated the relationships among preoccupied and dismissive attachment styles and affectionate expression. These findings suggest the important motivating capacity of love, an often overlooked predictor of relational processes.