Interpersonal Talk Research Articles

Progressivity of initial service encounters

Traditional izakayas (“pubs”) are spaces where people socially consume food and alcohol. Although ubiquitous in Japan, izakayas are slowly disappearing due to changing economic factors. Researchers have begun to document the sociolinguistic activities in these spaces; however, further examination of interactants’ behaviours is needed. Thus, in this study, we sociopragmatically investigated the progressivity of initial service encounters that routinely occur within the drama series Shin’ya Shokud? (“Midnight Diner”) from macro, meso, and micro perspectives. Specifically, we examined how interactants enter the establishment and perform direct requests and how interpersonal talk progresses. Results show that interactants perform service encounters in routine-like ways, using a variety of polite and casual expressions. Overall, the study highlights the formulaic nature of these izakaya performances, which are not typically observable in other contexts. Furthermore, the study supports previous research that shows how transactional and interpersonal talk are imbued in some service encounter contexts.

The effect of narrative persuasion on interpersonal talk and attitude (the case of COVID-19)

PurposeThe importance of effective public messages has been widely recognized during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. In particular, the role of news items and interpersonal conversations for the acceptance of public health measures has been highlighted. The authors propose a conceptual model based on the existing literature on how to measure the degree of persuasion of news narratives in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.Design/methodology/approachThe authors adopted a whole population approach, where the unit of analysis was the population of the media news about the COVID-19 pandemic. The authors selected a sample to develop and test their conceptual model. The sample size was n = 248. The questionnaire was distributed online using a non-probability convenience sampling plan. The authors used a pre-post pseudo-experimental design. Respondents answered questions about their attitude toward the COVID-19 pandemic. After watching a narrative news report on the same subject, they then answered questions designed to measure changes in their attitude. A structural equation model, the Sobel test and a paired samples t-test were used to test hypotheses.FindingsThe results showed that there is a significant relationship between narrative with transportation and empathy. There was also a positive and significant relationship between transportation and empathy with attitude and interpersonal talk. The relationship between transportation and self-referencing was also supported. Further, transportation and attitude mediated the relationships between narrative and interpersonal talk, self-referencing as well as empathy. A paired samples t-test revealed that attitudes were changed or reinforced before and after watching the narrative news report.Originality/valueThis paper contributes to the body of knowledge by identifying the outcomes of narrative persuasion during public health crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic.

Predicting interpersonal cancer talk among Black women in the United States following Aretha Franklin’s death: The role of network-level factors

ABSTRACT Celebrity announcements of diagnoses or deaths often generate talk. In turn, talk can spur health-related behaviors. Yet, very few studies have examined interpersonal talk about cancer as an outcome of celebrity announcements about health. Furthermore, questions remain about the theoretical predictors of such interpersonal communication. The present study investigated individual and network-level factors associated with interpersonal talk about cancer among Black women following the death of Aretha Franklin. Findings from a cross-sectional survey (N = 239) indicated that more than 40% of women talked about cancer, and more than half expressed intentions to talk about cancer with their family and friends. Network-level factors (health mavenism, network heterogeneity) were significantly associated with actual and intended interpersonal cancer talk. Of the individual-level predictors, emotional reactions were significantly related to actual and intended interpersonal communication. Understanding theoretical predictors of interpersonal cancer talk could lead to better structurally centered capacity-building strategies to mobilize peer-to-peer sharing among network-engaged Black women.

How Americans Make Sense of Two Novel Pandemics

ABSTRACT Using Galileo theory and method of multidimensional scaling (MDS), we compared the psychological distances between concepts related to two pandemic viruses, Zika and COVID-19. Surveys (Zika, N = 410; COVID-19, N = 291) were used to investigate the role of media use and interpersonal communication on the relationship between 10 concepts in multidimensional spaces. We asked these four research questions: Do the two spaces represent the two pandemics similarly? What is the relationship of me and of people to each pandemic? What is the effect of virus-related media use and interpersonal talk on the pandemic space? What are optimal messages for moving me closer to Zika and to COVID-19? Media use influenced the distances for both pandemics: With greater media use, the concepts were closer in the Zika space and further apart in the COVID-19 space. Interpersonal communication was associated with few differences in the spaces. Based on the psychological distances between concepts, optimal messages were identified: For Zika, a message with two concepts, people and women, is predicted to be most effective to move Zika to the concept me, whereas for COVID-19, a message with people is predicted to be most effective to move COVID-19 to me.

Assessing Willingness to Communicate in the Multilingual Environment

The paper describes the results of an empirical study supported by the McCroskey’s Willingness to Communicate Scale and the findings of the self-assessed communication apprehension survey. The research was carried out in the context of the Russian regional university under internationalization. The respondents included two groups of Russian students and one group of foreign students (52 people in total). The answers given by the students enabled assessment of the level of anxiety they could experience in the proposed communication contexts: public speaking; communication in a small group; speech at a meeting; and interpersonal talk. Supposedly, a high level of readiness for communication in a foreign language would indicate the person’s psychological security and lack of discomfort when networking. In addition, the research aimed to find a correlation between the number of foreign languages and the duration of their study, and the individual’s desire to engage in verbal communication with strangers. According to the results of the communication apprehension test, all the students showed an average index of communication anxiety, and this moderate level can complicate their future introduction into a diverse professional community. Also, this study revealed that the number of languages and the willingness to communicate do not correlate. However, the number of years students learn languages is directly linked with their willingness to communicate. It is suggested that the quasi-communicative format of teaching foreign languages in the classrooms contrasts sharply with the emerging dynamic multicultural space of the university.
 Keywords: willingness to communicate, communication apprehension, foreign language environment

Developing contemporary factors of political participation

ABSTRACT Drawing from research in communication and political science, this study identifies five factors of political participation that address both traditional and more contemporary forms of political engagement. To begin, a questionnaire was developed and tested with respondents from two nationwide surveys who answered questions about their political participation (N = 476 in Sample 1, N = 490 in Sample 2). Next, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was conducted with responses from the first sample, and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was conducted with responses from the second. Both datasets yielded five distinct factors of political participation: (1) traditional political participation, (2) interpersonal political talk, (3) voting, (4) social media engagement, and (5) online information seeking. Testing convergent and discriminant validity, each factor of political participation was positively related to political efficacy and political interest. Only traditional political participation was (negatively) related to political cynicism. These results suggest that forms of political participation have become more diversified and individualized following the development of communication technologies. Therefore, each of these five factors of political participation is recommended for use in future research.

Beyond Personal Responsibility: Examining the Effects of Narrative Engagement on Communicative and Civic Actions

Moving beyond personal responsibility-taking behaviors, this paper examines communicative (interpersonal talk and online message sharing) and civic (public policy support and intention to donate) behavioral outcomes in the context of narrative persuasion. A web-based experiment was conducted to test the mediating effects of two narrative engagement constructs, transportation and empathy, on these behavioral outcomes. Participants recruited via Amazon Mechanical Turk (n = 467) participated in an experiment conducted on Qualtrics, where they were randomized to read either a narrative or a nonnarrative message about factors contributing to obesity. The narrative message, compared to the nonnarrative message, generated greater transportation and affective empathy but had no overall advantage regarding behavioral outcomes. Path analyses showed consistent, significant indirect effects via transportation and affective empathy on all the outcome variables: online message sharing, interpersonal talk, public policy support, and intention to donate to a non-profit obesity organization. Our study contributes to the extant narrative research by shedding light on how narrative messages, via engaging the audience, could shape social responses beyond personal responsibility-taking. Implications and limitations of findings were discussed.

Chávez, Alex E. 2017. Sounds of Crossing: Music, Migration, and the Aural Poetics of Huapango Arribeño . Durham, NC: Duke University Press

Chávez, Alex E. 2017. Sounds of Crossing: Music, Migration, and the Aural Poetics of Huapango Arribeño . Durham, NC: Duke University Press

“Would You Like to Talk?” Using Media Use and Interpersonal Communication to Predict Civic Engagement

By adopting the social capital theory, this study explored the role of traditional media use, Internet use, and personal talk in predicting civic engagement. The results from a national survey showed that despite the strong bivariate correlation between civic engagement and Internet access as well as traditional mass media use, when interpersonal talk was controlled, some of the significant relationships disappeared. This study suggested that online information seeking and political use of mass media may facilitate the collective action and have the potential to affect the health of civic society. Implications of the results are discussed.

The Impact of VAAs on (non-Voting) Aspects of Political Participation: Insights from Panel Data Collected During the 2017 German Federal Elections Campaign

Abstract Thus far, research on the effects of Voting Advice Applications has focused on some aspects of voting behavior, whether, for example, these online tools impact citizens’ likelihood to vote or their voting choices. Relatively under-researched remain questions concerning the relationship between using VAAs and other forms of engagement with politics, such as involvement in electoral campaigns and information seeking about politics and parties. This paper seeks to examine effects in these behaviors associated with VAA-use employing panel data generated during and after the period of the German Bundestag Federal Election in September, 2017. The data from roughly 1120 participants, sampled to be representative of the German internet users, were collected in four waves, 1 month before the election at the earliest and several weeks following at the latest. We find that VAA-use is positively associated with consuming information about politics through other media (e.g. TV) and other election-related information-seeking activities, such as reading party programmes. On the other hand, we find no statistically significant relationship between VAA-use and interpersonal talk about politics or more active engagement with electoral campaigns such as attending party rallies.

The potential for inoculation messages and postinoculation talk to minimize the social impact of politically motivated acts of violence

The objective was to test whether precrisis inoculation‐stimulated conversations can positively impact key beliefs vital to the prosperity of a nation following an act of terrorism. The experiment introduced a precrisis inoculation message about the Department of Homeland Security prior to a simulated crisis portraying the downing of an aircraft. Results affirmed: that, compared to individuals in the control condition, inoculated individuals were less likely to believe that past failures of acts of terrorism resulted from terrorist incompetence; inoculated individuals indicated greater belief that the politically motivated acts of violence will not limit their future opportunities; and that interpersonal talk about such acts and the government's ability to effectively handle them were inversely associated with the likelihood of postponing air travel.

From talking to the radio to talking through the radio: Addressee analysis of text messages sent to the Italian radio station

This study analyzes addressee choice(s) in text message construction sent to the radio station by listeners. Addressee choices within a text message are conditioned by the user texting practices implemented by the radio station in several ways. First, the radio station filters listeners’ messages and does not text back. Second, texting is limited to a character length. Thus, messages have to be relevant but succinct.Study has revealed that texters addressed their messages one to another instead of addressing their messages to the radio station; this occurred in single and multiple-addressee messages. This finding suggests that listeners continue to address the radio station, as in classical call-ins, yet, these practices reveal the shift from talking to to talking through mass media. This research suggests that individual audience members’ engagement with mass media shifts toward interpersonal uses of back-channels that are not necessarily geared toward mass media content. I explain such behaviors through the lens of associational listening that fosters interpersonal talk. The emergence of messages that combines radio and user addressees resemble what we metaphorically call interactive content smuggling geared toward interpersonal interactions through a mass medium.

A Multiyear Assessment of Public Response to a Statewide Drug Take-Back and Disposal Campaign, 2010 to 2012.

This study is the first to analyze public response to a drug take-back program, the American Medicine Chest Challenge, in a single state over a period of 3 years (2010-2012). The study utilized a three-wave repeated cross-sectional design and an annual phone survey conducted with a representative sample of adults ( N = 906 in 2010, N = 907 in 2011, and N = 906 in 2012), which assessed exposure to the campaign, drug disposal behaviors, possible mediators of campaign effects (risk appraisal, personal agency, normative influence, and interpersonal talk), and potential confounders. Logistic regression and causal mediation analysis were employed to estimate confounder-adjusted direct and mediated effects of the campaign. Results showed that the campaign reached a sizable portion (50% to 60%) of state adults and that campaign exposure was associated with increased likelihood of having conversations with others about this topic. About 55% of all adults in the state reported taking at least one of the actions recommended by the campaign, and campaign exposure was associated with increased likelihood of disposing of prescription drugs at a drug collection day event (adjusted odds ratio = 4) and of talking to a child about the risks associated with prescription drug abuse (adjusted odds ratio = 2). The causal mediation analysis demonstrated that the campaign influenced audiences by reinforcing their efficacy to safely dispose of prescription drugs, but also potentially by stimulating conversations among community members about this topic. Drug take-back campaigns can be an effective mechanism to decrease the availability of prescription drugs in communities.

Talking About What Provokes Us

The current research assessed whether political satire viewing could indirectly promote interpersonal talk about politics by eliciting emotions. The theoretical model was tested utilizing both experimental and survey designs. The findings indicated good agreement, demonstrating that negative emotions significantly mediate and reinforce the effect of political satire viewing on interpersonal talk. Conversely, the process wherein traditional news sources motivate interpersonal talk is mostly direct, with little development of affective responses. The results suggest that political satire can help to paint a sanguine picture of a healthy deliberative democracy mainly through an affective rather than cognitive route.

Kyle Sandilands: Examining the “Performance of Authenticity” in Chat-Based Radio Programming

Kyle Sandilands: Examining the “Performance of Authenticity” in Chat-Based Radio Programming

“I thought” initiated turns: Addressing discrepancies in first-hand and second-hand knowledge

The current article reports on the interactional work performed by turns-at-talk initiated with “I thought.” In the context of interpersonal talk within ongoing relationships, the practice of following some prior talk with an “I thought”-initiated turn is shown to routinely mark the prior turn as being in some way discrepant and select the prior speaker to account for that discrepancy. Participants are shown to routinely orient toward these discrepancies as belonging to epistemic domains that are simultaneously second-hand and first-hand knowledge for the “I thought” speakers and recipients, respectively. Finally, this paper argues that due to asymmetries in the participants’ respective authority over the relevant domains of knowledge, the practice overwhelmingly attributes responsibility for the discrepancy onto the “I thought” recipient. In the conclusion, “I thought”-turns are shown to serve an important function in the epistemic and affective maintenance of social relationships.

Communication Mediation Model of Late-Night Comedy: The Mediating Role of Structural Features of Interpersonal Talk Between Comedy Viewing and Political Participation

This study advances a communication mediation model of late-night comedy in an effort to understand the process wherein consuming satirical humor indirectly spurs political participation via the conduit of interpersonal talk about politics. The theoretical model was tested utilizing two different research designs. The findings from the experiment and the survey provide considerable support for the model, demonstrating that various structural features of interpersonal talk (e.g., discussion frequency, online interaction, and network size) positively mediate the association between late-night comedy viewing and political participation. Meanwhile, the assessments concerning the mediating role of heterogeneous discussion illustrate that late-night comedy can draw a higher level of political involvement from those who are highly educated. The present study urges the field to extend the scope of the communication mediation model by incorporating a greater number of media channels and more diverse aspects of interpersonal talk.

‘Everything is always President Roh's fault?’: emotional reactions to politics and economy as sources of presidential evaluations and the role of media use and interpersonal communication

This study aimed to analyze the respective effects of cognitive and emotional elements on political judgments, and the effects of media use and political talk on those two elements. Along with the cognitive judgment about political and economic issues/policies, we explored the effect of emotional responses to political and economic situations. During this process, we also looked at the effect of media use and interpersonal communication channels. By analyzing survey data gathered in December 2007, it was first found that voters' cognitive judgment and emotional responses to political and economic situations, respectively, affected their evaluation of the incumbent president. Second, emotional reactions such as ‘pride’ in politics, and ‘hope’ and ‘anger’ for economics, showed significant influence on their evaluation of the president's performance. Third, voters' patterns of media use and interpersonal talk appeared to exert significant influences on those cognitive judgments and emotional responses to political and economic reality.

“Split Screens” and “Spin Rooms”: Debate Modality, Post-Debate Coverage, and the New Videomalaise

This experimental research examines how different presentation modalities in presidential debates and post-debate spin influence the ability to form evaluations about candidates' character, shape perceptions of their incivility, and alter judgments of political trust and news credibility. Results indicate that these experimental factors work together to encourage character judgments, diminish perceptions of candidate civility, and reduce levels of trust in government. In addition, political talk conditioned experimental effects on perceptions of news credibility, with the adverse effects of split screen presentations concentrated among those who talked about the debate. Thus, the negative effects of “in your face” politics conveyed by the “split-screen” modality appear to be most pronounced among those primed to think about performance and those attuned to politics through interpersonal talk.

When (and Why) Interpersonal Talk Matters for Campaigns

We discuss how selected theoretical advances address key gaps in our understanding of the intersection of conversation and campaigns. Included are the possibilities that interpersonal interaction might spread inoculation, that social network density might affect the translation of mass media messages into public sentiment, that campaign message form might prompt people to talk, that conversation might be a crucial link between campaign efforts and key political outcomes, and that timing might matter in predicting when talk will have an effect on elections. We also highlight some opportunities for inquiry that these ideas present. Because conversation appears to be a strategic response to increased issue salience and relevance, in part, systematic exploration of the social motives for conversation in campaign contexts promises to be particularly fruitful. Resume A quel moment (et dans quelle mesure) les discussions interpersonnelles sont-elles importantes lors de campagnes electorales Nous explorons a quel point certaines avancees theoriques abordent d‘importantes lacunes dans notre connaissance du croisement des conversations et des campagnes electorales. Nous abordons entre autres les possibilites suivantes : que l’interaction interpersonnelle propage l‘inoculation, que la densite du reseau social ait un impact sur la traduction des messages mediatiques en sentiments publics, que la forme des messages de campagne puisse inciter les gens a discuter, que la conversation soit un lien crucial entre les efforts electoraux et les resultats politiques importants et que le moment soit determinant pour predire si la conversation aura un impact sur les elections. Nous soulignons egalement quelques pistes de recherche soulevees par ces idees. Puisque la conversation parait etre en partie une reaction strategique a l’augmentation de la saillance et de la pertinence des enjeux, une exploration systematique des mobiles sociaux derriere les conversations en contextes electoraux promet d’etre particulierement fructueuse. Abstract Wann (und warum) personliche Gesprache fur Kampagnen von Bedeutung sind In diesem Artikel beschaftigen wir uns mit theoretischen Weiterentwicklungen, die zum Verstandnis bezuglich der Schnittstelle zwischen personlichem Gesprach und Kampagne beitragen konnen und dabei bestehende Lucken schliesen helfen. Betrachtung finden Annahmen, dass interpersonale Interaktion Inokulation befordert, dass die Dichte des sozialen Netzwerks die Ubersetzung massenmedialer Botschaften in die offentliche Stimmungslage beeinflusst, dass Menschen durch Kampagnenbotschaften zu Gesprachen angeregt werden konnen und dass personliche Gesprache das ausschlaggebende Bindeglied zwischen Kampagnenziel und zentralen politischen Ergebnissen sein konnen. Auserdem konnte insbesondere der Zeitfaktor, also das Timing, erklaren helfen, wann genau personliche Gesprache eine Wirkung auf Wahlen zeigen. Da personliche Gesprache eine strategische Antwort auf die wachsende Themensalienz und -relevanz zu sein scheinen, sollte sich die systematische Untersuchung sozialer Motive fur personliche Gesprache in Kampagnenkontexten als besonders gewinnbringend erweisen. Resumen Cuando (y Por que) la Comunicacion Interpersonal es Importante para las Campanas Discutimos como los avances teoricos selectos cubren espacios claves en nuestro entendimiento de la interseccion entre la conversacion y las campanas. Incluidos son las posibilidades que la interaccion interpersonal podria desarrollar a la inoculacion, que la densidad de la red social podria afectar la traduccion de los mensajes de los medios en el sentimiento publico, que la forma del mensaje de campana podria provocar que la gente hable, que la conversacion podria ser una conexion crucial entre los esfuerzos de la campana y los resultados politicos claves, y que el ritmo podria importar para predecir cuando la conversacion tendra un efecto en las elecciones. Destacamos tambien algunas oportunidades para la investigacion que estas ideas presentan. Porque la conversacion parece ser una respuesta estrategica al incremento del asunto de la notabilidad y la relevancia, en parte, la exploracion sistematica de los motivos sociales de la conversacion en los contextos de campana promete ser particularmente fructifero. ZhaiYao Yo yak