Matching Items (13)
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- All Subjects: Communication
- Genre: Doctoral Dissertation
- Creators: Guerrero, Laura
- Creators: Guerrero, Laura K.
Description
The purpose of this dissertation was to develop a Compassionate Communication Scale (CCS) by conducting a series of studies. The first study used qualitative data to identify and develop initial scale items. A series of follow-up studies used exploratory factor analysis to investigate the underlying structure of the CCS. A three-factor structure emerged, which included: Compassionate conversation, such as listening, letting the distressed person disclose feelings, and making empathetic remarks; compassionate touch, such as holding someone's hand or patting someone's back; and compassionate messaging, such as posting an encouraging message on a social networking site or sending a sympathetic email. The next study tested convergent and divergent validity by determining how the three forms of compassionate communication associate with various traits. Compassionate conversation was positively related to compassion, empathetic concern, perspective taking, emotional intelligence, social expressivity, emotional expressivity and benevolence, and negatively related to verbal aggressiveness and narcissism. Compassionate touch was positively correlated with compassion, empathetic concern, perspective taking, emotional intelligence, social expressivity, emotional expressivity, and benevolence, and uncorrelated with verbal aggressiveness and benevolence. Finally, compassionate messaging was positively correlated with social expressivity, emotional expressivity, and uncorrelated with verbal aggressiveness and narcissism. The next study focused on cross-validation and criterion-related validity. Correlations showing that self-reports of a person's compassionate communication were positively related to a friend or romantic partner's report of that person's compassionate communication provided cross-validation. The test for criterion-related validity examined whether compassionate communication predicts relational satisfaction. Regression analyses revealed that people were more relationally satisfied when they perceived themselves to use compassionate conversation, when they perceived their partner to use compassionate conversation, and when their partner reported using compassionate conversation. This finding did not extend to compassionate touch or compassionate messaging. In fact, in one regression analysis, people reported more relational satisfaction when they perceived that their partners used high levels of compassionate conversation and low levels of compassionate touch. Overall, the analyses suggest that of the three forms of compassionate communication, compassionate conversation is most strongly related to relational satisfaction. Taken together, this series of studies provides initial evidence for the validity of the CCS.
ContributorsRamos Salazar, Leslie (Author) / Guerrero, Laura (Thesis advisor) / Roberto, Anthony (Committee member) / Millsap, Roger (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2013
Description
The present study focused on those who had recently been involved in a romantic relationship that ended in a breakup. Data was collected from 326 participants using an online questionnaire. Participants were asked questions about goal linking, rumination, self-efficacy, Facebook ORI behaviors, and emotional response questions. The results indicated that there were two types of Facebook ORI behaviors: explicit and covert. Explicit ORI was predicted by self-efficacy among those whose partner ended the relationship, as well as goal linking when the breakup was self-initiated. Covert ORI was predicted by rumination across all levels of breakup initiator (self, partner, or mutual). Moreover, only general negative emotions predicted Covert ORI, but general negative emotion and positive emotion predicted Explicit ORI. Finally, the results showed that those who were broken up with engaged in more Covert ORI behaviors than those who ended the relationship themselves or who mutually ended the relationship. These results suggest that Relational Goal Pursuit theory, which is commonly used to explain ORI behavior, be reconceptualized.
ContributorsCole, Megan (Author) / Guerrero, Laura K. (Thesis advisor) / Ramirez, Artemio (Committee member) / Canary, Daniel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The relationships between goals and specific flirting behaviors were investigated in a college population. Research questions and hypotheses were guided by Dillard's (1990) Goals-Plans-Action (GPA) model of interpersonal influence, which states that goals lead to planning processes, which, in turn, produce behavior. Six hundred and eighty-five undergraduates at a large southwestern university participated in an online survey assessing their behaviors in their most recent flirting interactions, their goals for that interaction, as well as measures designed to assess planning, the importance of the goal, and the number of goals present for the interaction. Results indicate that goals relate to the use of some, but not all behaviors, and that a flirting script may exist. Furthermore, planning, importance, and number of goals were all found to relate to the reporting of specific flirting behaviors. Sex differences were found as well, such that men reported using more forward and direct behaviors, while women reported using more facial expressions, self-touch, and laughing; men also reported flirting for sexual reasons more than women, and women reported flirting for more fun reasons that men. Overall, this study confirms the utility of the GPA framework for understanding the relationship between goals and flirting behavior, and suggests several avenues for future research.
ContributorsWiedmaier, Benjamin (Author) / Mongeau, Paul (Thesis advisor) / Guerrero, Laura (Committee member) / Green, Samuel (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
An offender's expression of remorse plays an important role following relational transgressions, yet it is not well understood how the experience and expression of remorse relate to both victim responses to hurt and forgiveness in close relationships. This study uses a social functionalist framework to investigate the role of remorse in the forgiveness process and tests whether offender remorse experiences mediate the associations between victim responses to hurt and remorse expressions. Undergraduate participants (N=671) completed questionnaires about a time when they hurt a close relational partner and reported their partners' responses to hurt, their own experiences and expressions of remorse, and their perceptions of forgiveness. Results indicated that victims' sad communication positively predicted offenders' other-oriented and affiliation remorse experiences; victims' threatening communication positively predicted offenders' self-focused remorse experience; and victims' conciliatory communication and withdrawal positively predicted offenders' affiliation and self-focused remorse experiences. Results of the mediation analyses revealed that self-focused remorse fully mediated the relationship between victim threatening communication and low status behaviors; other-oriented remorse partially mediated the association between victim sad communication and apology/concern behaviors; and affiliation partially mediated the relationship between victim conciliatory communication and connection behaviors. Victims' withdrawal behaviors and offenders' use of compensation were not related. Finally, offenders' apology/concern and connection behaviors associated positively with perceptions of forgiveness, whereas low status behaviors negatively predicted forgiveness. Use of compensation following a hurtful event was not significantly related to forgiveness. Results are interpreted within the framework of evolutionary psychology and further validate the functional approach to studying emotion.
ContributorsGracyalny, Monica (Author) / Mongeau, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Guerrero, Laura K. (Committee member) / Shiota, Michelle N. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
Guided by Alberts, Tracy and Trethewey's (2011) integrated theory of the division of domestic labor, this dissertation examined the influence of domestic labor response threshold (i.e., the point at which one is sufficiently disturbed by a task undone so as to feel compelled to attend to it) on domestic labor performance and domestic labor conflict. Three-hundred-ten heterosexual participants (155 marital dyads; average marriage length of 20 years) completed an online questionnaire about their performance of household labor, household labor conflict, and response thresholds. Response thresholds were assessed using traditional verbal measures as well as two visual (i.e., photographic) measures developed for this investigation. The data were analyzed using three methods of dyadic data analysis: structural equation modeling, repeated measures multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and actor-partner interdependence models using multilevel modeling. Results indicate that the lower one's response threshold, and the higher one's partner's response threshold, the greater one's contributions to household tasks. Additionally, the lower one's response threshold, and the higher one's partner's response thresholds, the more likely the demand-withdrawal pattern is to emerge in domestic labor conflicts. Finally, mutual avoidance is more likely when one partner perceives that it is less costly to complete domestic work than to engage in conflict about it, or when one partner perceives that domestic labor is not a worthwhile or appropriate conflict topic. Contributions of this investigation include support for the integrated theory of the division of domestic labor, increased understanding of how individual differences (working in concert with actor sex) contribute to domestic labor allocation and conflict, a more sensitive measure of response threshold, and preliminary evidence of the "logics" of avoidance of domestic labor conflict.
ContributorsKnight, Kendra Rebecca (Author) / Alberts, Janet K (Thesis advisor) / Guerrero, Laura K. (Committee member) / Christopher, F. Scott (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2012
Description
Relational turbulence theory (RTT) has primarily explored the effects of relational uncertainty and partner interdependence on relational outcomes. While robust, the theory fails to account for uncertainties and perceived interdependence stemming from extra-dyadic factors (such as partners’ social networks). Thus, this dissertation had two primary goals. First, scales indexing measures of social network-based relational uncertainty (i.e., network uncertainty) and social network interdependence are tested for convergent and divergent validity. Second, measurements of network uncertainty and interdependence are tested alongside measures featured in RTT to explore predictive validity. Results confirmed both measurements and demonstrated numerous significant relationships for turbulence variables. Discussions of theoretical applications and future directions are offered.
ContributorsStein, James (Author) / Mongeau, Paul A. (Thesis advisor) / Guerrero, Laura (Committee member) / Dumka, Larry (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Military couples' communication during deployment: a proposed expansion of affection exchange theory
Description
Affectionate communication is one way individuals express love and appreciation (Floyd, 2006). Recently, communication scholars have recommended individuals increase their expressions of affection for health benefits (Brezsnyak & Whisman, 2004; Floyd et al., 2009; Floyd & Riforgiate, 2008). However, because communication is limited during military deployment, increasing affectionate communication is difficult for military families to implement. One form of affectionate communication that shows the promise of health benefits for military couples during deployment is affectionate writing. Working from Pennebaker’s written disclosure paradigm and Floyd’s affectionate exchange theory, the purpose of the current study is to identify whether at-home romantic partners of deployed U.S. Navy personnel can reap the benefits of affectionate communication during military deployment. To test a causal relationship between affectionate writing and communication outcomes, specifically relational satisfaction and stress, a four-week experiment was conducted. Eighty female at-home romantic partners of currently deployed U.S. Navy personnel were recruited for the study and randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) an experimental condition in which individuals were instructed to write affectionate letters to their deployed partners for 20 minutes once a week for three weeks, (b) a control condition in which individuals were instructed to write about innocuous or non-emotional topics for 20 minutes once a week for three weeks, or (c) a control condition in which individuals were not given instructions to write for the duration of the study. Individuals who engaged in affectionate writing reported higher levels of relational satisfaction than both the control groups, however, there were no differences in reported stress for the three groups. In fact, stress decreased throughout the duration of the study regardless of the condition in which participants had been placed. Additionally, individuals with secure attachment styles were more satisfied and less stressed than individuals with preoccupied and fearful attachment styles. Finally, individuals who perceived their relationship to be equitable, and to a slightly lesser extent, overbenefitted, during deployment reported higher levels of relational satisfaction. Overall, the findings support and extend affectionate exchange theory. Specifically, the results suggest that individuals can experience distance from their partners and still benefit from affectionate communication via writing; additionally, expressions of affectionate communication need not be reciprocal. Theoretical, methodological, clinical, and pedagogical implications are discussed.
ContributorsVeluscek, Alaina M (Author) / Guerrero, Laura (Thesis advisor) / Alberts, Jess (Committee member) / Brougham, M. Jennifer (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The goals of this dissertation were to develop a measurement called the
Empathetic Expressions Scale (EES) for Negative and Positive Events, to evaluate expressions of empathy from the receiver perspective, and to provide initial evidence for empathetic expressions as a separate construct from the empathy experience. A series of studies were conducted using three separately collected sets of data. Through the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the EES for Negative Events and the EES for Positive Events were created from the emerged factors. A five-factor structure emerged for the EES for Negative Events, which include Verbal Affirmation, Experience Sharing, Empathetic Voice, Emotional Reactivity, and Empathetic Touch. This scale was found to have good convergent and discriminant validity through the process of construct validation and good local and model fit through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A four-factor structure and two-factor structure emerged for the EES for Positive Events. The four factors include Verbal Affirmation, Experience Sharing, Empathetic Voice, and Emotional Reactivity. The two factors in the second structure include Celebratory Touch and Hugs.The final study focused on evaluating different empathetic expressions from the receiver perspective. From the receiver perspective, the participants rated five types of empathetic expressions in response to negative or positive events disclosure. According to the findings, Emotional Reactivity was rated as the most effective empathetic expression in negative events on both levels of supportiveness and message quality scales whereas Verbal Affirmation received the lowest ratings on both criteria. In positive events, Experience Sharing was evaluated as the most supportive and highest quality message whereas Verbal Affirmation was evaluated the lowest on both criteria. Taken together, the series of studies presented in this dissertation provided evidence for the development and validity of the EES for Negative and Positive Events.
Empathetic Expressions Scale (EES) for Negative and Positive Events, to evaluate expressions of empathy from the receiver perspective, and to provide initial evidence for empathetic expressions as a separate construct from the empathy experience. A series of studies were conducted using three separately collected sets of data. Through the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA), the EES for Negative Events and the EES for Positive Events were created from the emerged factors. A five-factor structure emerged for the EES for Negative Events, which include Verbal Affirmation, Experience Sharing, Empathetic Voice, Emotional Reactivity, and Empathetic Touch. This scale was found to have good convergent and discriminant validity through the process of construct validation and good local and model fit through Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA). A four-factor structure and two-factor structure emerged for the EES for Positive Events. The four factors include Verbal Affirmation, Experience Sharing, Empathetic Voice, and Emotional Reactivity. The two factors in the second structure include Celebratory Touch and Hugs.The final study focused on evaluating different empathetic expressions from the receiver perspective. From the receiver perspective, the participants rated five types of empathetic expressions in response to negative or positive events disclosure. According to the findings, Emotional Reactivity was rated as the most effective empathetic expression in negative events on both levels of supportiveness and message quality scales whereas Verbal Affirmation received the lowest ratings on both criteria. In positive events, Experience Sharing was evaluated as the most supportive and highest quality message whereas Verbal Affirmation was evaluated the lowest on both criteria. Taken together, the series of studies presented in this dissertation provided evidence for the development and validity of the EES for Negative and Positive Events.
ContributorsSuwinyattichaiporn, Tara (Author) / Guerrero, Laura K. (Thesis advisor) / Broome, Benjamin (Committee member) / Romero, Mary (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2016
Description
The China smog is a severe air pollution issue that has damaging effects on the health of millions of Chinese nationals and contributes to global warming. In the context of the China smog, this study examined civic engagement on social network sites (SNS) and in real life among Chinese nationals utilizing theories of uses and gratification, the effects of Internet use, media exposure, Internet censorship, political efficacy, trust and social capital. Six hundred and eighty eight Chinese nationals who are currently studying, working or residing in China completed online questionnaires. In general, the results of this study showed that a combination of high needs for recognition of SNS use and low needs for entertainment of SNS use is related with increased civic engagement. The results of this study also revealed that civic engagement is positively related with attention to content about the China smog on mobile Internet, external political efficacy and social capital.
ContributorsChen, Yashu (Author) / Cheong, Pauline (Thesis advisor) / Guerrero, Laura (Committee member) / Neuberg, Steven (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
This dissertation demarks the start of an empirical study of toxic romantic relationships. Three primary tasks were undertaken: (1) uncover characteristics of toxic romantic relationships, (2) develop a Toxic Relationship Behaviors scale, and (3) determine how toxic relationship behaviors and coping behaviors associate with breakup distress and post-traumatic growth following breakup. For aim 1, an inductive qualitative analysis examined toxic romantic relationships behaviors mentioned in Reddit and Quora threads. Data (n = 1,615) were classified under 14 themes representing toxic relationship behaviors and indicated one partner predominantly engaged in toxic relationship behaviors, characterized by power, control, and self-centeredness. For aim 2, a survey was launched to develop a Toxic Relationship Behavior scale and investigate relationships among toxic relationship behaviors, breakup distress, post-breakup coping behaviors, and post-traumatic growth. Exploratory factor analysis showed six Toxic Relationship Behavior subscales: (1) isolating, (2) displaying righteous self-centeredness, (3) walking on eggshells, (4) criticizing and conveying contempt, (5) surveilling, and (6) engaging in intermittent reinforcement. For aim 3, a quantitative study (n = 168) was conducted using the Toxic Relationship Behaviors scale to determine how toxic relationship behaviors and coping behaviors associate with breakup distress and post-traumatic growth. Results indicated emotional breakup distress was positively associated with focusing on the ex and seeking social support. Cognitive breakup distress was positively associated with surveilling and displaying righteous self-centeredness, as well as coping by focusing on the ex, seeking social support, and solitude. Personal growth positively associated with intermittent reinforcement, walking on eggshells, and righteous self-centeredness, as well as the coping strategies positive distraction and seeking social support. Thus, the combination of displaying righteous self-centeredness, walking on eggshells, and productive coping associated with the highest levels of personal growth. Walking on eggshells and seeking social support also predicted heightened appreciation of relationships and increased sensitivity toward others after the breakup. Coping through positive distractions was also positively related to increased sensitivity to others. The final chapter discusses findings across both studies and outlines directions for future research on toxic relationship behaviors.
ContributorsGraham, Callie (Author) / Guerrero, Laura K. (Thesis advisor) / Alberts, Jess (Committee member) / Randall, Ashley K. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2022