First impression sexual scripts of romantic encounters: Effect of gender on verbal and non verbal immediacy behaviors in American media dating culture

The current study investigates sexual scripts in reality dating shows—in particular, how the gender of the communicator affects the choice of verbal and nonverbal immediacy behaviors aimed at making a first impression. Data were drawn from 331 couples of opposite-sex heterosexual strangers interacting for approximately 30 seconds on two reality dating shows: The Bachelor and The Bachelorette (2012–2019). As a result, a codebook of verbal immediacy cues ( N = 1623) and nonverbal immediacy cues ( N = 3021) was derived. The findings showed that verbal behavior encompassed 11 categories of verbal immediacy cues, while nonverbal behavior included 32 categories of nonverbal immediacy cues. Results also showed gender-related preferences for verbal immediacy behavior; for instance, men were more likely to outline the probability of relationship development and pay compliments; conversely, women were prone to intriguing men to arouse curiosity and interest. As for nonverbal immediacy behavior, men were predisposed to use clothes straightening, while women tended to communicate immediacy through head tilt, shoulder shrug, gaze down, gaze side(s), eyebrow flashes, hand-in-hand, hug, pat, holding hands in front of their bodies, and hair grooming. Nonetheless, the similarities between men and women were found to be greater than the differences. These findings could have wide-reaching implications for theorizing on social and cultural norms, gender stereotypes, and traditional gender roles in intimate relationships in the form of sexual scripts, along with contributing to the study of reality television.

Developmental Mathematics: Students’ Predicted Outcome Value of Electronic Communication

This study investigated the predicted outcome value of electronic communication from the viewpoint of developmental mathematics students. Students at a large Texas community college completed a combination of instruments that were administered in three prior studies. Three reasons for using electronic communication that were included in this study were procedural/clarification, personal/social, and efficiency. Results indicated that (a) student-initiated electronic communications conversations were correlated with students’ predicted outcome value of electronic communications; (b) instructor immediacy behaviors via electronic measures was correlated with students’ reasons for electronic communication; (c) instructor immediacy of electronic communication and the reasons for communicating explained 34.3% of the variance in students’ predicted outcome value of electronic communication; (d) procedural/clarification reasons was the largest predictor of predicted outcome value; and (e) the β weight and structure coefficient suggested that personal/social reasons was a possible suppressor. Keywords: developmental mathematics, electronic communication, predicted outcome value, regression, suppressor variable

Examining the Correlation between University Students’ Perceived Teacher Immediacy and their Motivation

This descriptive correlational study was intended to explore the relationship between university students’ perceived teacher immediacy and their motivation. 800 students were selected from eight different universities of district Lahore through a multi-stage stratified random sampling method. Out of the selected, 726 participants responded on adapted Verbal Immediacy Behaviors (VIB), Revised Nonverbal Immediacy Measures (RNIM), and Students Motivation Scale (SMS). Independent sample t-tests’ results exhibited no significant gender-based or sector-wise difference in perceived teacher immediacy and motivation level of students. However, the correlational evidence showed a strong correlation between verbal, nonverbal, overall teacher immediacy, and student motivation. Results suggest that teacher immediacy functions as a means of enhancing the motivation of a student, based on this fact, the researchers suggest that content to promote teacher immediacy should be added in teacher education curricula.

A Survey of Secondary Instrumental Teachers’ Immediacy, Ensemble Setup, and Use of Classroom Space in Colorado and Indiana

The purpose of this study was to survey secondary band and orchestra teachers ( N = 436) in Colorado and Indiana regarding their self-reported immediacy behaviors, ensemble setups, and use of classroom space when teaching. Immediacy “refers to nonverbal teacher behaviors which increase nonverbal interaction with students and which communicate closeness.” Female teachers and teachers of young ensembles reported higher levels of overall immediacy. Among component immediacy behaviors, teachers reported using proximity-related behaviors the least; females reported using proximity behaviors at higher rates than males. The majority of teachers reported using “closed” ensemble setups (i.e., setups that limit teacher movement among students) and remained in these setups for the majority of the school year. Teachers of young ensembles reported greater use of “opened” setups (i.e., setups that help facilitate teacher movement among students). Although teachers reported spending the majority of rehearsal time on the podium, female teachers, teachers of young ensembles, and teachers who used opened setups reported less time on the podium and more time moving among students. Implications for immediacy, ensemble setup, and teacher use of space in music education are discussed.

Going Digital

The purpose of this chapter is to explore teacher immediacy strategies that help online instructors form connections with students while teaching in distance learning environments. Teacher immediacy consists of both verbal and nonverbal behaviors teachers can use that generate perceptions of closeness with students, which often feels lacking in a distance learning environment. Specific examples of immediacy behaviors in online courses are provided. The chapter shares examples of student/teacher interactions in a course built around teacher immediacy principles, identifying the specific principles visible in each interaction. Finally, the chapter ends with recommendations for practice using teacher immediacy strategies to build relationships with students in online courses.

EXAMINING SOCIAL PRESENCE IN ONLINE COURSES IN RELATION TO STUDENTS' PERCEIVED LEARNING AND SATISFACTION

Research has demonstrated that social presence not only affects outcomes but also student, and possibly instructor, satisfaction with a course. Teacher immediacy behaviors and the presence of others are especially important issues for those involved in delivering online education. This study explored the role of social presence in online learning environments and its relationship to students’ perceptions of learning and satisfaction with the instructor. The participants for this study were students who completed Empire State College’s (ESC) online learning courses in the spring of 2000 and completed the end of semester course survey (n=97). A correlational design was utilized. This study found that students with high overall perceptions of social presence also scored high in terms of perceived learning and perceived satisfaction with the instructor. Students’ perceptions of social presence overall, moreover, contributed significantly to the predictor equation for students’ perceived learning overall. Gender accounted for some of the variability of students’ overall perception of social presence, while age and number of college credits earned did not account for any of the variability.

USING ASYNCHRONOUS AUDIO FEEDBACK TO ENHANCE TEACHING PRESENCE AND STUDENTS’ SENSE OF COMMUNITY

This paper reports the findings of a case study in which audio feedback replaced text-based feedback in asynchronous courses. Previous research has demonstrated that participants in online courses can build effective learning communities through text-based communication alone. Similarly, it has been demonstrated that instructors for online courses can adequately project immediacy behaviors using text-based communication. However, we believed that the inclusion of an auditory element might strengthen both the sense of community and the instructor’s ability to affect more personalized communication with students. Over the course of one semester, students in this study received a mixture of asynchronous audio and text-based feedback. Our findings revealed extremely high student satisfaction with embedded asynchronous audio feedback as compared to asynchronous text only feedback. Four themes, which accounted for this preference, were culled out in an iterative, inductive analysis of interview data: 1. Audio feedback was perceived to be more effective than text-based feedback for conveying nuance; 2. Audio feedback was associated with feelings of increased involvement and enhanced learning community interactions; 3. Audio feedback was associated with increased retention of content; and 4. Audio feedback was associated with the perception that the instructor cared more about the student. Document analysis revealed that students were three times more likely to apply content for which audio commenting wasprovided in class projects than was the case for content for which text-based commenting was provided. Audio commenting was also found to significantly increase the level at which students applied such content. Implications of this case study and directions for future research are addressed in the discussion and conclusions section of this paper.