NotesFAQContact Us
Collection
Advanced
Search Tips
ERIC Number: ED203409
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1981-May
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Measurement of Nonverbal Immediacy.
Andersen, Janis F.; And Others
Two studies were conducted to develop and refine instruments for measuring nonverbal immediacy, defined as approach behaviors increasing sensory stimulation and producing interpersonal closeness. In the first study, three instruments were developed concurrently and were tested to establish their reliability and preliminary validity. These instruments were the perceived behavioral indicants of immediacy (BII) scale, the generalized immediacy (GI) scale, and the trained raters perceptions of immediacy (RI) scale, which was intended as a validation check for the BII scale. The BII and GI scales were used by more than 250 students and the RI scale was used by three trained observers to rate the nonverbal immediacy of nine male and four female speech instructors. Based on factor analyses of the resultant data, the scales were revised and used in the second study by another group of 256 students participating in a "get acquainted" exercise for their introductory communication course. This second set of data established the unidimensionality and reliability of the GI scale and provided evidence for the further modification of the BII scale. The data also established the predictive validity of these two instruments. Although a two-factor solution appeared in the analysis of the BII scale, closer examination indicated that this solution was really an artifact of negatively worded (avoidance) and positively worded (approach) items, which could be summed to get one score of behavioral immediacy. (RL)
Publication Type: Reports - Research; Speeches/Meeting Papers
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Note: Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the Eastern Communication Association (Philadelphia, PA, May 5-7, 1981).