Immediacy

Abstract: The author proposes a theory of social im- pact specifying the effect of other persons on an in- dividual. According to the theory, when other people are the source of impact and the individual is the target, impact should be a multiplicative function of the strength, immediacy, and number of other people. Fur- thermore, impact should take the form of a power func- tion, with the marginal effect of the Nth other person being less than that of the (N — l)th. Finally, when other people stand with the individual as the target of forces from outside the group, impact should be divided such that the resultant is an inverse power function of the strength, immediacy, and number of persons stand- ing together. The author reviews relevant evidence from research on conformity and imitation, stage fright and embarrassment, news interest, bystander interven- tion, tipping, inquiring for Christ, productivity in groups, and crowding in rats. He also discusses the unresolved issues and desirable characteristics of the theory.

Abstract: Two studies investigated the relationship between teacher immediacy and student state motivation and the combined impact of these factors on learning. Study One participants completed all instruments based on a preceding class. The scales were randomly split between students in Study Two who completed them based on an intact class. Correlations revealed significant relationships between learning and both immediacy and motivation. Regression analyses indicated both unique and colinear predictability of learning by nonverbal immediacy and state motivation. Immediacy appears to modify motivation which leads to increased learning. Important implications of Study Two data indicate relationships observed in earlier research were not a simple function of confounding when scores were reported by the same subjects completing multiple instruments.

Abstract: Previous research has indicated that nonverbal teacher behaviors such as smiling, vocal expressiveness, movement about the classroom, and relaxed body position are salient low‐inference variables of a process which results in a product of increased cognitive and affective learning. This study identified a set of verbal teacher immediacy behaviors which similarly relate to increased student learning. Results indicated differentiated use of various types of verbal immediacy messages between small and larger classes, and that the impact of teacher immediacy behaviors (both verbal and nonverbal) on learning is coincidentally enhanced as class size increases. The study provides empirical definition of a specific set of low‐inference verbal variables which, in combination with previously identified nonverbal variables, clarify a single process‐product model for effective instructional interaction.

Abstract: Stimulated recall (SR) is a family of introspective research procedures through which cognitive processes can be investigated by inviting subjects to recall, when prompted by a video sequence, their concurrent thinking during that event. Variations of the generic approach are widely used and many of the studies treat SR as non-problematic. The article reviews the strengths and weaknesses of SR and exemplifies its use in a study of non-deliberative decision-making by sports coaches. The study reaffirms the potential limitations of subjects reordering their accounts in response to activating deeper memory structures and in order to maintain biases of control and a priori theory affirmation. Nevertheless, the procedure successfully elicited expert accounts of decisions taken and maintained the benefits of the naturalistic context. The article concludes that SR is a valuable tool for investigating cognitive processes, although care has to be taken with research designs. The value is enhanced when there is immediacy of recall, consonance between questions and cognitive organisation, and indirect means of introspection in complex interactive contexts, such as the classroom. It has considerable potential in both research and as the basis of training programmes.