Abstract
An experiment was designed to examine the role of a person's predispositions toward communication in reactions to violations of proxemic expectations. Working with Burgoon's (1983) violations of nonverbal expectations model, Buller and Burgoon (1986) predicted that predispositions may bias evaluations of initiator reward and violation valence. Apprehensive individuals should unfavorably evaluate the initiator, negatively valence a violation and comply less, while nonapprehensive individuals should favorably evaluate the initiator, positively valence a violation, and comply more. Alternately, this paper proposes that predispositions may affect arousal-induction rather than initiator evaluation and violation valencing. Following Patterson (1983), apprehensives should experience more arousal and comply more to reduce the arousal, whereas nonapprehensives should experience less arousal and comply less. Four initiators engaged 90 subjects in experimental conversations which ended with a request for the subjects' signature on a petition. Initiators either remained at the normative distance, moved one seat closer, or moved one seat farther from the subject. Results showed that apprehensives and subjects experiencing close violations complied more, suggesting that communication apprehension influences arousal-induction. Communication apprehension had no main effect on perceptions of initiator attractiveness and similarity, implying that arousal not perceptions of the initiator is affected by predispositions toward communication. Initiator gender again emerged as an important characteristic which influences a subject's perceptions of initiator reward.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Andersen, P. A., & Coussoule, A. R. (1980). The perceptual world of the communication apprehensive: The effect of communication apprehension and interpersonal gaze on interpersonal perception.Communication Quarterly, 28, 44–54.
Beatty, M. (1984). Physiological assessment. In J. A. Daly & J. C. McCroskey (Eds.),Avoiding communication: Shyness, reticence and communication apprehension (pp. 95–106). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Behnke, R. R., & Beatty, M. J. (1981). A cognitive-physiological model of speech anxiety.Communication Monographs, 43, 158–163.
Behnke, R. R., & Carlile, L. W. (1971). Heart rate as an index of speech anxiety.Speech Monographs, 38, 65–69.
Buller, D. B., (1986). The effects of distraction during persuasive communication: A meta-analytic review.Communication Monographs, 53, 91–114.
Buller, D. B., & Burgoon, J. K. (1986). The effects of vocalics and nonverbal sensitivity on compliance: A replication and extension.Human Communication Research, 13, 126–144.
Burgoon, J. K. (1976). The unwillingness-to-communicate scale: Development and validation.Communication Monographs, 43, 60–69.
Burgoon, J. K. (1978). Further explication and an initial test of the theory of violations of personal space expectations.Human Communication Research, 4, 129–142.
Burgoon, J. K. (1983). Nonverbal violations of expectations. In J. M. Wiemann & R. P. Harrison (Eds.),Nonverbal interaction (pp. 77–111). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
Burgoon, J. K. (1985).Expectancies, rewards, violations, and outcomes. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the International Communication Association, Honolulu.
Burgoon, J. K., & Aho, L. (1982). Three field experiments on the effects of conversational distance.Communication Monographs, 49, 71–88.
Burgoon, J. K., Coker, D., & Coker, R. (1986). The communicative effects of gaze behavior: A test of two contrasting explanations.Human Communication Research, 12, 495–524.
Burgoon, J. K., & Jones, S. B. (1976). Toward a theory of personal space expectations and their violations.Human Communication Research, 2, 131–146.
Burgoon, J. K., & Koper, R. (1984). Communication reticence and relational message behavior.Human Communication Research, 10, 601–626.
Burgoon, J. K., Stacks, D. W., & Burch, S. A. (1982). The role of interpersonal rewards and violations of distancing expectations in achieving influence in small groups.Communication, Journal of the Communication Association of the Pacific, 11, 114–128.
Burgoon, J. K., Stacks, D. W., & Woodall, W. G. (1979). A communicative model of violations of distancing expectations.Western Journal of Speech Communication, 43, 153–167.
Cappella, J. N. (1983). Conversational involvement: Approaching and avoiding others. In J. M. Wiemann & R. P. Harrison (Eds.),Nonverbal interaction (pp. 113–148). Beverly Hills: Sage.
Cohen, J. (1977).Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (Rev. ed.). New York: Academic Press.
Cook, M. (1970). Experiments on orientations and proxemics.Human Relations, 23, 61–76.
Daly, S. (1978). Behavioral correlates of social anxiety.British Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 17, 117–120.
Exline, R. V. (1963). Explorations in the process of person perception: Visual interaction in relation to competition, sex, and need for affiliation.Journal of Personality, 31, 1–20.
Jensen, A., & Andersen, P. A. (1979).The relationship among communication traits, communication behaviors, and interpersonal perception variables. Paper presented to the annual meeting of the Interpersonal Communication Association, Philadelphia.
Kendon, A., & Cook, M. (1969). The consistency of gaze patterns in social interaction.British Journal of Psychology, 60, 481–494.
Keppel, G. (1982).Design and analysis: A researcher's handbook (2nd ed.). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
McCroskey, J. C. (1970). Measures of communication-bound anxiety.Speech Monographs, 37, 269–277.
McCroskey, J. C. (1977). Oral communication apprehension: A summary of recent theory and research.Human Communication Research, 4, 78–96.
McCroskey, J. C. (1982). Oral communication apprehension: A reconceptualization. In M. Burgoon (Ed.),Communication yearbook, 6, (pp. 136–170). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
McCroskey, J. C. (1984). The communication apprehension perspective. In J. A. Daly & J. C. McCroskey (Eds.),Avoiding communication: Shyness, reticence, and communication apprehension (pp. 13–38). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
McCroskey, J. C., Daly, J. A., & Sorenson, G. (1976). Personality correlates of communication apprehension: A research note.Human Communication Research, 4, 376–380.
McCroskey, J. C., Hamilton, P. R., & Weiner, A. N. (1974). The effect of interaction behavior on source credibility, homophily, and interpersonal attraction.Human Communication Research, 1, 42–52.
McCroskey, J. C., & McCain, T. A. (1974). The measurement of interpersonal attraction.Speech Monographs, 41, 261–266.
Mehrabian, A., & Diamond, S. G. (1971). Effects of furniture arrangement, props, and personality on social interaction.Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 20, 18–30.
Patterson, M. L. (1973). Stability in nonverbal immediacy behaviors.Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 9, 97–109.
Patterson, M. L. (1977). Interpersonal distance, affect, and equilibrium theory.Journal of Social Psychology, 101, 205–214.
Patterson, M. L. (1983).Nonverbal behavior: A functional perspective. New York: Springer-Verlag.
Patterson, M. L., Powell, J. L., & Lenihan, M. G. (1986). Touch, compliance, and interpersonal affect.Journal of Nonverbal Behavior, 10, 41–50.
Pedersen, D. M. (1973), Correlates of behavioral personal space.Psychological Reports, 32, 828–830.
Phillips, G. M. (1968). Reticence: Pathology of the normal speaker.Speech Monographs, 35, 39–49.
Phillips, G. M. (1980). On apples and onions: A reply to Page.Communication Education, 29, 105–108.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
I thank Judee K. Burgoon, Peter A. Andersen, and an anonymous reviewer for their helpful comments on an earlier draft of this manuscript.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Buller, D.B. Communication apprehension and reactions to proxemic violations. J Nonverbal Behav 11, 13–25 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999603
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00999603