Students' Intent to Persist in College: Moderating the Negative Effects of Receiver Apprehension with Instructor Credibility and Nonverbal Immediacy

Communication Studies

Volumn 65, Issue 3, 2014, Pages 330-352

  Witt, Paul L ^a   Schrodt, Paul ^a   Wheeless, Virginia E ^b   Bryand, Meagan C ^b  

^a TEXAS CHRISTIAN UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^b TEXAS A AND M UNIVERSITY CORPUS CHRISTI   (United States)

Author keywords

Instructor Credibility; Intent To Persist; Nonverbal Immediacy; Persistence; Receiver Apprehension; Student Retention

Indexed keywords

EID: 84901030630     PISSN: 10510974     EISSN: 17451035     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2013.811428     Document Type: Article

References (80)

1. Aiken, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
2. Ajzen, I. (1985). From intentions to actions: A theory of planned behavior. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckmann (Eds.), Action control: From cognition to behavior (pp. 11 - 39). New York, NY: Springer-Verlag.
3. Ajzen, I., & Fishbein, M. (1980). Understanding attitudes and predicting social behavior. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
4. Allen, M., Witt, P. L., & Wheeless, L. R. (2006). The role of teacher immediacy as a motivational factor in student learning: A meta-analysis and causal model. Communication Education, 55, 21 - 31.
5. Andersen, J. F. (1979). Teacher immediacy as a predictor of teaching effectiveness. Communication Yearbook, 3, 543 - 559.
6. Ayers, J., Wilcox, A. K., & Ayres, D. M. (1995). Receiver apprehension: An explanatory model and accompanying research. Communication Research, 44, 223 - 235.
7. Bagozzi, R. P., Dholakia, U. M., & Mookerjee, A. (2006). Individual and group bases of social influence in online environments. Media Psychology, 8, 95 - 126.
8. Bauer, K. W., & Bennett, J. S. (2003). Alumni perceptions used to assess undergraduate research experience. Journal of Higher Education, 74, 210 - 230.
9. Beatty, M. J. (1981). Receiver apprehension as a function of cognitive backlog. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 45, 277 - 281.
10. Beatty, M. J., Behnke, R. R., & Henderson, L. S. (1980). An empirical validation of the Receiver Apprehension Test as a measure of trait listening anxiety. Western Journal of Communication, 44, 132 - 136.
11. Behnke, R. R., & Sawyer, C. R. (2001). Patterns of psychological state anxiety in public speaking as a function of anxiety sensitivity. Communication Quarterly, 49, 84-94.
12. Bliss, L. B., & Sandiford, J. R. (2004). Linking study behaviors and student culture to academic success among Hispanic students. Community College Journal of Research, 28, 281 - 295.
13. Bodie, G. D., & Villaume, W. A. (2003). Aspects of receiving information: The relationship between listening preferences, communication apprehension, receiver apprehension, and communicator style. International Journal of Listening, 17, 47 - 67.
14. Boudreau, C. A., & Kromrey, J. D. (1994). A longitudinal study of the retention and academic performance of participants in freshmen orientation course. Journal of College Student Development, 35, 444 - 449.
15. Brann, M., & Sutton, M. L. (2009). The theory of planned behavior and college students' willingness to talk about smoking behaviors. Communication Research Reports, 26, 198 - 207.
16. Chesebro, J. L., & McCroskey, J. C. (2001). The relationship of teacher clarity and immediacy with student state receiver apprehension, affect, and cognitive learning. Communication Education, 50, 59 - 68.
17. Christophel, D. M., & Gorham, J. (1995). A test-retest analysis of student motivation, teacher immediacy, and perceived sources of motivation and demotivation in college classes. Communication Education, 44, 292 - 306.
18. Clark, R. K., Keith, S., & Walker, M. (2001, November). Experimentally assessing the student impacts of out-of-class communication. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the National Communication Association, Atlanta, GA.
19. Comadena, M. E., Hunt, S. K., & Simonds, C. J. (2007). The effects of teacher clarity, nonverbal immediacy, and caring on student motivation, affective and cognitive learning. Communication Research Reports, 24, 241 - 248.
20. Daniels, T. D., & Whitman, R. F. (1979). The effects of message structure, required recall structure, and receiver apprehension upon recall of message information. Green Bay, WI: University of Wisconsin. (ERIC Document Reproduction Servide No. ED178 979)
21. Deci, E., & Ryan, R. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum Press.
22. Deci, E. L., Ryan, R. M., & Williams, G. C. (1996). Need satisfaction and the self-regulation of learning. Learning and Individual Differences, 8, 165 - 183.
23. Eagly, A., & Chaiken, S. (1993). Attitude strength, attitude structure and resistance to change. In R. Petty & J. Kosnik (Eds.), Attitude strength (pp. 413 - 432). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
24. Ellis, K. (2004). The impact of perceived teacher confirmation on receiver apprehension, motivation, and learning. Communication Education, 53, 1 - 20.
25. Finn, A. N., Schrodt, P., Witt, P. L., Elledge, N., Jernberg, K. A., & Larson, L. M. (2009). A meta-analytical review of teacher credibility and its associations with teacher behaviors and student outcomes. Communication Education, 58, 516 - 537.
26. Frymier, A. B. (1993). The relationships among communication apprehension, immediacy, and motivation to study. Communication Reports, 6, 8 - 17.
27. Frymier, A. B. (1994). A model of immediacy in the classroom. Communication Quarterly, 42, 133 - 144.
28. Godin, G., & Kok, G. (1996). The theory of planned behavior: A review of its applications to health-related behaviors. American Journal of Health Promotion, 11, 87 - 98.
29. Hardre, P., & Reeve, J. (2003). A motivational model of rural students' intentions to persist in versus drop out of high school. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 347 - 356.
30. Hess, J. A., & Smythe, M. J. (2001). Is teacher immediacy actually related to student cognitive learning? Communication Studies, 52, 197 - 219.
31. Hurtado, S., Milem, J. F., Clayton-Pederson, A., & Allen, W. R. (1998). Enhancing campus climates for racial/ethnic diversity: Educational policy and practice. The Review of Higher Education, 21, 279 - 302.
32. Johnson, S. D., & Miller, A. N. (2002). A cross-cultural study of immediacy, credibility, and learning in the U.S. and Kenya. Communication Education, 51, 280-292.
33. Kearney, P., Plax, T. G., Smith, V. R., & Sorenson, G. (1988). Effects of teacher immediacy and strategy type on college student resistance to on-task demands. Communication Education, 37, 54 - 67.
34. Kerssen-Griep, J., & Witt, P. L. (2012). Instructional feedback II: How do instructor immediacy cues and facework tactics interact to predict student motivation and fairness perceptions? Communication Studies, 63, 498 - 517.
35. Kluger, A. N., & DeNisi, A. (1996). The effects of feedback interventions on performance: A historical review, a meta-analysis, and a preliminary feedback intervention theory. Psychological Bulletin, 119, 254 - 284.
36. Lavigne, G. L., Vallerand, R. J., & Miquelon, P. (2007). A motivational model of persistence in science education: A self-determination theory approach. European Journal of Psychology of Education, 22, 351 - 369.
37. Martin, M. M., Chesebro, J. L., & Mottet, T. P. (1997). Students' perceptions of instructors' socio-communicative style and the influence on instructor credibility and situational motivation. Communication Research Reports, 14, 431 - 440.
38. Martinez-Egger, A. D., & Powers, W. G. (2007). Student respect for a teacher: Measurement and relationships to teacher credibility and classroom behavior perceptions. Human Communication, 10, 145 - 155.
39. Mazer, J. P., Murphy, R. E., & Simonds, C. J. (2009). The effects of teacher self-disclosure via Facebook on teacher credibility. Learning, Media and Technology, 34, 175 - 183.
40. McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1992). Power in the classroom: Communication, control, and concern. Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
41. McCroskey, J. C., & Teven, J. J. (1999). Goodwill: A reexamination of the construct and its measurement. Communication Monographs, 66, 90 - 103.
42. McCroskey, J. C., Valencic, K. M., & Richmond, V. P. (2004). Toward a general model of instructional communication. Communication Quarterly, 52, 197 - 210.
43. McGrath, M., & Braunstein, A. (1997). The prediction of freshmen attrition: An examination of the importance of certain demographic, academic, financial and social factors. College Student Journal, 31, 396 - 408.
44. McReynolds, P. (1976). Assimilation and anxiety. In M. Zuckerman & C. D. Spielberger (Eds.), Emotions and anxiety: New concepts, methods, and applications (pp. 35 - 86). New York, NY: John Wiley and Sons.
45. Mehrabian, A. (1971). Silent messages. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.
46. Myers, R. D. (2003). College success programs: Executive summary. Washington, DC: Pathways to College Network.
47. Myers, S. (2004). The relationship between perceived instructor credibility and college student in-class and out-of-class communication. Communication Reports, 17, 129 - 137.
48. Pascarella, E. T., & Terenzini, P. T. (1979). Interaction effects in Spady's and Tinto's conceptual models of college dropout. Sociology of Education, 52, 197 - 210.
49. Perry, N. E., VandeKamp, K. O., Mercer, L. K., & Nordby, C. J. (2002). Investigating teacher- student interactions that foster self-regulated learning. Educational Psychologist, 37, 5 - 15.
50. Pintrich, P. R. (2003). A motivational science perspective on the role of student motivation in learning and teaching contexts. Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 667 - 686.
51. Plax, T. G., Kearney, P., McCroskey, J. C., & Richmond, V. P. (1986). Power in the classroom VI: Verbal control strategies, nonverbal immediacy, and affective learning. Communication Education, 35, 43 - 56.
52. Pogue, L. L., & AhYun, K. (2006). The effect of teacher nonverbal immediacy and credibility on student motivation and affective learning. Communication Education, 55, 331 - 344.
53. Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & Johnson, A. D. (2003). Development of the nonverbal immediacy scale (NIS): Measures of self- and other-perceived nonverbal immediacy. Communication Quarterly, 51, 504 - 517.
54. Roberto, A. J., Meyer, G., & Boster, F. J. (2001). Predicting adolescents' decisions about fighting: A test of the theory of planned behavior. Communication Research Reports, 18, 316-323.
55. Roberts, C. V. (1986). A validation of the Watson-Barker Listening Test. Communication Research Reports, 3, 115 - 119.
56. Roberts, C. V., & Vinson, L. (1998). Relationship among willingness to listen, receiver apprehension, communication apprehension, communication competence, and dogmatism. International Journal of Listening, 12, 40 - 56.
57. Ryan, R. M., & Deci, B. I. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development and well-being. American Psychologist, 55, 749 - 761.
58. Schrodt, P. (2003). Students' appraisals of instructors as a function of students' perceptions of instructors' aggressive communication. Communication Education, 52, 106 - 121.
59. Schrodt, P., & Turman, P. D. (2005). The impact of instructional technology use, course design, and sex differences on students' initial perceptions of instructor credibility. Communication Quarterly, 53, 177 - 196.
60. Schrodt, P., Wheeless, L. R., & Ptacek, K. M. (2000). Informational reception apprehension, educational, motivation, and achievement. Communication Quarterly, 48, 60 - 73.
61. Schrodt, P., & Witt, P. L. (2006). Students' attributions of instructor credibility as a function of students' expectations of instructional technology use and nonverbal immediacy. Communication Education, 55, 1 - 20.
62. Schrodt, P., Witt, P. L., Turman, P. D., Myers, S., Barton, M. H., & Jernberg, K. A. (2009). Instructor credibility as a mediator of instructor's prosocial communication behaviors and students' learning outcomes. Communication Education, 58, 350 - 371.
63. Scott, M. D., & Wheeless, L. R. (1977). Communication apprehension, student attitudes, and levels of satisfaction. Western Journal of Speech Communication, 39, 246 - 255.
64. Sheppard, B. H., Hartwick, J., & Warshaw, P. R. (1988). The theory of reasoned action: A meta-analysis of past research with recommendations for modifications and future research. Journal of Consumer Research, 15, 325 - 343.
65. Smythe, M.-J., & Hess, J. A. (2005). Are student self-reports a valid method for measuring teacher nonverbal immediacy? Communication Education, 54, 170 - 179.
66. St John, E. P., Paulsen, M. B., & Carter, D. F. (2005). Diversity, college costs, and postsecondary opportunity: An examination of the financial nexus between college choice and persistence for African Americans and Whites. The Journal of Higher Education, 76, 545 - 569.
67. Terenzini, P. T., & Pascarella, E. T. (1980). Predicting freshman persistence and voluntary dropout decisions from a theoretical model. The Journal of Higher Education, 51, 60 - 75.
68. Teven, J. J., & Hanson, T. L. (2004). The impact of teacher immediacy and perceived caring on teacher competence and trustworthiness. Communication Quarterly, 52, 39 - 53.
69. Thweatt, K. S., & McCroskey, J. C. (1998). The impact of teacher immediacy and misbehaviors on teacher credibility. Communication Education, 47, 348 - 358.
70. Tibbles, D., Richmond, V. P., McCroskey, J. C., & Weber, K. (2008). Organizational orientations in an instructional setting. Communication Education, 57, 389 - 407.
71. Tinto, V. (1975). Dropout from higher education: A theoretical synthesis of recent research. Review of Educational Research, 45, 89 - 125.
72. U. S. Department of Education, Institute of Educational Statistics. (2009). Web tables-Profile of undergraduate students: Trends from selected years 1995-96 and 2007-08. Retrieved from http://nces.ed.gov/pubsearch/pubsinfo.asp?pubid=2010220
73. Vallerand, R. J., Fonier, M. S., & Guay, F. (1997). Self-determination and persistence in a real-life setting: Toward a motivational model of high school dropout. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72, 1161 - 1176.
74. Wheeless, L. R. (1975). An investigation of receiver apprehension and social context dimensions of communication apprehension. Speech Teacher, 24, 261 - 268.
75. Wheeless, L. R., Preiss, R. W., & Gayle, B. M. (1997). Receiver apprehension, information receptivity, and cognitive processing. In J. A. Daly, J. C. McCroskey, J. Ayres, T. Hopf, & D. M. Ayres (Eds.), Avoiding communication: Shyness, reticence, and communication apprehension (, 2nd ed., pp. 151-187). Cresskill, NJ: Hampton Press.
76. Wheeless, V., Witt, P. L., Maresh, M., Bryand, M., & Schrodt, P. (2011). Instructor credibility as a mediator of instructor communication and students' intent to persist in college. Communication Education, 60, 314 - 339.
77. Winiecki, K. L., & Ayres, J. (1999). Communication apprehension and receiver apprehension in the workplace. Communication Quarterly, 47, 430 - 440.
78. Witt, P. L., & Kerssen-Griep, J. (2011). Instructional Feedback I: The interaction of facework and immediacy on students' perceptions of instructor credibility. Communication Education, 60, 75 - 94.
79. Witt, P. L., Wheeless, L. R., & Allen, M. (2004). A meta-analytical review of the relationship between teacher immediacy and student learning. Communication Monographs, 71, 184 - 207.
80. Zhang, Q., & Oetzel, J. G. (2006). Constructing and validating a teacher immediacy scale: A Chinese perspective. Communication Education, 55, 218 - 241.