Using Student Reports to Measure Immediacy: Is it a Valid Methodology?

Teacher immediacy has been a widely studied construct with the overall finding that being immediate is good. Verbal and nonverbal immediacy has been associated with increased motivation to study and learning. The most common methodology used to measure teacher immediacy has been student reports. An underlying assumption of this methodology is that students are able to objectively observe and report the behaviors performed by their instructor. The validity of this methodology has never been examined. A series of four studies examined a variety of individual differences (self-perceived social style; communication apprehension; self-esteem and trait motivation; and selected demographic variables) that may influence how students report their instructors' immediacy behaviors. Subjects included over 1,000 undergraduate students enrolled in various communication courses at midwestern and eastern universities. Findings suggest that the individual differences examined do not influence the reporting of immediacy, providing support for the use of this methodology. (Contains 36 references.) (Author/RS) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY