Specific communication practices of multiple professionals in health care settings can impact patient outcomes. This study, conducted at a large Children's Hospital, sought to determine the extent to which patient-centered communication (PCC) affected satisfaction with communication and with care itself. Parents of child patients (N = 195) reported on the communication practices of physicians, nurses, and hospital staff members during their most recent stay in the hospital. Surveys were completed on site. Health care providers' use of PCC behaviors, especially immediacy and perceived listening, was positively associated with satisfaction with care and with communication. In addition, PCC behaviors were perceived to be used more frequently with children in better health than with children with poorer health status.

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In order for students to succeed academically instructors must foster a supportive and connected learning environment. Importantly, not only do instructors need to connect with students, they also need to allow students the opportunity to connect with one another. Following that framework, aligned with the Dimensions of Learning model, we examined teacher confirmation behaviors and student-to-student connectedness as predictors of students' willingness to talk in class and preparedness for class (e.g., reading assigned chapters). Results found student-to-student connectedness mediated the relationships between teacher confirmation behaviors and in-class student involvement. Thus, this co-constructed, positive classroom climate nurtures student involvement. Student-to-student connectedness also served as a stronger predictor of student involvement than class size. Regardless of class size, student-to-student connectedness is an important classroom resource that instructors need to tap into as they try to engage their students.

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Folkman and Lazarus's transactional theory of emotion and coping was used to explain how humor influences job satisfaction among health care providers. One hundred forty-two nurses completed measures of humor orientation (HO), coping efficacy, job satisfaction, and open-ended questions about their use of humor to relieve job tensions. This produced 9 categories of producing humor and 8 types of work situations identified in which humor was used to cope. Nurses (21.4%) reported using humor the most often during "patient care" situations (e.g., providing medicines, moving patients, physical therapy, and so on). More than one third (38.66%) of the nurses reported using "word-play/language" as a humorous coping strategy. Higher HO was associated with higher ratings of humor effectiveness, greater self-perceived coping efficacy, and higher emotional expressivity. Path analysis demonstrated that, as the transactional theory would predict, trait HO influences job satisfaction through its effect on heightened coping efficacy. Study limitations include the use of self-report methods and the limited number of responses to the open-ended items. Subsequent research in this area should attempt to validate the categories identified in this study and determine the most effective means of coping. Researchers also should explore differences in health care providers' coping communication based on gender, years of experience, and profession.

This investigation explored the risks of affectionate expressions in romantic relationships by examining the physiological and emotional implications of recalled expressed deceptive affectionate messages to romantic partners. Ninety-nine participants were assigned to one of three conditions: deceptive affection, honest affection, or plans with a friend (control). Results indicate that individuals' blood pressure and heart rates are not differentially influenced when recalling deceptive affection compared to honest affection or common communication. Similarly, there were no differences in feelings of guilt and shame based on the motive for the deceptive expression. Posthoc analyses compared affectionate conditions (deceptive and honest) to the control condition and revealed no significant physiological differences. Implications for theory, methodological comparisons, and future research are discussed.

A n ajfective orientation is the degree to which individuals are aware of and use affect cues toguide communication. Some people appear to be very sensitive to their emotional state, while others attend primarily to factual, logical information in making decisions. Four studies investigated how aflective orientation relates to other communication constructs and behavior. Study One developed the measure, a 20-item scale with sound factor structure and internal reliability. Study Two assessedconstruct validity. Affective orientation (AO) was predictably related to conversational sensitivity and femininity. Divergent validity was supported in that A 0 was unrelated to communication apprehension, masculinity, self-monitoring, and need for cognition. Study Three determined that A 0 was related to communication production: As affective orientation increased, so too did the number of emotions participants were able to list in a timed trial. Study Four analyzed the ways high versus low aflectively oriented communicators differ in their recall and communication of emotional events. High affective-oriented respondents exhibited shorter latencies prior to speaking and less pausing during the account.ndividuals employ diverse sources of information in making judgments concerning their individual actions, relation-

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