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Te Florida State University

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Te Impact of a Work-Related InterpersonalCommunication Skills Curriculum on the Work-

and Social-Relationships of Ninth-GradesCarlos Camilo Gomez-EstefanFlorida State University

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Recommended CitationGomez-Estefan, Carlos Camilo, "e Impact of a Work-Related Interpersonal Communication Skills Curriculum on the Work- andSocial-Relationships of Ninth-Grades" (2004). Electronic eses, Treatises and Dissertations. Paper 4149.

http://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/tgs?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPagesmailto:[email protected]:[email protected]://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/tgs?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/etd?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPageshttp://diginole.lib.fsu.edu/?utm_source=diginole.lib.fsu.edu%2Fetd%2F4149&utm_medium=PDF&utm_campaign=PDFCoverPages


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The members of the Committee approve the Dissertation of Carlos Gomez-Estefan defended on July 12, 2004.

Gary PetersonProfessor Directing Dissertation

Bruce MenchettiOutside Committee Member

Briley ProctorCommittee Member

James Sampson

Committee Member

Approved:

Frances Prevatt, Chair, Department of Educational Psychology and Learning

Systems

The Office of Graduate Studies has verified and approved the above namedcommittee members.

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This dissertation is dedicated tomy beautiful bride

a source of unending strengthwith whom I hope to grow old and wise.

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ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I wish to express my deep thanks and appreciation to my wife and

my parents for their support and encouragement during the course of my doctoral

studies. Without them I could have never made it! My wife, Holly, was my backbone

and foundation throughout the course of these studies and dissertation. I had Holly’s

never-failing support from since my decision to pursue doctoral studies and her

assistance with this dissertation was invaluable and truly self-sacrificing. For instance,

on many occasions she drove six hours from Athens, Georgia – where she was

pursuing her graduate studies – to lead-proctor data collection for this study and would

return back to the University of Georgia for her next class. Holly was selfless inproviding me assistance wherever I needed it the most, including data-entry, sorting

files, and proofreading, as well as constant encouragement and positive reinforcement.

My mom, Yvonne, who always encouraged me to pursue my education, has provided

me with the love and support to ensure that I stay the course. My dad, Nabil, has

always been ready to share his wisdom and encouragement; often helping me stay

grounded and focused on what is really important in life. I would like to thank my

deceased father, Carlos Fernando, who always had great dreams for my future and my

deceased uncle, Camilo, who worked until the end to make these dreams possible for

me. A warm thank you goes to my aunt, Stella, for her enduring support throughout my

life. I would also like to thank my daughter, Mary Elizabeth, whose coos and smiles

gave me all the energy to complete this dissertation. It’s because of my family that I

consider myself among the most fortunate people in the world. Finally, I thank God for

the gift of life and the health and opportunity to pursue my goals and my vocation.

I would like to express my deep thanks and appreciation to my doctoral committee chair

and major professor, Dr. Gary Peterson, who from the first day that I entered the

program selflessly provided me with the time, wisdom, and intellect which were

instrumental in the completion of my graduate studies and professional training. Gary

was truly a mentor who challenged me to push my abilities to the limit in every area of

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science and practice including psychotherapy, psychodiagnostic assessment,

consultation, and research. He also taught me to “think like a psychologist” by spending

endless hours discussing everything from this research to the most esoteric but

fascinating issues related to human behavior. I will truly miss my weekly meetings with

Gary, which did more to form me as a professional than any class ever could. My

thanks and appreciation also goes to Dr. James Sampson for his clinical supervision

and interest in my professional development from early in my master’s studies through

the last edit of this dissertation. Finally, I would like to also acknowledge Dr. Bruce

Menchetti and Dr. Briley Proctor for having served on my doctoral committee.

I would like to thank my excellent clinical supervisors throughout my studies including

Dr. Enrique Casero, Dr. Pollie Caskie, Dr. Ann Cituk, Annie Hands, Dr. Larry Kubiak, Dr.Janet Lenz, Mike McAuley, and Dr. David Seaton. Special thanks go to Dr. Thomas

Meacham who has clinically challenged me to think out of the box when it comes to

understanding the dynamics of human behavior and strategies for treatment and for his

great friendship. In the same vein, deep gratitude goes to Dr. Robert Schuchts, for his

mentorship, which I can honestly say has had the most profound influence in helping

me become a better human being and a more humane clinician. Finally, I would like to

thank my internship supervisor and director of training, Dr. Eddie E. Roca who has not

only been an outstanding supervisor, but also a friend, mentor, and godfather (thanks

Don!).

My deep gratitude also goes to my peer-colleagues who are among the finest people I

have ever met. First I would like to thank Alia Creason, one of the best friends I have

ever had, for all of her support with this dissertation including data collection and the

scoring with critical incidents. Likewise, I extend my gratitude to Travis Creason and

Susan Williams for their assistance with data collection. I would also like to extend my

gratitude to Lauren Hutto, Tara Segassie, and Meredith Senholz scoring critical

incidents. Finally, I would like to thank Yvonne Achkar and Gail Reed for proofreading

part of the early drafts of this dissertation and to Holly Gomez and Jennifer Savino for

the editing the final copy.

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I would also like to thank the staff and faculty at the Florida State University School for

their kindness in opening the school for this research project. First, I would like to thank

Eileen McDaniel and Linda Jones for their interest and commitment to my research. I

would also like to thank the ninth grade teachers who assisted with the instruction of the

curriculum. My deepest appreciation goes out to the participants in this study whose

generosity with their time was essential in completing this research and indirectly my

doctoral studies at the Florida State University.

Last, but not least, there is no way I can even thank my parents who provided me the

financial and moral assistance to not just complete this dissertation, but also to pursue

my education.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

List of Tables .................................................................................... xList of Figures .................................................................................... xi

Abstract .......................................................................................... xi i

I. INTRODUCTION................................................................................ 1

Employabil ity Skills and American Schooling........................... 2

Statement of the Problem ............................................................ 4

Florida’s Comprehensive Guidance Model ................................ 5

Purpose of the Study ................................................................... 7

Evaluation Standards and Research Questions ........................ 9Output Standards...................................................................... 9Outcome Standards .................................................................. 10

Signif icance of the Study ............................................................ 11

Assumptions ................................................................................ 11

Definit ion of Terms ...................................................................... 12

II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ....................................................... 15

Introduction .................................................................................. 15

Work-Related Interpersonal Communication Skills .................. 16Self-Awareness and Corrective Feedback................................ 17Provision of Empathic Support.................................................. 23

Assertive Responding ............................................................... 27Conflict Management................................................................ 30

Developing Interpersonal Communication Skills ...................... 35Reinforcement Learning Theory................................................ 35Information Processing Learning Theory .................................. 37Social-Cognitive Learning Theory............................................. 40Integrative Theoretical Assumptions......................................... 45Implications of the Assumptions for Developing Training.......... 46

A Strategy for Implementing Interventions in the Schools ...... 49Challenges for Counseling Psychologists in the Schools ......... 50Collaborative Strategy............................................................... 53

Summary….. ................................................................................. 56Work-Related Interpersonal Communication Skills................... 56Developing Interpersonal Communication Skills ....................... 58 A Strategy for Implementing Interventions in the Schools......... 59

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III. METHODOLOGY.............................................................................. 60

Introduction ................................................................................. 60

Context ……................................................................................... 60

Inputs…….. ................................................................................... 62

Participants ............................................................................... 62Instructional Staff ...................................................................... 63Curriculum Domains and Competencies................................... 63Teacher Instructional Materials................................................. 63Evaluation Measures ................................................................ 65

Process…… .................................................................................. 71Curriculum ................................................................................ 71Staff Training and Curriculum Adaptation ................................. 75

Study Design and Procedures ................................................... 76

Data Analysis Outputs ................................................................. 80

Criterion 1 ................................................................................. 80Criterion 2 ................................................................................. 80Criterion 3 ................................................................................. 81

Data Analysis Outcomes ............................................................. 81Hypothesis 1 ............................................................................. 81Hypothesis 2 ............................................................................. 82Hypothesis 3 ............................................................................. 82

IV. RESULTS .................................................................................... 83

Results of Outputs ....................................................................... 83Criterion 1 ................................................................................. 83Criterion 2 ................................................................................. 87Criterion 3 ................................................................................. 88Summary of Outputs................................................................. 88

Results of Outcomes ................................................................... 90Hypothesis 1 ............................................................................. 90Hypothesis 2 ............................................................................. 92Hypothesis 3 ............................................................................. 96Summary of Outputs................................................................. 98

V. DISCUSSION.................................................................................... 100

Introduction .................................................................................. 100 Conclusions and Discussion ...................................................... 102

Standard 1 ................................................................................ 102Standard 2 ................................................................................ 104Standard 3 ................................................................................ 106Research Questions 1 and 2 .................................................... 107Research Question 3 ................................................................ 111

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Limitations of the Study .............................................................. 113Internal Validity ......................................................................... 113External Validity ........................................................................ 117

Directions for Future Research................................................... 119

Implications for the Improvement and Implementation of theCurr iculum .................................................................................... 121

Recommendations for the Improvement of the Curriculum....... 122Implications for Future Implementation ..................................... 125 Social Significance.................................................................... 127

Précis…….. ................................................................................... 128

APPENDICES

A. Human Subjects Approval Letter .......................................... 129

B. Consent and Assent Forms ................................................... 131

C. Measures ................................................................................. 135

D. Charter School’s Formula for Reported SES Levels ........... 143

E. Critical Incident Blank Sample Rater Training Materials..... 145

F. Curriculum Domains, Competencies, & Learning Objectives 152

G. Sample Lesson Plan, Overhead Transparencies, andStudent Handout ..................................................................... 157

H. Curriculum in Terms of Florida’s School Counseling andGuidance Framework (2001) Program Standards ................ 162

I. The relationship between the GPJ Work-RelatedInterpersonal Communication Skills Curriculum TargetCompetencies and the Florida’s School Counseling andGuidance Framework (2001) Competencies......................... 165

J. The relationship between the GPJ Work-RelatedInterpersonal Communication Skills Curriculum TargetCompetencies and the SCANS (1991) Competencies ......... 167

K. Measure Administration Scripts ............................................ 169

REFERENCES .................................................................................... 181

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH ................................................................... 193

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LIST OF TABLES

Table 3.1: Sample Demographics ......................................................... 64

Table 3.2. GPJ Curriculum Domains and Competencies ...................... 66

Table 3.3. Rating Criteria for Individual Responses on the CIB ............ 68

Table 4.1: Means, Standard Deviations, and Regression Analysis ofVariables Predicting Performance on the CIB Posttest......... 84

Table 4.2 : Means, Standard Deviations, and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Results for Performance in theCIB (Skill) as a Function of Curriculum Completion ............. 85

Table 4.3: Paired-Samples T-test for Differences in Means between theCIB Pretest and Posttest....................................................... 86

Table 4.4: Means, Standard Deviations, and Percentages for ParticipantRatings of Curriculum Objectives Ordered from Highest toLowest Percent of Agree or Strongly Agree Ratings............. 89

Table 4.5 : Means, Standard Deviations, and Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) Results for In-Class CollegialWorkgroup Peer Ratings....................................................... 91

Table 4.6 : Paired-Samples t-test Comparisons for In-Class CollegialWorkgroup Ratings ............................................................... 91

Table 4.7 : Means, Standard Deviations, and Repeated Measures Analysisof Variance (ANOVA) Results for Out-of-Class CollegialSocializing Peer Ratings ....................................................... 93

Table 4.8 : Paired-Samples t-test Comparisons for CollegialSocializing Ratings................................................................ 94

Table 4.9: Paired-Samples t-test Comparisons of the Estimated Means

of In-Class Collegial Workgroups and Out-of-Class CollegialSocializing Peer Ratings Across Time .................................. 95

Table 4.10 : Means, Standard Deviations, and Percentages for ParticipantRatings of Curriculum Transfer Outcomes........................... 97

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LIST OF FIGURES

Figure 1.1: Components of Comprehensive Counseling and Guidance 7

Figure 2.1: The Johari Window.............................................................. 19

Figure 2.2 : Assertiveness Continuum ................................................... 28

Figure 2.3: Conflict Management Stances ............................................ 32

Figure 2.4: Four Basic Steps in Inventing Options................................. 34

Figure 3.1: Cohen’s Kappa Formula...................................................... 69

Figure 3.2 : Time Line of Sessions across a Seven-Week Instruction.... 72

Figure 3.3: Interpersonal Communication Skills Instruction SessionsKeyed to Curriculum Learning (Process) Objectives........... 74

Figure 3.4: Quasi-experimental single-group design ............................. 77

Figure 4.1: Estimated Means of the Critical Incident Blank ................... 86

Figure 4.2: Means for in-class collegial workgroups and out-of-classcollegial socializing peer rating design………………………. 92

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In terms of transfer of learning into interpersonal relationships, 63% of the

participants reported that the curriculum helped them improve their relationships with

their friends; however, less than half reported that the curriculum helped them improve

other relationships. Fifty-nine percent (59%) of the participants endorsed the whole

intervention as having been worth their time. The implications of these findings are

discussed in terms of directions for future research and improving and implementing the

curriculum.

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CHAPTER IINTRODUCTION

For most of the twentieth century, there was a popular ethos that, contingent

upon a consistent work ethic, new employees of large corporations could expect

lifelong employment through retirement. For the first two-thirds of the century,

workers expected their employers to provide them with job training, internalpromotions, and rewards for loyalty (tenure). However, this ideal began to erode

due to both the “restructuring” that occurred in the recessions of the late 1970’s,

mid 1980’s, and early 1990’s, and the shift of the national economy from domestic

manufacturing and industry to an economy focused on the provision of services and

the management of information (Herr & Cramer, 1996). These changes in the

economy, fueled by corporate restructuring, resulted in: the closing of mills,

factories, and other domestic manufacturing plants; jobs being shipped abroad

(Resnick & Wirt, 1996); and job losses for many of the skilled workers and middle

managers who had previously counted on “job security” (Baker & Satcher, 2000).

Many individuals who had once counted on lifelong employment found themselves

permanently laid off, unable to find gainful employment in their fields, and ended up

working for lower wages (Bluestein, Juntenen, & Worthington, 2000).

Today, workforce-entrants face the reality of job insecurity with few

organizations that reward or even expect tenure. Most can expect to work in many

different organizations during their lifespan, with an increasing number working for

various organizations at the same time (Lee & Johnston, 2001). Along with the

devaluation of tenure comes the reality that fewer corporations are taking

responsibility for the training or career development of their employees. Many

sectors shift their human resource practices from traditional employment

arrangements (wages) to contingency employment contracts involving the

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outsourcing of work to individuals serving in the capacity of independent contractors

(Thottam, 2004).

Current employees and future entrants to the workforce can expect to be

held personally responsible for their acquisition of job skills with the burden for the

provision of training shifting from the shop floor to the K-12 classroom (Baker &

Satcher, 2000; Cassel, 1998; Cassel & Kolstad, 1998). However, such changes in

the workplace have occurred during a period of increasing concern that public

schools are not keeping up with international educational standards (see

Employability Skills and American Schooling section). The unfortunate

consequence has been a widening skill gap between the changing labor market

demands and the employability skills of American workers, resulting in the “import

of large amounts of highly educated foreign labor to offset domestic shortages,thereby helping to fuel strong economic growth” (Heet, 2003, p. 2).

Employability Skills and American Schooling

Beginning with the launch of Sputnik (1958) through today, there has been a

social concern that American high school graduates are less prepared for the

workplace and the sciences than foreign graduates from other industrialized

nations. These concerns have resulted in a number of significant legislation

initiatives and white paper reports from educational foundations. For instance,

immediately following Sputnik , the US congress passed the National Defense

Education Act (NDEA) which mandated the propagation of basic sciences in the

schools as a defense to foreign, economic, and military threats to the United States

(Myrick, 1997). However, by 1981, the US Department of Education determined

that the American educational system was not adequately preparing students for

the workplace and convened the “National Commission of Excellence in Education”to investigate the US educational system. Two years later, in April of 1983, the

Commission published an ominous report entitled “A Nation at Risk: The Imperative

for Educational Reform”, which emphasized the lack of preparation of students for

transitions into the workplace and/or further schooling. Particularly alarming was

that in spite of the passage of the NDEA, American students continued to fall

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behind other industrialized nations in the areas of the basic sciences (math, biology,

chemistry, and physics).

The “Nation at Risk” report was followed by numerous other reports both

analyzing various aspects of education and proposing solutions aimed at increasing

the competitiveness of American workers (Wraga, 1998). One such report was the

seminal report from the Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills

(SCANS), convened in February of 1990 to examine the characteristics of the labor

market demands of the workplace and the skills needed for success in the

workplace (Rusch & Chadsey, 1998). In 1991, the SCANS commission produced a

report entitled “What Work Requires of Schools”, defining five competencies

(resources, interpersonal communication skills, information, systems, and

technology) and three foundations (basic skills, thinking skills, and personalqualities) for success in the workplace. An important aspect of this report was the

recognition of interpersonal skills as paramount to the workplace (Rusch & Millar,

1998). More recently, in 1997, the Workforce 2020 (1997) report by the Hudson

Institute further emphasized the primacy of the SCANS report for employee

success in what it calls the present “Innovation Age.” However, many of the

employability skills highlighted in the SCANS report fail to be addressed in high

school curricula.

The Clinton Administration responded by supporting and signing the School-

to- Work Opportunities Act of 1994. This legislation addressed the issues

highlighted in the SCANS report and encouraged the creation of School-to-Work

Opportunities (SWO) Programs to prepare high school students for the evolving

needs of the workplace (Stodden, 1998). SWO programs were identified as those

providing school-based and work-based educational learning experiences and

connective activities designed to assist high school students with more successful

post-school outcomes.

Another seminal report following “A Nation at Risk” (1983) was the Hudson

Institute’s Workforce 2000 (1988) and the subsequent Workforce 2010 (1996) and

Workforce 2020 (1997). These reports have consistently predicted that the gaps in

skills among American workers were not being addressed at the speed in which the

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globalization of the “Innovation Age” was requiring skills in the SCANS

competencies (Lewis, Stone, Shipley, & Madzar, 1998).

The next white paper report by the Hudson Institute, Beyond Workforce

2020, is due this year (2004). Heet (2003), one of the report fellows, addressed

that the 2004 edition will emphasize that the long-term implications of the still-

growing skill gap were due to the structural unemployment at the domestic labor

market being satisfied by changing new sources into international labor supply.

This presents an ever-growing crisis of Americans being at a disadvantage for their

own best domestic jobs.

Statement of the Problem

High school students are not graduating ready for the workplace in terms of

interpersonal communication skills (Campell & Deyette, 1994). The new workplace

requires job entrants to possess abstract and verbal skills including interpersonal

and teamwork skills (Bloch, 1996; Lent & Worthington, 2000; Katz, 1974;

Secretary’s Commission on Achieving Necessary Skills [SCANS], 1991). However,

the emphasis in education reform continually emphasizes high-stakes testing of

basic skills such as reading, writing, and mathematical computations. Conversely,

the results of a recent survey of Fortune 500 companies by the Education

Consumers Clearing House indicate that the most coveted job skills “have to do

with ‘being able to work with people’ as opposed to reading, writing, and arithmetic”

(Cassel & Kolstad, 1998, par 2). The top five most coveted critical-job skills in the

Fortune 500 companies were reported as: (1) teamwork; (2) problem-solving; (3)

interpersonal communication skills; (4) oral communication; and (5) listening.

Traditional basic skills such as writing, computation, and reading were ranked 10 th,

12th

, and 13th

, respectively. A review of the same survey conducted 30 yearsearlier reveals that interpersonal communication skills have risen from the 13 th spot

to the current 3rd spot; this supports the notion that the changing workplace has

demanded more interpersonal communication skills from employees (Cassel,

1998).

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In another survey, interpersonal communication skills are presented as

essential for successful execution of job duties in the current market; in fact, it is

estimated that human relation skills have a stronger influence (up to 80%) on job

promotions than job proficiency (Cassel & Kolstad, 1998). However, many

graduating high school students are lacking in these essential employability

competencies (Lewis, et. al, 1998). Thus, in order to produce American school

graduates who are competitive within the workforce, schools need to increase their

emphasis on human and social development (Cassel & Kolstad, 1998).

As a response to the aforementioned labor gap and the passage of the

School-to-Work Opportunities Act (which requires school-based instruction in

employability skills), state legislatures and departments of education have recently

passed state laws and policies geared to address these human relation skill deficits.Various states have delegated the duties of preparing students to be workers in a

new century to school counseling programs that, in turn, have created

comprehensive career development programs (Lewis, Stone, Shipley, & Madzar,

1998; Myrick, 1997; Sink & MacDonald, 1998). These programs have integrated

social and personal development outcomes into the school curriculum. However,

beyond outcome expectations, there is a lack of published program evaluations

delineating the best practices of facilitating high school students’ acquisition of the

interpersonal communication skills necessary for success in the workplace (Foster,

Watson, Meeks, & Young, 2003).

Florida’s Comprehensive Student Development Program Model

The State of Florida’s response to the SCANS report was the development of

“Florida’s Student Development Program” in 1995 (by F. Donald Kelly, Gary W.

Peterson [Florida State University], and Robert Myrick [University of Florida]) as aninnovative alternative to traditional guidance. This program was developed as a

paradigm shift from college-prep and reactive “crisis” and “deficiency” oriented

guidance models developed in accordance with both the School-to-Work

Opportunity Act of 1994 and Goal 2 of Florida’s Accountability and Educational

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Reform plan—“Students graduate and are prepared to enter the workforce and

postsecondary education” (Kelly, Peterson, Myrick, 1995, p. vi).

The original Student Development Model became an excellent blueprint for a

comprehensive guidance program. The initial release was considered to be more

academic; therefore, the authors released a revised, more practitioner-oriented

Student Development Model in 2001 called the “Florida’s Counseling and Guidance

Framework: A Comprehensive Student Development Program Model” (2001). This

framework emphasized the development of academic, career, and social skills

associated with positive learning and life outcomes; the underlying assumption was

that classroom behavior has both a direct and indirect impact upon “subsequent

success in postsecondary education, successful employment and career

development, stable families and responsible parenting, and in communityinvolvement” (p. 6). One of the four components of “readiness to learn” is

classroom social skills; a successful school-to-work transition program requires that

“students learn and transfer classroom social skills to the modern workplace . . . the

acquiring of basic human relation [interpersonal] and communication skills thus

becomes an essential survival skill” (p. 6).

The classroom is then proposed as the context for the developing of

readiness to learn (and work) skills and the ground for developing the basic skills,

thinking skills, and personal qualities that encompass the SCANS foundations. The

Florida Comprehensive Guidance Model provides a blueprint to “reshape” the

educational curriculum from its emphasis on what SCANS (1991) identified as the

core subjects of “today’s schools” (history, geography, science, English, and

mathematics) into a curriculum that parallels the reshaping of the workplace and

emphasizes the learning of the five SCANS competencies: resource, interpersonal,

information, systems, and technology (1991).

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SelfEfficacy

as aLearner

Career andLife Goals

Classroom Social

Skills

ReadinessTo

Learn

StudentLearning in

theCurriculum

Outcomes ofEducationalPrograms

NormativeMeasures of

StudentAchievement

AcademicLearning

Skills

Figure 1.1. Components of comprehensive counseling and guidance model and itsimpact on student learning and achievement and educational outcomes.

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of the present study was to teach the Gomez-Peterson-Jones

Work-Related Interpersonal Communication Skill Curriculum (GPJ Curriculum;

Gomez-Estefan, Peterson, & Jones, 2004) and to evaluate the curriculum outputs

and the social- and work-related outcomes on the work- and social-relationships of

ninth-graders.

The GPJ Curriculum is a seven-week seven-session high school intervention

which integrates four skill domains of work-related interpersonal communication

skills into the core curriculum. The five skill domains include: (a) foundations of

work-related interpersonal skills; (b) self-awareness and corrective feedback; (c) the

provision of empathic support; (d) assertive responding; and (e) conflict

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management. These five skill domains are composed of fifteen curriculum

competencies that were developed using the Florida Comprehensive Guidance

Model as a template of work-relevant interpersonal communication skills. The

fifteen GPJ Curriculum competencies are as follows (for learning objectives please

see Appendix F):

1. Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the importance of

interpersonal communication skills;

2. Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of the communication model;

3. Develop respect for the diversity and rights of others;

4. Identify which interpersonal communication skills one needs to further

develop;

5. Acquire self-knowledge;6. Increase own self-awareness using the Johari Window as a model;

7. Discriminate between effective and destructive feedback;

8. Identify the risks and benefits of self-disclosure;

9. Demonstrate basic active listening skills;

10. Demonstrate an understanding of empathy;

11. Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of assertive responding;

12. Provide examples of “I”-based feedback and messages;

13. Identify common personal and interpersonal conflicts;

14. Demonstrate ability to develop a strategy for managing conflict; and

15. Evaluate one’s own conflict-management behavior.

The content of these five domains and fifteen curriculum competencies were

integrated into the language arts, social studies, and life management regular

curriculum of ninth-graders and taught in the form of the following seven weekly

instruction sessions:

1. Introduction to Interpersonal Communication Skills

2. Self-Awareness and Corrective Feedback Lecture

3. Provision of Empathic Support Lecture and Demonstration

4. Provision of Empathic Support Skills Lab

5. Assertive Responding Lecture and Demonstration

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6. Assertive Responding Skills Lab

7. Conflict Management and Capstone Lecture

The impact of this seven-week, seven-session curriculum unit was then

evaluated from the perspectives of: (a) skill acquisition; (b) impact upon the learning

environment; (c) transfer into in-class collegial workgroup relationships; (d) out-of-

class collegial socializing relationships; (e) achievement of workplace

competencies; and (f) learner satisfaction. The work-related content and impact of

these domains upon the workplace are described in greater detail in the Work-

related Interpersonal Communication Skills section of Chapter II.

Evaluation Standards and Research Questions

The curriculum was measured across three output standards related to skill,

knowledge, and attitudes (SKAs) and three research questions related to the impact

of the curriculum upon the learning environment and other significant relationships.

Output Standards

The curriculum output standards evaluate the learning of skills, the degree towhich participants report that they achieved the knowledge competencies, and the

participants’ overall attitude towards the curriculum.

Standard 1: Skill performance improvement on writ ten critical

incidents. Following the completion of curriculum instruction, there was an

improvement in the study participant’s performance in responding to written critical

incidents. This standard is based upon the Florida Comprehensive Guidance

Model’s assumption that classroom social skills transfer into workplace-relevant

interpersonal communication skills. This standard is via expert ratings of each

participant’s maximum performance in responding to critical incidents, requiring the

participant to emotionally understand, problem-solve, and respond to an

interpersonal situation.

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Standard 2: Partic ipant report of learning the target competencies of

the curriculum. Following the completion of curriculum instruction, most

participants report having learned target competencies of the curriculum. This

standard is used to evaluate the degree to which participants report having

developed sufficient knowledge to achieve the curriculum target competencies.

Standard 3: Partic ipant Satisfaction . Following the completion of

curriculum instruction, most participants report satisfaction with the curriculum. This

standard is used to evaluate the participant’s attitude after completing the

curriculum instruction.

Outcome Research Questions

The curriculum outcome standards evaluate whether the adoption of an

interpersonal communication skills curriculum in the ninth-grade classroom had an

impact upon the classroom social environment in terms of in-classroom,

schoolwork- related interpersonal relationships and out-of-school interpersonal

relationships among students. The standards also evaluate whether the adoption of

the curriculum resulted in the transfer of learning into specific significant

interpersonal relationships.

Research Question 1: In-class collegial workgroups. What is the impact

of a seven-week, seven-session, work-related interpersonal communication skills

curriculum delivered to ninth-graders upon the in-class collegial workgroups? This

research question is based upon the Florida Comprehensive Guidance Model’s

assumption that classroom social skills are directly related to a person’s teamwork

skills. The null is assumed as it is not known whether peers would become more

willing to work with others or more discriminating in whom they would like to work

with. This research question is measured by having the participant’s peers rate

their willingness to work with the participant on a quarter-long, graded group projectwhich was the developmental approximate to a long-term, high-stakes workgroup.

Research Question 2: Out-of-class col legial socializing. What is the

impact of a seven-week, seven-session, work-related interpersonal communication

skills curriculum delivered to ninth-graders upon the out-of-class collegial

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socializing? This research question is based upon the Florida Comprehensive

Guidance Model’s assumption that learning occurs from peers. The null is

assumed as it is not known whether peers would become more willing to socialize

with others or more discriminating in whom they would like to socialize with. This

research question is measured by having the participant’s peers rate their

willingness to spend time with the participant outside of the classroom which was

the developmental approximate for outside-the-office politicking and socializing.

Research Question 3: Transfer into a significant relationship . Did a

seven-week, seven-session, work-related interpersonal communication skills

curriculum delivered to ninth-graders have a positive impact upon the participant’s

significant interpersonal relationships? A directional hypothesis was adopted in this

case as it was an expected outcome that the learning of interpersonalcommunication skills will transfer into better interpersonal relationships.

Significance of the Study

Due to the aforementioned gap in the literature of high-school level,

workplace-related interpersonal communication skills curricula, there is a void of

information regarding the effectiveness of such school-to-work, or comprehensive,

guidance programs (Foster, Watson, Meeks, & Young, 2003). The present study

evaluates the workplace-relevant interpersonal communication skills curriculum

using the best-practice framework advanced by Gysbers, Hughey, Starr, and Lapan

(1992). According to these authors, the evaluation of a guidance program should

address: (a) the program’s content, structure, and resources; (b) the evaluation of

counselors (instruction, in this situation); (c) measurement of student mastery of

competencies; (d) assessment of the impact upon the learning environment; and (e)

satisfaction of those served by the program. The present study provides one of thefew in-depth evaluations of this type of curriculum.

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Construct ive Feedback: The type of feedback that provides individuals withnew perspectives regarding their adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal and workbehaviors and encourages specific positive behaviors and specific changes(Morran, Robison, & Stockton, 1985).

Ecological Validity: “A way to demonstrate the authenticity andtrustworthiness of field research study by showing that the researcher’s descriptionsof the field site match those of the members of the site and that the researcher wasnot a major disturbance” (Neuman, 2000, p. 509).

Empathic Understanding: Attention to the emotional cues another wascommunicating, accurately identifying thoughts and feelings, and responding in anemotionally-supportive manner (Ivey and Ivey, 1991; Raskin & Rogers, 1995).

Employability Skills: “ Employability skills usually refer to the emotional,affective, self-management, and decision-making or planning aspects of choosing,preparing for, and adjusting to the demands of the workplace. In a society in which

teamwork, occupational diversity, and adjusting to different management styles andorganizational entities become major issues in both choosing and adjusting to work,the quality and scope of an individual’s general employability skills becomeextremely important aspects of career development” (Herr & Cramer, 1996, p. 112).

Evaluation: The process by which a service or intervention is analyzed andimproved (Peterson & Burck, 1982).

Evaluation Research: “A type of applied research in which one tries todetermine how well a program or policy is working or reaching its goals andobjectives” (Neuman, 2000, p. 509).

Internal Validi ty: The degree to which the observed changes in the study

are associated with the independent variable (the curriculum intervention) and arenot the result of confounding variables (Neuman, 2000).

Outcomes: “The resultant or consequent effects of the acquisition of newcompetencies following treatment” (Peterson & Burck, 1982, p. 493) or intervention.

Outputs: “The new knowledge and skills (competencies) acquired by clientsduring educational or therapeutic treatment processes (Peterson & Burck, 1982, p.493).

Passive Response: A response to a conflict situation in which an individualwithholds the expression of opinions, feelings, and wants at the expense of the self

and his or her personal rights (Alberti & Emmons, 1975).

Perspective-Taking : An individual’s imaginative attitude that attempts toplace himself or herself in the situation of another person (Long & Andrews, 1990).

Self-Awareness: The congruence between an individual’s self-assessmenton a given personality trait, skill, or behavior and those provided by direct report ofothers (Sala, 2003; Church, 1997b).

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Self-Disclosur e: An interpersonal “process by which person A verballyand/or non-verbally communicates to person B some item of personal importancewhich was previously unknown to B” (Hargie, Saunders, & Dickson, 1994, p. 220).

Social Competence: “ Social competence is conceptualized as a multitudeof social [and interpersonal] skills that increase a person’s social effectiveness(Rutherford, Quin, & Maggee, 1998).

Work: “An activity that produces something of value for oneself or others”(Reardon, Lenz, Sampson, & Peterson, 2000, p. 7). There are five types of work:wage work, fee work, homework, gift work, and learning work (Handy 1989, cited byReardon and Associates, 2000).

Workplace: A setting where individuals engage in work and work-relatedactivities. There are five general types of workplaces: wage workplace, fee(contractor) workplace, home (homemaker) workplace, gift or volunteer workplace,and learning (or classroom) workplace.

Workplace-Related Interpersonal Communication Skills: Goal-oriented,learned behaviors that allow the individual worker to interact and function effectivelywith groups and other individuals within the social context of a given workplace.

Workplace Skill: Broad domains of human relation skills which include self-awareness and corrective feedback, the provision of emotional support, assertiveresponding, and conflict management.

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CHAPTER IIREVIEW OF THE LITERATURE

Introduction

This chapter is organized around three fundamental questions: (a) What

interpersonal communication skills should be included in a high school work-relatedskills curriculum?; (b) What are the learning theory assumptions and implications

that undergird the development of a work-related interpersonal communication skills

curriculum?; and (c) What are the likely challenges for a Counseling Psychologist

(or a Counseling Psychology graduate student) in introducing an interpersonal

communication skills curriculum into the schools? These three fundamental

questions are explored in three sections. The first section consists of a proposed

framework of work-related interpersonal communication skills which includes self-

awareness and corrective feedback, the provision of empathic support, assertive

responding, and conflict management as basic skills subject to curriculum

instruction. The second section is a succinct review of the assumptions and

implications of reinforcement learning theory, information processing learning

theory, and social-cognitive learning theory upon the development of training in

interpersonal communication skills. The third section is a review of the challenges

for a counseling psychologist to implement an intervention in the schools and a

proposal of a collaborative model for the development of effective workingrelationships with the schools for the purpose of research and curriculum

development.

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Work-Related Interpersonal Communication Skills

Work-related interpersonal communication skills are defined in the presentstudy as goal-oriented, learned behaviors that allow the individual worker to interact

and function effectively with groups and other individuals within the social context of

a given workplace. A person’s degree of interpersonal communication skill

competence is directly related to positive work outcomes such as job performance

ratings, job satisfaction, and organizational commitment (Ashford & Black, 1996;

Fisher, 1985, Gist, Stevens, & Bavetta, 1991; Riggio, Riggio, Salinas, & Cole, 2003;

Segrin & Flora, 2000). A lack of competence is associated with such negative work

outcomes as loneliness and social isolation (Jones, Hobbs, & Hockenbury, 1982;

Nelson & Quick, 1991). The impact of interpersonal skill competence is theorized to

be particularly salient during work transitions where interpersonal communication

skills facilitate “getting the inside scoop” to the established organizational formal

and informal behavioral norms, power structures, sets of expectations, and other

contingencies (Hesketh, 2000; Wanberg & Kammeyer-Mueller, 2000). Once at the

workplace, interpersonal communication skills assist in creating both empathic

support networks and high-functioning organizational teams.

It is proposed that work-related interpersonal communication skills, while

complex and often context-specific, can be organized into five domains of generic

work-related transferable skills adapted from Buhrmester, Furman, Wittenberg, and

Reis’s (1988) model of interpersonal competence. The five proposed domains for

the present study are: foundations of work-related interpersonal communication

skills, self-awareness and corrective feedback, provision of empathic support,

assertive responding, and conflict management. The first domain, foundations of

work-related interpersonal communication skills, deals with the introductory andsummative didactic activities of the Gomez-Peterson-Jones Work-Related

Interpersonal Communication Skills Curriculum (GPJ Curriculum; Gomez-Estefan,

Peterson, & Jones, 2004). The content of the four other domains is explored in the

next four sections: Self-Awareness and Corrective Feedback, Provision of Empathic

Support, Assertive Responding, and Conflict Management. The connections

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between these five domains and the Florida Comprehensive Guidance Model is

graphically depicted in Appendix I and the connection between the five domains

and the SCANS is graphically depicted in Appendix J.

Self-Awareness and Corrective Feedback

Self-awareness refers to the degree of congruence between an individual’s

self-assessment (self-disclosure) on a given personality trait, skill, or behavior and

the direct feedback from others (Church, 1997a; Sala, 2003). In terms of the

workplace, self-awareness is measured in the organizational psychology and

human resource management literature in terms of self-perception accuracy

defined as the “degree of agreement between self- and other-ratings” (Yammarino

and Atwater, 1993, p. 232). The self-rating refers to the individual’s self-disclosurein terms of a given personality characteristic, skill, behavior, performance, or area

for self-improvement. The other-ratings refers to the feedback received from others

on the same attribute by the person(s) of interest which may be a superior,

subordinate, colleague, client/customer, etc. (Yammarino and Atwater, 1993). The

self-other congruence index appears to be a stable construct with a considerable

range of variability (Atwater, L. & Yammarino, 1997; Atkins & Wood, 2002; Harris &

Schaubroeck, 1988) with good higher convergent reliability among other-ratings

than among self- and other-ratings (Atwater & Yammarino, 1992).

A number of studies in the workplace literature suggest that higher levels of

self-awareness (self-perception accuracy) are associated with positive work and

interpersonal outcomes (Sala, 2003). One of the seminal articles in this area of

research is Atwater and Yammarino’s (1992) study which provides evidence that

self-awareness (accurate self-perception) is positively related to leadership

performance; in addition, inaccurate self-ratings – both inflated and deflated –

tended to be associated with poor performance. The same results were observedby Church who coined the construct as managerial self-awareness (MSA) -- defined

as “the ability to reflect on and accurately assess one’s own behaviors and skills as

they are manifested in workplace interactions” (1997b, p. 281). Church applied this

construct to evaluate the performance of managers across four industries. In that

study (1997b), he identified high-performing managers as those who were selected

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by their respective industries to receive meritorious or prestigious awards and those

selected for senior- and middle- management development programs. Church

found that high-performing managers had higher levels of managerial self-

awareness than other managers across the four industries. These findings were

again supported in a subsequent study by Church (2000), who found further

evidence to support the assumption that higher-functioning managers have higher

levels of self-awareness.

Those who have low self-awareness fall into one of two categories: (a) those

who overrate and (b) those who underrate themselves in relation to the ratings of

others. Van Velsor, Taylor, and Leslie (1993) found that self-overraters had the

lowest other-ratings and that self-underraters had the highest other-ratings. One

explanation of these results is that those who overrate themselves not only havelower leadership performance (than those with high self-awareness), but also

receive lower ratings from their subordinates. These findings and conclusions were

later supported and expanded by Atwater and Yammarino (1997), who found that

the direction of the difference between self-other ratings, as well as the magnitude,

was relevant in predicting worker effectiveness; overestimators had the lowest

effectiveness and job performance and good estimators had the highest.

Underestimators were observed to have mixed results since they often have

problems with low self-confidence in relation to their actual abilities (Atwater,

Ostroff, Yammarino, & Fleenor, 1998).

A fundamental assumption of self-awareness is that a person’s self-

awareness can be increased via the provision of constructive feedback from others

and that the receipt of constructive feedback (whether positive or negative) has

positive effects on helping individuals improve their behavior. This assumption was

supported by Atwater, Rousch, & Fischthal (1995), who found evidence that

constructive feedback has positive effects on self-awareness. In their 1995 study of

almost one-thousand student leaders, they found that underestimators responded

to constructive feedback by increasing their subsequent self-ratings while over-

estimators reduced their subsequent self-ratings to improve their accuracy. This

assumption is also the basis for the increasing popularity of 360-degree feedback

programs across all sectors of private and public organizations (Atkins & Wood,

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2002) and the generally-held notion that multi-source feedback (i.e. supervisor-to-

supervisee, teacher-to-student, master-to-apprentice) is an essential component of

employee development (London & Smitther, 1991).

Self-awareness. The concept of self-awareness is rather abstract and often

difficult to teach. The Johari Window (Luft, 1969, 1970) is perhaps the best-known

model for teaching self-awareness as the interaction of self-disclosure and other-

feedback upon interpersonal relationships. This model (whose name is derived

from the names of its two authors – Joe Luft and Harry Ingham, 1955) was

developed as an integrated graphic model of interpersonal interactions. It consists

of a 2x2 grid (see Figure 2.1). The horizontal axis represents a dichotomous

decision of whether the given attribute (i.e. personality characteristic, skill, behavior,

etc.) is known to the self. The vertical axis is comprised of the dichotomous decisionof whether the given attribute is known to others. The two axes of the Johari

Window are comprised of four quadrants or areas: the open area, the hidden area,

the blind area, and the unknown area.

Knownto Others

Unknown to Others

K n o w n

t o S e l f

Open1

Hidden2

U n k n o w n

t o S e l f

Blind3

Unknown4

Figure 2.1. The Johari Window.

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The open area represents an attribute (characteristic, skill, behavior,

performance, motivation, etc.) that is accurately known by the self and others. This

area corresponds to the construct of managerial self-awareness where the person’s

self-knowledge or self-disclosure corresponds to the observations of others.

Conversely, the blind area represents the equivalent of low managerial self-

awareness where the ratings of others did not correspond with the person’s self-

knowledge or self-disclosure about the same attribute. The assumption given to

this quadrant is that the person is lacking interpersonal self-awareness in this

region, partially due to either a lack of constructive feedback from others or a lack of

willingness to accept such feedback (Johnson, 2000). A third area of interest, not

measured in the above referenced literature, is the hidden (or secret) area which

refers to given attributes that are known to the self, but not to others. The self-awareness of attributes in this area is inconclusive as it may represent accurate

self-assessment that is kept hidden for constructive reasons (i.e., confidentiality,

privacy, modesty, etc.) or a maladaptive/inaccurate self-assessment kept secret, to

the person’s detriment. Finally, the unknown area represents attributes that, while

not known, have a continual impact upon a person’s interpersonal and work

relationships (Luft, 1970).

The importance of developing self-awareness and self-knowledge is targeted

in the GPC Curriculum with Competency 5: Acquire self-knowledge and

Competency 6: Increase own self-awareness using the Johari Window as a model.

This competency is instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 5.1 – Upon completion of the instruction, student will report having

increased self-knowledge;

- Objective 6.1 – Student will describe the hidden window and provide a low-

valence personal example;

- Objective 6.2 – Student will describe the blind window and provide an

example of a personal attribute that was previously in this window; and

- Objective 6.3 – Student will describe the unknown window and provide an

example of something previously in this window.

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Construct ive feedback. The term feedback refers to the interpersonal

transaction(s) in which others share observations of a person’s personality

(characteristics, skills, behavior, performance, or areas for self-improvement) with

the observed, aiming to help that individual gain insight concerning how they are

perceived by others (Toth & Erwin, 1998). For the sake of simplicity, feedback can

be divided into two broad categories: constructive feedback and destructive

feedback. Constructive feedback is defined as feedback that provides individuals

with new perspectives regarding their adaptive and maladaptive interpersonal and

work behaviors and feedback that encourages specific positive behaviors and

specific changes (Morran, Stockton, & Bond, 1991). Alternatively, destructive

feedback does not have the potential to provide the individual with increased self-

awareness; this feedback subsequently does not encourage positive behaviorchanges. Johnson (2000) also describes feedback as destructive if it includes

abusive language or if the level of feedback is not commensurate with the trust level

of the relationship.

The importance of learning to discriminate between constructive and

destructive feedback is targeted in the GPC Curriculum with Competency 7:

Discriminate between effective and destructive feedback. This competency is

instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 7.1 – Student will define constructive feedback; and

- Objective 7.2 – Student will describe the difference between constructive and

destructive feedback.

Self-disclosure. Self-disclosure refers to an interpersonal “process by

which person A verbally and/or non-verbally communicates to person B some item

of personal information which was previously unknown to B” (Hargie, Saunders, &

Dickson, 1994, p. 220). Self-disclosure represents a basic component of

interpersonal relations, as it is essential to initiation, intimacy, and relationship

sustenance. Likewise, self-disclosure, when inappropriately used, can also be a

source of isolation and rejection, thus having a push-pull feature in interpersonal

relationships (Johnson, 2000).

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Derlega and Grzelak (1979) highlight the elements of self-disclosure as:

valence, honesty, depth, appropriateness, accessibility, and flexibility. These can

be clustered into three dimensions: (1) valence & honesty; (2) depth &

appropriateness; and (3) accessibility & flexibility. Valence and honesty represent

the emotional value or strength of the disclosure (as perceived by the listener),

balanced by the perceived genuineness and credibility of the speaker. This

dimension is critical during relationship building as it imprints an initial impression

regarding the message sender.

Depth and appropriateness are closely related to valence (Derlega &

Grzelak, 1979). Depth is the degree of affect involved in a specific subject;

appropriateness deals with the suitability of the comment to the given situation and

established intimacy in the relationship. A socially-competent individual will initiallyself-disclose at breadth (many subject areas) but not at depth; they will

progressively decrease breadth and increase depth as intimacy is developed. This

requires the use of continual metacognitive analysis of the verbal and non-verbal

feedback in the relationship. Finally, the accessibility and flexibility dimension deals

with the ability to regulate self-disclosure to meet the demands of a given situation.

Flexibility refers to the ability of an individual to modify the valence and depth of

their self-disclosures to meet contextual appropriateness and present relationship

needs. Accessibility refers to the individual’s willingness and ability to self-disclose

when another, or the relationship, elicits such a response.

Delegate and Great (1979) also present a thorough qualitative exploration of

the benefits and risks of self-disclosure. Among the relational benefits, they cite the

deepening of relationships, development of intimacy, and overall quality of life

improvements. In relation to self-awareness, self-disclosures can also help

individuals validate (or modify) their perceptions of others, increase emotional

awareness, and elicit analgesic responses associated with catharsis. Self-

disclosure can be used as a means of empathic support or for social control.

Likewise, self-disclosure requires risk-taking, as one can never take back

something that has already been disclosed. Perhaps the most valid risk of self-

disclosure is the fear of rejection (Johnson, 2000).

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The importance of learning the risks and benefits of self-disclosure is

targeted in the GPC Curriculum with Competency 8: Identify the risks and benefits

of self-disclosure. This competency is instructed with the following learning

objectives:

- Objective 8.1 – Student will develop own definition of self-disclosure;

- Objective 8.2 – Student will list the elements of self-disclosure;

- Objective 8.3 – Student will list which fears associated with self-

disclosure;

- Objective 8.4 – Student will list some of the benefits of self-disclosure;

and

- Objective 8.5 – Student will practice self-disclosure in a role-play.

Provision of Empathic Support

Empathic support is shown when one attends to the verbal and non-verbal

emotional cues another is communicating, in accurately identifying their thoughts

and feelings, and in responding in an emotionally-supportive manner. Recently, the

provision of empathic support has received considerable attention as it also

presents the core of what is now colloquially referred to as “emotional intelligence” -

- broadly defined as the general ability to identify and regulate emotions (for a

thorough review of emotional intelligence please refer to Elfenbein & Ambady,

2003; Mayer & Salovey, 1993). This ability to listen and recognize emotions in

others and to provide empathically-accurate feedback has been associated with an

individual’s ability to develop relationships and engage in pro-social behavior

(Eisenberg & Miller, 1987). Competency in the provision of empathic support

requires competency in active listening (Ivey & Ivey, 1999; Rogers 1961; Raskin &

Rogers, 1995; Johnson, 2000) and empathically-accurate responding (Cutrona,

Cohen, & Ingram, 1990; Eisenberg, Fabes, Schaller, Miller, Carlo, Poulin, Shea, &Sheir, 1991; Hill 1991; Michener & DeLamater, 1999; Shaffer; 1988).

Active l is tening. Active listening is a verbal and non-verbal listening stance

that encourages others to talk about their current situation. Active listening became

a well-known construct following Carl Rogers’ dissemination (in the 1960’s) of the

person-centered approach to human behavior. Rogers describes active attending

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as paramount to providing unconditional support to others, as understanding can

only be acquired “through intense, continuous and active attention to the feelings of

others, to the exclusion of any other type of attention” (Raskin & Rogers, 1995, p.

142). The foundational verbal components of active listening are proposed to be:

paraphrasing of content, reflecting of feelings, questioning, and confronting. The

foundational non-verbal components are then proposed to include eye contact,

congruent body language, and attending posture.

At the core of the verbal components of active listening is the skill of

paraphrasing content in which the listener repeats to the sender the content of what

she or he had self-disclosed using the sender’s own words. The reflection of

feelings and meaning adds an interpretation to the paraphrase. In reflecting one’s

feelings, the listener adds the use of affective words to a paraphrase to conveyemotional meaning and facilitate the person’s identification of their own emotions.

By reflecting meaning, the listener adds conceptual interpretations to the

paraphrase. A prerequisite of this skill is basic emotional literacy in feeling words.

During active listening, one may use questioning as a means of helping the person

further explore their current situation and discovering perspectives previously

unknown, thus increasing the sender’s self-awareness. There are two types of

questioning: open questioning and closed questioning. Closed questions are those

that can easily be answered with simple responses such as yes, no, or maybe.

Open questions, therefore, are those questions that request a thoughtful response

from the other person. Finally, confronting involves the active attempt to follow the

person’s verbal disclosures, even when they are confusing. In such situations

where the listener gets lost, they can always use paraphrasing or reflecting as a

confronting tool to capture the other’s perspective.

The non-verbal component of active listening includes eye contact, attending

posture, and congruent body language. These behaviors are often culture-specific

and what may be construed in one culture as attending may carry a different

meaning in another culture. For instance, in Western culture, direct eye contact

gives the sender the covert message that they are being listened to; however, in

some Native American cultures, looking away carriers the covert meaning that that

the topic is important enough for the person to look away and focus on the verbal

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content (Ivey & Ivey, 1999). Likewise, attending posture is likely to vary according

to the situation and culture since what may be an attending posture in one situation

may be construed as rigidity and discomfort in another. Perhaps the best indication

of attending behavior is a congruent body language to indicate concordance with

the verbal message of listening. However, competence in non-verbal attending

behavior requires the cultural sensitivity and self-awareness that is developed over

time and is only effective when it is a genuine attitude; thus, the adage that “body

language does not lie”, is relevant here.

The importance of learning basic active listening skills is targeted in the GPC

Curriculum with Competency 9: Demonstrate basic active listening skills. This

competency is instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 9.1 – Student will define paraphrasing; - Objective 9.2 – Student will define reflecting;

- Objective 9.3 – Student will describe the difference between verbal and

non-verbal messages; and

- Objective 9.4 – Student will accurately demonstrate the skills of

paraphrasing and reflecting in a role-play.

Empathically-accurate responding. Empathically-accurate responding

refers to a deliberate and congruent cognitive and affective verbal and non-verbalexpression of concern, empathy, and esteem for an individual (Duan & Hill, 1996;

Hill, 1997; Ickes, 2000). Empathic responding requires both a caring attitude and a

cognitive and affective ability to gather, process, and communicate the empathic

attitude to the person needing empathic support. Also necessary is “an intentional

response by a helper to the distress experienced by a target” (Burleson, 2003, p.

552). The cognitive component is called perspective-taking and the affective

component is called empathic accuracy .

Perspective-taking is defined as the ability to cognitively place oneself in the

role of another (Eisenberg, et. al., 1991; Long & Andrews, 1990). It involves the

attitudinal disposition of attempting to understand another’s situation and position as

important and valid. Coutu (1951) explains this vicarious ability in terms of the

individual projecting “into the perceptual field of the other person, imaginatively puts

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himself in the other’s place, in order that he may get an insight in the other person’s

probable behavior in a given situation” (cited by Goldstein, 1999, p. 18).

Perspective-taking abilities have been associated with positive relationship

outcomes; for instance, Davis and Oathout (1987) found that degree of perspective-

taking competence was a predictor of not only marital satisfaction, but also a

predictor of long-term relationships as compared to short-term relationships. This

skill and attitude is best explained with the Native American proverb that one cannot

understand another person until one has walked for two moons in their moccasins.

Empathic accuracy is defined as “a vicarious emotional response that is

identical or very similar to that of the other person (Eisenberg, et. al., 1991, p. 459).

Empathy is the core of this skill and has been defined in various manners,

particularly depending on theoretical orientation (psychodynamic versushumanistic). However, in terms of interpersonal skill training, empathic

understanding typically follows the Rogerian definition of empathy as “a sensitive

empathy with each of the client’s feelings and communications as they seem to him

at that moment” (Rogers, 1961, p. 34). Following this theoretical orientation,

empathic accuracy is among the three Rogerian essential ingredients for a

successful therapeutic experience -- the other two being congruence and

unconditional positive regard (Goldstein, 1999; Rogers, 1957). Empathic accuracy

requires the listener to possess the skill of accurately identifying the feelings of

another (Simpson, Ickes, & Blackstone, 1995). The degree of empathic accuracy

has been associated with relationship stability and longer-term relationships. The

importance of learning to provide empathically-accurate support is targeted in the

GPC Curriculum with Competency 10: Demonstrate an understanding of empathy.

This competency is instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 10.1 – Student will list the components of empathic

understanding;

- Objective 10.2 – Student will define empathic accuracy; and

- Objective 10.3 – Student will identify the attitudes and behaviors for

establishing empathic support.

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Assertive Responding

Assertiveness refers to an individual’s ability to stand up for their personal

rights and express their “thoughts, feelings, and beliefs in direct, honest, and

appropriate ways with respect to the rights of others” (Alberti & Emmons, 1982, p.

38). Assertive responding is increasingly becoming an essential interpersonal skill

for the workplace, particularly with the trend towards participative-decision making

teams, such as quality circles, which require the input of employees from all levels

of the organization (Bruning & Liverpool, 1993; Smith-Jentsch, Salas, & Baker,

1996). Smith-Jentsch and associates (1996) point out that the success of quality

circles and other participative information-gathering and decision-making

arrangements require employees from all levels to be both willing and able to be

assertive and persuasive in expressing their thoughts and beliefs. Theconsequences of lack of assertiveness range from inefficiency to catastrophic

events in such settings as nuclear power plants, emergency medical teams, and the

space program. Assertiveness is also related to personal success. Nota and

Soresi (2003) found considerable evidence in the literature that individuals who are

lacking interpersonal competence are also often indecisive about their careers and

that that assertiveness training not only decreases social discomfort but also helps

individuals become better problem-solvers and decision-makers.

Assertiveness cont inuum. The concept of assertiveness has its roots in

Satler and Wolpe (1949); however, it was Lange & Jakubowski (1976) who

conceptualized, in terms of a continuum, assertiveness as falling between

aggressive responding on one end and passive responding/withdrawal on the other

end. The aggressive end of the continuum represents the blunt non-empathic

expression of opinions, feelings, and wants without regard for the needs or rights of

others (including abuse). This is contrasted by the other end, passive/withdrawal,

which describes a withholding in the expression of opinions, feelings, and wants at

the expense of the self and personal rights (Alberti & Emmons, 1982). The middle

of the continuum, assertiveness, refers to the ability to respond to interpersonal

situations and social cues in a manner that asserts the rights of self and others,

which is the target behavior of assertiveness training.

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Assertive __ ___ I _______I I

Passive Aggressive

Figure 2.2 . Assertiveness continuum.

Christoff and Kelly (1985) present that there are at least three types of

assertive behaviors: (a) socially-appropriate refusals; (b) appropriate expression of

self; and (c) appropriate expression of one’s requests (cited by Wood &

Mallinckrodt, 1990). These three components can be converted into three levels ofassertive responding. Rose and Tyron (1979) provide a taxonomy of three different

levels labeled basic competency , intermediate competency , and mastery . Basic

competency refers to an individual’s ability and willingness to provide a mere

statement that the presenting behavior, thought, or idea is undesirable.

Intermediate competency refers to the person also providing an indication of

dissatisfaction or non-compliance. It is proposed that mastery, then, refers to an

individual’s ability and willingness to provide a statement that the presenting

behavior, thought, or idea is undesirable, that they are dissatisfied with the request

(or that they will not comply), and then present a suggestion, request, or demand

for a behavioral change.

The importance of developing a conceptual understanding of the

assertiveness continuum is targeted in the GPC Curriculum with Competency 11:

Demonstrate a conceptual understanding of assertive responding. This

competency is instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 11.1 – Student will describe the components, benefits, and

likely consequences of an assertive response;

- Objective 11.2 – Student will describe the components, possible benefits,

and likely consequences of a passive response;

- Objective 11.3 – Student will describe the components and likely

consequences of an aggressive response; and

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- Objective 11.4 – For given critical incident simulations, student will

generate passive, aggressive, and assertive responses.

The provis ion of I-based messages and feedback. The masterful

execution of assertion often also requires the use of I-messages. I-messagescommunicate to the listener the nature of the offense (content) as well as the

resultant emotion. When a grieved individual communicates in terms of I-

messages, they take responsibility for their emotions and attempt to present them

to the other person in a non-threatening and non-aggressive format. The goal is not

to blame, but rather to clearly communicate with the aim of increasing the other

person’s perspective-taking and awareness of the impact of their behavior. The

opposite of I-messages are You-messages, which have an accusatory tone and

place the other individual in a defensive/protective stance, versus one that

encourages empathetic understanding, as seen or heard in the I-messages.

In terms of workplace-related training, programs often involve either

attitudinal-focused or performance-focused training strategies (Smith-Jentsch,

Salas, & Baker, 1996). The attitudinal-focused strategy often involves lectures or

inspirational “empowerment” seminars with demonstrations or cognitively-based

instruction. The performance-focused training strategy often has a specific

behavioral skill focus and involves skill-drills and role-plays. In their literaturereview, Smith-Jentsch and associates further suggest that the effectiveness of each

strategy depends on the underlying cause for lack of assertiveness. Among these,

the skill/performance-based approach is most effective for those with

underdeveloped interpersonal competency, while the attitude/cognitive-based

approaches are more effective for those whose lack of competency is due to

negative thoughts and/or an external locus of control.

The importance of learning to provide I-based feedback is targeted in the

GPC Curriculum with Competency 12: Provide examples of “I”-based feedback and

messages. This competency is instructed with the following learning objectives:

- Objective 12.1 – Student will speculate the likely response to “You”

messages (defensive); and

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- Objective 12.2 – Student will reframe a series of “You”-messages into “I”-

statements.

Conflict Management

Conflict Management concerns an individual’s ability to problem-solve and

the impact of a work-related interpersonal communication skills c

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