Identifier

etd-0417102-143155

Degree

Master of Arts (MA)

Department

Speech Communication

Document Type

Thesis

Abstract

Imagined interactions (IIs) are a type of social cognition and mental imagery whereby actors imagine an interaction with others for the purposes of planning. Within actual encounters, verbal fluency is a characteristic that contributes to the speaker's credibility. The planning that takes place through imagined dialogues can help a speaker overcome disfluency found in speech. This study shows that improvements in speaking style are also dependent upon the trait of communication apprehension that an individual experiences. Visualization can decrease apprehension levels, thus producing higher verbal fluency. Results from this study indicate planning's influence in the reduction of silent pauses but not vocalized pauses. Finally, the complexity of one's imagined dialogue has been found to play a role in an increase of verbal fluency.

Date

2002

Document Availability at the Time of Submission

Release the entire work immediately for access worldwide.

Committee Chair

Loretta Pecchioni

DOI

10.31390/gradschool_theses.2280

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