An analysis of court cases suggests that mediation might not have resolved conflicts about children's medical treatment, with only around half of cases potentially avoidable. The study highlights the limitations of mediation in resolving complex disputes, particularly when personal values are deeply involved.
Researchers at the University of Gothenburg found that advanced AI systems can lead to excessive suspicion and damage relationships due to uncertainty about conversational partner's intentions. The study highlights the need for transparent AI design, with well-functioning voices that clearly indicate they are synthetic.
A new study published in JNCCN identifies a targeted approach to improve end-of-life conversations for people with cancer. Researchers found that specially trained oncology infusion room nurses can increase the rate of advance care planning, leading to more supported decision-making.
A Dartmouth study found that COVID-19 can cause 'prosopagnosia,' or face blindness, and impairments in navigational abilities. Researchers worked with a patient who experienced difficulty recognizing faces and navigating, leading to dissociation between face recognition and cognitive map representation.
A recent study by Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University found that ethnic minority parents in Inner Mongolia prefer evidence-based knowledge on family education tailored to their local environment and culture. They sought information on how geographical features like the geomagnetic field influence children's growth and well-being.
A study by Princeton University researchers found that children are more likely to know an emotion label when they also know many related valenced words. Parents can support young children's learning of emotion labels by surrounding them with related words, such as
Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology found that pairing students reduces academic and social gaps, increasing well-being. The study, conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, showed positive effects on communication, stress, and personal contacts.
Researchers at Ohio State University discovered that exposure to a pro-sustainability opinion in conversation can persuade people with anti-sustainability views to support environmentally friendly initiatives. In contrast, individuals with a pro-sustainability viewpoint remain unpersuaded by opposing viewpoints.
Research finds speaking up to competent managers leads to a 12%-15% increase in sales performance, while speaking sideways to peers decreases performance by 10%. Employees should critically assess who they direct their voice to when proposing changes.
A new study found that engaging in one quality conversation with a friend can significantly increase happiness and reduce stress levels. The study, led by University of Kansas professor Jeffrey Hall, explores the impact of daily communication on well-being and finds that even brief interactions can have a positive effect.
Researchers at Duke University found that caregivers talk more to young children who start talking, regardless of gender, rather than solely due to girls having bigger vocabularies. Girls' vocabulary advantage may be attributed to factors other than parental language input, offering insights into language development.
Researchers investigate how voice technology affects consumers' willingness to disclose personal info, with potential benefits for marketers and policymakers. The study reveals that voice technology can both increase and decrease disclosure, depending on the context.
A new study by Anglia Ruskin University found that hostile behavior from leaders can lead to co-workers adopting similar behavior, creating a toxic workplace environment. The research also discovered an association between experiencing hostile behavior and emotional exhaustion, job insecurity, and abusive peer behavior.
A $1 million NIH grant will help MU researchers analyze the effectiveness of a HIPAA-secure text messaging platform in nursing homes. The study aims to improve quality of care and prevent costly hospital transfers by speeding up decision-making.
A new music intervention called Musical Bridges to Memory sparks an emotional connection between patients with dementia and their caregivers. The program enhances social engagement and reduces neuropsychiatric symptoms in both patients and caregivers.
A study published in Early Education and Development journal found that preschoolers with stronger vocabulary skills at the start of the year display more positive engagement with teachers and peers. The researchers also discovered that inhibitory control is crucial for classroom engagement and learning.
A study led by McGill University and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found that Ukrainians who engage in more analytic thinking are less likely to believe pro-Kremlin disinformation. Analytical thinking helps curtail belief in disinformation, according to the researchers.
A new technique, Video Meeting Signals (VMS), uses simple physical gestures to enhance online group video meetings. Studies have shown that VMS improves personal experiences, learning outcomes, and team performance by serving a similar function as subtle face-to-face signals.
A study published in PLOS One found that using hand signals, such as waving or raising a hand to show empathy, can improve communication and social connection in online meetings. The research team trained participants to use these gestures, which led to better interaction, increased feelings of closeness, and improved learning outcomes.
Researchers found that Zoom calls with individuals from opposing ideological backgrounds can lead to improved communication and softened attitudes. The study suggests that such interactions may inform and foster greater understanding.
A quality improvement project at Dartmouth Cancer Center increased serious illness conversations between patients and providers from 0% to 70%, reflecting the importance of early discussions on prognosis and treatment options. The project's success was attributed to standardized work, an engaged interdisciplinary team, and system-level...
A study published in CMAJ found that patients who received care from physicians speaking their primary language had shorter hospital stays and fewer falls and infections. Francophones had a 24% lower risk of death, while allophones had a 54% lower risk.
A new study by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication found that romantic partners can significantly influence each other's views on climate change, with only 38% alignment in climate beliefs and 31% alignment in behaviors. The study suggests that conversations about climate change can help shift public support and increase e...
Research by University of Cambridge academics found that children as old as five or six struggle to reconcile inference and perspective, leading to difficulties in conversations. Combining these skills is crucial for understanding 'implicatures' - inferences made in conversation when people mean more than they say.
A study by Stephen T. Casper examines how sports slang, such as 'punch-drunk,' influenced the conceptualization and treatment of brain injuries. The research reveals a culture that stigmatized sufferers and normalized male violence, making it difficult for medical professionals to diagnose and treat neurodegenerative disease.
A new study found that teams with stable hierarchies exhibit cooperative speaking patterns, while unstable or unspecified hierarchies lead to competitive interruptive patterns. Team gender composition also plays a role, with majority-female teams benefiting from cooperative patterns and all-male teams from competitive patterns.
A new study at Tel Aviv University's Coller School of Management found that employees who use pictures and emojis are perceived as less powerful than those who use words. In various experiments, respondents attributed more power to verbal messages and rated those with visual profiles as less capable.
New research at MU shows that women's use of humor is perceived differently than men's, with factors like status and target influencing judgments. Women who use humor directed towards a man are seen as positive, but those targeting a lower-status woman are viewed negatively.
A study published in Frontiers in Psychology found that as children grow older, they use more non-referential gestures in their narratives, which do not visually represent the content of what they are saying. This indicates a greater ability to structure discourse and suggests progress in cognitive development.
A study published in Risk Analysis found that individuals who endorse libertarianism and anti-egalitarianism attitudes are more likely to disregard COVID-19 risks. This suggests that simply identifying as liberal or conservative may not capture the full scope of political ideology's impact on attitudes toward science issues.
A new study found that nearly four times as many words describing rough surfaces contain the trilled /r/ sound compared to smooth ones. This pattern is prevalent across sensory words in 38 Indo-European languages and has likely existed for over six millennia.
Kids consider track record of accuracy and degree of access to knowledge when judging a communicator's trustworthiness. Children who received accurate non-verbal cues in the familiarization phase followed them in the test phase 83% of the time.
People with mild dementia struggle to understand speech in both quiet and acoustically challenging situations. Effective communication strategies include speaking clearly and slowly, reducing background noise, and providing contextual information.
A Baylor University-led study found significant deficiencies in organizational listening, particularly among women and non-managers. The survey revealed that employees are reluctant to share concerns due to a lack of responsive management and inauthentic approaches to feedback.
Researchers discovered that the majority of people worldwide exhibit the 'bouba/kiki effect', matching sounds with shapes, regardless of language or writing system. This finding suggests that iconic vocalisations may form a global basis for creating new words.
The Department of Modern and Classical Languages at George Mason University has received a grant of $398,227 to support the Global Exchange Office's Project GO. The program aims to help future global officers gain fluency in critical languages while learning intercultural communication tools.
New research published in eNeuro found that sharing happy stories increases feelings of closeness and synchronizes brain activity between the speaker and listener. Brain synchrony was linked to increased interpersonal closeness, particularly in regions involved in emotional processing and theory of mind.
A study from the University of Texas at Dallas found that governments downplay pandemic severity if they prioritize economy over public health, while exaggerating it when prioritizing public health. The researchers suggest transparent information policies are key for balanced objectives.
Research from the University of Georgia found that using verbal commonalities alone was more effective in building rapport than combining it with nonverbal mirroring. Participants were willing to discuss personal topics when interviewer used verbal commonalities, but not when combined with mirroring.
A new study by E. Paige Lloyd found that medical providers are better at discerning real from fake pain expressions for White people than Black people. This disparity in pain detection could contribute to racial disparities in pain care and treatment recommendations.
A new study found that men are over-cited and women are under-cited in Communication journals, with papers authored by men showing a 14% overcitation rate compared to papers authored by women, who are under-cited by 20%. The researchers propose tools to help academics evaluate their citation practices and promote gender equality.
A Tokyo University of Science researcher analyzed 8,000 infant names and found that common boys' name "大翔" has at least 18 readings, while girls' name "結愛" has at least 14. The study shows that parents use various readings, including non-existent ones, and abbreviate common readings.
A new study found that walking together is a form of non-verbal social communication, influenced by personal traits and first impressions. The results show that synchronized walking can alter social relations between strangers, with better initial impressions and lower autistic tendencies leading to greater synchronization.
Researchers recreated the emergence of language in deaf communities by challenging children to communicate with each other without spoken language. They found that children invented signs for abstract concepts and gradually developed grammatical structures, demonstrating that communication cannot be reduced to words alone.
Children as young as 4 years independently produce gestures to refer to objects and actions, and later develop signs for abstract concepts. The results suggest that young children possess the skills to learn and create languages.
New research by University of Alberta scientists reveals that gesturing frequency is more closely tied to the way people tell a story than their cultural background. Studies with bilingual participants found that those speaking in chronological order tend to gesture more than those focusing on moral or meaning behind a story.
New research shows that brain synchronization depends on linguistic context, with different areas aligning in native versus foreign languages. This discovery opens up possibilities for quantifying verbal communication through online tools like Skype.
A research team studied how children draw themselves and found that their expressiveness varies based on the audience's authority and familiarity. The study involved 175 children aged eight and nine, who were asked to draw three pictures of themselves - a baseline, happy, and sad drawing.
Researchers aim to create dialects for 'islands' of communicating devices, making attacks harder to launch. The goal is to strike a balance between efficiency, interoperability and security.
A new study identifies resource availability, communication, and institutional culture as key factors to improve patient transfers from ICU to hospital wards. The research suggests standardized discharge tools, open communication, and coordinated care procedures can reduce breakdowns and errors.
Infants can generalize beyond their native language to recognize that all languages can allow people to communicate. By 12 months, infants understand that non-native languages can transfer information to others, even if they don't understand the words themselves.
Researchers analyzed color-naming data from 110 languages and found that warm colors like red, yellow, and orange are generally easier to communicate than cool colors like blue and green. The study suggests that differences in color categorization may reflect cultural differences in color usefulness.
A Baycrest study found significant communication improvement gains for patients with post-stroke disorders through telerehabilitation, comparable to those of in-person treatment. However, telerehabilitation patients showed lower confidence in their abilities compared to in-person therapy.
Researchers found that brainwaves between conversational partners match each other in a study published in Scientific Reports. This interbrain synchrony may be key to understanding language and social interactions.
Researchers from Florida Atlantic University developed a new tool to measure couples' communication in dementia. The Verbal and Nonverbal Interaction Scale-CR (VNIS-CR) tool evaluates social and unsociable behaviors, enabling caregivers to improve communication and mental health.
Researchers developed the Behavior Pain Assessment Tool (BPAT) to evaluate pain in critically ill patients unable to communicate verbally. The tool, based on eight observable behaviors, was validated in 28 countries and found to be reliable and valid for use in clinical practice.
A recent study by researchers at Chatham University found that friends are no better than complete strangers at interpreting correct emotional intent in e-mails. The study used three studies to test the effect of contextual information on the confidence and accuracy of affective communication via e-mail.
A recent study found that high standards in marriage improve satisfaction only in strong marriages, while eroding relationships in less strong marriages. Couples who work well together are better able to meet higher standards and show high satisfaction, whereas those who don't work well together do poorly on both fronts.
The DComm programme explores deictic communication, a fundamental aspect of human interaction, and its application in technology, education, and clinical settings. Researchers will investigate how deictic communication affects individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder and stroke patients.
A recent study by Mark Dingemanse and colleagues reveals that language is less arbitrary than previously thought. The researchers found that iconicity, where word forms suggest meaning, and systematicity, a statistical relationship between sounds and grammatical usage, complement arbitrariness in vocabulary structure.