Elizabeth Gill - Academia.edu (original) (raw)

Papers by Elizabeth Gill

Research paper thumbnail of The Creative Character of Talk: Individual Differences in Narrative Production Ability

Communication Studies, 2009

The creative character of human message behavior is at once ubiquitous and elusive. Our talk is r... more The creative character of human message behavior is at once ubiquitous and elusive. Our talk is routinely novel, and yet our understanding of the processes that give rise to such creativity is in its infancy. Moreover, everyday experience suggests that some people are simply better at ''thinking on their feet'' than are others. The current studies sought to ascertain whether people do, indeed, differ in their ability to produce novel messages or whether our impression of individual differences is more perceived than actual. Two studies involving examination of simple SITUATION-ACTION-BECAUSE narratives are reported. The results of Study 1 suggest that people do differ in their message-production abilities. Additional analyses suggest that this individual difference in message-production ability is distinct from extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism as assessed by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. EPQ lie-scale scores were, however, related to narrative-production performance, and this may reflect differences in social knowledge and skill. Study 2 replicated the finding of an individual difference in narrative-production ability and again indicated that performance in the experimental paradigm is related to lie-scale scores, but not extraversion or neuroticism (as those dimensions are assessed by the EPI). Additional findings in both studies relate message fluency to the cognitive demands of narrative production. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The Family Environment of “Quick-Witted” Persons: Birth Order, Family Communication Patterns, and Creative Facility

Communication Studies, 2017

Creative facility" refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formula... more Creative facility" refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formulate and produce novel, appropriate messages. Previous research indicates that people differ in this regard and that the phenomenon is linked to various personality and cognitive-style variables. This study aims to investigate whether aspects of family structure (i.e., birth order) and family processes (i.e., family communication patterns) are related to creative facility. Results indicated a significant interaction between birth order and family conversation orientation such that, for first-borns, higher levels of conversation orientation were associated with slower message production. No effects were observed for family conformity orientation. Among the implications of the findings is the need to assess birth order in studies of family communication patterns.

Research paper thumbnail of To Hope or to Know: Coping with Uncertainty and Ambivalence in Women's Magazine Breast Cancer Articles

Journal of Applied Communication Research, 2007

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's... more Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's magazines are important sources of information about and orientation to the disease. The current study applies problematic integration theory in an interpretive analysis of all breast cancer articles appearing in five top-circulating women's magazines between 1997 and 2002. In so doing, the study illuminates two major challenges (uncertainty and ambivalence) and several imperfect approaches to coping constructed in this discourse (simplification, information-seeking/provision, affect management, trusting intuition, sustaining hope, and metaphoric reframing). These results have several clear and important practical implications and highlight a major and largely untried direction for future research.

Research paper thumbnail of A Phrase Well Turned: Creative Facility in Narrative Production

Communication Studies, 2010

It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of... more It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of message production have tended to focus on repetitive features of messages, to the relative exclusion of examination of their novel characteristics. This study is concerned ...

Research paper thumbnail of Home Sweet Home: Conceptualizing and Coping With the Challenges of Aging and the Move to a Care Facility

Health Communication, 2011

This study sought to understand how older adults make sense of the challenges of aging. In partic... more This study sought to understand how older adults make sense of the challenges of aging. In particular, the move to a care-related facility provides a context for the study of how uncertainty, ambivalence, and other concerns connected with the aging process are ...

Research paper thumbnail of Formative Communication Experiences and Message Production Ability in Adulthood: Family Communication Patterns and Creative Facility

Communication Research Reports

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of A Phrase Well Turned: Creative Facility in Narrative Production

Communication Studies, 2010

It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of... more It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of message production have tended to focus on repetitive features of messages, to the relative exclusion of examination of their novel characteristics. This study is concerned ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Creative Character of Talk: Individual Differences in Narrative Production Ability

Communication Studies, 2009

The creative character of human message behavior is at once ubiquitous and elusive. Our talk is r... more The creative character of human message behavior is at once ubiquitous and elusive. Our talk is routinely novel, and yet our understanding of the processes that give rise to such creativity is in its infancy. Moreover, everyday experience suggests that some people are simply better at ''thinking on their feet'' than are others. The current studies sought to ascertain whether people do, indeed, differ in their ability to produce novel messages or whether our impression of individual differences is more perceived than actual. Two studies involving examination of simple SITUATION-ACTION-BECAUSE narratives are reported. The results of Study 1 suggest that people do differ in their message-production abilities. Additional analyses suggest that this individual difference in message-production ability is distinct from extraversion, neuroticism, and psychoticism as assessed by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire. EPQ lie-scale scores were, however, related to narrative-production performance, and this may reflect differences in social knowledge and skill. Study 2 replicated the finding of an individual difference in narrative-production ability and again indicated that performance in the experimental paradigm is related to lie-scale scores, but not extraversion or neuroticism (as those dimensions are assessed by the EPI). Additional findings in both studies relate message fluency to the cognitive demands of narrative production. Implications and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Research paper thumbnail of The Family Environment of “Quick-Witted” Persons: Birth Order, Family Communication Patterns, and Creative Facility

Communication Studies, 2017

Creative facility" refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formula... more Creative facility" refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formulate and produce novel, appropriate messages. Previous research indicates that people differ in this regard and that the phenomenon is linked to various personality and cognitive-style variables. This study aims to investigate whether aspects of family structure (i.e., birth order) and family processes (i.e., family communication patterns) are related to creative facility. Results indicated a significant interaction between birth order and family conversation orientation such that, for first-borns, higher levels of conversation orientation were associated with slower message production. No effects were observed for family conformity orientation. Among the implications of the findings is the need to assess birth order in studies of family communication patterns.

Research paper thumbnail of To Hope or to Know: Coping with Uncertainty and Ambivalence in Women's Magazine Breast Cancer Articles

Journal of Applied Communication Research, 2007

Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's... more Breast cancer is one of the most feared diseases in contemporary Western society. Popular women's magazines are important sources of information about and orientation to the disease. The current study applies problematic integration theory in an interpretive analysis of all breast cancer articles appearing in five top-circulating women's magazines between 1997 and 2002. In so doing, the study illuminates two major challenges (uncertainty and ambivalence) and several imperfect approaches to coping constructed in this discourse (simplification, information-seeking/provision, affect management, trusting intuition, sustaining hope, and metaphoric reframing). These results have several clear and important practical implications and highlight a major and largely untried direction for future research.

Research paper thumbnail of A Phrase Well Turned: Creative Facility in Narrative Production

Communication Studies, 2010

It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of... more It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of message production have tended to focus on repetitive features of messages, to the relative exclusion of examination of their novel characteristics. This study is concerned ...

Research paper thumbnail of Home Sweet Home: Conceptualizing and Coping With the Challenges of Aging and the Move to a Care Facility

Health Communication, 2011

This study sought to understand how older adults make sense of the challenges of aging. In partic... more This study sought to understand how older adults make sense of the challenges of aging. In particular, the move to a care-related facility provides a context for the study of how uncertainty, ambivalence, and other concerns connected with the aging process are ...

Research paper thumbnail of Formative Communication Experiences and Message Production Ability in Adulthood: Family Communication Patterns and Creative Facility

Communication Research Reports

ABSTRACT

Research paper thumbnail of A Phrase Well Turned: Creative Facility in Narrative Production

Communication Studies, 2010

It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of... more It is commonly recognized that messages are simultaneously patterned and creative, but studies of message production have tended to focus on repetitive features of messages, to the relative exclusion of examination of their novel characteristics. This study is concerned ...