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This experimental study, extending the communication accommodation theory and the Communication Predicament of Disability Model, examined people with disabilities' perceptions of four manipulated communication styles and tested the effects on their cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. Results revealed that participants in the integrative talk condition judged the coworker as the most competent and satisfying and had the least anxiety, followed by a relational talk, dismissive talk, and directive talk. Additionally, integrative talk resulted in the least internalized stigma and the highest likelihood of participants using accommodative response strategies, such as problem-solving and obliging. Furthermore, results revealed indirect effects of the communication styles on communication competence, satisfaction, stigma, and response strategies through communication anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by intergroup contact theory, this survey study investigated whether the formation of pseudo-socioemotional ties with well-known LGBT media personas in China (i.e., parasocial relationships) could reduce cisgender heterosexual Chinese participants' anxiety toward and prejudice against the LGBT community. Results indicated a significant indirect effect of parasocial relationship with LGBT media personas on prejudice against this community through intergroup anxiety: the parasocial relationship was negatively associated with intergroup anxiety, which was consequently associated with less prejudice. Moreover, results indicated the direct effect of parasocial relationships with LGBT media personas on prejudice was moderated by participants' direct contact with LGBT members: parasocial relationships reduced prejudice only for those who had more direct contact with LGBT individuals. These findings add nuances and create boundary conditions to intergroup contact theory and bear significant practical implications for the Chinese LGBT community. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

From the theoretical perspectives of anxiety and uncertainty management and intergroup contact, this study examined U.S. American participants' (N = 487) perceptions of conflict management styles with Chinese international students. Specifically, this study tested the indirect effects of participants' perceptions of contact quality with the Chinese in general and strength of Chinese international students' identification with home culture on conflict management styles through intergroup communication anxiety and social attraction. A conflict scenario was set in a typical class project context in which the American participants experienced a conflict with a Chinese international student. Results indicated that participants' perceptions of contact quality with the Chinese and Chinese international students' identification with their home culture had positive indirect effects on the problem‐solving style and negative indirect effects on the competing and avoiding styles through intergroup communication anxiety. In addition, quality of contact had positive direct and indirect effects on the accommodating style through social attraction of Chinese international students. Findings in this study generally indicated important ways in which contact experiences with outgroup members, intergroup communication anxiety, and outgroup membership influence specific communication behaviours during a conflict episode. Findings are discussed in light of prior literature and theories of intergroup contact, anxiety, and integrated threat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Previous research has pinpointed that social support from host, co-national, and other international friends plays a pivotal role in successful adaptation to a new culture, yet research on this topic pertaining to China is inadequate. As such, using a cross-sectional sample of sojourners (N = 199) in major Chinese cities, the current study examines the relationship between sojourners' self-reports of social support from the three sources and two psychological adaptation variables (i.e., anxiety and well-being) as well as the moderating effect of objective cultural distance. Regression analysis indicates that perceptions of host and international support are significant negative predictors of anxiety and positive predictors of psychological well-being. In addition, cultural distance moderated these predictive associations: host support and international support had a stronger negative association with anxiety and host support had a stronger positive association with well-being for participants whose cultural distance to China was lower compared to those whose cultural distance was higher. This study enhances our understanding of the dynamic interplay between social support and cultural distance in cross-cultural adaptation research within a Chinese cultural context. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by intergroup contact theory, this study examined participants' communication with their most frequent contact with an invisible physical disability and their attitudes and stereotypes toward people with disabilities. Results indicated that participants' perceptions of communication frequency and quality with the contact and the contact's disclosure about disability all had a significant indirect effect on attitudes and stereotypes through social support and intergroup anxiety sequentially. Contact quality had significant negative direct and indirect effects on endorsement of stereotypes and a significant positive indirect effect on attitudes. Protective disclosure had a significant positive indirect effect on cognitive attitudes through social support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by intergroup contact and communication accommodation theories, this study tested the effects of U.S. participants' (N = 286) communication with their most frequent contact who had a visible physical disability and its effects on attitudes toward and stereotypes of people with disabilities as a whole. As predicted, mediation analysis showed the type of interability contact (i.e., nonfamily = 1 and family = 2), and participants' perceptions of their own communication accommodation during interability interactions with the contact had significant indirect effects on the improvement of attitudes toward and reduction of stereotypes about people with disabilities through relational solidarity and intergroup anxiety as sequential mediators. In addition, communication accommodation had significant positive direct effects on intergroup attitudes. These findings provide insights into the important role played by interability contact, especially in the family context and communication accommodation in developing positive relationships in order to reduce anxiety, prejudices, and biases toward people with disabilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the relationship between interability communication (i.e., communication frequency and identity accommodation) and interability attitudes and disability stereotyping through intergroup anxiety and whether the relationship varies with disability salience. Results indicated that participants' report of communication frequency with their disability-contact had a significant direct effect on the dependent variables (i.e., interability attitudes and disability stereotyping). Moderated mediation results revealed that when salience was low, communication frequency enhanced positive interability attitudes and reduced disability stereotyping through reduced anxiety. Additionally, perceptions of identity accommodation were positively associated with interability attitudes. However, when salience was moderate and high, identity accommodation reduced positive interability attitudes and elevated negative disability stereotyping through an increase in intergroup anxiety. Discussion focuses on the complementary nature of communication accommodation and intergroup contact theories, and thus illustrates the complex role played by identity accommodation in the interability context. • This study examined people without disabilities' communication with people with visible physical disabilities. • Communication frequency and identity accommodation enhanced positive interability attitudes. • Enacting identity accommodation elevated people without disabilities' intergroup anxiety when disability salience was high. • Low disability salience enhanced generalization from communication to broader and better interability attitudes. • Findings illustrate the complementary nature of communication accommodation and intergroup contact theories. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Guided by communication accommodation theory, the current study examined the effects of accent stereotyping on native English speakers' (N = 243) perceptions of and willingness to communicate with the nonnative speaker and willingness to accommodate to Hispanic/Latino Americans in general. Accent stereotyping was manipulated through two experimental conditions: presence or absence of an explicit and negative stereotype in a written paragraph. After reading the paragraph, participants listened to a recording of an English speaker with a moderate, native-Spanish accent. Using PROCESS, results revealed participants in the stereotype condition rated the speaker as less socially attractive than the control condition, indicating accent stereotyping negatively affected perceptions of social attractiveness of the moderately accented speaker. Additionally, results indicated significant indirect effects of negative accent stereotyping on willingness to communicate with the speaker and willingness to accommodate to Hispanic/Latino out-group members sequentially through perceived social attractiveness and communication anxiety. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]