The effect of reward criteria on verbal participation in group discussion

While previous studies in speech communication have reported that the presence of a high status evaluator inhibits verbal participation in group discussion, the present study suggests that when the status variable is manipulated directly such differences are not observed. This study indicates further that differences in the frequency and quality of participation are linked to differences in reward criteria. Some support was found for the argument that evaluator status may either strengthen or weaken the effects of reward criteria on participation.