A Reinvestigation of the Relationship of Teacher Nonverbal Immediacy and Student Compliance-Resistance with Learning

Abstract

This study examined (1) whether or not college students in actual classrooms used resistance strategies similar to those found in earlier hypothetical-anchored research; (2) the influence of teacher immediacy on student's differential use of those resistance strategies; and (3) the relationship among students’ willingness to comply, teachers’ nonverbal immediacy, and students’ compliance resistance behaviors with perceived cognitive and affective learning. Based on both qualitative and quantitative data, college students (N=564) reported limited resistance attempts and strategies. They also reported greater willingness to comply with immediate as opposed to nonimmediate teachers, and their willingness to comply was related to cognitive and affective learning. Findings in this study suggest that teachers’ nonverbal immediacy is fundamental to classroom management and learning.

Keywords:

• Student Resistance
• Student Compliance
• Teacher Immediacy
• Cognitive Learning
• Affective Learning

Acknowledgements

The author thanks Dr. James C. McCroskey, Dr. Patricia Kearney, and two anonymous reviewers for their constructive feedback on earlier drafts of this article.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Nancy F. Burroughs

Nancy Burroughs (Ed.D., West Virginia University, 1990) is an Associate Professor in the Department of Communication Studies at California State University, Stanislaus