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In this chapter, we focus on Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT)'s utility for analyzing one under-studied domain of intergroup communication, namely police-civilian encounters. By so doing, we focus on one aspect of institutional talk where a power imbalance is clearly evident. In addition to presenting recent self-report data relevant to this initiative, new intercultural data from China, Taiwan and the US, are also introduced. But first, we overview some important assumptions and concepts of the theory, interlaced with a selection of empirical research studies.

Research in the American West, China, and Taiwan has shown that officers’ communication accommodative practices (and attributed trust in them) can be more potent predictors of satisfaction with the police than are the socio-demographic characteristics of those judging. With Black and White respondents, this study continues this line of work in Louisiana and South Africa and tests a new model about the relationships among perceived officer accommodation, trust in the police, and reported voluntary compliance from civilians. In addition to an array of differences that emerged between nations and ethnicities, officer accommodativeness indirectly predicted civilian compliance through trust. The hypothesized model was partially supported and culturally-sensitive.

While there is a burgeoning literature on diverse aspects of intergroup communication and some attention to media depictions of police officers and policing, very little research addresses communicative dimensions of police-civilian encounters. This is important to the extent that while it has been estimated that the vast amount of police training is devoted to physical compliance issues, 98% of actual law enforcement practice revolves around communicating with the public and its safety needs. Thus, the communication between police officers and civilians warrants examination. In this chapter, we overview the separate literatures on attitudes toward the police and communication accommodation theory. The findings of three studies are presented exploring the role of accommodation, alongside socio-demographic and other variables, in predicting attitudes toward police. The three studies encompass three different populations: English-speaking adults, Spanish-speaking adults, and university students. Analyses reveal similar results across the samples. In general, accommodation by officers predicts civilians’ rating of officer performance as well as satisfaction when interacting with the police. These findings suggest that more attention should be directed at developing communication skills in general and accommodative ones in particular.

In many parts of the world, Pi Day is celebrated on March 14 (3.14), but because of the day-month ordering of dates in Australia, and because March is very close to the start of the academic year, Australians prefer to celebrate Pi (Approximation) Day on 22 July (22/7). Thirty-eight Year 8 students (aged 13-14 years) from two local high schools in Canberra, Australia, joined ESTeM Maths and Education staff on July 22, 2014, to celebrate Pi Day. This article describes the activities in which the students participated during the Pi Day celebration. The organizers of the activities selected six activities that met a combined criteria of feasibility, pedagogical soundness, and pedagogical appropriateness for the Australian school system. Time constraints were a significant factor in selecting activities. The students participated in the following activities: (1) measuring the circumference of the Earth using the length of a shadow at midday at two locations on the same longitude; (2) recording the diameter and circumference of household objects with a circular cross-section through the use of a variety of instruments and procedures; (3) working on a "History of p" activity sheet; (4) making Pi bracelets that indicate the digits of p, in order; (5) observing a demonstration of how the value of p can be approximated by the area of polygons with ever-increasing numbers of sides; and (6) following carefully devised p-trails across the campus. The article includes an evaluation of the data collected from both the students and the pre-service teacher education students on the activities undertaken, as well as reflections on the Pi Day activities.

An online survey (N = 256) compared social networking site (SNS) use among younger (millennial: 18-29) and older (baby-boomer: 41-64) subscribers focusing on the influence of collective self-esteem and group identity on motives for SNS use. Younger participants reported higher positive collective self-esteem, social networking site use for peer communication, and social compensation. Regardless of age, participants reporting high collective self-esteem and group identity were more likely to use social networking sites for peer communication and social identity gratifications, while those reporting negative collective self-esteem were more likely to use social networking sites for social compensation. The theoretical implications of the strong relationship between social identity gratifications and social compensation are discussed. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)

Diasporic communities around the world regularly encounter challenges of preserving their identities and communication practices while adapting to their host social-cultural environment. Grounded in communication accommodation theory (CAT) and informed by recent research on deviance, this study investigated the relationships between Tibetan identity, language, and communication accommodation in the Indian diaspora. It was found that a pro-normative speaker was more likely to be accommodated to than normative and anti-normative speakers, but no interaction was found between raters' ingroup identification and perceived normativeness of the speakers, as was predicted. In addition, perceptions of identity support and social evaluation together proved to be a much stronger predictor of reported communication accommodation to the speakers than the extent of raters' ingroup identification. The findings are discussed in terms of their importance for CAT and intragroup cultural communication. (Contains 1 note and 1 figure.)

The concept of group "vitality" was developed over 30 years ago to assist in understanding of power relations between language groups. However, vitality has also been an important consideration when attempting to understand intergroup relations more generally. Vitality researchers distinguish "subjective" vitality from "objective" vitality. This study focuses on subjective vitality. Specifically, the paper examines the validity of the Subjective Vitality Questionnaire (SVQ), the instrument frequently utilised to quantitatively assess vitality perceptions. Data collected in the USA from three ethnic groups (African Americans, Asian Americans and Hispanic Americans) who rated the vitalities of Caucasian, African, and Hispanic Americans, were analysed using both first-order confirmatory factor analysis and exploratory factor analysis. Both types of analysis failed to uncover the underlying factor structure of "status", "demography", and "institutional support" proposed by vitality researchers. Although the factors could not be validated, when the SVQ was analysed as a unidimensional measure, it posted strong reliability. The discussion offers suggestions on how to improve the SVQ in future research. (Contains 2 tables, 1 figure and 2 notes.)

This study examined young adult grandchildren's self-reports about the influence of grandparent sex on perceived grandparent painful self-disclosure (PSD) as well as their reactions to grandparent dyad PSD. Perceived grandmother and grandfather motivations for "overall" communication were assessed as mediators of young adult grandchildren's discomfort with grandparent dyad PSD. Findings show that participants perceived PSD more in their interactions with their maternal grandmothers compared to their maternal grandfathers. These young adult grandchildren were less likely to report discomfort if they perceived grandparents to be communicating overall for the purposes of positive affect, or identity, but more likely to feel discomfort if they perceived grandparents to be communicating for the purpose of control. (Contains 3 tables, 2 footnotes and 2 figures.)

Using vitality theory as a framework, investigates whether support for English-only policies among Anglo-Americans is related to perceptions about growing Latino group vitality and the presence of Spanish in the linguistic landscape. Conducted a telephone survey in Santa Barbara, California. Found Anglo-Americans' perceptions of growing latino vitality together with decreasing Anglo vitality and a strong within group identity, were related to support for English-only policies and social limitations on immigrants. (Author/VWL)

Viewership of traditional television programming has been steadily declining, particularly among younger audiences, who have turned to smartphones, social media, streaming services, and YouTube to consume video. These audiences also frequently engage in second-screening practices, using another device to virtually connect with others regarding what they are watching. Most prior research has focused on the effects of second screening via social media with televised content. Through a survey of teens in the Middle East (N = 258) and young adults in the United States (N = 643), the current study found second screening frequently occurs with both traditional TV and streaming content. Framed by co-viewing theory, results show both practices positively correlate with a constructed second-screen social capital affinity (SSSCA) scale, mirroring co-viewing in person. Findings also indicate that second screening need not take place simultaneously with video viewing to gratify social needs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Prior studies have described selfies as narcissistic vehicles of self-presentation; by contrast, based on social identity theory, this survey of young adults (N = 472) examined how selfies signify forms of personal and social identity. Identity motivations for selfies, social capital affinity on social media, and racial identity were predictors of selfie intensity. Confirming other research, women were most likely to share selfies, but also reported differences to men in selfie identity motivations and contexts. Among LGBTQ participants, selfies for empowerment correlated with online activism. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study involved data from a survey of a representative sample of 1417 US Internet users investigating positive outcomes from three types of participatory websites: social networking sites, e-commerce sites, and content communities (i.e. news organizations and content sharing sites). The findings indicate that the experience of flow (intense engagement in and enjoyment of an activity) promotes satisfaction with and affirmation for such websites as well as perceived focused and incidental knowledge-gain from them. Social capital affinity (sympathy marked by community of interest, and likeness based on weak ties) was found to strongly facilitate the experience of flow. Thus, the findings underscore the potency of online peers in terms of enhancing a variety of Internet experiences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]