Illusory Correlation in Communication Research

Results of an experiment suggest that one memory-based measure of communication style taps conceptually related memory items that are not synonymous with actual communication behavior: undergraduates (N = 15) were able to replicate to a considerable extent (without regard to anyone's communication behavior in particular) the pattern of associations from a previous investigation (Norton, R., "Foundation of a Communicator Style Construct," Human Communication Research, 1978, 4, 99-112). Implications of this & other findings are discussed. In The Illusion of Systematic Distortion, Robert W. Norton (Purdue U, West Lafayette, Ind) replies to Sypher that neither his data nor his analysis provide good evidence for confirming the systematic distortion hypothesis in general or showing that it is operative in the communicator style measure in particular. At best, Sypher's research provides additional construct validity for the communicator style domain. It is maintained that "difficulty memory conditions" do not prevail for the self-report of style behaviors. Three studies are briefly reported supporting this conclusion. Necessary conditions are identified in order for self-report data to be increasingly useful. 3 Tables, 2 Figures. Modified HA