Coms Students Present Original Research at CSU Symposium

Two Communication Studies students presented their original research at the 44th Annual CSU, SSRIC Social Science Student Symposium. The symposium took place May 2, 2019 at San Francisco State University.

Kylie Clark presented her research titled “What Underlies Awkward Silence? Testing the Impact of Silence Duration and Level of Interpersonal Familiarity on Perceived Awkwardness.”  This study was conducted in collaboration with fellow coms students Brooke Lyon and Tina Reynolds.  Primary results from their research suggest that silence is perceived as more awkward amongst friends than acquaintances and longer lengths of silence are perceived as more awkward than shorter lengths.

Kiana Edwards presented her research titled “The Effect of Intercultural Education on Individual’s Comfort and Confidence in Intercultural Interactions.”  This study was conducted in collaboration with fellow coms students Emerson-Alysia Hughes and Jakub Niziol.  Primary results indicate that those who watched an educational video responded with slightly more comfort and confidence when imagining themselves in a hypothetical intercultural scenario compared to those who did not watch an educational video. 

Both studies were conducted during Dr. Aubrie Adams’ Research Methods class during the winter 2019 quarter.  Students in this class design an experimental project, gather data, interpret statistical analyses, and write up their findings in a report suitable for conference presentation. The symposium represents a CSU-wide research competition for students organized by the Social Science Research and Instructional Center.