Why nonverbal immediacy matters: A motivation explanation

摘要

Instructional communication behaviors have been routinely associated with student learningoutcomes for the past 40 years; however, the explanations for why these relationshipsexist remain somewhat controversial. Specifically, the relationship between immediacy andlearning outcomes continues to be disputed. This study used Self-Determination Theory toevaluate the utility of students’ need for relatedness and their intrinsic motivation to learn assequential mediators of the teacher immediacy-student learning relationships. Results ofa structural equation model supported the theory’s hypothesis, as relatedness and intrinsicmotivation to learn operated in serial to mediate the immediacy-learning relationship. Theseresults indicate Self-Determination Theory is a well-suited framework for explaining therelationship between instructors’ communicative behaviors (e.g., immediacy) and theireffects on student outcomes.