Murray State Theses and Dissertations

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to fill a gap in clinical literature regarding eye contact behavior of children who are developing typically in order to inform clinical practice. The data used for this project was taken from a larger research study being conducted by Murray State University speech-language pathology faculty designed to understand eye behavior of typically developing children during adult-child interaction. For this thesis, a non-experimental design was used to explore the relationship among eye-behavior, communication style and talkativeness. Parent surveys were used to determine the communication style and talkativeness rating of 26 typically developing children ages 5-8 years of age. Eye contact duration was measured using Tobii 2 Glasses, which children wore during a physical play activity with the researcher. There were not significant differences among the eye behavior of children based on ratings of communication style or talkativeness. The results are discussed in the context of understanding how motivation and partner familiarity influence communication interaction including eye contact.

Year manuscript completed

2017

Year degree awarded

2017

Author's Keywords

communication styles, eye contact, talkativeness

Degree Awarded

Master of Science

Department

Communication Disorders

College/School

College of Education & Human Services

Thesis Advisor

Sharon Hart

Thesis Co-Advisor

Kelly Kleinhans

Committee Member

Samir Patel

Document Type

Thesis - Murray State Access only

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