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Peak Communication Experiences: Concept, Structure, and Sex Differences

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Peak Communication Experiences: Concept, Structure, and Sex Differences DOCUMENT RESUME ED 221 931 CS 503 982 AUTHOR Gordon, Ron; Dulaney, Earl TITLE Peak Communication Experiences: Concept,Structure, and Sex Differences. PUB DATE (82] NOTE 37p. PUB TYPE Reports Research/Technical (143) EDRS PRICE MF01/PCO2 Plus Postage. DESCRIPTORS *Communication Research; *Communication Skills; Females; Higher Education; *Interpersonal Communication; Interpersonal Competence; Males; *Models; Self Evaluation (Individuals);*Sex Differences; Sex Role IDENTIFIERS *Maslow (Abraham); *Peak CommunicationExperiences ABSTRACT -study was conducted to test 6. "peakcommunication experience" (PCE) scale developed fromAbraham Maslow's theory of PCE's, a model of one's highest interpersonalcommunication moments in terms of perceived mutualunderstanding, happiness, and personal fulfillment. Nineteen items, extlapolated fromMaslow's model but rendered more generally communicative thanthe original wording, constituted the PCE scale used in the study.Subjects, 37 females and 37 males enrolled in a required speechcommunication course responded to each of the 19 itemsusing a five-point scale from "very true" to "very untrue." Statistical analysis of theresults identified six peak communication components:(1) loving acceptance, (2) openminded insight,(3) spontaneity, (4) pleasant fear,(5) absorption, and (6) self-detachment. Males and females diddiffer in their PCE reporting, with females rating significantlyhigher on both loving acceptance and spontaneity and rating the PCE asinvolving more pleasant fear than males did. These differences seem tobe sex-role appropriate. Many PCE questions still await theresearcher interested in developing a high-ceiling interpersonalcommunication theory, but clearly the exploration of PCE'swill yield new insights in human communication practices and possibilities.(The questionnaire and tables of results are appended.) (JL) *********************************************************************** Reprocluctions supplied by EDRS are the bestthat can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF EDUCATION EDUCATIONAL ntsouRcE5 IN:ORMATION CENTER IERIC) flos dok.urn,nt has barn reproducod 4.15. JeOoio,1 born 00 pe0,00 o orgatemoon Ofq 04W.) al MMOI C0Jnyes hno4 been made to morowe reprodocbon(1011( tr\ Points of wow of opinions stated et Iles docu CT" meta do not orsessanly tewesent official NIE C\J poson or pOicy r\J PEAK COMMUNICATION EXPERIENCES: c\J DIFFERENCES CZ) CONCEPT, STRUCTURE, AND SEX LIJ Ron Gordon, Ph.D. University of Hawaii "PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN GRANTED BY Department of Speech Ron Gordon Honolulu, Hawaii 96822 Earl Dulaney TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC)," Earl Dulaney, Ph.D. IBM Little Rock, Arkansas (At the time of this researchboth authors were on the faculty of Texas A&MUniversity) The concept of the "peakcommunication experience" is intro- duced, and a peak communicationexperience scale developedfrom Maslow's model of the generalizedpeak experience. Data obtained from 74 subjects were submitted toprincipal components analysis with varimax rotation, yieldingsix factors accounting for66.1% of the total variance, asfollows: Loving Acceptance, Openminded Insight, Spontaneity, Pleasant-Fear,Absorption and Self-detachment. Analyses of variance of peakcommunication experience ratings resulted in significant sexdifferences, with femalesrating them- selves higher on Loving Acceptance(p=.002) and Spontaneity (p=.028) female- than males, a findingconsistent with previous research on male communication styledifferences. 2 Abraham Maslow, over twenty-five years ago,introduced to the behavioral sciences the conceptof the "peak exper- ul ience. Maslow was interested in mapping thosecognitive states and perceptual tendenciesactivated during one's most "self-actualizlng" episodes. Toward this end, Maslow probed reports of intense experiences with nature,love, aesthetics, creativity, intellectual breakthrough, significaatpersonal insight, spirituality, sexuality, and feats ofoutstanding athletic performance. An examination of the peakexperience in the arena of human communication, however, still has not been undertaken. Yet many of us know throughobservation and reflection that some of the most precious,positive and powerful moments in life, moments of heightened personalintegration, insight and involvement, come throughsignificant episodes of face- to-face communication with anothpr humanbeing. The aim of the present effort is tointroduce and con- sider the concept of "peak communicationexperiences" within an interpersonal communicationcontext, to tentatively chart the underlying factorial structure ofpeak communication experiences, and to examine the role of genderin peak com- munication experiencing. Since peak com-nication experiences (PCEs) presumably constitute a measurable aspectof human communication behavior, any comprehensive interpersonal com- munication theory will need to includewithin its domain the investigation of PCEs, targeted toward anincreased 3 ability to describe, explain, predict andinfluence PCE phenomena. We will begin by reviewing Maslow'smodel or the gen- eralized peak experience, from which the PCE concepthas been derived. MASLOW'S THEORY OF MOTIVATION AND THE GENERALIZED PEAK EXPERIENCE MODEL Maslow's hierarchical theory of humanmotivation is one of the most frequentlyadopted theories of motivational 2 dynamics within the communication discipline. The theory suggests that the human organism'sbehavior is motivated by efforts to gratify a graduatedseries of unsatisfied 3 needs. After a given need is sufficientlygratified it ceases to be t1 -l. mostactive determinant of immediate be- havior, and another need more advanced on themotivational 4 ladder becomes prepotent. Specifically, physiological needs are the most basic that theorganism seeks to satisfy, fol- lowed in turn by safety needs, belongingnessand love needs, and esteemneeds. Once the basic needs have been gratified,they no longer motivate behavior to the extent they did prior togratifi- cation. Rather, another form of discontent emerges, a cer- ta. restlessness to developoneself, a growing desire to more completely explore andextend one's capacities and to live up to one's potential as a fullyfunctioning human being. 4 This advanced motivational urge Maslowrefers to as one's 5 tendency toward self-actualization. Maslow identified several features that seemto be as- sociated with those individuals who aresomewhat consist- 6 ently operating from the level ofself-actualization. One of these features is that self-actualizing personsappear to have a greater frequency andintensity of "peak exper- iences" than other people, "feelings oflimitless horizons opening up to the vision, feelings of beingsimultaneously more powerful and also morehelpless than one ever was be- fore, feelings of great ecstasy and wonderand awe, the loss of placing in time and space with,finally, the conviction that something extremely importantand valuable has happened, so that the subjectis to some extent transformed and 7 strengthened even in his daily life by suchexperiences . " These peak experiences can be viewed aspositively-valued alternate states of awareness, usuallytriggered by some identifiable stimulus such as nature, solitude,shared love, 8 deep thought, perceived "perfection" or"beauty," etc. Subsequent to his early observation thatrelatively self-actualizing persons often have peak experiences,Maslow came to conclude "that all or almostall people have or can 9 have peak experiences," and that "peak experiences can be considered atransient self-actualization of the "10 person. Maslow was quite rIlear on this latter point: "In other words, any person in any of thepeak experiences 5 takes on temporarily many of the characteristicswhich I found in self-actualizing individuals. That is, for the 11 time they become self-actualizers." If it is the case that one's peak experiencestend to be among one's closest approximations to aself-actualizing perspective, then the utility of studying these statesbe- comes apparent: the peak experienceprovides a convenient focus for gaining knowledge of heightened statesof human 12 functioning. Maslow more fully developed the emergent conceptof the peak experience by asking nearly 300respondents (mostly from a student population) to reflect upon"the most wonder- ful experiences of their lives," acutemoments of great happiness, or perhaps even "ecstasy" or"rapture," e.g., being in love, or being strongly moved bymusic or litera- ture or visual art, or having a suddendramatic surge of creativity, etc. Respondents were asked, by means of inter- view or questionnaire, to describe such moments asfully as possible, especially with regardto attendant perceptions and feelings. These data led Maslow to conclude that "average"indi- viduals indeed have peak experiences, and that these alter- nate states of awareness can bediscussed in terms of nine- teen general characteristics: (1) the experience is seen apart from its possible usefulness or purpose;(2) the per- cept is attended to fully;(3) the nature of the object is 6 perceived apart from human concerns;(4) the perception is richer;(5) the perception is relativelyegoless;(6) the peak experience carries its own intrinsicvalue;(7) there is a disorientation in time and space;(8) the experience is only good and desirable, and is never feltto be evil or undesir- able;(9) the experience feels more absoluteand
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