The Family Environment of "Quick-Witted" Persons: Birth Order, Family Communication Patterns, and Creative Facility. Issue 5 (20th October 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Dorrance Hall, Elizabeth; Greene, John O.; Anderson, Lindsey B.; Hingson, LaReina; Gill, Elizabeth; Berkelaar, Brenda L.; Morgan, Melanie
• Is Part Of: Communication studies. Volume 68:Issue 5(2017)
• Page Start: 493
• Page End: 510
• Publication Date: 2017-10-20
• Subjects: Birth Order -- Communication Skill -- Creative Facility -- Family Communication Patterns -- Message Production; Communication -- Periodicals; Oratory -- Periodicals; 302.205
• DOI: 10.1080/10510974.2017.1362567
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1051-0974

Abstract

Abstract : "Creative facility" refers to the ease, rapidity, or fluency with which people are able to formulate and produce novel, appropriate messages. Previous research indicates that people differ in this regard and that the phenomenon is linked to various personality and cognitive-style variables. This study aims to investigate whether aspects of family structure (i.e., birth order) and family processes (i.e., family communication patterns) are related to creative facility. Results indicated a significant interaction between birth order and family conversation orientation such that, for first-borns, higher levels of conversation orientation were associated with slower message production. No effects were observed for family conformity orientation. Among the implications of the findings is the need to assess birth order in studies of family communication patterns.