San Bolkan
Biographic Data
| ID | 259082 |
|---|---|
| NAME | San Bolkan |
| GIVEN NAMES | San |
| FAMILY NAME | Bolkan |
| SIGNATURE | SAN BOLKAN |
| AFFILIATIONS | California State University System |
| ORCID | 0000-0001-6865-317X |
| VERIFIED | Yes |
| TOTAL WORKS | 23 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 10 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 23 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2010 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 2 |
Instructor clarity fosters student learning by reducing cognitive load (for some students)
Researchers have demonstrated that clear teaching is causally related to student learning. One theory guiding instructor clarity research is cognitive load theory, which presumes that the effect of clear teaching on student learning is explained by the ability for clear instruction to reduce students’ cognitive burden. This experiment tested this indirect learning process using a video-based lecture while considering the moderating impact of stud…
Relationship uncertainty and person-specific dynamics of partner rumination and relational turbulence in day-to-day life
This daily diary study examined dynamic processes of relational turbulence theory. Dating partners (N = 202) completed measures of pretest relationship uncertainty, followed by 30 days of daily rumination and relational turbulence, and then posttest collaborative planning. Using dynamic structural equation modeling with random effects, we found that for the typical partner: (a) on days when they ruminated more about their relationship than usual,…
Students’ psychological barriers to rhetorical dissent
Using a longitudinal person-centered approach, we studied students and their impediments to communicating disagreement with instructors over a semester. First, we used latent profile analysis to uncover types of students characterized by their psychological barriers (i.e., discomfort, punishment, and response inefficacy) toward rhetorical dissent at the beginning, middle, and end of a semester. Second, using a random intercept-latent transition a…
Conditional indirect effects of clarity on students’ information processing
The effect of instructor clarity on student learning has been explained using cognitive load theory, which stipulates that students have limited mental resources to devote to activities pertaining to learning. To date, the effect of teacher clarity on students’ cognitive burden has been studied in reference to students’ extraneous cognitive load as clear teachers design their instruction to be straightforward and free from distraction. However, f…
The effect of clarity on learning
This study tested the notion that the impact of clarity (i.e., structure) on learning is indirect and occurs, in part, through the reduction of cognitive load and subsequently through students’ motivation to process instructional information. Two hundred fifty-two students were randomly assigned to one of two text-based lessons (clear or unclear) on the topic of social cognitive theory. After being exposed to the material, participants were asked…
Dynamic and Daily Partner-Specific Processes of Relationship Uncertainty and Enacted Relationship Talk
Guided by relational turbulence theory (RTT), this intensive longitudinal study examined how within-person daily fluctuations in relationship uncertainty corresponded with individuals’ decisions to engage in daily enacted relationship talk. Using a person-specific approach, this study also examined how individuals’ attachment insecurity predicted within-person differences in month-long processes predicted by RTT. College-aged dating partners ( N …
Mixture modeling
Communication consulting and outreach
Consultants operate as translators who cull relevant literature to produce lessons as these pertain to skills, strategies, and ideas that practitioners can apply in professional contexts (Waldeck
Scholarly productivity in communication studies
This study examined data from the years 2017–2021 in a sample of 24 journals in communication studies to determine normative and exceptional rates of publication. These data were examined using the traditional full counting method to determine research participation by assigning credit to each author, equally, when listed on a research publication. In addition, we examined the data to determine individual research contribution by using a weighted…
Teacher antagonism
This study was conducted to model how teacher misbehaviors associate with reductions in students’ sustained attention. Participants (N = 423 college students) responded to measures of their perceptions of teacher antagonism, affect for their instructor, intrinsic motivation to learn, and sustained attention throughout the semester. Results of a path analysis indicated that teacher antagonism did not impact students’ sustained attention directly o…
Affective and interest consequences of lecture misbehaviors for students with mastery goals
Guided by an affective theoretical process, we surveyed college students (N = 397) to examine the effect of college instructors’ lecture misbehaviors on students’ emotional interest directly, and indirectly through affect toward the course content, among students who varied in their desire to master the course material (i.e., first- and second-stage moderated mediation by students’ mastery goal orientation). Results of a conditional process analy…
Profiles of doctoral students’ self-determination
Using a person-centered approach and guided by four mini-theories within self-determination theory, we investigated students’ motivation for pursuing their doctorate. Specifically, we examined students’ (N = 205) intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to persevere in their doctoral studies to ascertain if differences in the quality of their motivation would influence burnout symptoms and, in turn, tendencies to enact instructional dissent in their do…
Relational turbulence processes among avoidant and anxious spouses
Relational turbulence theory (RTT) articulates processes that explain why spouses evaluate their marriages as chaotic. Specifically, RTT predicts that relational uncertainty biases cognitive appraisals about the marriage and that partner interference with daily routines heightens negative emotions toward the spouse, both of which, culminate in relational turbulence. Our study confirmed these theoretical processes in marriage. However, by integrat…
Relational Uncertainty Within Relational Turbulence Theory
Relational uncertainty consists of self, partner, and relationship uncertainty, which are core parameters in relational turbulence theory (RTT). Advances in latent variable modeling allow researchers to examine the multidimensional construct as a bifactor model, including a general factor of relational uncertainty and residualized factors of self, partner, and relationship uncertainty. This advance is theoretically consequential because RTT maint…
Negotiating in Distributive Bargaining Scenarios
This study examined negotiation outcomes following a distributive bargaining task where individuals communicated in dyads for the purchase of a hypothetical product. We used an experimental manipulation to examine the impact of sharing one’s alternative on bargainers’ final negotiated price both directly and indirectly through their partners’ one-sided negotiation tactics. After negotiating, participants in 92 dyads reported their results and pro…
Instructional dissent over the course of the semester
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to model student trajectories of instructional dissent over the course of a semester. Participants were 312 undergraduate students who completed panel surveys on their worst course of the semester at three time points: during the beginning, middle, and end of a college course. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that, on average, expressive dissent slightly decreased, rhetorical dissent remained unchan…
Intellectually stimulating students’ intrinsic motivation
In the current study, we applied self-determination theory to explore a potential explanation for how instructors’ intellectually stimulating behaviors might influence student motivation. Undergraduate student participants (N = 418) responded to a questionnaire regarding their instructors’ teaching behaviors and perceptions of their own of engagement, frequency of student-to-student academic support, self-efficacy for learning, and intrinsic moti…
Collaborations in communication
A mixture modeling perspective of relational turbulence theory in marriage
This study tested propositions of relational turbulence theory (RTT) from a latent variable mixture modeling perspective. A national sample of married individuals (N = 503) completed a questionnaire measuring RTT relationship parameters, experiences, and outcomes. A latent profile analysis provided support for RTT as (a) marriages were well-separated by relational uncertainty and interdependence parameters, (b) spouses belonging to marriages char…
The Relational Turbulence Model
A series of 27 meta-analyses was conducted to synthesize theoretical predictions, to date, of the relational turbulence model (RTM), which has informed relational turbulence theory (RTT). In line with theorized predictions, 12 random-effects meta-analyses (k = 9–15; n = 1,395–5,493) confirmed that RTM variables (i.e., self uncertainty, partner uncertainty, relationship uncertainty, and partner interference), on average, correlated with topic avoi…
Revisiting the Relationship between Teacher Confirmation and Learning Outcomes
This study investigates the relationship between teacher confirmation behaviors (i.e., responding to questions, demonstrating interest, interactive teaching style) and student learning outcomes (i.e., affective learning, student motivation) across three cultures: Turkey, China, and the United States. Results indicates the confirmation-learning relationship was significantly stronger in the United States and China than it was in Turkey. The findin…
Mitigating inter- and intra-group ethnocentrism
Cultural Differences Between United States and Chinese Students’ Use of Behavioral Alteration Techniques and Affinity-Seeking Strategies with Instructors
The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in college students' use of behavioral alteration techniques and affinity-seeking strategies with instructors in the United States and China. Participants were 265 U.S. students and 180 Chinese students who reported on their communication behavior with an instructor. Results indicated that Chinese students self-reported using 13 BATs more frequently than U.S. students (i.e. honesty…
Mitigating inter- and intra-group ethnocentrism
A mixture modeling perspective of relational turbulence theory in marriage
This study tested propositions of relational turbulence theory (RTT) from a latent variable mixture modeling perspective. A national sample of married individuals (N = 503) completed a questionnaire measuring RTT relationship parameters, experiences, and outcomes. A latent profile analysis provided support for RTT as (a) marriages were well-separated by relational uncertainty and interdependence parameters, (b) spouses belonging to marriages char…
Cultural Differences Between United States and Chinese Students’ Use of Behavioral Alteration Techniques and Affinity-Seeking Strategies with Instructors
The purpose of this study was to investigate cultural differences in college students' use of behavioral alteration techniques and affinity-seeking strategies with instructors in the United States and China. Participants were 265 U.S. students and 180 Chinese students who reported on their communication behavior with an instructor. Results indicated that Chinese students self-reported using 13 BATs more frequently than U.S. students (i.e. honesty…
Mitigating inter- and intra-group ethnocentrism
Revisiting the Relationship between Teacher Confirmation and Learning Outcomes
This study investigates the relationship between teacher confirmation behaviors (i.e., responding to questions, demonstrating interest, interactive teaching style) and student learning outcomes (i.e., affective learning, student motivation) across three cultures: Turkey, China, and the United States. Results indicates the confirmation-learning relationship was significantly stronger in the United States and China than it was in Turkey. The findin…
The Relational Turbulence Model
A series of 27 meta-analyses was conducted to synthesize theoretical predictions, to date, of the relational turbulence model (RTM), which has informed relational turbulence theory (RTT). In line with theorized predictions, 12 random-effects meta-analyses (k = 9–15; n = 1,395–5,493) confirmed that RTM variables (i.e., self uncertainty, partner uncertainty, relationship uncertainty, and partner interference), on average, correlated with topic avoi…
Relational Uncertainty Within Relational Turbulence Theory
Relational uncertainty consists of self, partner, and relationship uncertainty, which are core parameters in relational turbulence theory (RTT). Advances in latent variable modeling allow researchers to examine the multidimensional construct as a bifactor model, including a general factor of relational uncertainty and residualized factors of self, partner, and relationship uncertainty. This advance is theoretically consequential because RTT maint…
Negotiating in Distributive Bargaining Scenarios
This study examined negotiation outcomes following a distributive bargaining task where individuals communicated in dyads for the purchase of a hypothetical product. We used an experimental manipulation to examine the impact of sharing one’s alternative on bargainers’ final negotiated price both directly and indirectly through their partners’ one-sided negotiation tactics. After negotiating, participants in 92 dyads reported their results and pro…
Instructional dissent over the course of the semester
The purpose of this longitudinal study was to model student trajectories of instructional dissent over the course of a semester. Participants were 312 undergraduate students who completed panel surveys on their worst course of the semester at three time points: during the beginning, middle, and end of a college course. Latent growth curve modeling revealed that, on average, expressive dissent slightly decreased, rhetorical dissent remained unchan…
Intellectually stimulating students’ intrinsic motivation
In the current study, we applied self-determination theory to explore a potential explanation for how instructors’ intellectually stimulating behaviors might influence student motivation. Undergraduate student participants (N = 418) responded to a questionnaire regarding their instructors’ teaching behaviors and perceptions of their own of engagement, frequency of student-to-student academic support, self-efficacy for learning, and intrinsic moti…
Collaborations in communication
A mixture modeling perspective of relational turbulence theory in marriage
This study tested propositions of relational turbulence theory (RTT) from a latent variable mixture modeling perspective. A national sample of married individuals (N = 503) completed a questionnaire measuring RTT relationship parameters, experiences, and outcomes. A latent profile analysis provided support for RTT as (a) marriages were well-separated by relational uncertainty and interdependence parameters, (b) spouses belonging to marriages char…
Teacher antagonism
This study was conducted to model how teacher misbehaviors associate with reductions in students’ sustained attention. Participants (N = 423 college students) responded to measures of their perceptions of teacher antagonism, affect for their instructor, intrinsic motivation to learn, and sustained attention throughout the semester. Results of a path analysis indicated that teacher antagonism did not impact students’ sustained attention directly o…
Affective and interest consequences of lecture misbehaviors for students with mastery goals
Guided by an affective theoretical process, we surveyed college students (N = 397) to examine the effect of college instructors’ lecture misbehaviors on students’ emotional interest directly, and indirectly through affect toward the course content, among students who varied in their desire to master the course material (i.e., first- and second-stage moderated mediation by students’ mastery goal orientation). Results of a conditional process analy…
Profiles of doctoral students’ self-determination
Using a person-centered approach and guided by four mini-theories within self-determination theory, we investigated students’ motivation for pursuing their doctorate. Specifically, we examined students’ (N = 205) intrinsic and extrinsic motivation to persevere in their doctoral studies to ascertain if differences in the quality of their motivation would influence burnout symptoms and, in turn, tendencies to enact instructional dissent in their do…
Relational turbulence processes among avoidant and anxious spouses
Relational turbulence theory (RTT) articulates processes that explain why spouses evaluate their marriages as chaotic. Specifically, RTT predicts that relational uncertainty biases cognitive appraisals about the marriage and that partner interference with daily routines heightens negative emotions toward the spouse, both of which, culminate in relational turbulence. Our study confirmed these theoretical processes in marriage. However, by integrat…
Mixture modeling
Communication consulting and outreach
Consultants operate as translators who cull relevant literature to produce lessons as these pertain to skills, strategies, and ideas that practitioners can apply in professional contexts (Waldeck
Scholarly productivity in communication studies
This study examined data from the years 2017–2021 in a sample of 24 journals in communication studies to determine normative and exceptional rates of publication. These data were examined using the traditional full counting method to determine research participation by assigning credit to each author, equally, when listed on a research publication. In addition, we examined the data to determine individual research contribution by using a weighted…
Conditional indirect effects of clarity on students’ information processing
The effect of instructor clarity on student learning has been explained using cognitive load theory, which stipulates that students have limited mental resources to devote to activities pertaining to learning. To date, the effect of teacher clarity on students’ cognitive burden has been studied in reference to students’ extraneous cognitive load as clear teachers design their instruction to be straightforward and free from distraction. However, f…
The effect of clarity on learning
This study tested the notion that the impact of clarity (i.e., structure) on learning is indirect and occurs, in part, through the reduction of cognitive load and subsequently through students’ motivation to process instructional information. Two hundred fifty-two students were randomly assigned to one of two text-based lessons (clear or unclear) on the topic of social cognitive theory. After being exposed to the material, participants were asked…
Dynamic and Daily Partner-Specific Processes of Relationship Uncertainty and Enacted Relationship Talk
Guided by relational turbulence theory (RTT), this intensive longitudinal study examined how within-person daily fluctuations in relationship uncertainty corresponded with individuals’ decisions to engage in daily enacted relationship talk. Using a person-specific approach, this study also examined how individuals’ attachment insecurity predicted within-person differences in month-long processes predicted by RTT. College-aged dating partners ( N …
Students’ psychological barriers to rhetorical dissent
Using a longitudinal person-centered approach, we studied students and their impediments to communicating disagreement with instructors over a semester. First, we used latent profile analysis to uncover types of students characterized by their psychological barriers (i.e., discomfort, punishment, and response inefficacy) toward rhetorical dissent at the beginning, middle, and end of a semester. Second, using a random intercept-latent transition a…
Instructor clarity fosters student learning by reducing cognitive load (for some students)
Researchers have demonstrated that clear teaching is causally related to student learning. One theory guiding instructor clarity research is cognitive load theory, which presumes that the effect of clear teaching on student learning is explained by the ability for clear instruction to reduce students’ cognitive burden. This experiment tested this indirect learning process using a video-based lecture while considering the moderating impact of stud…
Relationship uncertainty and person-specific dynamics of partner rumination and relational turbulence in day-to-day life
This daily diary study examined dynamic processes of relational turbulence theory. Dating partners (N = 202) completed measures of pretest relationship uncertainty, followed by 30 days of daily rumination and relational turbulence, and then posttest collaborative planning. Using dynamic structural equation modeling with random effects, we found that for the typical partner: (a) on days when they ruminated more about their relationship than usual,…
Psychology (18 works) · Social Psychology (15 works) · Communication in Education and Healthcare (8 works) · Political science (8 works) · Attachment and Relationship Dynamics (6 works) · Mathematics (5 works) · Online and Blended Learning (5 works) · Cognition (4 works) · Computer Science (4 works) · Mathematics education (4 works)