The relationship of homophily to verbal and nonverbal immediacy in the classroom

A number of studies have indicated the importance of teacher immediacy for effective instruction in the classroom. Previous investigations have shown that certain nonverbal and verbal cues tend to produce immediacy. The issue for this investigation was why such cues produce immediacy. Attitudinal and background homophily were found to be the factors which affected verbal and nonverbal immediacy. Attitudinal homophily was found to be a more significant factor in producing both verbal and nonverbal immediacy.