The Influence of Instructor Social Presence and Student Academic Entitlement on Teacher Misbehaviors in Online Courses

This study investigated how student perceptions of prosocial instructor variables (immediacy, communication satisfaction, interpersonal attraction) and student academic entitlement predict graduate student reports of three dimensions (incompetent, indolent, and offensive) of teacher misbehaviors in online communication courses. Results revealed that communication satisfaction, immediacy, and task-related interpersonal attraction significantly predict student reports of incompetent and indolent teacher misbehaviors, while communication satisfaction and task- and social-related interpersonal attraction significantly predict perceptions of offensive teacher misbehaviors. The implications of these findings are discussed in light of the teacher-student relationship and instructor approaches in the computer-mediated classroom context.