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Equity, relational maintenance, and linguistic features of text messaging
... With respect to emotional valence, there are reasons for thinking that happy, satisfying relationships should be those in which the expression of positive emotion is more frequent and the expression of negative emotion is less frequent (Gottman, 1994). Language use research has generally supported the first possibility (e.g., Brody & Peña, 2015;Kurlak, McGlone, & Vangelisti, 2018) and has tended to support the second (e.g., Brody & Peña, 2015;Karan, Wright, & Robbins, 2016). There are exceptions to these trends, however (e.g., Slatcher, Vazire, & Pennebaker, 2008), and emotional expression can sometimes benefit relationships even when the relevant feelings are negative ones (Averill, 1983). ...
... With respect to emotional valence, there are reasons for thinking that happy, satisfying relationships should be those in which the expression of positive emotion is more frequent and the expression of negative emotion is less frequent (Gottman, 1994). Language use research has generally supported the first possibility (e.g., Brody & Peña, 2015;Kurlak, McGlone, & Vangelisti, 2018) and has tended to support the second (e.g., Brody & Peña, 2015;Karan, Wright, & Robbins, 2016). There are exceptions to these trends, however (e.g., Slatcher, Vazire, & Pennebaker, 2008), and emotional expression can sometimes benefit relationships even when the relevant feelings are negative ones (Averill, 1983). ...
... We expected similar dynamics in open-ended descriptions about the relationship. That is, positive emotion frequencies should be higher within close, happy relationships, whereas negative emotion frequencies are likely to be problematic indicators (Brody & Peña, 2015;Gottman, 1994). ...
Romantic relationships vary in quality, and the purpose of the present investigation was to examine a wide scope of linguistic variables as possible markers of this variability. Ninety-six undergraduate students within committed romantic relationships were asked to write freely about their partnership, following which they reported on relationship qualities such as trust, love, and satisfaction. In addition, 87 partners reported on their perceptions of relationship closeness, and 88 participants completed at least 8 days of a daily diary protocol. The occurrence of positive emotion words predicted relationship satisfaction, and the use of first-person plural words predicted partner perceptions of closeness. Beyond such findings, relationship quality varied positively with linguistic certainty, inclusiveness, and expressiveness. Conversely, several findings point to linguistic variables, such as anxiety, that suggest inhibitory processes within the relationship. Altogether, the research extends our knowledge concerning the linguistic factors that differentiate high-quality relationships from less functional ones.
... A recent study found that undergraduate students spend an average of over 90 min per day texting (Roberts, Yaya, & Manolis, 2014). Text messaging plays a major role in the daily management of relationships among young adults (Brody & Peña, 2015), such as communicating urgent information inconspicuously (Pettigrew, 2009). ...
... These findings suggest that positive forms of in-person communication between partners can contribute to greater relationship satisfaction. Given that young adults are conducting a large portion of their romantic communication over text messaging (see Brody & Peña, 2015;Pettigrew, 2009), it is critical currently to understand the connection between text-messaging based communication and relationship satisfaction, which may have long-term impact on the life satisfaction of both parties (Gustavson, Røysamb, Borren, Torvik, & Karevold, 2016), and which the current investigation aimed to explore. ...
... Research also suggests that different uses of text messaging can have different consequences for relationship functioning and outcomes. In a sample of young adults, Brody and Peña (2015) found that particular language, specifically positive emotional words used in text messaging were associated with greater relationship satisfaction, while negative emotional words were associated with lower satisfaction in both friendships and romantic relationships. In multiple studies, discussing the nature of the relationship (Brody & Peña, 2015), broaching difficult topics, and saying something hurtful to a partner (Coyne et al., 2011;Schade et al., 2013) over text message have been associated with lower relationship satisfaction. ...
Young adults increasingly rely on text messaging in the ongoing maintenance of romantic relationships. However, results have been mixed regarding the implications of text messaging for relationship satisfaction. Thus, in a sample of 205 young adults (ages 18 to 29) in romantic relationships, this study examined the role of perceived texting similarity between romantic partners in predicting relationship satisfaction. Controlling for gender, length of relationship, and attachment anxiety and avoidance, regression analyses found that greater perceived similarity between self and partner in overall text messaging use, as well as greater perceived similarity in frequency of initiating and saying hello via text messaging specifically, were associated with greater relationship satisfaction. Findings highlight the importance of perceived similarity between romantic partners regarding texting behaviors for their level of satisfaction, even when taking into account the robust predictors of attachment anxiety and avoidance. Results suggest that concordance in use of text messaging can be a point of intervention in romantic relationships, and future research should continue to explore the role of similarity in texting in romantic as well as other relationships.
... Some studies have found that more frequent texting is linked to greater relationship satisfaction (Luo & Tuney, 2015), ratings of partner accessibility and engagement (Schade et al., 2013), and lower conflict in face-to-face interactions (Novak et al., 2016). Texting a romantic partner to provide assurances, express affection, and communicate emotions has also been shown to have positive associations with overall relationship satisfaction (Brody & Peña, 2015;Coyne et al., 2011;Slatcher et al., 2008). However, other studies have reported null or even negative effects of frequent texting (Goodman-Deane et al., 2016;Jin & Peña, 2010;Luo, 2014). ...
... Although we did not capture the content of text messages, we suspect that couples in LDRs may also be more likely to use texting in ways that will enhance intimacy and emotional connection, such as expressing positivity and appreciation (Brody & Peña, 2015), sharing about a wide range of topics (Boyle & O'Sullivan, 2016), and sharing about the mundane details of daily life (Duck & Pittman, 1994). In contrast, since GCR couples tend to engage in more shared tasks and responsibilities (Pistole et al., 2010), the brief and convenient nature of texting may lend itself to be used more for practical matters (e.g., requesting information, coordinating social plans, discussing joint responsibilities), which may not have the same relational benefit. ...
Due to the widespread use of smartphones, romantic couples can connect with their partners from virtually anywhere, at any time. Remote communication may be particularly important to long-distance relationships (LDRs), compared to geographically close relationships (GCRs). The goals of the current research were to examine differences between LDRs and GCRs in (1) the patterns of remote communication (video calls, voice calls, and texting), and (2) how frequency and responsiveness of remote communication are related to relationship satisfaction. Data were drawn from an online survey of emerging adults (n = 647) who were in a relationship or dating someone (36.5% were in an LDR). Participants in LDRs engaged in more frequent video calling, voice calling and texting, compared to those in GCRs. Long-distance relationship participants also perceived their partners to be more responsive during video and voice calls, compared to GCR participants. More frequent and responsive texting predicted significantly greater relationship satisfaction among participants in LDRs, but not GCRs. Meanwhile, frequency of voice calls was associated with greater relationship satisfaction in GCRs, but not in LDRs. The use of video calls was not significantly related to relationship satisfaction in either group. Overall, study findings add to a growing literature on remote communication in romantic couples and suggest a uniquely positive role of texting within LDRs. Further research is needed to examine the ways in which LDR and GCR couples can best capitalize on different forms of remote technology to maintain their relationships during periods of separation.
... Some studies have found that more frequent texting is linked to greater relationship satisfaction (Luo & Tuney, 2015), ratings of partner accessibility and engagement (Schade et al., 2013), and lower conflict in face-to-face interactions (Novak et al., 2016). Texting a romantic partner to provide assurances, express affection, and communicate emotions has also been shown to have positive associations with overall relationship satisfaction (Brody & Peña, 2015;Coyne et al., 2011;Slatcher et al., 2008). However, other studies have reported null or even negative effects of frequent texting (Goodman-Deane et al., 2016;Jin & Peña, 2010;Luo, 2014). ...
... Although we did not capture the content of text messages, we suspect that couples in LDRs may also be more likely to use texting in ways that will enhance intimacy and emotional connection, such as expressing positivity and appreciation (Brody & Peña, 2015), sharing about a wide range of topics (Boyle & O'Sullivan, 2016), and sharing about the mundane details of daily life (Duck & Pittman, 1994). In contrast, since GCR couples tend to engage in more shared tasks and responsibilities (Pistole et al., 2010), the brief and convenient nature of texting may lend itself to be used more for practical matters (e.g., requesting information, coordinating social plans, discussing joint responsibilities), which may not have the same relational benefit. ...
Thanks to the widespread use of smartphones, romantic couples can connect with their partners from virtually anywhere, at any time. Remote communication may be particularly important to long-distance relationships (LDRs), compared to geographically close relationships (GCRs). The goals of the current research were to examine differences between LDRs and GCRs in (1) the patterns of remote communication (video calls, voice calls, and texting), and (2) how frequency and responsiveness of remote communication are related to relationship satisfaction. Data were drawn from an online survey of emerging adults (n = 647) who were in a relationship or dating someone (36.5% were in an LDR). Participants in LDRs engaged in more frequent video calling, voice calling, and texting, compared to those in GCRs. LDR participants also perceived their partners to be more responsive during video and voice calls, compared to GCR participants. More frequent and responsive texting predicted significantly greater relationship satisfaction among participants in LDRs, but not GCRs. Meanwhile, frequency of voice calls was associated with greater relationship satisfaction in GCRs, but not in LDRs. The use of video calls was not related to relationship satisfaction in either group. Overall, study findings add to a sparse literature on remote communication in romantic couples and suggest a uniquely positive role of texting within LDRs. Further research is needed to examine the ways in which LDR and GCR couples can best capitalize on different forms of remote technology to maintain their relationships during periods of separation.
... Assurances are defined as signals used by partners to convey their affection, commitment, and appreciation for each other. Openness points at directly discussing the nature of the relationship, also referred to as relational meta-communication (see Brody & Peña, 2015). All kinds of instrumental efforts, such as housework, childcare, and everyday errands are subsumed under the category of sharing tasks. ...
... Therefore, being POPC may dramatically change the conditions for relationship maintenance in everyday life, because it implies an exponentially greater amount of opportunities for partners to (re) connect, in particular in long-distance relationships. Couples use text-based mobile online communication to engage in all five of the relational maintenance strategies (Brody & Peña, 2015). Specifically, permanent connectedness can be used to share experiences and information of interest, as well as to show caring for the partner, but also to discuss difficult topics, such as commitment, feelings, and conflict (Bergdall et al., 2012). ...
... Assurances are defined as signals used by partners to convey their affection, commitment, and appreciation for each other. Openness points at directly discussing the nature of the relationship, also referred to as relational meta-communication (see Brody & Peña, 2015). All kinds of instrumental efforts, such as housework, childcare, and everyday errands are subsumed under the category of sharing tasks. ...
... Therefore, being POPC may dramatically change the conditions for relationship maintenance in everyday life, because it implies an exponentially greater amount of opportunities for partners to (re) connect, in particular in long-distance relationships. Couples use text-based mobile online communication to engage in all five of the relational maintenance strategies (Brody & Peña, 2015). Specifically, permanent connectedness can be used to share experiences and information of interest, as well as to show caring for the partner, but also to discuss difficult topics, such as commitment, feelings, and conflict (Bergdall et al., 2012). ...
... The symbolic interpretation of a text message goes beyond the mechanics of who, when, and where. Research by Miller-Ott et al. (2012) and Brody and Peña (2015) indicates that limiting the type of information discussed through mobile phone communication carries its own symbolic meaning of love or respect. In Miller-Ott et al.'s (2012) study, participants who indicated it was inappropriate to discuss important relational issues through text or phone calls were also more satisfied with the mobile phone use in the relationship. ...
... Furthermore, the group that reported mobile phone-mediated discussion of issues important to the relationship was inappropriate also had higher overall relationship satisfaction than those who chose to discuss relationship matters through mobile phones (Miller-Ott et al., 2012). Findings from Brody and Peña (2015) indicate that openness when text messaging a romantic partner negatively predicts relationship satisfaction. The openness scale used in their research included aspects such as discussing relationship status or the quality of the relationship. ...
There is a growing, body of research regarding the role of mobile phones in romantic couple communication processes. The purpose of this review is to highlight the state of the literature in this area in terms of positive and negative aspects of the constant contact afforded by mobile phones. We use symbolic interactionism to discuss ways in which mobile phones provide a vehicle of symbol-creating interaction when actors attach and glean meanings from interactions via mobile phones. Text and phone conversations tend to be stripped of many cues often used to decipher meaning in face-to-face interactions. Thus, symbolically, meaning derived from mobile phone use may consist of more than the recordable contents of the conversations. Implications for research are discussed.
... To the extent relationships are socially constructed, the textual artifacts from throughout a relationship highlight that process. Text messaging behaviors reflect relational dynamics, and the specific language used in text messages predicts relational satisfaction (Brody & Peña, 2015). Thus, it makes sense that post-breakup individuals would want to revisit the conversations that affected the development and dissolution of their relationship. ...
... Maintaining a close relationship requires a considerable amount of effort from both parties to keep the relationship stable, intimate, and satisfactory (Dindia & Canary, 1993;Tong & Walther, 2011). As such, theoretical work including the equity theory (Hatfield et al., 1985) and the actor-partner interdependence model (Shafer et al., 2014) indicates that people would evaluate the extent to which their relational partners and themselves invest balanced and equitable effort (Brody & Peña, 2015) as a signal of one's commitment to their relationship (Shafer et al., 2014). It is therefore almost always desirable to consistently carry out adequate relational activities to maintain a close relationship. ...
Relationship maintenance needs sincere efforts made by both self and relational partners. Yet, technological development provides people with convenient access to help from external sources-other people online, or even tools powered by artificial intelligence (AI)-when performing certain relational activities. By reducing personal effort, receiving external augmentation might compromise the desired effort level in a close relationship. To explore people's normative evaluations of such behaviors, we conducted a survey experiment (N = 114) wherein participants provided their evaluations of 25 common relational activities in friendship maintenance. Most activities were considered as requiring sincere efforts and subjective in nature. We found that the more sincere efforts and the more subjectivity a relational activity required, the more inappropriate people considered it being augmented by another human or AI system. These results together advance our knowledge of how technology-mediated interactions are judged in interpersonal relationships.
... Research showed that text perceived as hurtful was directly related to distancing behaviour and relationship satisfaction was negatively associated with perceived intent and distancing (Borae 2013). Using a positivity strategy via texting predicted satisfaction in romantic relationships and friendships (Brody & Peña 2015). No significant difference was found between men and women in recalling positive and negative words in general (Cuming 2013). ...
Background: Texting has become central to social life, with adverse effects on physiological functioning. Research into the impact of texting on cortisol secretion is limited.
Aim: Thus study aimed to determine how receiving mobile text messages affected salivary cortisol concentrations and investigate the moderating effects of stress, anxiety and depression on cortisol secretion.
Setting: Undergraduate physiology students attending physiology lectures at the Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, 2016.
Methods: An experimental, crossover, quantitative design was used. Participants were involved over two consecutive days, receiving mobile text messages (intervention) on one day and acting as their own control on the other. Self-reported data on stress, anxiety, depression and subjective experience of the study, and saliva samples were collected. Text frequency and wording (neutral, positive, negative) were varied among participants.
Results: Forty-eight students participated in the study. Salivary cortisol concentrations did not differ significantly between the intervention and control days. High anxiety levels were associated with increased cortisol concentrations. No associations with cortisol concentrations were documented in low to moderate anxiety, stress, depression or how participants experienced the intervention. There were no significant differences between text frequency, text emotion and change in cortisol concentrations on the intervention day.
Conclusion: Receiving mobile text messages did not elicit a significant cortisol response in participants.
Contribution: Findings added to the body of knowledge about the effect of texting on student learning by measuring salivary cortisol concentrations in a lecture setting, with investigation into the moderating effects of stress, anxiety, depression and participants’ subjective experience.
... People use more words when writing about a topic in which they are interested compared to topics of less interest [59] and words associated with positive emotions indicate relationship stability [60]. Negative emotional language, on the other hand, indicates relationships of low quality [61,62]. OT affects social salience [53] and social language [63] and may therefore impact how, and how much, people write when describing a brand to which they are attached. ...
Humans express loyalty to consumer brands much like they do in human relationships. The neuroactive chemical oxytocin is an important biological substrate of human attachment and this study tested whether consumer-brand relationships can be influenced by oxytocin administration. We present a mathematical model of brand attachment that generates empirically-testable hypotheses. The model is tested by administering synthetic oxytocin or placebo to male and female participants (N = 77) who received information about brands and had an opportunity to purchase branded products. We focused on two brand personality dimensions: warmth and competence. Oxytocin increased perceptions of brand competence but not brand warmth relative to placebo. We also found that participants were willing to pay more for branded products through its effect on brand competence. When writing about one’s favorite brands, oxytocin enhanced the use of positive emotional language as well as words related to family and friends. These findings provide preliminary evidence that consumers build relationships with brands using the biological mechanisms that evolved to form human attachments.
... romantic partners send and receive on average between 65 and 75 messages to each other per day (Brody & Peña, 2015;Luo, 2014). Several studies have examined actual CMC exchanges in romantic couples, including e-mail exchanges between members of new couples (Sharabi & Dykstra-DeVette, 2019) and Gmail instant message exchanges between couples (Slatcher, Vazire, & Pennebaker, 2008). ...
The digital text traces left by computer-mediated communication (CMC) provide a new opportunity to test theories of relational processes that were originally developed through observation of face-to-face interactions. Communication accommodation theory, for example, suggests that conversation partners’ verbal (and non-verbal) behaviors become more similar as relationships develop. Using a corpus of 1+ million text messages that 41 college-age romantic couples sent to each other during their first year of dating, this study examines how linguistic alignment of new romantic couples’ CMC changes during relationship formation. Results from nonlinear growth models indicate that three aspects of daily linguistic alignment (syntactic—language style matching, semantic—latent semantic analysis, overall—cosine similarity) all exhibit exponential growth to an asymptote as romantic relationships form. Beyond providing empirical support that communication accommodation theory also applies in romantic partners’ CMC, this study demonstrates how relational processes can be examined using digital trace data.
... However, despite the absence of nonverbal cues available in FtF communication, CMC can facilitate intimacy (Dainton & Aylor, 2002). Positive and supportive communication via text messaging occurs in friendships and romantic relationships, and positively predicts relationship satisfaction (Brody & Peña, 2015), so it is important to understand how this medium is used to fulfill relationship needs. Even non-intimate disclosures through CMC can increase intimacy and improve relationship quality (Boyle & O'Sullivan, 2016) . ...
This research investigated how emojis can be used in text messaging to communicate perceived responsiveness, guide impression formation, and contribute to reflected appraisal. Participants (N = 179) disclosed a positive and negative event to a responder (a confederate) over iMessage. Participants were randomly assigned to receive either text only responses or a mixture of text and emoji responses from the responder. For positive self-disclosures, participants had higher ratings of perceived responsiveness when there was convergence in emoji use between the participant and responder than when there was divergence. In other words, participants rated the confederate higher in responsiveness when both or neither used emojis (converged) than when only one used emojis (diverged). There were no effects of emoji use on perceived responsiveness for negative self-disclosures. Additionally, following the set of interactions, participants had more positive impressions of the responder and more positive perceptions of how the responder felt towards the participant (reflected appraisal) when there was convergence rather than divergence in emoji use. Discussion centers around whether emojis can serve as a substitute for nonverbal cues typically found in face-to-face conversations.
Sosyal bir varlık olan insanın diğer insanlarla iletişim, etkileşim ve birtakım ilişkiler içerisinde olma ihtiyacı bulunmaktadır. Bunlardan en önemli iki ilişki biçimi, arkadaşlık ilişkileri ve romantik ilişkilerdir. Birey, sosyal yaşamda başlatılan her ilişkisinin sürmesini istemekte, bunun için de ilişkinin gerektirdiği şekillerde çaba sarf etmektedir. Sosyal medya platformlarıyla birlikte bu iki ilişki biçiminin hem deneyimlenme hem de sürdürülme biçimleri değişmiştir. Kimi ilişkilerin sürdürülebilirliği noktasında fayda sağlayan sosyal medya, kimi ilişkilerin bitmesine sebep olabilmektedir. Sosyal medya platformları da yakın zamanda sanal gerçeklik ortamlarına, meta evrene evrilecek ve sanal ağlarda sosyalleşme biçimi de boyut değiştirecektir. Metaverse, kullanıcılarının üç boyutlu sanal ortamlarda birlikte çalışmasına oyun oynamasına ve sosyalleşmesine olanak tanıyacaktır. Şu an sadece bazı dijital oyun platformları metaverse deneyimini sunsa da Facebook’un sahibi Mark Zuckerberg’in şirketinin adını “Meta” olarak değiştirmesi ve diğer önemli sosyal medya şirketlerinin de platformlarını bu meta evrene adapte edebilmek için yüklü yatırımlar yapmaya başlamış olması, sosyal medyanın kökten bir değişim sergileyeceğinin göstergesidir. Böylece arkadaşlık ilişkileri ve romantik ilişkilerde sürdürülebilirlik ile ilgili yeni biçimler, belki de yeni sürdürülebilirlik davranışları ortaya çıkacaktır. Bu bağlamda bu çalışmada, kişilerarası ilişkilerde sürdürülebilirlik kavramı çerçevesinde sosyal medyada yaşanan ve bir adım ötesinde varılacak nokta olan meta evrende yaşanacak olan ilişki biçimleri tartışılacaktır.
Romantic partners expect and follow implicit rules for flirtatious texting. This mixed-methods exploratory study reviewed survey data and content analyzed flirtatious texts from 200 participants to discover specific communication rules and the level of flirtatious texting similarity. Each participant uploaded five to seven screenshots of recent flirtatious texts for analysis. Coding included similarity in emoji use, message length, timing, and the number of texts sent. Results from the quantitative survey, open-ended questions, and coding of 1042 uploaded screenshots revealed that communicators desire and provide a high degree of similarity when flirting, including emoji use as well as the length, frequency, and timing of texts.
Participants (N = 312) in romantic relationships completed an online survey to determine common integrated phone activities, motivations for integrating phones into time together, and whether phone integration is associated with relationship satisfaction. The most frequent activities included showing social media posts, photos, and videos; showing texts; and involving the partner in video calls. Primary motivations for integrating phones into partners’ co-present time were enjoyment, psychological inclusion, phubbing avoidance, transparency, and habitual use. Findings indicate that participants were often intentional in integrating the phone into co-present time, and frequency of joint involvement with the phone was associated with relationship satisfaction.
Smartphones and digital media are omnipresent in day-to-day life. There are positive and negative consequences to technology usage in established relationships; we also know that there are several theories outlining why people use technology generally. What is less clear, however, is how these two entities intersect. The purpose of this article is to determine the how different mechanisms related to technology—namely, texting, video calling, and e-mail—are used in established romantic relationships. Using a hermeneutics qualitative methodology and interviewing 17 individuals, we uncovered the rationale for why individuals decide on using particular methods of communication to engage with their romantic partner. We discovered unique reasons for texting as compared to video conferences, phone calls, and e-mail usage in established romantic relationships. Implications and future research are discussed.
In text messaging via mobile devices, many users face pressure to rapidly exchange messages. This study investigates reply speeds in smartphone messaging, focusing on messaging with a read receipt function, which notifies the sender of whether the recipient has read a sent message. Using a questionnaire targeting 213 female college students in Japan, we investigate the time until negative emotions (sadness, anxiety, anger and guilt) which occur while waiting for a reply. The authors also address factors of messaging dependency, and find that negative emotions arise in significantly less time when waiting for a reply to a read message than an unread one. Further, most negative emotions occur significantly earlier in high-dependency groups than in low-dependency groups when waiting for a reply in either status. These effects differed in part depending on the type of emotion and recipient. The authors discuss these findings in the context of reply speed as a nonverbal cue.
Relationship maintenance encompasses a wide range of activities that partners use to preserve their relationships. Despite the importance of these efforts, considerably more empirical focus has been devoted to starting (i.e. initiation) and ending (i.e. dissolution) relationships than on maintaining them. In this volume, internationally renowned scholars from a variety of disciplines describe diverse sets of relationship maintenance efforts in order to show why some relationships endure, whereas others falter. By focusing on 'what to do' rather than 'what not to do' in relationships, this book paints a more comprehensive picture of the forms, functions, and contexts of relationship maintenance. It is essential reading for scholars and students in psychology, communication, human development and family science, sociology, and couple/marriage and family therapy.
Employing the communicative interdependence perspective (CIP), the current study examined the interconnection and transition between technologically mediated communication (TMC) and face-to-face (FtF) communication in long-distance dating relationships (LDDRs). College students in LDDRs (N = 200) completed an online survey. Results showed that segmentation to TMC was negatively associated with relational closeness and relationship satisfaction. Difficulty transitioning between TMC and FtF communication was negatively associated with relationship satisfaction. Further, LDDR partners’ FtF communication frequency moderated the associations between segmentation to TMC and the two relational markers. Findings’ implications for relational maintenance in LDDRs and CIP are discussed.
Los teléfonos celulares inteligentes o smartphones constituyen una parte importante, a veces indispensable, de la vida contemporánea de las personas en múltiples dimensiones. El presente trabajo tiene como propósito fundamental analizar el uso de estos dispositivos en el ámbito de las relaciones románticas. A partir de un enfoque sociodeterminista de las tecnologías de la comunicación, se hace una revisión de las motivaciones comunicativas y psicológicas asociadas a los distintos patrones de uso del smartphone en las fases previa (ej., búsqueda de pareja a través de aplicaciones de micro-citas) y posterior al inicio de la relación. En particular, se describen algunos de los avances más relevantes en esta línea de estudio y se discute el grado de influencia que este tipo de dispositivo tiene en la formación, consolidación o término de la relación . Además, se revisan algunos patrones de uso del aparato móvil con efectos negativos para la relación, tales como el phubbing, sexting y el ciberbullying. Este trabajo también pretende trazar una hoja de ruta para posteriores análisis empíricos respecto al papel instrumentador de las tecnologías en las relaciones sentimentales.
Romantic partners use texting to send a variety of messages including relational maintenance messages. Three hundred forty-one individuals in dating relationships completed a questionnaire about texted relational maintenance messages, relational variables, relational texting frequency, and their proclivity for texting romantic partners. Four maintenance strategies—positivity, assurances, sharing tasks, and network—were significantly related to relational satisfaction and closeness. Romantic texting proclivity contributed positively to relational satisfaction and closeness through maintenance but contributed negatively to satisfaction and closeness after controlling for the effects of texted maintenance.
Previous research on the interpersonal effects of computer-mediated communication (CMC) reveals inconsistencies. In some cases CMC has been found to be impersonal, task-oriented, and hostile. Other reports show warm personal relations, and still others show gradual adjustments in interpersonal relations over time. The past research results are also difficult to compare, as their research methods reveal inconsistent approaches. These inconsistencies include the treatment of time limits on group development, the neglect of nonverbal behavior in face-to-face, comparison groups, and other measurement issues. Each of these factors may obscure our understanding of the way CMC partners get to know and come to relate to each other through CMC. The present study attempts to address some of these concerns. This study explored the effects of computer conferencing on the interpersonal messages with which people define their relationships, known as relational communication. Observers rated the relational communication from transcripts of CMC conversations or from videotapes of face-to-face three-person groups who had worked in several sessions. Analyses showed that CMC groups achieved more positive levels on several dimensions of interpersonal communication than did face-to-face groups. On other dimensions, no differences between conditions were found. In no case did CMC groups express less intimacy or more task-orientation than face-to-face groups. Implications are drawn suggesting that under certain conditions, CMC may promote positive relational effects in ways that previous theories have not considered, and in some ways superior to more traditional media.
The purpose of this study was to expand research in the areas of computer-mediated communication (CMC) and relational maintenance by contributing to a growing, albeit limited, body of research concerning how individuals maintain relationships through computer technologies. Despite the recent emergence of mobile communication technologies, few studies exist that examine how mobile text messaging is used to maintain relationships. Our results indicate that a wide range of individuals report using text messaging as a relational maintenance tool. While participants (N=699) reported using text messaging to maintain their relationships with both friends and romantic partners, they used the create plans and social network strategies with friends more than with romantic partners. Synchronous, or instantaneous, levels of text messaging strongly correlated with the use of text messaging to perform relational maintenance behaviors
This article uses dialectical theory to examine how mobile phone use in close friendships affects relational expectations, the experiences of dependence, overdependence, and entrapment, and how those experiences affect relational satisfaction. Results suggest that increased mobile phone use for the purpose of relational maintenance has contradictory consequences for close friendships. Using mobile phones in close relationships increased expectations of relationship maintenance through mobile phones. Increased mobile maintenance expectations positively predicted dependence, which increased satisfaction, and positively predicted overdependence, which decreased satisfaction. Additionally, entrapment, the guilt and pressure to respond to mobile phone contact, uniquely predicted dissatisfaction. The results are interpreted in relation to the interdependent dialectical tensions of friendship, media entrapment, and the logic of perpetual contact.
Two explanations for relational maintenance processes center on the constructs of equity and relationship uncertainty. The current study sought to uncover how these two explanations compare when predicting relational maintenance data. Survey data were collected from 219 individuals in romantic relationships. As predicted, both inequity and uncertainty were moderately and negatively related to the use of maintenance strategies. Further, results indicate that future, definition, and mutuality uncertainty are positively related to being underbenefitted, but that being overbenefitted is not related to any of the dimensions of relationship uncertainty. Finally, both inequity and uncertainty predict relational satisfaction as well as the frequency of maintenance enactment, but uncertainty appears to be the stronger and more consistent predictor of both. Implications for combining the two approaches are discussed.
This study explored the household use of electronic mail. In a telephone probability sample of 881 adults, 112 adults reported they used electronic mail. This sample provided four superordinate reasons for home e‐mail use: interpersonal relationships; personal gain; business; and gratification opportunities. Overwhelmingly, home e‐mail was reported to be used for interpersonal relationship reasons regardless of user demographics. The findings suggest that e‐mail is used for the maintenance of interpersonal relationships and that gratification opportunities play an important role in home e‐mail use.
Few studies to date have examined the use of Internet applications in enacting `everyday' routine relational maintenance and even fewer assess how such tools complement more traditional forms of communication to sustain involvements. This exploratory study examines the role of one such tool, instant messaging (IM), in relational maintenance. Participants (N = 402) reported their general use of IM (Stage 1) and subsequently conducted and reported on a specific interaction occurring either through IM or face to face (Stage 2). Among IM users, significant gender and the types of relationships differences emerged in `every communication.' Findings also indicate how IM is being utilized in conjunction with other communication channels. New research opportunities for examining relational maintenance processes employing IM are advanced.
The purpose of the present study was to examine marital partners' perceptions of the underlying similarities among the marital maintenance strategies initially reported by Dindia & Baxter (1987). The perceptual judgment sorts of ninety-one married persons were analyzed using individual differences multidimensional scaling, hierarchical cluster analysis and content analysis. Results indicated that husbands and wives sorted the maintenance strategies similarly. Three underlying dimensions organized the perceptual space: constructive/destructive communication styles, ambivalence-based versus satiation-based conditional use and proactivity/passivity. Six cluster neighborhoods were situated in the three-dimensional space: Last Resort Strategies, Satiation Strategies, Inward Withdrawal Strategies, Problem Avoidance Strategies, Destructive Strategies and Constructive Strategies. The findings differ substantially from the a priori classification typology employed by Dindia & Baxter (1987).
This study examines the manner in which perceptions of relational maintenance strategies used in romantic dyads vary according to relationship type (married, engaged, seriously dating and dating) and gender. Additionally, this study investigates how perceptions of partners' maintenance behaviors differentially affect the relational characteristics of control mutuality, commitment, liking and satisfaction. Research assumptions were cast within a developmental framework. Five maintenance strategies were derived through factor analyses: positivity, assurances, openness, sharing tasks and social networks. Results indicate that relationship type moderately affected perceptions of partner maintenance strategies and gender weakly affected perceptions of maintenance behaviors. The findings also reveal that positivity, assurances and sharing tasks were consistent and strong predictors of control mutuality, commitment, liking and satisfaction.
The warranting principle pertains to impression formation in Internet communication. It posits that perceivers' judgments about a target rely more heavily on information which the targets themselves cannot manipulate than on self-descriptions. Two experiments employed mock-up profiles resembling the Internet site, Facebook, to display self-generated clues and to display other-generated clues about a Facebook user. The first experiment (N = 115) tested perceptions of extraversion. Although warranting was supported, rival explanations (negativity and additivity) also pertained. The second experiment (N = 125) tested perceptions of physical attractiveness. Friends' comments overrode self-comments, supporting warranting theory exclusively. Implications concern boundary-setting research for warranting, and potential effects of social comments on a variety of new information forms.
In three studies, friendship maintenance behaviors were investigated. In the first study, apsychometrically valid measure of friendship maintenance behaviors was developed via exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses. Friendship maintenance behaviors of positivity, supportiveness, openness, and interaction were identified as key factors. Furthermore, maintenance behaviors differed by friendship status (best, close, or casual friends) and gender. Best friends engaged in more maintenance behaviors than close or casual friends. Gender differences in maintenance behaviors were found, such that female same-sex friendships reported using more supportiveness, openness, and interaction than male same-sex friendships. In the second study, a confirmatory factor analysis revalidated the four-factor scale structure. In the third study, the interdependence of maintenance behaviors among friendship dyads was examined. Results indicated that friendships are equitable, display self-other agreement, and perceive equity of maintenance behaviors. Furthermore, both individuals' self-reported behaviors predicted dyad level satisfaction and commitment. Areas for future research are identified and clinical implications are discussed.
While computer-mediated communication use and research are proliferating rapidly, findings offer contrasting images regarding the interpersonal character of this technology. Research trends over the history of these media are reviewed with observations across trends suggested so as to provide integrative principles with which to apply media to different circumstances. First, the notion that the media reduce personal influences—their impersonal effects—is reviewed. Newer theories and research are noted explaining normative “interpersonal” uses of the media. From this vantage point, recognizing that impersonal communication is sometimes advantageous, strategies for the intentional depersonalization of media use are inferred, with implications for Group Decision Support Systems effects. Additionally, recognizing that media sometimes facilitate communication that surpasses normal interpersonal levels, a new perspective on “hyperpersonal” communication is introduced. Subprocesses are discussed pertaining to receivers, senders, channels, and feedback elements in computer-mediated communication that may enhance impressions and interpersonal relations.
This study examined maintenance strategies used by hetero-sexual participants in opposite-sex friendships. Individual reasons for adhering to a platonic relational definition and equity were used to predict maintenance behaviors. Factor analyses revealed six reasons for maintaining opposite-sex friendships as platonic: Not Attracted, Network Disapproval, Time Out, Safeguard Relationship, Third Party, and Risk Aversion. Relying on equity theory, we also investigated maintenance strategies of Support, No Flirting, Share Activity, Openness, Avoidance, and Positivity according to equity group membership. Finally, both motives and inequity (overbenefitedness and underbenefitedness) were associated with the use of six maintenance strategies. Results revealed that positive and proactive maintenance behaviors were used in equitable (versus under-or overbenefited) friendships and that reasons for maintaining the platonic nature of opposite-sex friendships predict maintenance strategies that friends employ. In particular, Safeguard Relationship was a consistent predictor of maintenance behaviors. (ln)equity also predicted the use of four maintenance strategies. Overall, support was found for using people's motives in conjunction with equity to predict relational maintenance strategies of opposite-sex friends.
This study replicates and extends previous research by probing for routine behaviors that maintain relationships. In addition, maintenance behaviors of married vs dating partners are compared, and similarity of relational partners' reports of maintenance behaviors is assessed. Finally, the differences in the use of maintenance behaviors by men and women are examined. Results indicate that many of the behaviors identified in this study are similar to behaviors found in past research on relational maintenance strategies. However, sharing tasks, a behavior only infrequently mentioned in previous research, was the most frequently reported maintenance behavior, indicating that sharing tasks is characteristic of routine, rather than strategic, maintenance behavior. Results also indicate that there is little difference in maintenance behaviors according to relationship type; that relational partners' reports of maintenance behaviors are quite similar; but that there are significant differences in the behaviors listed by men and women.
This article contextualizes the special issue of the journal by discussing the importance of language variables in the study of communication technology. It asserts three reasons to study technology: to see how technology changes language use, to see how social actors adapt to technology limitations and thereby bring into sharp focus basic social processes in human interaction, and to inform the design of technologies based on theories of language and the requirements of communication dynamics. Computer-mediated communication offers special opportunities for examining language and communication theory, in that online discourse is immune to many nonverbal communication elements that may confound language effects in speech. The role of language in communication technology research has been cyclical, with recent research refocusing on language data as evidence of human-computer interaction effects. Future research directions are suggested.
This study investigates self-disclosure in the novel context of online dating relationships. Using a national random sample of Match.com members (N = 349), the authors tested a model of relational goals, self-disclosure, and perceived success in online dating. The authors’ findings provide support for social penetration theory and the social information processing and hyperpersonal perspectives as well as highlight the positive effect of anticipated future face-to-face interaction on online self-disclosure. The authors find that perceived online dating success is predicted by four dimensions of self-disclosure (honesty, amount, intent, and valence), although honesty has a negative effect. Furthermore, online dating experience is a strong predictor of perceived success in online dating. Additionally, the authors identify predictors of strategic success versus self-presentation success. This research extends existing theory on computer-mediated communication, self-disclosure, and relational success to the increasingly important arena of mixed-mode relationships, in which participants move from mediated to face-to-face communication.
This study examines the associations between mobile phone use and relational uncertainty, love and commitment, and attachment styles. A survey of 197 college students revealed that greater use of mobile voice calls with a romantic partner was associated with lower relational uncertainty and more love and commitment. Also, the higher the avoidance, the less the participants used voice calls, and an interaction effect was found between avoidance and anxiety on voice call use. However, there were no significant results in relation to the use of text messaging. Overall, more mobile calls in romantic relationships are associated with positive relationship qualities.
Describes a general theory of social behavior-equity theory-consisting of 4 propositions designed to predict when individuals will perceive that they are justly treated and how they will react when they find themselves enmeshed in unjust relationships. Research conducted to test equity theory is summarized. Ways in which equity theory interlocks with other major social psychological theories are discussed. Some ways in which equity theory can be applied to understanding social problems are considered. (103 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Abstract Within social networks, relationships are “enacted.” They grow or decline through communication,and the exchange of social resources. Although geographic distance can inhibit enactment, telecommunication technologies (e.g., phone, email, IM) are increasingly being used to maintain relationships over long distances. In this paper, we examine the role these technologies play in maintaining friendships. Taking advantage of a natural situation in which friendships are at risk of ending, we follow students in their transition from high school to college. When students move away from home, they reduce both their communication,with their old high school friends and their sense of psychological
The actor–partner interdependence model (APIM) is a model of dyadic relationships that integrates a conceptual view of interdependence with the appropriate statistical techniques for measuring and testing it. In this article we present the APIM as a general, longitudinal model for measuring bidirectional effects in interpersonal relationships. We also present three different approaches to testing the model. The statistical analysis of the APIM is illustrated using longitudinal data on relationship specific attachment security from 203 mother–adolescent dyads. The results support the view that interpersonal influence on attachment security is bidirectional. Moreover, consistent with a hypothesis from attachment theory, the degree to which a child’s attachment security is influenced by his or her primary caregiver is found to diminish with age.
Recent studies have identified robust associations between the types of words that people use and their psychological health. This study investigated whether couples’ word use in their daily instant messages (IMs) is linked to the quality and stability of their relationships. Sixty-eight dating couples in the United States submitted 10 days of IM conversations with each other, which were analyzed with a linguistic word count program. Six months later, couples indicated whether they were still dating. Pronoun use and emotion word use both were associated with relationship satisfaction and stability. These findings extend previous research showing that the frequencies of certain words that people use are associated with the quality of their social relationships.
The spread of mobile communication, most obtrusively as cell phones but increasingly in other wireless devices, is affecting people's lives and relationships to a previously unthought-of extent. Mobile phones, which are fast becoming ubiquitous, affect either directly or indirectly every aspect of our personal and professional lives. They have transformed social practices and changed the way we do business, yet surprisingly little serious academic work has been done on them. This 2002 book, with contributions from the foremost researchers in the field, studies the impact of the mobile phone on contemporary society from a social scientific perspective. Providing a comprehensive overview of mobile phones and social interaction, it comprises an introduction covering the key issues, a series of unique national studies and a final section examining specific issues.
Our ability to express and accurately assess emotional states is central to human life. The present study examines how people express and detect emotions during text-based communication, an environment that eliminates the nonverbal cues typically associated with emotion. The results from 40 dyadic interactions suggest that users relied on four strategies to express happiness versus sadness, including disagreement, negative affect terms, punctuation, and verbosity. Contrary to conventional wisdom, communication partners readily distinguished between positive and negative valence emotional communicators in this text-based context. The results are discussed with respect to the Social Information Processing model of strategic relational adaptation in mediated communication.
This study examines how email is utilized to enact maintenance behaviors in interpersonal relationships and explores whether geographic distance between individuals affects this process. Two hundred twenty-six college students accumulated personal email messages over a one-week period. These emails were coded using Canary and Stafford’s (1994) maintenance strategy topology. Results indicate that self-disclosure (openness), discussing social networks, and positivity were the main categories found in email to family members and friends. For romantic partners, the most common categories were assurances, openness, positivity, and discussing social networks. Romantic partners and family members were more likely than friends to use assurances, and family members were more likely than romantic partners to refer to the social network. There were few differences between geographically close and long-distance interpersonal relationships.
Several theories and much experimental research on relational tone in computer-mediated communication (CMC) points to the lack of nonverbal cues in this channel as a cause of impersonal and task-oriented messages. Field research in CMC often reports more positive relational behavior. This article examines the assumptions, methods, and findings of such research and suggests that negative relational effects are confined to narrow situational boundary conditions. Alternatively, it is suggested that communicators develop individuating impressions of others through accumulated CMC messages. Based upon these impressions, users may develop relationships and express multidimensional relational messages through verbal or textual cues. Predictions regarding these processes are suggested, and future research incorporating these points is urged.
The greater power of bad events over good ones is found in everyday events, major life events (e.g., trauma), close relationship outcomes, social network patterns, interpersonal interactions, and learning processes. Bad emotions, bad parents, and bad feedback have more impact than good ones, and bad information is processed more thoroughly than good. The self is more motivated to avoid bad self-definitions than to pursue good ones. Bad impressions and bad stereotypes are quicker to form and more resistant to disconfirmation than good ones. Various explanations such as diagnosticity and salience help explain some findings, but the greater power of bad events is still found when such variables are controlled. Hardly any exceptions (indicating greater power of good) can be found. Taken together, these findings suggest that bad is stronger than good, as a general principle across a broad range of psychological phenomena.
This thought-provoking volume offers an innovative and intriguing approach to the study of long-distance relationships. Author Laura Stafford examines romantic long-distance relationships and then expands the conception of long-distance relationships to include other relational types. She summarizes literature across the social sciences on various types of long-distance relationships and extracts themes and patterns across the relational types. In so doing, she reconsiders approaches to and offers an expanded vision of relational maintenance. By expanding her scope beyond romantic relationships, Stafford includes those that span residences and relational types, such as noncustodial parent-child and geographically and residentially separated adult children and parents. She contends that face-to-face interaction is not necessary to maintain healthy relationships, and questions the assumption that maintaining, rather than terminating, a particular relationship is always best for the involved parties. With its interdisciplinary approach to challenging commonly held assumptions about communication and close relationships, Maintaining Long-Distance and Cross-Residential Relationships will be engaging reading for scholars in communication, psychology, sociology, mass communication, and family studies. It is also appropriate for special topics graduate courses on long-distance relationships and human communication, and will serve as a unique supplemental text for upper-level undergraduate and graduate students in interpersonal, relational, and family communication and family studies. © 2005 by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, Inc. All rights reserved.
In a longitudinal investigation of dating couples, I examined two types of exchange orientation for their associations with quality and stability of relationship. One type is concern that one is not the underbenefited partner in an inequitable relationship (underbenefiting exchange orientation, or UEO); the other is concern that one is not the overbenefited partner in an inequitable relationship (overbenefiting exchange orientation, or OEO). I found only slight support for Murstein et al.'s exchange orientation theory, which states that a high exchange orientation decreases satisfaction in close relationships. Underbenefiting exchange orientation, however, did not predict change in relationship quality over time, nor did it predict stability versus dissolution of the relationship. In support of a modified exchange orientation theory, overbenefiting exchange orientation was associated positively (rather than negatively, as was UEO) with some measures of relationship quality. OEO, however,also led to very little change in relationship quality over time and did not affect relationship stability versus dissolution of the relationship.
Previous studies on hurtful communication revealed that perceived intent plays an important role in hurt feelings and distancing behaviors within relationships, and that higher relationship quality mitigates the negative outcomes of hurtful communication. This study replicated these findings in the context of texting communication among friends. As expected, intent was directly related to the degree of hurt and distancing, and satisfaction was negatively related to intent and distancing. In addition, satisfaction moderated the relationship between perceived intent and distancing effects on the friendship in question. The relationship between intent and distancing was direct and stronger for those who were in less satisfied friendships than in more satisfied friendships. The implications of these findings are discussed.
Many people assume that it is challenging to maintain the intimacy of a long‐distance (LD) relationship. However, recent research suggests that LD romantic relationships are of equal or even more trust and satisfaction than their geographically close (GC) counterparts. The present diary study tested an intimacy‐enhancing process, in which LD couples (a) engage in more adaptive self‐disclosures and (b) form more idealized relationship perceptions than do GC couples in the pursuit of intimacy across various interpersonal media. The results demonstrate the effects of behavioral adaptation and idealization on intimacy, and suggest that the two effects vary depending on the cue multiplicity, synchronicity, and mobility of the communication medium employed. Implications for understanding LD relating and mix‐mode relating are discussed.
In an online survey with two cohorts (2009 and 2011) of undergraduates in dating relationships, we examined how attachment was related to communication technology use within romantic relationships. Participants reported on their attachment style and frequency of in-person communication as well as phone, text messaging, social network site (SNS), and electronic mail usage with partners. Texting and SNS communication were more frequent in 2011 than 2009. Attachment avoidance was related to less frequent phone use and texting, and greater email usage. Electronic communication channels (phone and texting) were related to positive relationship qualities, however, once accounting for attachment, only moderated effects were found. Interactions indicated texting was linked to more positive relationships for highly avoidant (but not less avoidant) participants. Additionally, email use was linked to more conflict for highly avoidant (but not less avoidant) participants. Finally, greater use of a SNS was positively associated with intimacy/support for those higher (but not lower) on attachment anxiety. This study illustrates how attachment can help to explain why the use of specific technology-based communication channels within romantic relationships may mean different things to different people, and that certain channels may be especially relevant in meeting insecurely attached individuals’ needs.
Abstract Relational maintenance is connected to high quality friendships. Friendship maintenance behaviors may occur online via social networking sites. This study utilized an Actor-Partner Interdependence Model to examine how Facebook maintenance and surveillance affect friendship quality. Bryant and Marmo's (2012) Facebook maintenance scale was evaluated, revealing two factors: sharing and caring. Facebook surveillance was also measured. For friendship satisfaction and liking, significant positive actor and partner effects emerged for caring; significant negative actor, partner, and interaction effects emerged for sharing; and significant positive actor effects emerged for surveillance. For friendship closeness, significant positive actor effects emerged for caring and surveillance.
Utilizing equity theory, this study extends previous research on maintenance strategies. The manner in which relational maintenance strategies are reported and perceived is examined. It was hypothesized that maintenance strategies are used more in equitable relationships than in relationships characterized by underbenefitedness. Further, the use of maintenance efforts by individuals in overbenefited relationships was explored. In addition, this study examined the relative contribution of self‐reported maintenance strategies, perception of partners’ maintenance strategies, and equity in predicting the relational characteristics. Overall, the level of felt equity was found to be related to individuals’ use of, and perceptions of partners’ use of, maintenance strategies in a pattern consistent with equity theory. However, the findings varied somewhat when relying on wives’ versus husbands’ equity judgments. Moreover, self‐reported maintenance strategies as well as perceptions of partners’ maintenance strategies predicted the relational characteristics of control mutuality, liking, and commitment.
This article continues a research program on relational maintenance strategies used in marriage. In particular, we explore how equity and satisfaction, defined in terms of interdependence theory, individually and jointly are predictive of self-reported maintenance strategies. The rationale for the study is based on previous programmatic efforts, as well as a critique of these efforts. Over 200 married couples completed measures of equity, satisfaction, and self-reported maintenance strategies of positivity, openness, assurances, social networks, and sharing tasks. Findings reveal that satisfaction tends to be highest for spouses who perceive their relationships to be equitable, followed by overbenefited partners, followed by underbenefited partners (a curvilinear association, predicted by equity theory). Moreover, wife-defined equity predicted both wife and husband maintenance behaviors in the same inverted curvilinear pattern. The predicted curvilinear trend held only for women-defined equity groups, not men's, in this sample, aside from the use of tasks, which did follow the predicted curvilinear patterns. Also, support for an equity framework was found, as underbenefited husbands reported significantly lower levels of 3 of the 5 maintenance behaviors than did equitable or overbenefited husbands. Finally, using women's reports, the combination of equity and satisfaction was a more powerful predictor of maintenance behavior than either of these constructs alone.
A study with 130 newlywed couples was designed to explore marital interaction processes that are predictive of divorce or marital stability, processes that further discriminate between happily and unhappily married stable couples. We explore seven types of process models: (a) anger as a dangerous emotion, (b) active listening, (c) negative affect reciprocity, (d) negative start-up by the wife, (e) de-escalation, (f) positive affect models, and (g) physiological soothing of the male. Support was not found for the models of anger as a dangerous emotion, active listening, or negative affect reciprocity. Support was found for models of the husband's rejecting his wife's influence, negative start-up by the wife, a lack of de-escalation of low intensity negative wife affect by the husband, or a lack of de-escalation of high intensity husband negative affect by the wife, and a lack of physiological soothing of the male, all predicting divorce. Support was found for a contingent positive affect model and for balance models (i.e., ratio models) of positive-to-negative affect predicting satisfaction among stable couples. Divorce and stability were predicted with 83% accuracy and satisfaction with 80% accuracy.
To what extent does the wording and syntactic form of people's writing reflect their personalities? Using a bottom-up stratified corpus comparison, rather than the top-down content analysis techniques that have been used before, we examine a corpus of e-mail messages elicited from individuals of known personality, as measured by the Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Revised (S. Eysenck, Eysenck, & Barrett, 1985). This method allowed us to isolate linguistic features associated with different personality types, via both word and part-of-speech n-gram analysis. We investigated the extent to which extraversion is associated with linguistic features involving positivity, sociability, complexity, and implicitness and neuroticism is associated with negativity, self-concern, emphasis, and implicitness. Numerous interesting features were uncovered. For instance, higher levels of extraversion involved a preference for adjectives, whereas lower levels of neuroticism involved a preference for adverbs. However, neither positivity nor negativity was as prominent as expected, and there was little evidence for implicitness.
The negativity effect is defined as the disproportionate weighting of negative information in comparison to equidistantly valenced positive information in the formation of judgments. The informativeness explanation of the negativity effect posits that the evaluative extremity (the distance from a psychological neutral point) and evaluative valence (positive/negative) of an event serve as determinants of its informativeness. Traditionally, this informativeness hypothesis explains the occurrence of a negativity effect by presuming a skewed distribution with unequal tails for the frequency of outcomes for valence; a mirror-image distribution for informativeness as a function of valence; and a negative, linear relationship between typicality and informativeness. These three assumptions were tested directly in this research through the fitting of nonlinear equations. It was determined that (a) a negatively skewed distribution of outcomes for valence does not occur in interaction contexts and that (b) typicality was a determinant of informativeness, although its importance as a determinant varies in response to whether one's perspective is that of an observer or a participant. Thus, reliance on evaluative extremity and evaluative valence as determinants of informativeness was rejected; these variables are only descriptors when the distribution for the frequency of outcomes for valence is skewed and has uneven tails.
Equity theory has often been applied and applauded for its explanatory power in casual relationships, since most casual relationships endure only as long as both parties benefit from the relationship. The present study examined satisfaction and relational maintenance strategies as a function of equity in parent–adolescent relationships. Data from both parent and adolescent perceptions were gathered. Results indicated that parents' reports of satisfaction by perceived equity supported predictions by equity theory. However, adolescents' reports of satisfaction offer only partial support of equity theory for participants in underbenefited and equitable relationships. Adolescents' reports of satisfaction for overbenefited participants was not consistent with equity theory. Parents' and adolescents' reports of maintenance strategies by perceived equity provided some support of equity theory. Adolescents' reports of maintenance strategies were also influenced by parent sex. Implications for equity theory in parent–adolescent relationships are discussed.
An enduring assumption about computer-mediated communication is that it undermines emotional understanding. The present study examined emotional communication in CMC by inducing negative affect in one condition and neutral affect in another. The results revealed that 1) participants experiencing negative affect produced fewer words, used more sad terms, and exchanged messages at a slower rate, 2) their partners were able to detect their partners emotional state, and 3) emotional contagion took place, in which partners interacting with participants in the negative affect condition had significantly less positive affect than partners in the control condition. These data support a relational view of CMC.
The Internet is the latest in a series of technological breakthroughs in interpersonal communication, following the telegraph, telephone, radio, and television. It combines innovative features of its predecessors, such as bridging great distances and reaching a mass audience. However, the Internet has novel features as well, most critically the relative anonymity afforded to users and the provision of group venues in which to meet others with similar interests and values. We place the Internet in its historical context, and then examine the effects of Internet use on the user's psychological well-being, the formation and maintenance of personal relationships, group memberships and social identity, the workplace, and community involvement. The evidence suggests that while these effects are largely dependent on the particular goals that users bring to the interaction-such as self-expression, affiliation, or competition-they also interact in important ways with the unique qualities of the Internet communication situation.