James M. Honeycutt

Imagined Interaction as an Element of Social Cognition

The notion of “imagined interaction”; is introduced as part of the social cognition process. Imagined interactions serve several functions including rehearsal for anticipated encounters. Results of a study indicate that imagined interactions tend to occur before real interactions, are dominated by the self, and are equally pleasant and unpleasant. Topics and partners are primarily relational. Imagined interactions may be dysfunctional for lonely individuals. Findings are related to theories of interpersonal communication and cognitive structuring, and implications for future studies are evaluated.

Listening Competence in Initial Interactions I: Distinguishing between What Listening Is and What Listeners Do.

The impressions we form of others during initial interactions are powerful. These impressions are a product of various implicit theories — mental representations of people and actions. This article investigates the structure of implicit theories of listening used when forming impressions of others after an initial encounter. Specifically, three studies are reported that, together, iteratively build an empirical database of the attributes (what competent listening is) and behaviors (what competent listeners do) associated with effective listening in initial interactions. The results help construct an evidence-based, preliminary model that can be used to investigate the role and structure of implicit theories of listening.

Cognition, communication, and romantic relationships

Contents: Overview. The Modern-Day Pursuit of Intimacy and Relational Memory Structures. Schemata, Scenes, and Scripts for Romantic Relationships. Memorable Messages, Prototypes, and Relational Memory. Emotion and Cognition About Relationships. Generating and Maintaining Relationships Through Imagined Interactions. Development of Relationships: Stage Theories Versus Relational Memory Theory. Memory Structures for Developing Relationships. Memory Structures for Decaying Relationships. Semantics of Breakups: Claims of Omission and Commission. Future Research on Relational Memory Structures.

Using Imagined Interaction Features to Predict Measures of Self-Awareness: Loneliness, Locus of Control, Self-Dominance, and Emotional Intensity

Imagined interactions are covert dialogues that occur with significant others and are a part of the social cognition process. Imagined interactions may call up plans for anticipated encounters. Using a multidimensional instrument known as the “Survey of Imagined Interaction” (SII), the multivariate relationship between general characteristics of imagined interactions and various measures of self-awareness and emotional intensity were examined. Measures reflecting loneliness, locus of control, being dominant in an imagined interaction as well as feeling satisfied and pleasant with an imagined interaction were regressed on the general dimensions of the SII. Results from the regression models are discussed in terms of imagined interactions being associated with and possibly creating more self-awareness.

Planning, Imagined Interaction, and the Nonverbal Display of Anxiety

Bergers (1995) planning theory has spawned research on the tactical variations that individuals use to influence others, to disseminate information, and to react to opposition to plans. However, the effect of planning on anxiety has not been tested. The current study examined one nonverbal indicator of anxiety in this study, the use of object adaptors. In addition, research on imagined interactions (IIs) has revealed that individuals imagine conversations with significant others for a variety of reasons, including rehearsal for anticipated messages and the alleviation of anxiety. The current study also examined the effects of planning for an anticiapted encounter and the level of discrepancy that individuals report they have in their IIs on the use of object adaptors. The findings are discussed in terms of spontaneous helplessness, plan efficacy, and the accretion of plan strategies in response to encounters that are discrepant from what was anticipated.

Imagined interaction and interpersonal communication

Imagined interactions are cognitive representations of conversation experienced as internal dialogues with significant others. Results of an investigation confirm four hypotheses. The self talks more in imagined interactions, imagined interactions primarily involve intimate partners and personal topics, they are more likely to occur before an actual communication event than after it, and they are less functional for lonely individuals.

Imagined Interaction Conflict-Linkage Theory: Explaining the Persistence and Resolution of Interpersonal Conflict in Everyday Life:

Conflict is a pervasive feature of human existence. There are anger management courses and popular books giving advice on dealing with unruly people. Imagined interaction (II) conflict-linkage theory explains how conflict persists in interpersonal communication through mental imagery and imagined interactions. Imagined interactions are covert dialogues that people have in which they relive prior conversations while anticipating new encounters. Conflict is kept alive in the human mind through recalling prior arguments while anticipating what may be said at future meetings. II conflict-linkage theory provides an explanatory mechanism for why conflict is enduring, maintained, may be constructive or destructive, and can erupt anytime in interpersonal relationships. The theory explains features of face-to-face conflict through understanding how people manage conflict during actual interaction by looking at how they think between such interactions. In order to understand conflict, cognitions about interaction episodes are examined in terms of the messages that people imagine communicating to others as well as those they recall from prior encounters. The theory contains three axioms and nine theorems that explain how interpersonal conflict endures and is managed. This report reviews the support for the theorems.

Did you hear the one about?: Typological and spousal differences in the planning of jokes and sense of humor in marriage

This study examines the rehearsal of jokes in terms of imagined interactions and sense of humor among couples who are differentiated by their philosophies and beliefs about marriage based on Fitzpatricks (1988) marital typology. The superiority theory of humor usage claims that power is attributed to joke‐tellers and that a failure to understand the punch line renders listeners as lacking a sense of humor or being too ignorant to understand the joke. This theory has argued that gender differences in telling jokes in marriage reflect husbands telling jokes with wives reinforcing the jokes by laughing at the jokes. This pattern reinforces the idea that humor is primarily a masculine trait in marriage while humor appreciation is a feminine trait. Support was found for this theory as husbands reported a higher orientation toward humor in terms of liking and appreciating the telling of jokes compared to the wives. Participants were divided into traditional, independent, and separate marital types. Traditional...

Future selves and others: A lifespan and cross‐cultural perspective

Recent research in lifespan development has shown that young adults are able to make projections as to their anticipated status later in life. The current investigation invited undergraduates to assess themselves and peers now, and at the ages of 65 and 85 years of age. These ratings were taken together with ratings of the typical person at those latter ages across two communicative (viz., accommodation and nonaccommodation) and personality (viz., personal vitality and benevolence) dimensions. Given that varying conceptions of the self have been documented cross‐culturally, the study was conducted in both the USA and Japan. The results showed respondents projected that their language and personality make‐ups would change later in life and that the emerging patterns would be very different across the four dependent measures. As predicted, Japanese respondents showed less differentiation across the social targets rated than did their American counterparts. The social significance of these findings is discussed along with avenues for further research.

Imagined Interaction, Conversational Sensitivity and Communication Competence

This research explores the relationship between imagined interaction dimensions [1], conversational sensitivity dimensions [2], and communication competence [3]. Results of a study reveal features of imagined interaction predicting both conversational sensitivity and self-reported communication competence. Mental experiences of communication (i.e., imagined interaction) are thought to activate sensitivity to conversations and to provide knowledge structures for competent interaction. A path analysis revealed the mediating role of overall conversational sensitivity leading to communication competence.