Jennifer A. Samp

Framing Social Reality The Relevance of Relational Judgments

Relational communication researchers have asserted that dominance and affiliation are the fundamental features of social reality. The authors argue that when individuals interpret interaction, they focus on one dimension or the other, such that dominance and affiliation are differentially salient. On that premise, the authors hypothesized that the relative salience of dominance or affiliation would be a function of the goal-defined context. Further, some investigators have argued that the notion of involvement is also essential to the study of relational communication. Although the authors concur, they believe that involvement is a fundamentally different type of construct than dominance or affiliation. The authors hypothesized that involvement is relevant to both dominance and affiliation judgments; it functions as an intensifier variable. A study was conducted in which participants rated the relevance of a series of word pairs that operationalized dominance, affiliation, and involvement within 12 interaction scenarios. Although there was evidence that the biological sex of the judge moderated the magnitude of some effects, the results were uniformly supportive of the hypotheses.

Power and Problem Appraisal: Perceptual Foundations of the Chilling Effect in Dating Relationships

Previous research indicating that a dating partners power exerts a chilling effect on confrontation has highlighted the role of anticipated negative consequences in decisions to withhold complaints. We suggested that a second reason for avoiding confrontation, perceiving problems to be trivial, is also promoted by attributing power to dating partners. We investigated the extent to which perceptions of a partners power influenced the appraised severity of hypothetical problem scenarios and the likelihood that individuals would avoid confrontation in those situations. Results indicated that attributing either dependence or punitive power to dating partners corresponded with less severe appraisals of problems and plans to avoid confrontation. Contrary to our expectations, problem severity appraisals did not mediate associations between perceptions of a partners power and plans to avoid confrontation. The discussion highlights the implications of these results for investigations of power in dating relationships and research on relationship maintenance.

Communicative Responses to Problematic Events in Close Relationships I The Variety and Facets of Goals

As part of the growing effort to clarify the nature of goals in interpersonal communication contexts, the authors conducted two studies investigating the communication goals generated after problematic events in close relationships. In Study 1, a cluster analysis of 76 exemplar reasons for communicative responses to problematic events in close relationships identified seven categories of goals: maintain the relationship, accept fault for the event, manage positive face, avoid addressing the event, manage the conversation, manage emotion, and restore negative face. An examination of self-reported goals for responses to problematic events in dating relationships and friendships indicated that the most frequent goal was to accept fault for the event. Study 2 developed a 28-item inventory to evaluate the intensity of and relationships among goals after problematic events in close relationships. Analyses indicated that the goal to accept fault for the event was frequent and intense, whereas the goal to avoid addressing the event was infrequent and did not co-occur with the other goals. A second-order factor analysis provided preliminary evidence that the seven goals may be broadly categorized according to social versus nonsocial concerns.

Communicative Responses to Problematic Events in Close Relationships II The Influence of Five Facets of Goals on Message Features

Research examining the role of goals in message production has identified ways communicative goals can be characterized. The authors conducted 2 studies investigating how characteristics of goals influence linguistic features in responses to problematic events in close relationships. We posited that 5 features of goals would be associated with message focus and embellishment. In Study 1, respondents recalled a problematic event in a close relationship, the conversation they had with that partner after the event, and the reasons why they offered the recalled response. Participants then answered questions about the event. In Study 2, they presented participants with hypothetical problems and asked them to role-play leaving a telephone message for their partners about the event. The results indicated that goal challenge, intensity, and complexity were positively associated with message embellishment. Focal center was predicted by a respondents primary message goal. They discuss implications for understanding facets of communication goals and the nature of problematic events in close relationships.

Toward a Theoretical Account of Goal Characteristics in Micro-Level Message Features

Our model of goal-driven message production highlights the impact of activated knowledge stores on micro-level message features. We argue that focal center and message embellishment are products of the cognitive processes recruited for strategic action and are implicated in five goal characteristics. To examine our model, we had dating couples engage in a conversation about a hypothetical problematic event, during which one member of the dyad acted according to an assigned role. Accounts of goals were solicited before and after the conversation. The results of this study provide support for several of the proposed associations between goal characteristics and message features. Implications of the current results for our model and future message production research are discussed.

Examining the Effects of Planning and Empathic Accuracy on Communication in Relational and Nonrelational Conflict Interactions

Grounded in message production research, we considered the effects of planning (plan vs. not plan), discussion type (relational vs. nonrelational), and perceived empathic accuracy on the likelihood of conflict resolution in close relationships. Eighty-two “dating” couples from a southeastern university participated in two conflict discussions; one concerned a relational problem, while the other focused on a nonrelational problem-solving task. As predicted, individuals were more likely to report the nonrelational task as resolved, compared to the relational discussion. While discussion type was not associated with empathic accuracy, there was a positive association between perceived empathic accuracy and conflict resolution. Surprisingly, planning was not associated with perceived conflict resolution. Implications for message production and interpersonal conflict research are discussed.

Complaint Avoidance and Complaint-Related Appraisals in Close Relationships A Dyadic Power Theory Perspective

This study explored the role of decision-making power in withholding communicating about relational complaints. A total of 350 participants (nested in 175 couples) completed surveys about the balance of decision-making power in their relationship, complaint avoidance, and complaint-related appraisals. Decision-making power had a curvilinear association with avoidance, such that individuals engaged in the least complaint avoidance when they were relatively equal to their partners in power. For complaint-related appraisals, problems were perceived as least severe, and outcome expectancies and communication efficacy assessments were most positive, when power was equal. Furthermore, severity appraisals and outcome expectancies mediated the curvilinear association of power with complaint avoidance. Results provided support for Dyadic Power Theory outside of laboratory contexts, and highlight cognitive mechanisms through which decision-making power may influence communication in close relationships.

Communicating About a Relational Problem While (Not) Intoxicated: Influences on Goal Judgments and Message Features

This project considered the influence of alcohol on goal pursuit and message production during difficult relational discussions. Forty-four heterosexual dating dyads discussed a hypothetical infidelity. Males were randomly assigned to drinking condition (sober vs. 0.08 g/dl) and females to a conversational resistance condition (resistance vs. no resistance). Participants provided accounts of goals, and conversations were coded for focal center and message embellishment. Drinking influenced the content of primary goals, reduced the importance of multiple goals and reduced judgments of goal difficulty. Under resistance, drinkers had significantly longer, more self-focused and less relationally focused messages than sober participants. We apply the results to an understanding of alcohol-influenced interaction in close relationships.

Alcohol's Effects on Goal-Related Appraisals and Communicative Behaviors

Guided by research demonstrating that intoxication impairs cognitive processing, this study examined the effects of drinking on goal-related appraisals and communication behavior during cooperative interactions. In it, 42 male teams played four rounds of a cooperative game whereby one person produced clues and the other guessed the category the clues described. One partner was sober and the other was randomly assigned to drinking condition (sober or breath alcohol count of .08 g/dl). Analyses compared the appraisals and behaviors of the participant randomly assigned to drinking condition. Intoxicated participants felt less anxious and judged games as less challenging yet did not feel they had more control compared to their sober counterparts. Behaviorally, intoxicated participants exhibited more persistence yet were less flexible in goal pursuit than were sober participants. Ultimately, intoxicated—sober dyads had more success than did sober—sober dyads. Implications for message production under the influence of alcohol are discussed.

“I Said What?” Partner Familiarity, Resistance, and the Accuracy of Conversational Recall

We examined the influence of two structural parameters on the content and valence of conversational recall. 144 females had two conversations defined by relationship type (close friend or stranger) and partner resistance (resistance or none). Conversational recall statements were coded for accuracy of content (self, partner, or neutral) and valence (positive, negative, or neutral). Overall, respondents were less accurate in recalling the content of stranger conversations than friend exchanges, and when partners were agreeable compared to resistant. However, those who experienced little partner resistance more accurately recalled positively valenced information than respondents who encountered resistance. When partners resisted, friend interactions were recalled less accurately in terms of positivity, but more accurately for negative information, compared to the recall of stranger conversations.