Renee Edwards

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.

Financial Attitudes and Family Communication About Students' Finances: The Role of Sex Differences

Past research has shown that men value money more than do women and men are less dependent on their parents in financial matters. Men and women also display different patterns of communication, with women engaging in higher levels of self-disclosure. We examined these issues in the context of young college students communicating with parents about their financial situation by conducting a multistate survey (N = 1317). Results revealed women to be more open with their parents about financial matters even after controlling for financial dependence, which also was related to openness. Financial attitudes were related to family openness.

The role of mental imagery and emotion in imagined interaction

Imagined interactions, internal dialogues experienced as conversations with significant others, are conceptualized as a form of social cognition. Imagined interactions have important affective components and mental imagery. Results of an investigation demonstrate that verbal imagery is associated with self‐dominance, rehearsal and understanding while visual imagery is associated with more pleasantness. Pleasant imagined interactions are lower in self‐dominance and more similar to actual communication than unpleasant imagined interactions. The results are explained in terms of information processing and relational communication; two categories of imagined interaction reflecting verbal and mixed imagery are also proposed.

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.

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.

The Effects of Gender, Gender Role, and Values on the Interpretation of Messages

The interpretation of messages is a mental process that necessarily accompanies communication. It is theoretically related to relational communication but includes both denotative and connotative meanings as well as speakers intent. This study initiates a program of research on message interpretation by exploring the role ofgender, gender role, and values in interpreting messages. Of the subjects, 175 rated supportive and controlling interpretations of messages in four scenarios. Gender of subject, gender of the source of the message, communal gender role, and masculine values interact to influence message interpretation, but the type of interpretation depends on the scenario. Additionally, reported communication difficulty is greatest for opposite-sex communication for males, followed by opposite sex communication for females, same-sex communication for females, and same-sex communication for males. Gender processes are associated with the difficulty of same-sex communication; both gender and interpretive processes influence opposite-sex communication difficulty.

The effects of gender and type of romantic touch on perceptions of relational commitment

This study investigated the relationship between intimate touching behaviors and corresponding cognitions of relational commitment as a function of gender. One hundred fifty-two subjects were surveyed regarding perceptions of commitment for seven intimate touches. The 2-way ANOVA revealed significant effects for gender, type of touch, and the touch by gender interaction. Progressively intimate touches were associated with greater commitment. Females associated significantly higher levels of commitment than males, particularly for the more intimate touches. The discrepancy in the level of commitment inferred by gender increases as the touching behavior grows more intimate, resulting in a greater potential for miscommunication across the more intimate channels of haptic communication.

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.

Sex differences in imagined interactions

Empirical research has revealed a variety of differences in the communication behavior of males and females. This study addresses whether males and females think differently about communication. Imagined interactions are cognitive representations of interactive behavior in which the actor experiences the self to be engaged in communication with another. Results of a study reveal that females have more frequent and pleasant imagined interactions, they imagine more self-words, and they are more likely to imagine and recall the scene of imagined interactions than males.

Interpretations of Messages The Influence of Various Forms of Equivocation, Face Concerns, and Sex Differences

Equivocation, the use of ambiguity or vagueness, is used to protect face when an interlocutor seeks to avoid a hurtful truth or a deception. This study compared the effects of self and other-face, sex, and several versions of equivocation on perceptions of messages. Participants (n = 354) read a scenario about a public-speaking situation in which a classmate makes a comment about a poor performance. Equivocation, especially that directed at other-face, is judged more polite than unequivocal criticism. Unequivocal criticism is judged as more competent and honest than equivocation. A mixed message is regarded the most positively.