Walid A. Afifi

Some things are better left unsaid: Topic avoidance in family relationships

This study extends topic avoidance research by investigating both child/parent and sibling relationships. Results indicated that: (1) Adolescents and young adults avoid discussing negative life experiences and dating experiences more with parents than siblings, and more with male targets; (2) adolescents and young adults avoid discussing sexual matters with opposite‐sex family members; (3) female dyads (daughter/mother, sisters) practice the least avoidance on topics involving relationship issues or friendships; and (4) males avoid discussing relationship issues, negative life experiences, dating experiences, and friendships more than females. Wanting to protect oneself was highly predictive of topic avoidance across all family relationships except for sister‐sister relationships. For sisters, partner unresponsiveness and social inappropriateness were predictive of topic avoidance.

Characteristics and Consequences of Expectation Violations in Close Relationships

Research on expectation violations in relationships has adopted a conceptual framework of violations that constrains our understanding of the role that unexpected behaviors play in relationships. First, the relational literature has generally studied extreme and highly salient violations in relationships. Second, much of the research on relationship violations has considered only negatively valenced behaviors. Third, violations have almost universally been assumed to increase uncertainty states. Finally, the available evidence about violations in relationship has been descriptive, rather than based on theoretical foundations. In order to address these four concerns, three studies of violations in relationships were conducted. The results (i) provide a typology of expectation violations in close relationships, (ii) confirm that relationship violations vary in intensity, valence and effect on uncertainty, and (iii) support the theoretical logic discussed in Afifi & Burgoon (1996) to predict the relationship outcomes of expectation violations.

Interpersonal deception: XII. Information management dimensions underlying deceptive and truthful messages

Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) proposes that among the strategies deceivers use to create credible messages is information management. Delineated here are five fundamental dimensions along which verbal content and style can be altered to manage information: (1) completeness (informational and conversational), (2) veridicality (actual and apparent), (3) directness/relevance (semantic and syntactic/pragmatic), (4) clarity (semantic and syntactic/pragmatic), and (5) personalization. Two studies employing encoding and decoding methodologies are presented that assess the degree to which (1) senders can vary discourse on demand along these dimensions and (2) receivers (observers) can recognize such variations. Participants in the first experiment engaged in separate truthful and deceptive interviews; during the latter, they enacted one of three different forms of deception (falsification, equivocation, concealment) representing different combinations of the five dimensions. Participants in the second expe...

In their own words: the reasons why people will (not) sign an organ donor card.

This multisite, qualitative study of 78 family-pair dyads provides rich data on the reasons people cite for (not) wanting to sign an organ donor card in the context of family conversations. In this study, dyads were videotaped as they discussed 8 questions pertaining to their views on organ donation, beginning with the most general opinions and progressing to more detailed questions. Analysis of the transcribed data revealed that the most common reasons for wanting to donate organs were based on religion or a desire to help other people in need. The most common reasons cited for not wanting to donate organs were mistrust (of doctors, hospitals, and the organ allocation system), a belief in a black market for organs in the United States, and deservingness issues (that ones organs would go to someone who brought on his or her own illness, or who could be a “bad person”). One of the most surprising findings is that religion is offered far more often as a rationale for wanting to help sick people through organ donation than it was for not wanting to donate organs. These findings both support and contradict past studies based on quantitative survey data. Implications for the construction of more effective future organ donor campaigns are discussed.

Family discussions about organ donation: how the media influences opinions about donation decisions

Abstract:  In this study, 78 family pair dyads (spouses, parent–child pairs, or siblings) were brought into an interaction laboratory set up like a living room. After being briefed on the study, family members discussed a series of eight questions about their thoughts and opinions about organ donation. Thematic analysis of the thousands of pages of transcripts revealed that family members believe that they receive important information about organ donation through the media. Unfortunately, the most influential information came from sensationalistic, negative media portrayals. The myths that seem to be the most actively referenced by the media include premature declaration of death, the transference of personality traits from donor to recipient, a US black market for organs, corruption in the medical community, and corruption in the organ allocation system (which allows celebrities to get transplants first). Although these are not the only myths that the generally public holds to be true, the media is a powerful source of support for these particular myths. Therefore, such myths must be countered effectively if greater consent for organ donation is to be attained.

Examining the Decision to Talk with Family About Organ Donation: Applying the Theory of Motivated Information Management

Research on organ donation suggests a strong association between family discussions about the issue and final organ donor status. However, very few studies have examined the factors that influence individuals’ willingness to talk directly to their family about this topic or the impact of these discussions. This investigation provides a partial test of a newly developed theory of information management to better understand the processes of family discussions about organ donation. Results from two studies generally support the utility of the theory in this context, suggest ways in which organ donation campaigns may improve their effectiveness, and recommend future directions for researchers in this area. Moreover, the data show differences across ethnic groups that support and extend past work in this area.

The Role of Conversational Involvement in Deceptive Interpersonal Interactions

Interpersonal Deception Theory (IDT) postulates that interactive deception differs from noninteractive deception due to combined influences of deceiver goals and social skills, mutual influence processes between sender and receiver, feedback, and interaction dynamics. An experiment tested hypotheses that (a) interactive deception displays differ from truthful ones only at the outset of interaction and approximate truthful displays over time, (b) displays are moderated by deceiver social skills, (c) deceivers adapt to receiver communication with reciprocal or compensatory displays, (d) low involvement by receivers conveys negative feedback that instigates more behavioral adjustments by deceivers than does high involvement, and (e) receivers’ postinteraction judgments of deceivers are directly related to deceiver behavioral displays. An experiment in which senders alternated between telling the truth and deceiving, and partners varied their own level of involvement, produced supportive results that have implications for the stability of, and causal mechanisms underlying, deception displays and interpersonal communication generally.

Identity Concerns Following a Severe Relational Transgression: The Role of Discovery Method for the Relational Outcomes of Infidelity:

Extant evidence suggests that dating infidelity is a relatively common occurrence. Yet, despite infidelitys status as an unacceptable relational behavior and a prototypical relational transgression, there seems to be considerable variance in its relational impact. In this investigation, we use an identity management framework to argue that the method of infidelity discovery plays an important role in predicting subsequent relational outcomes. One-hundred fifteen college students who had experienced infidelity in a dating relationship completed measures assessing the method of discovery and the infidelitys impact on the relationship. The results generally support the utility of an identity management framework, but also suggest several potentially fruitful avenues for future investigations.

Some things are better left unsaid II: Topic avoidance in friendships

This study examines the extent to which members of same‐ and cross‐sex friendships avoid topics related to relationship issues, negative life experiences, dating experiences, sexual experiences, and outside friendships. Four reasons for topic avoidance are also explored: self‐protection, relationship protection, partner unresponsiveness, and social appropriateness. Results from 177 undergraduate students, who referenced a friend of the same sex and a friend of the opposite sex, showed that individuals avoided discussing negative life experiences and relationship issues with males more than females and, when with opposite‐sex friends, avoided disclosures related to dating and sexual experiences more than when with same‐sex friends. Additionally, individuals avoided disclosure for a variety of reasons, but seem primarily motivated to avoid topics due to concerns for self‐protection. Results of this investigation shed light on the communicative implications underlying differences between same‐ and cross‐sex ...

Harming the ones we love: relational attachment and perceived consequences as predictors of safe-sex behavior.

There are an enormous number of studies surrounding predictors of condom use, and an equally impressive number of prevention programs in place to decrease the rate of HIV transmission. Despite such...