Browsing by Subject "Interpersonal communication"
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Item Coming out(comes) : analyzing coming out messages in a familial context(2018-09-14) Carroll, Robert William; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Dailey, Rene; Maxwell, Madeline; Donovan, Erin; Lannutti, PamelaThe purpose of this study was to analyze lesbian, gay, and bisexual (LGB) coming out conversations in a familial context using Message Design Logics (O’Keefe, 1988) and Queer and Critical literature. Participants (N =104) responded to an online survey including measures for message design logics, psychological and sociological identity factors, cognitive complexity, relational closeness, relational distancing, and familial reactions to coming out. To accomplish this, first the collected coming out conversations were coded according to traditional message design logic categories and then separately for power and performativity. Results indicated that coming out conversations can be reliably classified into the traditional message categories and there were also elements of power and performativity that transcend traditional design logic categories. In the current study, a majority of the coming out messages were coded as expressive (N = 61). Then, the various message categories were assessed according to the hypothesized associations between message design, message predictors, and outcomes. Results indicated that cognitive complexity was not a significant predictor of message design, breaking with previous message design research. The traditional design categories were not meaningfully associated with the hypothesized predictors, but messages with elements of power and performativity significantly associated with perceived stigma. Then, associations between message designs, relational distancing, and familial reactions were proposed and tested. In the current study, traditional message design categories significantly affected family members’ reactions but not relational distancing. Lastly, a moderation model was prosed and tested, wherein relational closeness significantly moderated the associations between coming out messages and familial reactions. There were also significant relationships between both the critical messages and the separate power and performativity messages and relational distancing and familial reactions. Finally, these results were discussed and future directions for further research were proposed.Item Communication and communal coping in long-distance romantic relationships(2001-08) Maguire, Katheryn Coveley; Knapp, Mark L.Two studies were conducted to examine how people cope with stress, both with their partners and on their own, in their premarital long-distance romantic relationships (LDRRs). In the first investigation, nineteen individuals involved in LDRRs were interviewed to determine the sources of stress in their relationships, the coping strategies they use to manage stress, and the role of communication in the coping process. Analysis of the interview transcripts revealed ten sources of stress, seventeen coping strategies, and six themes related to the ways in which participants talk about stress with their relational partners. The coping strategies and stressors uncovered in Study 1, combined with those identified in previous research, were used in Study 2 to ascertain how cognitive appraisals of a relational stressor impact perceptions of coping response, and the association between ratings of the coping strategies and assessments of relationship ix satisfaction and distress. Moreover, several individual difference variables were used to test how gender, gender orientation, attachment style, and perceived mastery influence the coping process. A total of 427 people participated in Study 2, with 241 people reporting on proximal relationships (PRs) and 186 reporting on LDRRs. Data analysis showed that there were differences in the choice of stressors and coping strategies between the participants in LDRRs and those in PRs. In addition, appraisals of the stressor (i.e., whether or not the respondents believed the stressor was a threat to the relationship, and whether or not they thought they could change their stressful situations) had a strong effect on participant ratings of coping strategies and perceptions of satisfaction and distress. Furthermore, all four individual difference variables seemed to have some bearing on evaluations of the coping strategies. The results of both investigations are discussed in terms of their contributions to the research on communal coping in the context of close relationships and the study of premarital LDRRs.Item The communication of influence through technology-enabled media(2006) Turner, Jason M.; Dillon, AndrewTheory and research regarding interpersonal influence and communication media have conceptualized both in terms of contextual or a priori factors, situated action and interaction, or behavioral outcomes. Given the primacy of influence in collective action and the increasingly pervasive role communication technologies play in organizational settings, the goal of this study was to examine the relationships between influence and media from all three perspectives. Perceptions of the context of media use in collaborative settings were described using self-guided focus groups and survey response data. A series of structured group experiences was then administered to create a collaborative problem-solving environment using one of three media capabilities: face-to-face, voice conference, and chat. Behavioral indices of influence were recorded during the structured group experiences to explore effects attributable to media. Finally, in-depth perceptual data was collected through semi-structured interviews to determine how media in use during the structured group experiences impacted interpersonal influence and the context in which that influence was expressed. viii Results indicate that common experiences and perceptions of communication media were situated within a larger context of use, one in which media affect and are affected by relevant aspects of that context. Ten such contextual factors and the relationships between them were described and illustrated. Media were not found to account for any meaningful differences in behavioral indices of influence; the nature of those indices suggests that informational influence was independent of the medium through which it was expressed. However, media differences were responsible for pronounced effects on perceptions of influence when conceptualized beyond behavioral measures, as well as on perceptions and experiences of various elements of the context of media use and the environment in which influence was expressed and exchanged. In general, variations in non-verbal sensory and feedback cues accounted for most of the perceptual findings. However, the nature of the effects, as well as other factors unrelated to non-verbal cues, suggested a functional perspective that was more informative for meaningfully discriminating between media and their effects: interactivity, social awareness, and propinquity. Practical and theoretical considerations are discussed in light of the obtained results.Item Coping with unfulfilled standards in dating relationships : drawing upon personal and relationship resources(2004-05) Alexander, Alicia Lynn, 1975-; Vangelisti, Anita L.Research suggests that romantic relationships can be particularly distressing when relationship standards are not fulfilled (Baucom, Epstein, Rankin, & Burnett, 1996). Discovering the many possible coping strategies used by partners in dating relationships is one way in understanding how people deal with unfulfilled standards. The second way in understanding how people cope with unfulfilled standards is to begin exploring the coping resources that individuals draw upon in such times of stress. This two-study investigation was conducted to explore the coping strategies people used when reacting to unfulfilled standards. In the first study, 26 coping strategies were generated. Then, in the second study, the results revealed a ten-factor solution: punishing, clarifying, reframing, self-disparaging, modeling, exiting, seeking social support, escaping, distancing, and using humor. It was discovered that each of these sets of coping strategies was linked to two personal resources, relationship locus of control and self-esteem. In addition, it was viii found that each of these sets of coping strategies was associated with three relationship resources: satisfaction, closeness, and commitment.Item Daughtering and daughterhood : an exploratory study of the role of adult daughters in relation to mothers(2016-08) Alford, Allison McGuire; Maxwell, Madeline M.; Donovan, Erin; Menchaca, Martha; Vangelisti, AnitaThis study investigated the role of an adult daughter in mid-life, a time in a woman’s life when she has a personal relationship with her mother based upon shared interests more than dependence for care. Using interactional role theory (Turner, 2001), this study explored the understanding a daughter has for her role as an adult daughter in everyday encounters with her mother. Participants in this study described that when in situations that call for daughtering, they enact the adult daughter role. For this study, adult daughter participants (N = 33) ranging in age from 25-45 years old participated in face-to-face interviews to discuss their role as an adult daughter to their mothers. All participants had a living, healthy mother age 70 or younger. From daughters’ discussions of everyday communication with their mothers, layers of meaning were uncovered which related to the adult daughter role. Using role theory as a guide, thematic analysis revealed six themes of meaning. These findings contribute to an understanding of the social construction of an important role, which daughters learn over a lifetime and which they use to communicate within a family. Discussions of daughtering were challenging to participants due to borrowed vocabulary for describing this role, narrow role awareness, and a low valuation of the work of daughtering. When sorting role influences, daughters noted their mothers and a variety of other sources that inform role expectations. This finding prompted a new manner for evaluating daughters as a daughterhood, or community of role players collectively enacting the same role. Finally, participant responses revealed new ways to conceive of the social construction of the adult daughter role and the practice of daughtering and daughterhood, with outcomes including a variety of comportments for performing daughtering. Implications for future research by communication scholars, as well as for practitioners who work with adult daughter-mother pairs, will be presented with other results from this study.Item Emerging adult friendship : a consequence of family communication and catalyst for well-being(2012-12) Guinn, Trey D.; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Dailey, Rene M; Daly, John A; Donovan-Kicken, Erin; Whittaker, Tiffany AThe purpose of this research was to examine the friendships of emerging adults as influenced by familial environments in order to illuminate interpersonal aspects of well-being. Recent literature affirms that friendships play a critical role in the lives of emerging adults; these interpersonal connections rely on the use of friendship formation strategies and maintenance behaviors. Employing a longitudinal design that included both participant and peer reports, this study found that individuals’ use of friendship formation strategies and maintenance behaviors contribute to their overall well-being and that the path for maintenance behaviors was partially mediated by relational quality with friends. Further, it was expected that the propensity to engage in friendship work (i.e., formation strategies and maintenance behaviors) would be predicted by communication within the parent-child relationship. Recent scholarship asserts that parent confirmation affects both the socialization and psychosocial development of children. The current work employed a confirmation perspective to assess how families lay the groundwork for emerging adults’ communicative behaviors in friendship and found that parent confirmation predicted individuals’ use of friendship formation and maintenance behaviors. Together, these associations pave a social-cognitive pathway from family and friendship to well-being.Item Everyday (re)enactment: reporting strategies in non-narrative talk-in-interaction(2006) Henning, Kathryn Hickerson; Streeck, JürgenWhile all instances of reported speech involve “speech within speech, utterance within utterance,” as Voloshinov states (1986: 115), interactants realize and mobilize reports in varied ways, in the service of situated, diverse projects. However, the research on reported speech has largely overlooked this internal diversity, with individual studies opting to treat reports as either reproductions of actual prior utterances or inventions by current speakers, exclusively. Furthermore, the research on reported speech has focused almost solely on conversational narratives, failing to consider reported speech in an array of interactional environments, despite the integral relationship between reported speech and reporting context. In contrast, this study devotes analytical attention to how interactants manage the internal diversity of reported speech in the furtherance of situated projects, looking exclusively at non-narrative episodes of talk-ininteraction. In particular, this analysis provides empirical descriptions of two reporting strategies, or presentation formats involving the local and interactional management of reports; namely, the practical reenactment presentation format, in which reporters present, and recipients take up, reports as authentic, “faithful” repeats of actual prior utterances, and the creative enactment presentation format, in which reporters present, and recipients take up, reports as inventions by the current speaker that are nonetheless not the current speaker’s own talk in the current exchange. This analysis then considers in some detail the multiple uses to which these presentation formats can be put, from a social interactional perspective, within several non-narrative conversational activities, outlined here.Item The market maven : implications for a multicultural environment(2003-05) Cal, Yolanda Rachele; Wilcox, Gary B.; Tharp, Marye C.Over the last half-century, word-of-mouth communication has moved from a phenomenon to a controllable marketing tool that enhances the flow of communication within the marketplace. Consumer behavior researchers understand the importance it plays in strengthening and even surpassing conventional marketing strategies. But with the acceleration of technological change, distinct cultural groups are not as commonplace as just a decade ago. As the boundaries separating ethnic and other subgroups have become less distinct, culture has become more fluid. As culture morphs, so do its members. The modern consumer's styles, iconography, and habits come from a combination of cultural influences and traditions. Few consumer behavior scholars have addressed how to reach mass consumers effectively while simultaneously acknowledging the subtle differences (or similarities) in the mélange of cultural groups. This study contributes to that void by introducing the concept of the multicultural market maven, a marketplace influencer with awareness of how differences in culture impact consumers in the marketplace. What effect does the shrinking of the global environment have on the ways in which marketers must communicate? How does the change in communication between and among people necessitate the ways in which mass media must reach its audience? What value are traditional marketing strategies that segment consumers into distinct groups with numerous worldviews and insulated lives? How should advertising speak to consumers who comprise such cross-cultural influences? The present study articulates these contemporary challenges within a multi cultural marketing framework. Cultural relevance lends clarity to the concept of the multi-cultural market maven and produces a new model. Contemporary market practices, in turn, are aligned with both communication and marketing theory to explain the phenomenon fully. The contributions and limitations of cross-cultural communication are then applied to marketing segmentation strategies. This study first revisits the concept of the market maven, an individual who possesses information about the marketplace and shares it with others (Feick & Price, 1987), then traces it through its roots in interpersonal influence. Finally, a new approach is introduced to investigate social motivations for market maven behavior. Potential implications of findings as well as future research avenues are also discussed.Item Moral conflict in marriage(2018-05) Lloyd, Rachel Rose; Vangelisti, Anita L.Dyadic conflicts may emerge for a variety of reasons however some conflicts are viewed as more influential than others. Moral conflicts are viewed as particularly critical to relationships due to their possible intractable nature (Vallacher et al., 2010). The first goal of the current study was to examine theoretical perspectives from a variety of academic fields to identify the types of moral conflicts that are experienced in marriage. Secondly, this study addressed the perceived conflict management strategies used by a partner during a specific episode of moral conflict. Lastly, the study investigated how the communication strategies used during a moral conflict contributed to relational satisfaction. The present study surveyed 235 married individuals and found that individuals experienced ten types of moral conflict, some of which may be unique to marriage (e.g., loyalty, authority over assets of equal ownership, free will/determinism). Results also indicated that those who perceived their partner also thought the conflict had a moral nature, were more likely to see their viewpoint as superior, despite indicating that they were able to understand their partner’s position. In addition, those who thought that their partner had similar perceptions of the moral nature of a conflict felt that their partner displayed negative emotions during conflict (e.g., crying, depressed), but did not show behaviors attempting to avoid or deny the conflict. Lastly, individuals who perceived their partner as using integrative strategies were more satisfied with their relationship, whereas those who viewed their partner as using distributive strategies expressed lower levels of relational satisfaction. Findings also demonstrated that people felt less satisfied with their relationship when their partners used avoidance or denial during moral conflict and more satisfied with their relationship when their partner displayed expressions of negative affect. Implications about conceptualizing moral conflict in marriage are discussed as well as suggestions for future inquiry.Item Multimodalities and dramatic imaginations in mise-en-scène communication(2007) Ho, Shin-Jung, 1974-; Maxwell, Madeline M.This dissertation is a micro-analysis of one particular type of communicative practice, the "mise-en-scène communication," which emerges as people talk and build scenery in their everyday work experiences in a theater consulting company in Taiwan. This dissertation engages in interaction analyses of participants' naturally occurring talk and face-to-face interaction in the set design meetings. Three findings are documented. First, mise-en-scène communication is multimodal. The participants use visual representations to communicate. These visual representational tools include architectural drawings, scale models, miniature props, and 3-D models and animations. The use of visual representations and communicative resources of language, gestural and postural conduct, the material surround, and physical objects enable the participants to visually communicate, envision, and construct scenes in and through talk and interaction. Second, mise-en-scène communication concerns three key organizing, work practices of creating an entirety of the theatrical space, including the scene-setting practice, the staging practice, and the measuring practice. This study finds that in these three major mise-en-scène practices identified, the theater artists express and formulate scenes and dramatic ideas in their talk. At the same time, they also frequently turn to bodily conduct as a source of insight into configuring, expressing, and formulating dramatic scenes. Third, the architectural drawings, the scale models, the props in miniature, and the computer simulations of theater space provide a material, perceptual field, which shapes embodied interaction systematically performed within it. The architectural drawings enable the participants to project the perceivable space through language and bodily behaviors. The miniature model and objects in a set create a full stage of symbolic communication in which scenes are arranged and dramas are spoken and created. Moreover, the theater artists manage to use language, gestures, and semiotic resources of the computer program, Maya, and its design interface to communicate and build 3-D scenes together. This research concludes that the plurality of channels exists in human communication. The micro-analysis of mise-en-scène communication reveals such a communicative process in which the participants draw on multiple modalities to visually construct theatrical meaning out of the set of visualization objects.Item Opening up the ex files: using coorientation theory to examine partner perceptions of talking about relational history(2005) Rankin, Caroline Travis; Vangelisti, Anita L.The role talking about relational history plays in romantic relationships is unclear. Talk about relational history (TRH) involves disclosing information about past relationship experiences to a romantic partner or asking a romantic partner about his or her past relationship experiences. Prior research indicates that individuals in romantic relationships could conceivably have a range of perceptions about TRH, from perceiving TRH to be highly taboo (Baxter & Wilmot, 1985) to perceiving such relationship talk to be highly important (Actielli, 2002). The degree to which partners agree with and understand each others’ perceptions about TRH could be associated with their relationship satisfaction. Studying TRH is important because relational history is relevant to current relationships; seeking out or avoiding discussions of relational history has relationship implications. Coorientation theory (McLeod & Chaffee, 1973) was used to guide this investigation of perceptions pertaining to TRH, including the extent to which TRH was perceived as taboo, important, and discussed in romantic relationships. Findings from two pilot studies indicated that TRH is a multidimensional concept made up of three factors: talk about characteristics of past partner(s), talk about sexual history, and talk about characteristics of past relationship(s). In the main study, partners from 135 couples (270 individuals) reported their own perceptions pertaining to TRH; they also reported what they believed their partners’ perceptions were pertaining to TRH. Findings from the main study indicated that relationship context played a role in TRH perceptions: people in shorter relationships perceived TRH to be less taboo and TRH took place more frequently than in longer relationships. In many respects, men's and women’s perceptions of TRH were significantly different from one another. Though neither perceived TRH to be taboo on average, men did perceive TRH to be more taboo than women did. Implications of the findings are discussed, and future research directions are also suggested.Item Perceived presence in mediated communication: antecedents and effects(2006) Jourdan, Jessica Simmons; Scott, Craig R.; Ballard, Dawna I.An individual’s experience of perceived presence during a communicative interaction is critical to communication, psychology, information systems, and business scholars alike, as it lies at the center of all mediated experiences (Biocca, 1997; Lee, K. M., 2004; Lombard & Ditton, 1997). The increased use of mediated technology universally and in the workplace has contributed to the importance of the presence construct. The current research examines the multidimensional nature of presence, often generally described as an experience of social and physical connectedness that an individual experiences while communicating with another using information technology. Three unique dimensions of presence are addressed including perceived physical, social, and self presence. Two principle research questions are addressed. First, two media attributes, media capacity and synchronicity, are examined for their influence on each dimension of presence. In addition, demographic factors that may influence presence are discussed as controls. The second research question investigates the impact of each dimension of presence on three categories of organizationally-relevant outcomes. The three outcome categories include social, task, and interaction-oriented outcomes. Hypotheses for these two primary research questions are presented and methodology for investigating them is discussed. Findings indicate that presence is a multi-dimensional construct and that different media attributes affect each of the three types of presence in a unique way. A medium’s synchronicity is much more influential in shaping perceptions of presence than its capacity. Specifically, synchronicity was significantly related to perceived physical, social, and self presence; in contrast, the capacity of a medium affected only physical presence. In addition, each of the three forms of presence also influences the social, task-related, and communication outcomes examined differently. Implications of the research findings are discussed and possible research directions overviewed.Item Romantic relationship termination(2007-08) Conlan, Sean Kevin, 1975-; Buss, David M.An evolutionary model of long-term romantic relationship termination is proposed. According to the model, relationship termination is the functional output of psychological mechanisms evolved to solve adaptive problems faced by humans over evolutionary history. To the extent that men and women have faced similar adaptive problems in romantic relationships, their psychologies of romantic relationship termination are expected to be similar. To the extent that these adaptive problems have differed, their psychologies of relationship termination are expected to differ. Consequently, men and women are hypothesized to have evolved similar, but distinct psychological mechanisms that underlie the decision rules in the termination of long-term romantic relationships. Specific hypotheses and predictions about the contexts and tactics of relationship termination have been derived from this perspective, including: 1) a greater sensitivity in men than in women to declines in their long-term mate's physical attractiveness; 2) a greater sensitivity in women than in men to declines in their long-term mate's investment of resources in them. To test these and other hypotheses about functional design in the psychological mechanisms underlying mating relationship termination several studies were conducted to investigate: 1) perceptions regarding the contexts in which men and women are likely to terminate romantic relationships; 2) perceptions regarding the tactics men and women employ to terminate romantic relationships; 3) thoughts of relationship termination; and 4) personal accounts of relationship termination. Men were judged more sensitive than women to decreases in their long-term mate's physical attractiveness, but did not differ from women in reporting decreased physical attractiveness as a cause of relationship termination. Women were judged more sensitive than men to a partner the decreasing investment of resources in them and reported decreased investment more frequently as a cause of relationship termination. Because several tests of the hypotheses described in this dissertation were disconfirmed, the results should be interpreted with caution.Item Second language learning in an online computer game: insights from theories of social interaction, practice, and nonlinear dynamics(2007-12) Reese, Curtis Lee, 1971-; Schallert, Diane L.; Syverson, Margaret A.Research in second language acquisition has typically focused on classroom and laboratory settings. This study explores second language use in a non-classroom setting. It is based on research from divergent fields including theories of social interaction from sociology, theories of practice from anthropology, and nonlinear dynamics from the physical sciences. This study is a qualitative study, which employs both ethnographic and discourse analytic methods. The study examines native and non-native English speaker interactions on a MUD, a text-based online game. Data was collected for one year. The data for analysis consist primarily of logs of online interactions. The major conclusion of this study was that individuals acquire language appropriate to a particular environment by interacting with others in that environment. As individuals come to an environment and strive towards particular non-linguistic goals, they necessarily interact with others in the environment. As they do, they create shared ways of interacting. Through interaction, they refine the ways in which they speak. By employing multiple perspectives to guide the analysis, new insights into second language use and interaction can be obtained. This broadens our understanding of second language use in non-classroom settings. Implications for pedagogy in foreign language education are discussed.Item Serial hurt in romantic relationships : toward an understanding of recurring hurtful interactions(2011-05) Hampel, Alexa Danelle; Vangelisti, Anita L.; Daly, John A.; McGlone, Matthew S.; Dailey, Rene M.; Loving, Timothy J.The present study explored the phenomenon of serial hurt – hurtful interactions between romantic partners that reoccur about the same topic or issue. In this investigation, a framework of serial hurt was offered, and a number of research questions and hypotheses were examined. The first goal of this study was to assess whether serial hurt was discernable from discrete hurt that occurred in a single, isolated instance. The second purpose of this project was to provide an initial exploration of serial hurt as it occurs in romantic relationships. A community sample of romantic partners (N = 203) completed a series of self-report questionnaires pertaining to either discrete or serial hurt in their current romantic relationships. Results indicated that romantic partners made sense of and responded to hurtful exchanges with their partner in distinct ways depending on the type of hurt experienced. Specifically, the results indicated that discrete hurt and serial hurt are experienced in unique ways by individuals, both cognitively and behaviorally. Further, descriptive, exploratory data on serial hurt provided insight into an alternative perspective for examining hurtful interactions in relationships.Item The role of communication and self-advocacy in sexual relationships : exploring sexual communication among cis and trans women, trans men and non-binary people(2023-05-04) Sky, Oshyn Hinton; Dailey, René M.; Donovan, Erin; Nydegger, Liesl; Palomares, Nicholas A.Sexual communication, or messages exchanged between sexually intimate individuals about their wants, desires, and preferences for sexual encounters, has not been fully explored by communication scholars. Sexual communication is positively related with sexual health (Sheeran et al., 1999), relationship satisfaction (Rubinsky & Hosek, 2019), and sexual satisfaction (Babin, 2012; Brown & Weigel, 2018; Byers & Demmons, 1999; Frederick et al., 2018; MacNeil & Byers, 1997, 2005, 2009; Montesi et al., 2012; Rehman et al., 2019; Rubinsky & Hosek, 2019), but the work has not been contextualized within systems of power and policy regarding sex and sexuality, which impact relationships, individuals, and their sexual communication behaviors. Twenty-two semi-structured interviews were conducted to answer three research questions. Research question 1 asks, what sex education messages do women, transmen, and non-binary individuals receive? How do they fill the gaps in their sex education later in life? Question 2: How do women, transmen, and non-binary individuals use sexual communication with their partner(s)? and question 3: What do women, transmen, and non-binary individuals state as their motivation to reveal or conceal sexual preferences and desires to a partner? Thematic analysis of the interviews found that the sex education participants received was most often abstinence-only and as the only safe and moral way to prevent adverse outcomes. Participants had to seek sex and relationship information on topics of consent, safe sex, and pleasure for themselves from their partners, communities, and through media to access the information they were not given at home or school to engage in safe, pleasurable, and consensual sex. Sexual communication was used outside of and during sexual encounters to negotiate the sexual encounter, advocate for one’s wants, to discuss safe sex, and navigate changes to the sexual relationship over time. Having previously used sexual communication with a partner and it being received well was motivating for many participants to engage in sexual communication in the future. Participants believed that their internalized social scripts for sexuality negatively impacted sexual communication, as some participants recalled avoiding sexual communication out of a fear of being perceived negatively. Findings are discussed through emergent themes, and the inter-relationship among the themes was used to construct a model of sexual communication patterns based on individual, relationship, and societal factors.Item Understanding uncertainty, communication efficacy, and avoidance following the discovery of a relational partner's deception: the mediating role of communication efficacy(2006) Jang, Su Ahn; Vangelisti, Anita L.When individuals experience events that increase their uncertainty in close relationships, they either engage in conversation about the event or avoid discussing it with their partner (Planalp & Honeycutt, 1985). Some scholars suggest that individuals’ perceptions of their communication efficacy influence their decision to avoid talking about particular events with others (Afifi & Weiner, 2004). The main goal of the current study was to examine the associations between uncertainty (e.g., self, partner, relationship uncertainty), communication efficacy, and avoidance and to test communication efficacy as a possible mediator connecting uncertainty and avoidance following the discovery of a relational partner’s deception. This study also explored whether or not relationship length, current relationship standing, outcome assessment, information importance, partner honesty, satisfaction, and commitment are possible predictors of avoidance behavior when individuals discover their partner’s lie. Two hundred forty-five participants who reported being deceived by their relational partner completed the study. Analyses have revealed that uncertainty (e.g., partner and relationship uncertainty) and communication efficacy were negatively associated, and the three types of uncertainty were negatively associated with communication efficacy. In addition to these findings, the current study found that communication efficacy was the main predictor of avoidance when individuals believe that their partner lied to them. Moreover, it was discovered that communication efficacy was a mediator linking the association between partner and relationship uncertainty and avoidance. In other words, partner and relationship uncertainty influence avoidance through communication efficacy. Finally, relationship length, current relationship standing, outcome assessment, information importance, partner honesty, satisfaction, and commitment were not significant predictors of avoidance.Item The use of verbal precision : the impact of potential gain, potential loss, verification likelihood, and truthfulness(2004-05) Carrell, Ronald Calvin, 1958-; Schkade, David; Grazioli, Stefano, professorThis study investigates key factors which determine the level of verbal precision that communicators use. Based upon two sources – Utility Theory and previous research – the study identifies four factors (Potential Gain, Potential Loss, Verification Likelihood, and Truthfulness) which potentially influence precision level. Communicators are hypothesized to use greater precision when they perceive greater Potential Gain, Potential Loss, or Verification Likelihood, or when they are telling the truth. In addition to these main effects, Truthfulness is hypothesized to interact with the other three independent variables. In order to test the hypotheses, 238 undergraduate business students from The University of Texas at Austin were recruited to participate in a full-factorial experiment. Participants assumed the role of a graduating senior who is taking part in a videoconference job interview. The entire experiment took place on a computer. Students viewed video-clips of the interviewer, who at multiple points asked a question and then waited for an answer. At each of these points, participants were offered three possible responses (each differing in precision). All four main-effect hypotheses were supported (i.e., Higher Potential Gain, Potential Loss, and Verification Likelihood, as well as Truthfulness led to higher precision). Truthfulness interacted with each of the other three IV’s, though in the case of Verification Likelihood it did so in the opposite direction from what had been hypothesized. Two contributions of the study are worth noting. First, the study demonstrates that the precision level a communicator uses can be understood within the framework of Utility Theory. Second, the study tests directly (for the first time) the relationship between precision and truthfulness. Precision level can be important in a large number of organizational activities (including performance appraisal, sales, and strategy formulation). It also can impact whether and how managers detect deception. For instance, by knowing when falsifiers use higher precision, a manager may be able to coax information from those who might be lying to them.