Intimacy and reciprocity of exchange: A comparison of spouses and strangers
Examined the proposition that the acquaintance process is characterized by increasing intimacy and decreasing reciprocity of intimate communication. A scoring system developed to measure 2 dimensions of intimacy in ongoing interactions was applied to 24 married couples and 24 opposite-sex pairs of s...
Gespeichert in:
Veröffentlicht in: | Journal of personality and social psychology 1978-01, Vol.36 (1), p.72-81 |
---|---|
1. Verfasser: | |
Format: | Artikel |
Sprache: | eng |
Schlagworte: | |
Online-Zugang: | Volltext |
Tags: |
Tag hinzufügen
Keine Tags, Fügen Sie den ersten Tag hinzu!
|
Zusammenfassung: | Examined the proposition that the acquaintance process is characterized by increasing intimacy and decreasing reciprocity of intimate communication. A scoring system developed to measure 2 dimensions of intimacy in ongoing interactions was applied to 24 married couples and 24 opposite-sex pairs of strangers who discussed items they selected from lists containing intimate and nonintimate topics. Spouses, relative to strangers, communicated with more descriptive intimacy (i.e., private facts), but not more evaluative intimacy (i.e., personal feelings or opinions), and reciprocated intimacy less. Females demonstrated significantly greater evaluative intimacy than males. Additionally, a trend toward trivializing intimate topics was found for strangers. Conversely, the tendency for spouses to personalize nonintimate topics was somewhat evident in single-speaker conversation and was significant in conjoint communication, involving simultaneous talking, interruptions, and rapid turnover dialog. Results suggest that increased acquaintance is associated with an increase in the intimacy of information exchanged and with a transition in the processes used to regulate interactions. The distinction between descriptive and evaluative intimacy appears useful for future theory and research concerning the evolution of relationships. (33 ref) |
---|---|
ISSN: | 0022-3514 1939-1315 |
DOI: | 10.1037/0022-3514.36.1.72 |