Imagined Interactions

This research examined the association between covert narcissism, empathy, personality traits and the functions of imagined interactions, a type of social cognition and intrapersonal communication using the hyper-sensitive narcissism scale, the interpersonal reactivity index, Big 5 personality trait measures and a modified version of the Survey of Imagined Interaction. Narcissism defined as hypersensitivity to criticism and overcompensating with inflated self-exaggeration has been ignored in cognition and communication. Results revealed that anxiety and anger are associated with narcissism. A hierarchical regression analysis based on 241 participants also revealed support for hypotheses demonstrating associations between empathy, personality, and imagined interactions. Results are discussed in terms of an cognitive communication profile of narcissism. A narcissist appears to lack perspective taking, indulge in fantasies, is disagreeable, neurotic, and open to new experiences, ruminates about conflict and does not compensate for the lack of conversational partners.

Before an interview for an internship position, a student imagines the conversation she is to have with the interviewer. She considers questions he may pose and prepares appropriate answers accordingly. In a different setting, a teenager may repeat a conversation he held with a classmate he admires, hoping to decode a love hint or fi nd a concealed message. Such examples, which occur across cultures on a daily basis, testify to the pervasiveness of a communication phenomenon we refer to as intrapersonal communication. In this chapter, we examine the following fundamental questions: “How can intrapersonal communication be operationalized into discrete variables that are manipulated and measured?” “How is intrapersonal communication linked with interpersonal communication and out- comes?” We briefly review some conceptualizations of intrapersonal communication followed by
a discussion of the construct of imagined interactions. Imaginedinteractions have been used to operationalize the study of intrapersonal communication in terms of cognition and message processing. The importance of physiological correlates of intrapersonal communication variables is discussed as a method for refl ecting process. Finally, a study is proposed exploring the association between physiological variables and imagined interaction variables among intimate couples.

Mental imagery in children is discussed in terms of self-concept and identity development. We examine areas in this article that contribute to these developments in children including play, fantasy and imagery, imagined interactions, and imaginary companions. The interface among these areas of developmental psychology is the role of mental imagery (e.g., imagination) in cognitive, social, and emotional development. A study using binary logistic regression is reported in which the dependent variable is presence or absence of childhood imaginary companions. Two significant predictors of having an imaginary companion were identified: playing with dolls and the presence of siblings as opposed to being only children. Results are discussed in the creative role of imagery in fostering role development.

Oral history interviews are informal clinical interviews in which married couples are asked to discuss problems in their relationships and a series of open-ended questions on the chronology of their marriage, philosophy about marriage, what factors constitute a happy marriage, and the effects of their parents' marriage on their own marriage. A sample of 71 couples were videotaped in their homes in which spouse and marital ideology differences were examined for their effect on verbal and nonverbal responses of affiliation, signaling sharing, and espousing joint as opposed to individuals sentiments about satisfaction in marriage. Using Fitzpatrick's 1988), typology, couples were classified as Traditional, independents, and Separates in terms of their beliefs about marriage values. A regression analysis revealed that the husbands' marital happiness was predicted by the wives' responsiveness, husbands' use of "we-ness", fondness for the wife, and her use of "we-ness." The wives' marital happiness was predicted by their fondness for the husband and their use of "we-ness". A multiple discriminant analysis revealed that Traditionals and Independents showed more fondness in their interactions than Separates. In addition, having pleasant internal dialogues with a partner predicted marital happiness for Traditionals and Independents compared to Separates. Results are discussed in terms of existing findings on oral history variables being associated with marital happiness.

In this chapter, I will discuss the assumption of imagined interaction theory, how communication is conceptualized in the theory, strengths and limitations of the theory, and directions for future research. The common acronym for imagined interactions is IIs. Individuals may become angry as they relive old conflicts in their minds as well as feel happiness while imagining positive encounters. Imagined interactions serve multiple functions including maintaining relationships and managing conflict. Our expectancies for interpersonal communication encounters emanates from imagined interactions through replaying images from the electronic media as well as conversations with parents, siblings, peers, or novels.

In this chapter, I first discuss assumptions of dialogue theory based on the work of Martin Buber’s (1958) classic “I–Thou” relationship in terms of shared perspectives and the mutuality of dialogue. Second, I discuss the processing of dialogue through imagined interactions (IIs). IIs explain how individuals envision messages for productive and unproductive outcomes. I compare and contrast Buber’s notion of “inner dialogue” with the contemporary construct of II. II conflict–linkage theory is highlighted, including sample dialogue accounts as well as a sample of theorems.

In view of an increasingly broad concept of mediatization, the article proposes to consistently differentiate between processes of medialization and those of mediatization in the analysis of the connection between media and religion.
Since communicating with interactively unattainable, transcendent entities is at the center of religions, they are always dependent on the use of communication media. For an understanding of the development of medialization, it seems fruitful to distinguish between a more conservatively handled sacral axis and a social axis of communication among believers which can absorb a broad spectrum of ‘new’ media.
Compared with this process of medialization, which has been taking place in religious communication for millennia, the process of mediatization is more recent: It presupposes the operative closure of the media system as a social subsystem with its own logic of operations. Mediatization then refers to the processes in which religious organizations anticipate the way media observe religion and thereby transform themselves along these lines.



Angesichts eines zunehmend weit gefassten Begriffs der Mediatisierung schlägt der Beitrag vor, in der Analyse des Zusammenhangs von Medien und Religion konsequent zwischen Prozessen der Medialisierung und solchen der Mediatisierung zu differenzieren.
Da im Zentrum von Religionen die Kommunikation mit interaktiv unerreichbaren, transzendenten Entitäten steht, sind sie stets auf den Einsatz von Kommunikationsmedien angewiesen. Für ein Verständnis der Entwicklung der Medialisierung erscheint es aber fruchtbar, zwischen einer eher konservativ gehandhabten sakralen Achse und einer sozialen Achse der Kommunikation unter den Glaubenden zu unterscheiden.
Gegenüber diesem sich seit Jahrtausenden sich vollziehenden Prozess der Medialisierung ist der Prozess der Mediatisierung jüngeren Datums: Er setzt die operative Schließung des Mediensystems als gesellschaftliches Teilsystem mit eigenen Operationslogiken voraus. Mediatisierung bezeichnet dann die Prozesse, in denen religiöse Organisationen die Art und Weise, wie Medien Religion beobachten, antizipieren und sich hierdurch selbst transformieren.

Este artículo explora la dimensión narrativa en la construcción de los imaginarios nacionales. Apoyándose en el vínculo establecido por Paul Ricoeur entre tiempo y narración y en la noción de “metahistoria” elaborada por Hyden White, el artículo analiza las condiciones de inteligibilidad de los relatos historiográficos en general, su afinidad estructural con los relatos de ficción y el papel de los dispositivos narrativos en la formación de los ideologemas nacionalistas. Para ilustrar este enfoque, el texto recurre a diversos ejemplos de la tradición historiográfica hispanoamericana.

The role of anthropology as an academic discipline that seeds tourism imaginaries across the globe is more extensive than generally acknowledged. In this article, I draw on ethnographic and archival research in Indonesia and Tanzania to examine critically the recycling of long-refuted
ethnological ideas and scientific ideologies in contemporary tourism interpretation. A fine-grained analysis of local tour guide narratives and practices in two popular destinations, Yogyakarta and Arusha, illustrates empirically how outdated scholarly models, including anthropological ones, are strategically used to represent and reproduce places and peoples as authentically different and relatively static, seemingly untouched by extra-local influences.

Imagined interactions (IIs) as used by sport team fans were examined in conjunction with sport team identification (STI) and with behavioral outcomes and psychological effects.  Sport team fans more strongly influenced by family in the STI process utilize IIs for catharsis, conflict linkage, relational maintenance, and rehearsal.  Furthermore, sport team fans affected by media popularity employ IIs for catharsis, and sport team fans swayed by geography make use of IIs for relational maintenance.  Sport team fans predisposed towards using IIs for catharsis, conflict linkage, and relational maintenance report higher self-esteem.  Identified sport team fans who used catharsis, conflict linkage, and relational maintenance report a greater inclination to commit negative social behaviors as a result of team performance.  Conversely, those who use IIs for rehearsal have a decreased tendency to commit negative social behaviors.  II functions partially mediate the direct association between STI factors and outcomes, whereby more negative behaviors and positive psychological effects such as self-esteem represent the outcomes.

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" (SIl), 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.

Intrapersonal communication satisfaction was regressed on a type of intrapersonal communication known as imagined interactions (IIs) in which people daydream about talking with others who are important in their lives. This study examined the functions of IIs impacting intrapersonal communication satisfaction and measures of cultural patterns in America, Japan, and Thailand. Additionally, cultural patterns were examined. Horizontal individualism is a cultural pattern in which the self is independent but is equal in status with others. Vertical individualism is a pattern characterized by an autonomous self but there are differences in authority, based on status, low equality, and high freedom. Horizontal collectivism is a pattern in which the self is seen as equal in status with others. Vertical collectivism is a pattern characterized by the self being connected with other group members and inequality is accepted. Results revealed that intrapersonal communication satisfaction was predicted by imagined interactions that serve a self-understanding, catharsis, and boldness function. Horizontal collectivism also predicted communication satisfaction for Thai participants. Results are discussed in terms of the importance and functions of conflict-linkage and rumination.

Imagined intergroup contact (Crisp & Turner, 2009) is a new indirect contact strategy for promoting tolerance and more positive intergroup relations. Despite its relatively recent inception, there have now been over 70 studies showing that imagining a positive interaction with an outgroup member can reduce prejudice and encourage positive intergroup behavior. With this meta-analysis, we provide the first quantitative review of imagined contact effects on four key measures of intergroup bias: attitudes, emotions, intentions and behavior. We also test for moderators arising from both group and study design characteristics. The analysis found that imagined contact resulted in significantly reduced intergroup bias across all four dependent variables (overall d+ = 0.35). The effect was significant for both published and unpublished studies, and emerged across a broad range of target outgroups and contexts. The effect was equally strong for explicit and implicit attitude measures, but was stronger on behavioral intentions than on attitudes, supporting the direct link between imagery and action proposedly underlying mental simulation effects. Most design characteristics had no significant impact, including valence of the imagined interaction, type of control condition, and time spent imagining contact. However, the more participants were instructed to elaborate on the context within which the imagined interaction took place, the stronger the effect. The imagined contact effect was also stronger for children than for adults, supporting the proposition that imagined contact is a potentially key component of educational strategies aiming to promote positive social change.

Communication apprehension (CA) is associated with fear of anticipated communication. Yet, imagined interactions (IIs) can help reduce fear of communication in which
individuals use mental imagery before and after to prepare and review communication. A series of regression analyses in which characteristics of IIs were the independent variables was used to predict overall CA, as well as in four different contexts. The regression analysis indicated that CA could be predicted by the II characteristic of discrepancy across multiple contexts. The II catharsis function was predictive in one context. Results are discussed in terms of cognitive modification as a therapeutic technique for treating CA.

Imagined interaction (II) theory has been productive for communication and social cognition scholarship. There is, however, a yet untested assumption within II theory that
the 8 attributes are related to all 6 functions and that II functions can be compared and contrasted in terms of II attributes. In addition, there is little research exploring the multidimensional nature of functions and attributes. This article tests the internal structure of II theory by investigating the relations among functions and attributes in 2 studies. Both studies revealed complex associations between the attributes and functions of IIs and provide partial confirmatory evidence for the theory. The discussion integrates findings from these 2 studies and provides avenues for future research.

The present study examines the usage of imagined interactions (IIs) among bullying perpetrators and those who are bullied. In reviewing the literature on IIs, an earlier study investigated the motivations by aggressive teasers for using IIs. This study laid the foundation for the present study. We were interested in the similarities and differences between aggressive teasers usage of IIs and the usage of IIs for bullying. Based on a survey of 319 participants, we found that bullying was predicted by the II attributes of retroactivity and positive valence. The regression analysis revealed a positive association between being bullied and the II attribute of retroactivity and the function of conflict-linkage. The findings and implications of these results are discussed in terms of rumination.

Imagined interactions (IIs) refer to a process of social cognition in which individuals imagine, and therefore, indirectly experience themselves in anticipated and/or past communicative encounters with others. In this manuscript, two groups of participants kept diaries of their daily IIs. In the first study, rehearsal and proactivity were the most frequently reported features. Half of the entries reported only one function for the II. In the second study, catharsis and proactivity were the most frequently reported features, and there were positive associations between the number of II functions and II attributes featured in the diary and the interpersonal cognitive complexity of the participant. The contributions of these findings are discussed in regard to II theory and intrapersonal communication.

This study examines thoughts and feelings about conflict. A person may use imagined
interactions (IIs) to work through a conflict situation. One factor that may affect the nature
of IIs about conflict is the tendency among some individuals to take conflict personally.
Taking conflict personally (TCP) is the feeling that conflict is a negative life event
that is aimed at the self (Hample & Dallinger, 1995). This study examines the relationship
between TCP and IIs about conflict. Results indicate that trait TCP is correlated
with rumination, that a variety of significant relationships appear between trait TCP
and II characteristics, and that trait TCP predicts state TCP immediately after a
conflict-oriented II.

Imagined interactions (IIs) are internal dialogues that individuals have with significant others.  They may be similar to real conversations and serve a variety of functions such as rehearsal for anticipated encounters.  Visual and verbal imagery is used when having imagined interactions.  These internal dialogues are characterized by various kinds of emotional affect ranging from anger to joy.  In addition, they are seen as a type of mindful, cognitive activity allowing individuals to think about messages.  It is argued that mindful IIs sometimes allow for mindlessness in actual encounters.

Interactions are characterized by opposite motives according to game theory. The purpose of this study was to explore how people judge the probability and advisability of conflict reactions in an unfolding dispute within a married couple using latent growth curve modeling (LGCM). Individuals participated in a study using two videotaped scenarios depicting marital conflict in which a spouse comes home after a long day at work only to criticize his or her partner for violating expectations of a good meal. One situation involved male-initiated conflict and female reactance, whereas another illustrated female-initiated conflict and male reactance. Participants were asked to predict the future reactions based on aggressive tactics (e.g., slapping the partner, insulting the partner) or prosocial and forgiving communication (e.g., apologizing, discussing the issue calmly) as well as the use of online, imagined interaction (II) rumination in which individuals replay arguments in their mind ...

In this article, we extend Benedict Anderson's notion of imagined communities to examine the idea of an "imagined engagement" between or among people and groups that have not met. These imagined engagements include a blurring of temporal lines, as one group "interacts" with another's past, present , or future. Imagined engagements are a form of failed interaction, and, as such, have their place in Goffman's interaction order. We argue that musical language can comprise a meeting point of these engagements. We then demonstrate how two composers-one historic and one contemporary-have used the musical cultures of an Othered people, with a focus on Indigenous America, in an attempt to create a sense of community and common ties between the West and these Others-a sense of community in which the Othered have no part.

The purpose of this study was to examine how college students’ intrapersonal communication experiences (i.e., imagined interactions) with disliked instructors contribute to their proclivity to communicate instructional dissent (i.e., expressive, rhetorical, vengeful). Student participants (N = 181) completed a self-report questionnaire measuring their use of imagined interactions with their worst instructor in the past academic year, along with reports of their course-related dissent. Results of a canonical correlation revealed that the frequency, valence, and rehearsal of students’ imagined interactions with a low affect instructor are related to forms of instructional dissent

Poco a poco va ganando fuerza la necesidad de entender y estudiar los procesos coloniales en la Antigüedad desde una perspectiva que vaya más allá de las teorías aculturacionistas, lo que conlleva la necesidad de emplear enfoques teóricos como el postcolonialismo, en lo referente a las interacciones que se produjeron durante los contactos que pueblos, como griegos o romanos, mantuvieron con muchas de las sociedades con las que tuvieron contacto, a través de los diversos asentamientos que en aquellas regiones se establecieron desde época temprana.

Los procesos de construcción identitaria pueden, así, ponerse en relación con los conflictos inherentes a los desarrollos de sociedades coloniales, expresados muchas veces a través de cultos, ritos y mitos. Cualquier tipo de encuentro cultural representa un proceso complejo, a todos los niveles, entre grupos sociales, que debe abordarse lejos de las teorías basadas en la influencia unidireccional que, por este motivo, tienden a realizar un nivel de análisis superficial donde muchas facetas de interrelación se dejan de lado o se niegan, pero de las cuales tenemos noticias gracias a las fuentes clásicas y arqueológicas. Es necesario intentar ahondar en el punto de vista de los colonizados, en la medida en que ello nos sea posible (Loomba, 1998), dado que es lógico pensar en la existencia de una transferencia multilateral de ideas, costumbres, etc., entre los sujetos que mantuvieron un tipo de contacto prolongado o, al menos, regular, sin que tengamos que entender a los colonizados como meros receptores pasivos.

La teoría postcolonial ha surgido con fuerza para afrontar esa nueva concepción de los procesos de interacción cultural; sin embargo, ¿se ha logrado abandonar por completo las reminiscencias relacionadas con el marco conceptual de la sociedad que intenta definir al “Otro”? ¿Podemos emplear términos como aculturación a la hora de definir un proceso colonial sin que ellos mismos conlleven cierta carga ideológica? No es mi intención dar respuesta aquí a preguntas tan importantes y que, aún hoy, generan un intenso debate, sino sólo exponer el proceso de surgimiento de la teoría postcolonial como un nuevo enfoque teórico surgido de una realidad contemporánea y aplicado a procesos de interacción cultural colonial en diversas épocas.

Abstract
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.

This study examines imagined interactions (IIs) among young adults in the United States, Thailand, and Japan. A comparison of means across cultures on II characteristics reveals that the Japanese participants have the widest variety of II partners,
whereas the American participants are the most self-dominant in their IIs and demonstrate the most II frequency. As for II functions, Japanese and Thai participants keep conflict alive via their IIs more than the Americans, whereas the Thais utilize the II
rehearsal and self-understanding functions the least. The Japanese participants use the II boldness function, which focuses on escaping from societal norms via one’s IIs, more
than the Thais and Americans.

What constitutes a cinematic city has been debated by scholars in urban studies, film studies, and geography since the late 1990s. Where initial investigations queried the role of cities in film, critical readings point to a radically different understanding of the ontology of representation: films are not merely images but actively (de)construct daily life and the world as we know it. While the most common mode of inquiry to the cinematic city has been through textual analysis, others have sought to engage the cinematic city through different means. These include dialectics, simulacra, haptics, and historical interpretations.

One goal of this study is to gather further evidence concerning the predictive
validity of personality preferences from the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator
(MBTI). While other studies have researched the extent of the MBTI's
relationship with comparable personality measures, many have done so by
separating the continua of the four dimensions. However, we contend that
each is one trait with bipolar extremes. Accordingly, we examine the MBTI
with its four dimensions intact. Because previous research demonstrates
connections bet\veen personalities, imagined interactions, and relationship
satisfaction, a model is proposed. A sample of 136 couples who were
either dating, engaged, or married were recruited using a snowball technique
from students enrolled in psychology and communication courses at
a large southern university and administered the MBTI, the SII (Survey
of Imagined Interactions), and the QMI (Quality Marriage Index). Results
indicate both II attributes and personality preferences predict relationship
satisfaction and indicate extraversion is a comparable construct across personality measures.

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.