THE DEVELOPMENT OF A COUPLE OBSERVATIONAL CODING SYSTEM FOR COMPUTER-MEDIATED COMMUNICATION

Many romantic couples integrate text and computer-mediated communication (CMC) into their relationship dynamics, both for general relationship maintenance and for complex dynamics such as problem solving and conflict. Romantic couple dynamics are interactional, dynamic, and sequenced in nature, and a common method for studying interactions of this nature is observational analyses. However, no behavioral or observational coding systems exist that are able to capture text-based transactional couple communication. The main purpose of this dissertation was to develop an observational coding system that can be used to assess sequenced computer- mediated, text-based communication that takes place between romantic partners. This process included assessing couples’ text communication to determine how verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors are enacted in CMC, modifying an observational coding system, and establishing reliability and validity of the revised coding system. Secondary data was utilized, including 48 logs of romantic couples engaging in problem-solving discussions using online chatting for 15 minutes, where a log of the conversation was saved for future research purposes. For this dissertation, the researcher evaluated the dynamics in these logs to determine if behaviors and sequences were similar to basic romantic relationship dynamics that are present in face-to-face (FtF) couples’ dynamics. The researcher determined that the dynamics between CMC and FtF were similar, and that modifying a couple observational coding system would be appropriate. The Interaction Dimensions Coding System was selected for use and modification for this study, and the training manual and codebook were updated to integrate CMC examples. Multiple avenues of assessing face validity were also pursued and feedback from the coding team and original authors of a couple coding system were integrated into the modified coding system. The modified coding system, IDCS-CMC, was used to code 43 text-based chat logs. A team of 4 coders was trained on the coding system, where they provided ratings from 1 to 9 on each partner for different dimensions of communication behaviors that were observed and they also rated each couple on 5 dyadic categories of relationship functioning. Interrater reliability was assessed throughout the training and independent coding process using the intraclass correlation coefficient. Results indicate that good or excellent interrater reliability was established for the individual dimensions of Positive Affect, Negative Affect, Problem Solving, Support/Validation, Denial, Conflict, and Communication Skills and for the dyadic codes of Positive Escalation, Negative Escalation, Commitment, Satisfaction, and Stability. There were only two dimensions that resulted in fair or poor interrater reliability, which were Dominance and Withdrawal, both of which warrant additional study in how these dynamics are enacted in and coded in CMC. Overall, the IDCS-CMC demonstrated good interrater reliability, and construct validity was established for the coding system in a variety of ways. Construct validity was established by assessing face, content, and convergent validity. Face validity was established by eliciting feedback on the IDCS-CMC from the coding team as well as one of the authors of the system used to inform the development of the IDCS-CMC. Content validity was established by assessing the degree to which the couples in the chat logs engaged in conversations of a similar nature in their real lives, and also by determining the degree to which the couple participants followed instructions to focus on a problem-solving topic during the chats. Convergent validity was assessed by comparing the IDCS-CMC dimensions and positive and negative communication composite scores to a measure of relationship satisfaction. Overall, this dissertation details the process by which a couple observational coding system was developed and tested, and puts forth a methodological tool that can be used to better assess transactional use of CMC by romantic couples by researchers as well as practitioners and therapists

Does attachment style moderate the effect of computer-mediated versus face-to-face conflict discussions?

Successful conflict resolution is important in romantic relationships. With the advent of computer-mediated communication (CMC), partners can resolve conflict using CMC. But is CMC as effective as face-to-face communication for conflict resolution? And does the effectiveness depend on attachment style? We asked 100 romantic couples to discuss a conflict topic and randomly assigned them to do so face-to-face or via CMC. Levels of distress, anger, and conflict resolution did not differ between face-to-face and CMC discussions.Attachment style did not moderate these findings. A more anxious and a more avoidant attachment style were associated with higher levels of distress andanger. We conclude that there is no indication that resolving conflict face-to-face has advantages over resolving conflict via CMC

The Impact of Politeness on Conversational Outcomes in Mobile Dating Apps

Mobile dating applications like Bumble and Tinder have grown in popularity, increasingly attracting scholarly attention. Our study focuses on the impact of politeness strategies and imposition on conversational outcomes on mobile dating apps. Using a 2 by 2 factorial design we examine the impact of degree of directness and imposition impact on perceptions of potential romantic partners and attitudes toward intensifying a relationship. We found that indirectness (a higher-order politeness strategy) and requests for face-to-face dates (high imposition) were positively associated with 1) attitudes toward intensifying a relationship, and 2) the perceived likeability of an interactional partner. Indirect politeness strategies more often resulted in request compliance and rejection strategies varied based on degrees of directness and the nature of the requests. Further exploration of how individuals evaluate imposition as it relates to requests for transitioning conversations from a mobile dating platform to face-to-face, is needed

All Talk: Dialogue and Intimacy in Spike Jonze's Her

This chapter focuses on the ways in which film dialogue can enact and foreground the complex mechanisms underlying conversational interaction, and demonstrate the ways in which verbal interaction may be as much about concealment and solipsism as it is about intimacy and revelation. With close reference to Spike Jonze’s Her, which centres on the developing relationship between a lonely writer and an operating system designed to fulfill his every need, the chapter will examine how the film’s foregrounding of character dialogue to the exclusion of almost everything else challenges convention and relies on the audience to read between the lines of the characters’ utterances. The chapter draws on theories of dialogue from literary criticism, narratology and linguistics as well as film studies to argue that dialogue in film is not just about exquisitely staged scenes or displays of auteurish experimentation, but plays an integral role in the audience’s active engagement with the characters and their investment in their unfolding relationships

A frown emoji can be worth a thousand words: perceptions of emoji use in text messages exchanged between romantic partners

Computer-mediated communication (CMC) can facilitate the expression of affection between romantic partners and promote relationship quality. Text messaging is nowadays an important means of expressing affection and to feel close to one's partner. However, it is unclear if adding emoji to text messages influences perceptions about the relationship. In two experiments (combined N = 451), participants evaluated the relationship interest of a romantic partner, based on the messages exchanged. Study 1 compared positive and negative replies varying in emotional cues (without vs. text vs. emoji). Results showed that positive replies signaled the greatest interest, regardless of cue. In contrast, negative replies with (vs. without) cues signaled greater interest in the relationship and this was especially evident for messages with emoji. This benefit occurred because these messages were perceived as more positive (vs. negative messages without cue). Study 2 compared negative replies varying in the seriousness of the issue. Results showed that, for more serious replies, emotional text signaled greater interest by increasing message positivity. In contrast, emoji signaled less interest by increasing message negativity. Together, findings showed how CMC between romantic partners can benefit and be harmed by including emoji.info:eu-repo/semantics/acceptedVersio

Who I Am: Gender, Embodiment, and Code Switching in Bachata Dance Communities

Bachata is a music and dance genre from the Dominican Republic that has become an increasingly diasporic and cross-cultural form of expression. The lyrics of bachata songs focus on topics of love, the loss of love, and sexual desire. The ways in which bachata musicians articulate their love brings an awareness to the elements of binary gender embedded in the music traditions and history of bachata. Bachata dancereveals the socio-cultural structures of gender within bachata dance communities, as well. The dancers fulfill clear lead or follow roles, and these roles are typically designated based on gender: males lead and females follow. The movement of bachata encourages dancers to outwardly express sensuality through the ways that they move their bodies. Additionally, bachata dance, and especially the subtype known as sensual bachata, allows dancers to create close corporeal connections. As Tomie Hahn suggests, sensorial and embodied experience enables individuals to engage with their socio-cultural understandings of self and community. Through embodiment, individuals navigate aspects of identity, including gender identity, that either aligns with or counters social expectation.Through an analysis of sound, lyrics, and my own ethnographic research, I examine aspects of gender, embodiment, and code switching within bachata music and dance communities in Knoxville, TN and Charlotte, NC. I include my experiences as a female bachata dancer as well as interviews with dancers from these communities. I seek to uncover how bachata music and movement connect to and alter one’s sense of identity,both within and outside of binary and Latin American gender stereotypes. I argue that through music and movement, embodiment, and code switching, those involved in the bachata dance community develop a unique view of self within their own gender perception that variously aligns with and challenges binary gender structures. For women in particular, bachata dance allows for an expression of sensuality that leads to an increase in empowerment and confidence. Further, due to the freedom of individual exploration, the necessity for binary gender roles within the Knoxville and Charlotte bachata dance communities shifts, and therefore leaves the dance floor as a space for open gendered expression

Indirect Pursuits of Intimacy in Romantic Couples Everyday Conversations: A Discourse Analytic Approach

A discourse analytic approach was used to examine how twenty young adult romantic couples (ages 19-26) employed criticisms and insinuations of infidelity in their natural unstructured interactions to indirectly and creatively pursue closeness. The research has been motivated by an expanding arena of research that shows that ostensibly contentious interactional moments among young adult intimates may not be adversarial, but rather may be methods that promote a playful repartee that leads to affiliation. I demonstrate how criticisms are both often highly gendered and typically formulated and responded to in tongue-in-cheek, non-serious ways that involve the creative use of various forms of irony, laughter, rekeyings, abrupt non-sequiturs, and topic shifts that mitigate the potential for the criticisms to become adversarial. Similarly, the insinuations of infidelity were often designed by the couples to attend to interactional breaches. They functioned as a brief but effective way for one partner to signal that they had been dismissed or neglected in the preceding discursive turns. My central finding is that young adult romantic couples maintain closeness amidst potential conflict in their natural everyday conversational interactions.Die Frage, wie Paare (im Alter von 19-26 Jahren) Kritik und Andeutungen möglicher Untreue in natürlichen Interaktionen genutzt haben mit dem Ziel, auf kreative und indirekte Weise Nähe herzustellen, war Gegenstand der hier vorgestellten diskursanalytischen Studie. Ausgangspunkt war das vermehrte Vorliegen von Forschungsarbeiten, denen zufolge vordergründig strittige Interaktionen zwischen jungen Paaren weniger feindlich intendiert waren, sondern als spielerische Methoden, um Verbundenheit zum Ausdruck zu bringen. Im Beitrag zeige ich, dass Kritik oft relativ (geschlechts-) stereotyp formuliert und witzelnd beantwortet wurde z.B. durch die Nutzung von Ironie, Lachen, Umdeutungen, durch abrupte Gedankensprüngen und Themenwechsel - allesamt Strategien, die halfen, mögliche feindseile Konnotation abzumildern. In ähnlicher Weise wurden Anspielungen auf Untreue oft in Interaktionspausen eingebracht, eine knappe und effektive Weise, der anderen Person zu signalisieren, dass dies in vorangegangen Interaktionen übergangen worden war. Insoweit fand sich auch für meine Studie, dass die von mir untersuchten jungen Paare auch in potenziellen Konfliktsituationen in ihren Alltagsinteraktionen Nähe herzustellen versuchten

And they lived happily ever after : the effects of cultural myths and romantic idealizations on committed relationships

This study explored the impact of idealized relationships, present in our media and culture, on committed relationships. The purpose of this study was to explore the ways that relationships are impacted by real and idealized relationship discrepancies. In addition, this research provided an initial assessment of the coping mechanisms utilized by partners as problem solving responses to the discrepancies. Twelve participants, self-identified as in a committed relationship with a partner and living together for over one year, participated in this study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with questions focusing on how the participants\u27 relationships fit and do not fit into idealized notions of relationships, how their partnership is affected by this relationship discrepancy and the ways that they cope and respond to these effects. Findings indicated that many participants experienced feelings of discomfort, questioning and doubt in their relationship due to the prevalence of idealized relationships. All of the interviewees identified several coping mechanisms which they found effective in response to these feelings. The most common coping strategy was communication, namely with one\u27s partner but also with friends and family. Among other responses, participants identified taking proactive steps to renew intimacy in their own relationship and demystify romantic ideals put forth in the media

Texting the New Habitus: (Re)producing and Negotiating Practices and Expectations of the Texting Medium

Senior Project submitted to The Division of Social Studies of Bard College