THE MEANING OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN THE TRANSITION FROM ACQUAINTANCESHIP TO FRIENDSHIP

Citation
Je. Lydon et al., THE MEANING OF SOCIAL INTERACTIONS IN THE TRANSITION FROM ACQUAINTANCESHIP TO FRIENDSHIP, Journal of personality and social psychology, 73(3), 1997, pp. 536-548
Citations number
41
Categorie Soggetti
Psychology, Social
ISSN journal
00223514
Volume
73
Issue
3
Year of publication
1997
Pages
536 - 548
Database
ISI
SICI code
0022-3514(1997)73:3<536:TMOSII>2.0.ZU;2-Q
Abstract
The transition from acquaintanceship (nonunit) to friendship (unit) wa s conceptualized in terms of a preunit relationship. The authors theor ized that in transitional relationships, discrete interactions are imb ued with surplus meaning. Using a mental simulation procedure in 3 stu dies, participants randomly assigned to focus their attention on an ex emplar from their social worlds representing unit, preunit, or nonunit same-sex relationships responded to social exchange scenarios. Preuni ts intended to act like a friend and not an acquaintance, yet they exp erienced more discomfort following a communal script than those in a u nit relation. Content analyses of open-ended responses revealed that p reunits were more likely than units or nonunits to see a nice gesture by the other person as having some social meaning. Failure to reciproc ate a favor by either party was deemed more important to preunit than unit or nonunit relations. In Study 4, in which actual interaction rec ords were used, the quality of individual discrete interactions was mo re highly correlated with momentary, on-line perceptions of relationsh ip closeness for preunit interactions than unit or nonunit interaction s.