The study of interpersonal communication is one of the more vibrant domains for social scientific theorizing and investigation. Those interested in systematically understanding the richness of social life must address germinal issues: How and why individuals are attracted to certain others, how talk synchronizes perceptions and behaviors, or how and why individuals employ strategic messages to achieve relational outcomes. This book is about those conversations. Approaching their tasks from various perspectives and with numerous agendas, the contributors all share the commitment to establish reliable generalizations about interpersonal communication in ways that can be properly described as "scientific." While selecting and arranging chapters in this volume, the contributors were mindful of the issues addressed and the potential of chapters to establish significant generalizations about interpersonal communication.
Presenting the issues in five parts, this book: * presents an overview of individual characteristics in interpersonal communication and three meta-analyses reflecting this theme, * considers literature emphasizing the dyadic approach to interpersonal communication, * explores the interactional approach to interpersonal communication, * considers the impact of the meta-analyses on the understanding of interpersonal communication, and * sets the stage for independent meta-analyses.