Sense‐making activities and interpersonal conflict, II: The effects of communicative intentions on internal dialogue

Abstract

It is argued that intended communication partner and concern for following social rules determine whether internal dialogue, when anticipating communication about relational conflict, involves self‐deprecation. In the present study, the extent to which communicative intentions evoked self‐deprecating thoughts was contingent on concern for following social rules; however, this effect was not influenced by characteristics of the anticipated partner as predicted. A subsidiary study revealed that the association between concern for following social rules and communication goals does not depend on intended partner. Examination of assessments of disputes indicated that internal dialogue is related to conflict evaluations; however, the predicted effects of anticipating communication, intended partner, and concern for following social rules on these judgments were not supported. Implications for interpersonal communication about conflict are noted.