Describes five studies that developed and validated a self-report instrument for assessing affinity-seeking skills. Indicates that the Affinity-Seeking Instrument, which is comprised of two scales, (1) has internal consistency, a stable factor structure, and concurrent discriminant validity; and (2) measures social tendencies that are observable…

To compare differences between types of friendships on an assortment of communication and situational variables, a study was conducted that involved pairs of four types of intimate friends: male-male, female-female, male-female with romantic interest, and male-female without romantic interest. Subjects, 61 pairs of college students, completed…

Replicates the findings of earlier examinations of relationship disengagement. Extends the range of variables pertinent to strategy selection by evaluating the role of network overlap, partner desirability, trust, and dyadic adjustment. Finds that both relational variables and tactics were associated with consequences of disengagement. (JD)

A study was designed to describe the nonverbal behaviors of two male/female couples as they initiated, maintained, and terminated their relationships. Over a five-month period, couple one met seven times and couple two met six times in a laboratory setting. During the meetings, observers coded the couples' nonverbal behaviors as eye gaze, smiles,…

Based on the assumptions that relational messages are multidimensional and that they are largely communicated by nonverbal cues, this experiment manipulated five nonverbal cues--eye contact, proximity, body lean, smiling, and touch--to determine what meanings they convey along four relational message dimensions: emotionality/arousal/composure,…

In a study designed to discover and describe the transmission of cultural meaning among women in middle management positions, oral histories of 10 middle management women were tape-recorded. The tapes were then transcribed and statements referring to the subjects' organizational enculturation were transferred onto approximately 500 sort cards.…

An analysis of interpersonal communication research supports the existence of the notion "communicative style," the method or manner by which an individual interacts with others. Scholars concerned with interpersonal behavior acknowledge that individuals develop habitual styles of interactive behavior that tend to produce optimal…