Understanding undersociality: Intentions, impressions, and interactions

Abstract

Ratner et al. (2023) and Silver and Small (2023) raise deeply interesting questions about the broad consequences of increasing sociality, about people's ability to anticipate the outcomes of sociality, and about broader issues people may be considering when thinking of connecting with another person. We focus this response on the potential role of intentions and anticipated impressions in affecting undersociality, as well as the possibility of interactions that could moderate the gap between people's expectations of social engagement and their actual experiences. Many unanswered and important questions remain in need of critical empirical attention. We encourage future research that provides a better understanding of undersociality by focusing on intentions, impressions, and interactions.