The effects of daily communication on romantic relationships

Abstract

The present study examined the effects of daily communication on favorability in the perception of romantic relationships, with reference to Matsui's (1990) Developmental Stage Model of Romantic Love. The 484 participants were divided into three categories according to their current relational status: romantic relationships (154 undergraduates), one-sided non-mutual relationships (205 undergraduates), and regular heterosexual friendships (125 undergraduates). The latter two groups were included for comparison. Sternberg's (1997) Triangular Love Scale was used in order to measure favorability in participants' relationships. A separate scale was used to record information relating to daily communication. Participants were asked various questions regarding their relationships. Some examples included, 'Exchanging talk about daily events', 'Having a relationship-specific verbal style', and 'Perceiving the partner's reaction'. For the purposes of this study, 'Exchanging talk about daily events' was discussed in terms of messages regarding content and relational meaning (Watzlawick, Bavelas, & Jackson, 1967). And 'Having a relationship-specific verbal style' was discussed in terms of relational culture (Wood, 1982). The results indicated that the all daily com-municational behavior mentioned above influenced the level of favorability of romantic relationships.