Does (non)accommodative language influence romantic partners' conflict appraisal?
Dr. Anuraj Dhillon & Shelby Wong
Communication Studies
01. STUDY GOALS
02. COMMUNICATION ACCOMMODATION THEORY (CAT)
03. OUR STUDY
04. CONVERSATION THEMES
05. THE ROAD AHEAD
What are our objectives?
What is CAT?
The details of our research.
What are our conversation themes?
What’s to come?
GOALS OF THE STUDY
Does (non)accommodative language influence romantic partners' conflict appraisal?
Communication Accommodation Theory (CAT)
COMMUNICATION ACCOMMODATION THEORY (CAT)
Giles, 2008
When one person adopts the speaking patterns and mannerisms of another (Remland, 2017)
Accommodation
(aka. convergence)
Distancing ourselves from others by adopting speech patterns that differ from theirs (Remland, 2017)
Non-accommodation
(aka. divergence)
Conversation
Satisfaction
Accommodative behaviors during conflict Greater conversation satisfaction (Dhillon et al., in press)
Ex. (+) accommodative behavior = (>) conversation satisfaction (Dhillon et al., in press)
Our Study
OUR STUDY
H1: Use of accommodative phrases during conflict conversation will positively predict a) conversation satisfaction, b) relationship satisfaction.
H2: Use of nonaccommodative phrases during conflict conversation will negatively predict a) conversation satisfaction, b) relationship satisfaction.
RQ: What are the other conversation themes that emerge out in romantic partners conflict conversations?
OUR STUDY
Participants (N = 100)
50 heterosexual couples
Age: 18 to 31 years (M = 19.91, SD = 1.81)
Majority White (n = 61)
Relationship length (M = 16 months, Range = 3 – 70 months)
Data Collection
Transcribed videos
Identified and categorized phrases by themes
Analysis
Conversation satisfaction
Relationship satisfaction
Measures
Themes
Positive, negative accommodation, non-accommodation, neutral phrases, humor, and sarcasm
Conversation Themes
CONVERSATION THEMES
Adams, 2019
Accommodative language ex:
“I will work on that, because I don’t like doing that to you” (Couple 12AB).
Non-accommodative language ex:
“Yeah. I don't know. I think it's just hard for me to visualize you hanging out with a, with a guy friend that's not, like that doesn't seem flirty” (Couple 13 AB).
(Non)accommodation
Neutral language ex:
“Yeah, well I was trying to leave, but then I went to go eat so that I wouldn't miss dining hall.”
Neutral
Humor & sarcasm ex:
I’m bein’ truthful. I’m bein’ honest
“Do it. Yes, punch me” (Couple 12 AB).
Humor & sarcasm
12 AB
13 AB
The Road Ahead
Continue Data Analyses
Analyze associations between objective behavior and self-reported measures to test the hypotheses stated earlier.
Quantify the data
Analyze use of themes to understand what is perceived as accommodation and/or non-accommodation by the partner
Use LIWC
Using the themes that emerged from the data, we plan to create language toolkit to help partners navigate stressful/ difficult conversations
Create language toolkit
REFERENCES
Adams, A. (2019). Communication Accommodation Theory [Professor Notes]. Canvas@CalPoly.
Dhillon, A., Denes, A., Crowley, J.P, Ponivas, A., Winkler, K.L., & Bennett, M. (In press). Does Testosterone Influence Young Adult Romantic Partners’ Accommodation during Conversations about Stressors?. Human Communication Research.
Giles, H. (2008). Accommodating Translational Research. Journal of Applied Communication Research, 36(2), 121–127. https://doi.org/10.1080/00909880801922870
Remland, M. S. (2017). Nonverbal communication in everyday life. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
STUDENT TESTIMONY
Being a part of the BEACoN program has been a truly rewarding experience. Although I joined the program later, my professor, Dr. Dhillon, and I have become a lot closer and she has given me the chance to explore COMS research. I had the opportunity to work on real data with my mentor and learn what it’s like to be a COMS researcher. I’m thankful to BEACoN for creating an inclusive and diverse space where I feel empowered as a woman of color in research. My mentor has become a big support for me and I now have a greater breadth of knowledge to apply to my life.
THANKS!
Does (non)accommodative language influence romantic partners' conflict appraisal?
Contact:
Dr. Anuraj Dhillon adhill06@calpoly.edu
Shelby Wong swong104@calpoly.edu