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The dyadic dynamics of serial arguments : Associations between goal structures and communication in conversations about recurring disagreements

Author
Li, Yuwei
Published
[University Park, Pennsylvania] : Pennsylvania State University, 2024.
Physical Description
1 electronic document
Additional Creators
Solomon, Denise
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Restricted (PSU Only).
Summary
This dissertation addresses two theoretical questions in the context of serial arguments, which are recurring disagreements within the same relationship, about the same issue, and without resolution. The first question concerns the organization of multiple goals as a response to situational exigence and as a predictor of message production. The second question focuses on the within-episode, dyadic, behavioral patterns that constitute serial argument episodes. I draw on research literatures on (a) message production, (b) serial arguments, and (c) a dynamic dyadic systems perspective on interpersonal communication, to address the two central questions with new, secondary analyses of survey, observation, and cued-recall data previously gathered for a different project. As an introduction, Chapter 1 reviews major themes in research on serial arguments, including the nature of seriality, issue orientation, communication behaviors, goals, and outcomes of serial arguments. This overview defines serial arguments as a distinct and consequential communication phenomenon in personal relationships and introduces the concepts that appear in the theoretical discussions and empirical analyses in subsequent chapters. Chapter 2 addresses the first motivating question of the dissertation with a discussion of the concepts of goals and goal structures. I begin with a historic overview of the conceptual development of the goal construct; based on that account, I explicate the construct of goal structures as the organization of multiple goals by their ascribed importance. Then, the chapter discusses the implications of goal structures for communication behaviors and presents a set of hypotheses and research questions. Chapter 3 elaborates on the second major question, which focused on the dyadic dynamics of serial arguments. I introduce a dynamic dyadic systems perspective on interpersonal communication as a conceptual tool to understand the phenomenon of serial arguments. Then, I describe the hypotheses and research questions related to the within-episode dynamics and overview the analytic tools to address them. Chapter 4 documents the methodological details of this dissertation. I describe the participants and procedures related to data collection and behavioral coding. Next, I summarize the self-report and cued-recall measures used in the study. The chapter closes with an overview of two analytic procedures employed in the study (i.e., configural frequency analysis and sequence analysis) and an analysis plan for the substantive analyses. Chapter 5 reports the results from preliminary and substantive analyses. In preliminary analysis, I comment on the statistical power of the substantive tests that follow, and I describe the turn typology that constituted the dynamic behavioral patterns in serial arguments. The substantive analyses that follow test hypotheses and address research questions related to monadic, dyadic, and over-time patterns of and relationships among partners' goal structures, behaviors, conversational motifs, and conversation outcomes. The results provide general support for the characterization of variables and constituent associations of a conceptual model advanced in this dissertation. In closing, Chapter 6 begins with a summary of the empirical findings from substantive analyses. From those findings, I discuss theoretical implications around three overarching themes: (a) the genesis and qualities of goal structures, (b) the dynamic composition of serial argument episodes, and (c) the dyadic influence that permeate serial argument episodes. Finally, the chapter reflects on the limitations of this dissertation and envisions directions for future studies.
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Dissertation Note
Ph.D. Pennsylvania State University 2024.
Technical Details
The full text of the dissertation is available as an Adobe Acrobat .pdf file ; Adobe Acrobat Reader required to view the file.
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