An Investigation of Episodic and Partner-Specific Imagined Interaction Use

Abstract

While imagined interaction use has been conceptualized both as a personal, stable trait and as specific, state-like occurrences, empirical investigations of the relationship between such levels of abstraction are scarce. Four levels of abstraction are proposed and two are empirically tested through a two-wave survey that assessed participants' ( N = 137) tendency to use imagined interactions with their romantic partner and their episodic use of imagined interactions in response to an impactful conversation with that partner. Moderate correlations between these levels suggest they are related but distinct. Correlations were stronger for imagined interactions functions than for attributes, suggesting that the reasons for using episodic imagined interactions are related to one's tendencies while the attributes appear mainly impacted by situational factors. Implications of these findings are presented along with suggestions to further investigate a conceptual distinction between imagined interaction uses at different levels of abstraction.