Date of Completion

12-9-2015

Embargo Period

12-8-2015

Keywords

Interpersonal, Triumph, Exclusion, Testosterone, Cortisol, Emotion, Aggression, Prosocial

Major Advisor

Ross Buck

Associate Advisor

Mark Hamilton

Associate Advisor

Arthur VanLear

Field of Study

Communication Sciences

Degree

Doctor of Philosophy

Open Access

Open Access

Abstract

The current study assessed the relationship between the core dimensions of interpersonal communication and relationships, power and intimacy, on the activation of individualistic-prosocial affect systems and subsequent interpersonal outcomes. Despite extensive research examining each dimension, mixed findings are prevalent and few have investigated their potential interaction. This study addressed these issues based on current trends in interdisciplinary research. Specifically, manipulated social triumph-defeat was followed by social inclusion-exclusion to examine their combined effect on interpersonal outcomes. Results indicate that the power and intimacy manipulations were successful, however, the relationship between them was not interactive. The current findings contradict the logical expansion of interdisciplinary physiological research (dual-hormone hypothesis) to perceptual-only designs. Both power and intimacy successfully activated individualistic and prosocial affect systems, which directly influenced person perception processes, which then predicted behavioral enactment toward comparison others.

Download
COinS