Abstract
In our research, we hypothesized that partners in romantic relationships who reported higher levels of similarity in communication would also express higher levels of relational satisfaction. We used Martin Buber’s theory of dialogic communication to establish the idea that people are attracted to others who are similar to them and are therefore attracted to those who share similar communication styles. To test this theory, we surveyed perceived similarity in communication using the following aspects: humor, introversion, conflict management, and criticalness, followed by a measurement of relational satisfaction, in a sample of people in dating relationships at Pepperdine University to examine the correlation between perceived similarity and relational satisfaction. The results showed weak, but positive correlations between the two main variables. Though the correlations found were not enough to substantiate a strong relationship, post hoc analysis yielded possible explanations for the weak correlation and promising topics for further study.
Faculty Advisor
Charles Choi
Recommended Citation
Marquez, Rachal; Zhao, Lily; Kuhlmann, Kathrine; and Riley, Kyrstin
(2015)
"Satisfaction in Similarity: The association between perceived communication styles and relational satisfaction,"
Pepperdine Journal of Communication Research: Vol. 3, Article 3.
Available at:
https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/pjcr/vol3/iss1/3
