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  • Current Opinion in Psychology

The Conversational Circumplex: Identifying, Prioritizing, and Pursuing Informational and Relational Motives in Conversation

By: Michael Yeomans, Maurice E. Schweitzer and Alison Wood Brooks
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Abstract

The meaning of success in conversation depends on people’s goals. Often, individuals pursue multiple goals simultaneously, such as establishing shared understanding, making a favorable impression, and persuading a conversation partner. In this article, we introduce a novel theoretical framework, the Conversational Circumplex, to classify conversational motives along two key dimensions: 1) Informational: the extent to which a speaker’s motive focuses on giving and/or receiving accurate information and 2) Relational: the extent to which a speaker’s motive focuses on building the relationship. We use the conversational circumplex to underscore the multiplicity of conversational goals that people hold, and highlight the potential for individuals to have conflicting conversational goals (both intrapersonally and interpersonally) that make successful conversation a difficult challenge.

Keywords

Conversation; Goal Pursuit; Communication; Interpersonal Communication; Goals and Objectives; Framework

Citation

Yeomans, Michael, Maurice E. Schweitzer, and Alison Wood Brooks. "The Conversational Circumplex: Identifying, Prioritizing, and Pursuing Informational and Relational Motives in Conversation." Current Opinion in Psychology 44 (April 2022): 293–302.
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About The Author

Alison Wood Brooks

Negotiation, Organizations & Markets
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