Imagined interaction (II) theory has been productive for communication and social cognition scholarship. There is, however, a yet untested assumption within II theory that the 8 attributes are related to all 6 functions and that II functions can be compared and contrasted in terms of II attributes. In addition, there is little research exploring the multidimensional nature of functions and attributes. This article tests the internal structure of II theory by investigating the relations among functions and attributes in 2 studies. Both studies revealed complex associations between the attributes and functions of IIs and provide partial confirmatory evidence for the theory. The discussion integrates findings from these 2 studies and provides avenues for future research.

Undergraduate students were randomly assigned to disclose a recent upsetting problem to either a trained active listener (n ¼ 41) or an untrained listener (n ¼ 130). Active listeners were trained to ask open questions, paraphrase content, reflect feelings, and use assumption checking as well as be nonverbally immediate. Verbal and nonverbal active listening behaviors were rated as signaling more emotional awareness and promoting a greater degree of emotional improvement but did not affect perceptions of relational assurance or problem-solving utility. On average, the set of verbal behaviors were more important in the prediction of outcomes compared to the nonverbal behaviors. Results

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Imagined interactions (IIs) refer to a process of social cognition in which individuals imagine, and therefore, indirectly experience themselves in anticipated and/or past communicative encounters with others. In this manuscript, two groups of participants kept diaries of their daily IIs. In the first study, rehearsal and proactivity were the most frequently reported features. Half of the entries reported only one function for the II. In the second study, catharsis and proactivity were the most frequently reported features, and there were positive associations between the number of II functions and II attributes featured in the diary and the interpersonal cognitive complexity of the participant. The contributions of these findings are discussed in regard to II theory and intrapersonal communication.

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