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Intimacy in Interpersonal Interactions

By: Samantha Minyard Communication Theory Dr. Kennerly October 15, 2012

Abstract: Researchers have found that men perceive women displaying more sexual interest than women report of doing. Throughout this study, researchers have tested eight hypotheses on students at a Midwestern university to see if they prove to hold accurate. Throughout their research they employ the Cognitive Valence Theory to provide a theoretical framework to help understand these findings. A variety of studies using several different forms of approach are used and reveal a significant gender difference in the amount of perceived sexual passes that women convey to men.

Intimacy in Interpersonal Interactions The purpose of my paper is to divulge into the world of Cognitive Valence Theory. Throughout my research on this theory I have come to find that Cognitive Valence Theory (CVT) is displayed on a daily occurrence with both men and women. However, both men and women have a different view of CVT. Theory Review Cognitive Valence Theory is a foundation that explains and describes the process of intimacy between a set of people. CVT focuses on how intimate relationships are made and why only a few make it past that initial contact. The important factor in CVT is arousal. According to dictionary.com, arousal means to stimulate sexually, to stir to action or strong response. This is what CVT uses to measure where the individual is in relation to the other individual. Affection and intimacy can be taken as negative or positive. Peter A. Anderson created the cognitive valence theory to answer questions regarding intimacy relationships. Anderson proposed six cognitive procedures individuals engage in as they assess how to respond to changes in intimacy and regulate interpersonal interaction. These procedures are situational appropriateness, relational appropriateness, cultural appropriateness, personal predispositions, and the physical or psychological state of the individual and interpersonal valence. Throughout these cognitive procedures you can measure the individuals levels of arousal and hypothesize whether or not the relationship will work. Each of the schemas can change intimacy between couples. Situational appropriateness measures whether the place or context is acceptable to intimacy. For example, one might behave differently in a school setting rather than a romantic restaurant setting. The relational

appropriateness represents the relationship that each of the partners label it as. Some might label a relationship as just a friendship, while the other may think its more. Each partner may display a level of intimacy based on a degree of appropriateness for the situation. In the cultural appropriateness schema it reflects the degree to which intimate behaviors are acceptable based on a given persons cultural values. The personal predispositions affect intimacy through personality and the physical or psychological state refers to temporary physical or psychological conditions that may influence how the person responds to others. Lastly, the interpersonal valence refers to the assessment one makes of another individual. For example, a touch from someone you like is received differently than an unwanted touch. Cognitive Valence Theory uses the human action approach to figuring out things. Seeing as intimacy and relationships are mostly about interpersonal communication and human actions it seems logical to use the qualitative approach to finding out more through research. Research Application Article I chose to use Gender Difference in Perceptions of Womens Sexual Interest during Cross-Sex Interactions: An Application and Extension of Cognitive Valence Theory, by David Henningsen, Mary Lynn Henningsen, and Kathleen Valde, as my article. The article focuses on how men report womens display of sexual interest is more than what women report they actually do in cross-sex interactions. Cognitive Valence Theory is used to provide a logical core to help understand these findings. The authors provide eight hypotheses throughout the study. One of them is that men will report women engage in more sexually motivated behaviors than women will report in cross-sex interactions. This hypothesis proved to be accurate. Another one is that men will find it more appropriate to pursue sexual relationships than women will. This

one also proved to be accurate. The third hypothesis is that mens perceptions of womens sexually motivated behaviors will be positively associated with their perceptions of womens sexual interest, which was also an accurate assumption. The authors entire hypotheses proved to be supported except for hypothesis number seven which stated that mens perceptions of womens sexual interests will be positively associated with mens perceptions that they are more attractive than their partners. The research question asked within the study was - do men and women differ in their judgments of the relative attractiveness of themselves and others? They tested their hypotheses on students in introductory communication courses at a large, Midwestern university. Female and male participants were brought together to complete several questionnaires and to participate in a brief cross-sex interaction. Different measures were used to calculate their findings. The measures used were recording demographic research, recording perceptions of situational appropriateness, perceptions of sexual interest were measured, and sexual interest behaviors were recorded. The results of the study indicate that CVT may provide a useful and needed theoretical framework to understand cross-sex interactions. The authors stated that by employing this framework, researchers may be able to provide a more complex understanding of a long-standing and frequently replicated gender difference. Everyday Life Application You can see the cognitive valence theory being used everyday. Walking around on campus you witness guys trying to talk to girls, and girls trailing after guys. In the bars on campus you can watch friendships being turned into something more by just a hand on a knee. CVT is all over our media also. A good example of this I thought was the popular television

show, The Office. Throughout the seasons of The Office you watch, Jim (one of the characters), being desperately smitten with the receptionist, Pam. You watch their friendship form and fade. You watch Jims longing for Pam throughout her engagement to another guy, while the whole time Pam has no idea of Jims feelings for her, because she does not have them for him. But after all that, Pam ends up falling in love with Jim. At first she did not show any intimacy towards him, but throughout the show, you watch the intimacy grow. Discussion The article and theory show how and why some people show intimacy and why some do not. In my popular culture reference I saw that the situational appropriateness of pursuing a sexual relationship (Jim and Pam) was never quite right until it actually happened. Pam did not show intimacy towards Jim in the beginning because she was engaged to another guy and Jim attempted to hide his feelings towards her for that reason as well. Pam was not receptive to intimacy from Jim and therefore did not return it. Suggestions for Future Research I think that this theory could be extended with further research on the matter. By employing this research already gained you can dig deeper into the mold of intimacy and find out things like whether or not someones vocabulary can alter your intimacy perception of them, or perhaps dive into why exactly men perceive women as more sexually interactive than women report they actually are. If you can find out the reason why, then you can open a whole other field of this theory.

References: Infante, D.,Rancer, A., & Womack, D. (2003). Building Communication Theory. (4th ed. Chapter 8 191-216). Long Grove, IL: Waveland Press Inc. Greg Daniels, Ricky Gervais, Stephen Merchant (Creators). (2005-2012). The Office [Television show]. Los Angeles, California: Reveille Productions, NBC Universal Television. Dictionary.com, LLC. Copyright 2012. All rights reserved. Andersen, P. A. (1989) A cognitive valence theory of intimate communication. Paper presented at the International Network on Personal Relationships Conference, Iowa City, Iowa.