How Partisans Differ from Independents: The Imaginative Functions of Self-Understanding, Rehearsal, and Relationship Maintenance

Abstract

This study looks at partisan voting in light of imagined interactions (IIs). Imagined interactions are a form of daydreaming that allows us to build scripts for use in our interpersonal relationships. II research has generally come from a functionalist perspective, and continues to prove its value in counseling and therapy, as well as to help us to understand intrapersonal communication in general. It has recently been extended into media effects research (i.e., Madison & Porter, 2012, 2014) and with the present study, voting intentions. We ask how respondents who claim to vote for candidates from certain political parties differ from those who do not in terms of the functions of their IIs. We surveyed college students at a prominent southern university (N = 227) and collected data on voting intentions and functions of the respondent IIs. We found that both Republicans and Democrats tend to have fewer self-understanding and rehearsal IIs than those who indicated preference for independent candidates. These findings suggest that voting along party lines may be a heuristic, or “mindless” behavior. This study provides a new and exciting element to both the II and political processing bodies of literature, and it is our hope that future researchers also consider II in studies of political psychology and voting.

Everyday (Imagined) Talk: An Exploration of Everyday Conversational Topics and Imagined Interaction Features

“…Similar concerns emerge with the SII. In this investigations and other investigations using the SII questionnaire, measurement models initially suggest poor fit on common low-performing items, like the reverse-coded items (Bodie et al, 2013;Vickery, Keaton, & Bodie, 2015); those studies reporting reliability estimates also reveal patterns of estimates below conventional thresholds which suggests some item consistency issues (Carpenter, 2016;Honeycutt et al, 1992Honeycutt et al, , 2012Madison et al, 2014). Future research should consider exploring and integrating the 30 years of research and advancement in analytic techniques which have occurred since the initial scale development and factor analyses used to develop the SII (Honeycutt, 2003;Honeycutt et al, 1992Honeycutt et al, -1993.…”

“…The primary purpose of this article involves testing and refining the theoretical framework of IIs, but these findings also have important implications in light of the secondary research foci present in II research on extending investigations of IIs into related conversational and relational contexts. First, recognizing recent trends in the intersections of IIs and political communication (Madison et al, 2014;Madison, Honeycutt, Covington, & Auter, in press), these findings suggest the micro-level behaviors and conversations that may relate to political identity and everyday political talk. Recognizing the general topics of talk included in this study such as serious conversation, lecture, and interrogation, these general topics may coincide with specific topics related to political communication: For instance, a serious conversation may involve discussing the formation and beliefs associated with voting; one partner may lecture another on recent news and events occurring in Washington, D.C., or one relational partner may interrogate the other to discuss voting beliefs and behaviors, or even lecture on why certain candidates may be better for local or regional appointments.…”

“…General patterns in II research reveal two common foci, one on extending and investigating II features in relation to a host of individual and relational concepts (Honeycutt, Choi, & DeBerry, 2009;Honeycutt, Zagacki, & Edwards, 1992;Madison, Rold, & Honeycutt, 2014), the other exploring, improving, and refining the theoretical framework of IIs (Bodie et al, 2013;Van Kelegom & Wright, 2013). Perhaps due the appeal and accessibility of the II framework as an investigative tool, current trends in the first research foci have investigated associations between IIs and night dreams (Eldredge, Honeycutt, White, & Standige, 2015) and the use of II features in parasocial relationships (Madison, Porter, & Greule, 2016).…”

“…Topics of talk like catching up, joking around, and recapping the day's events-topics comprising the informal cluster of talk-are frequent in stepfamilies (Schrodt et al, 2007). These topics of talk could potentially relate to the relational maintenance function: Madison et al (2014) found associations between relational maintenance and partisan identity; building upon this logic, perhaps the II function of relational maintenance might be associated with deep, involving topics of talk like serious conversation and in-depth discussions where political identity and beliefs are discussed at length. Additional investigations into everyday talk and stepfamily suggest both individual effects and relational effects in the frequency of and satisfaction with everyday talk (Schrodt, Soliz, & Braithwaite, 2008).…”

A Thematic Analysis of Enhancing Constructive Political Conflict Using Positive Imagined Interactions

“…Madison et al (2014) examined partisan voting in relation to the functions of IIs. They found that individuals who voted for Republicans and Democrats had less self-understanding and rehearsal IIs than individuals who preferred Independents (Madison et al, 2014) This suggests, explained Madison et al (2014), "that voting along party lines may be a heuristic, or 'mindless' behavior" (p. 105). Warner and Villamil (2017) tested "the depolarizing potential of intrapersonal communication through imagined intergroup political contact" (p. 447).…”