Intimacy, Marital Satisfaction, and Third Party Imagined Interactions

Abstract

This study examined the relationships between intimacy, relational quality, and third party imagined interactions (TPIIs) in married individuals. Similar to imagined interactions, TPIIs occur when an individual imagines the conversation between two other individuals in which the imaginer is not a conversation participant. In this study, we looked at TPII usage among married individuals when they imagined conversations on behalf of their spouse. Applying role theory, imagined interaction conflict linkage theory, and uncertainty reduction theory, we predicted TPII characteristics would be inversely related to intimacy and that intimacy would mediate the relationship between TPIIs and relational quality. Married individuals ( n = 159) completed an online survey to measure TPII usage, intimacy, and relational quality. TPIIs were related to decreases in intimacy. Furthermore, LISREL models revealed intimacy as a mediator between TPIIs and relational quality.