Typicality And Volition As Fundamental Features Of Everyday Relational Communication

Drawing from communicate bond belong theory, two dimensions of routine social interactions (i.e., volition, typicality) are examined in the context of everyday talk to advance theory on relationship maintenance. Adults' (N = 127) social interactions (n = 2537) were collected using experience sampling. Testing preregistered hypotheses, multilevel modeling results suggest that in more typical interactions individuals reported more connection and well-being and less social energy expenditure. The more volitional (i.e., engaged in by choice) the interaction, the more the connection and well-being and the more the social energy expended. Day-over-day analyses (n = 793) suggest that participants maintained their relationships more easily when they had more choice in their interactions each day but a more stable routine of interaction across the week.