A Model for the Processes of Interpersonal Misunderstandings

The present study was an attempt to propose a model for the processes of interpersonal misunderstandings. First, the concept of 'misunderstanding' was analized and defined in terms of social psychology. Furthemore, a model for the processes of interpersonal misunderstandings was proposed. 'Misunderstanding' was defined as a form of 'self-referent' thinking accompanied by emotions, in which partner's negative intentions, affections, and motivations toward the perceiver were inferred from the partner's behavior. The model postulated that the perceiver's expectations arise from three interpersonal needs, need for afffiliation, need for intimacy, and need for the self-esteem, and that the expectations are disconfirmed by the discrepancies between the expectations and the perceptions of the partner's behavior. The three categories of partner's behaviors which elicit misunderstandings on the part of the perceiver are assumed to be the behaviors of 'distancing', 'betrayal of intimacy expectation', and 'self-esteem threatening'. Interpersonal misunderstandings are thought to have behavioral and cognitive consequences. Finally, the importances, limitations, and prospects of the model were discussed.

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Article Contents

Vol.15 No.1

A Model for the Processes of Interpersonal Misunderstandings

Abstract

Korean Journal of Psychology: General