Relational Commitment and the Silent Treatment

Abstract

When upset with a relational partner, intimates often enact the silent treatment, although it can harm their relationships. This study investigates the degree to which relational commitment predicts a person's self-reported use of the silent treatment. Undergraduate daters indicated their relational commitment, their use of the silent treatment when upset with their partner, and what they do if the partner asks if they are upset. Relational commitment was negatively related to using the silent treatment and stonewalling when the partner asked if there was a problem. Relational commitment was only positively related to admitting being upset when the partner asked if there was a problem. Study limitations and future research implications are discussed.

Keywords:

• Ostracism
• Relational Commitment
• Silent Treatment
• Social Confrontation
• Stonewalling

An earlier version of this paper was presented on an Interpersonal Communication Division Panel at the 2007 meeting of the National Communication Association in Chicago, IL.

Notes

∗p = .05 (two-tailed). ∗∗p= .01 (two-tailed).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Courtney N. Wright

Courtney N. Wright (PhD, Northwestern University, 2008) is an assistant professor in the School of Communication Studies at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.

Michael E. Roloff

Michael E. Roloff (PhD, Michigan State University, 1975) is a professor in the Department of Communication Studies at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL.