Trait versus state: A comparison of dispositional and situational measures of interpersonal communication competence

This investigation explored the relationship between situational and dispositional measures of interpersonal communication competence. Five propositions were derived and empirically supported. It was found that situational competence measures (i.e., self‐rated competence, rating of alter‐competence, and rating of alter's anxiety) were significantly associated with one another; and dispositional measures (i.e., communicative adaptability, communicative competence, trait self‐rated competence, and social self‐esteem) were significantly related to one another. However, situational measures were not found to be substantially related to dispositional measures. Furthermore, situational measures of competence were better predictors of the outcome state of feeling good. Interpersonal attraction did not confound the relationship between measures of competent interaction and the state of feeling‐good criterion. Contrary to expectations, dogmatism was generally unrelated to measures of competence.