ABSTRACT
Theories of message production attempt to explain why individuals say what they do during everyday interaction. Such theories have shed light on how adolescents refuse drug offers from peers (Miller, Alberts, Hecht, Trost, & Krizek, 2000), adult children confront elderly parents about problem behaviors (e.g., unsafe driving; Morgan & Hummert, 2000), organizational members exert influence with supervisors at work (Olufowote, Miller, & Wilson, 2005), and pharmacists confront physicians with concerns about medications prescribed to patients (Lambert, 1996). The same theories offer a lens on the “dark side” of relationships such as child physical abuse (Wilson, 2000) and obsessive relationship intrusion and stalking (Cupach & Spitzberg, 2004). Aside from practical insights, theories of message production address a number of intrinsically interesting questions about communication such as why individuals often say such different things in the same situation (O’Keefe, 1988), why individuals from different cultures might view the “same” message as more or less appropriate or effective (Kim & Wilson, 1994), and how we are judged to be communicatively (in)competent by others (Wilson & Sabee, 2003).
