ABSTRACT
A new theory of interpersonal knowledge defines interpersonal knowledge as pertaining to the mutual awareness of reciprocal regard between two people. It departs from previous theory and research on interpersonal knowledge and uncertainty reduction, which stressed apprehending another person’s psychological character as the basis for relational judgements and message selection. In contrast, this theory specifies a more valuable knowledge basis accrues by discovering how another individual responds to one’s self, particularly if the responses differentiate the other individual’s reactions to one’s self from the person’s reactions to others. Although psychological-level knowledge can be acquired by several means, unique interpersonal knowledge is discoverable only through reciprocal interaction. The principles of interactivity and conversational contingency govern the types of communication that produce interpersonal knowledge. In Chapter 30, Joseph B. Walther offers principles from this theory that explain the appeal of multimedia media platforms to users, and why the benefits of such platforms are limited, and in some ways poorer, than communication platforms that are limited to interactive textual exchanges. He discusses extensions of the theory into human interactions with artificial intelligence agents, and the application of the theory to acquaintanceship formation during the COVID-19 pandemic that forced so much interpersonal interaction into media systems.
