ABSTRACT
There is a long history of scholarly interest in relational conflict, and the literature on the topic has become enormous (for reviews, see Caughlin et al, 2013; Sillars & Canary, 2013). For most of the time that scholars have studied relational conflict, the main focus has been on individuals’ verbal and nonverbal behaviors during face-to-face (FtF) conflict episodes. Despite the recent rise of research on technologically mediated communication (TMC) and especially computer-mediated communication (CMC) within personal relationships (Barnes, 2003; Baym, 2010; Konjin et al, 2008), extremely little research on relational conflict has considered the role that new communication technologies may play in relational conflict. Indeed, many of the common methods for studying relational conflict effectively preclude learning about the potential functions of TMC; for example, typical observational methods direct participants to have a FtF discussion about conflict topics in a laboratory setting that would discourage the use of TMC (e.g., see Caughlin & Scott, 2010).
