“CAN YOU JUST PUT YOUR PHONE AWAY?”: THE EFFECTS OF CELL PHONE USE ON FACE-TO-FACE CONFLICT IN ROMANTIC RELATIONSHIPS BY DAVID J. ROACHE DISSERTATION Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Communication in the Graduate College of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 2018 Urbana, Illinois Doctoral Committee: Professor John P. Caughlin, Chair Professor Leanne K. Knobloch Associate Professor Brian Ogolsky Professor M. Scott Poole ABSTRACT Effective conflict management is critical for satisfying close relationships, and communication technology is now a fundamental part of conflict management. One way that communication technology may be central to face-to-face (FtF) conflict interactions is by the presence or use of cell phones during conflict interactions. There is empirical evidence for a “mere presence” effect of cell phones on FtF interactions, such that the presence of cell phones is dissatisfying. Existing perspectives also suggest that individuals may be motivated to multitask with communication technology while carrying out a FtF interaction or meeting, but the effects of multitasking in close relationships is less clear. As such, this dissertation investigates the influence of cell phone usage and presence on conflict interactions. Romantic couples in college (n = 64 dyads) had a 10-minute serial argument conversation. Dyads were randomly assigned into a phone absent, phone present, or phone use condition, and one member of the dyad was randomly selected to act as a confederate. Confederates either received messages on their cell phone, were instructed to use their cell phone while trying to resolve the serial argument with their partner, or did not have a cell phone during the interaction. Results provide evidence that cell phone use during a FtF conflict conversation is dissatisfying. In addition, perceptions of technological interference due to confederate cell phone use elicited dissatisfaction, whereas as global ratings of partner interference increased, perceived resolvability decreased for participants in the multicommunication condition. The results offer theoretical and practical implications for effectively managing conflict when cell phones are present or are in use by a romantic partner. ii To my mother, who shows me every day how to work hard for what matters. iii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS My dissertation would not have been possible without the involvement of many individuals. First, I must thank my doctoral advisor, John Caughlin. You have challenged me to think in diverse ways about key problems, and I am a better scholar for that. You have also shown me what it means to be a good mentor, and I hope to pass on the same guidance to my students. I must also thank my committee, Leanne Knobloch, Brian Ogolsky, and Scott Poole. Their guidance during my graduate studies and on this dissertation cannot be adequately quantified or described. My first graduate seminar in interpersonal communication with Leanne is where my interests in relationships first emerged, and what I learned in that seminar shaped my doctoral studies. The analyses in this dissertation would not have been possible without the statistical training from Brian, who made statistics accessible and fun. Thinking theoretically outside of my own research area would have been challenging if not for my coursework on communication theory with Scott, who introduced me to how to theorize about complex phenomena. I am forever grateful for the direction my committee provided on this dissertation, and I consider myself lucky for having had the opportunity to work with a group of prominent and well-respected scholars. Finally, to my research assistants, GiaMarie Garro, Lauren Inzerra, Sahana Moodabagil, and Kathryn Quagliano. Your tireless efforts and hours spent in the laboratory collecting the data with me made this dissertation possible. I could not have asked for a more dedicated, intelligent, and thoughtful research team. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW ........................................................................6 CHAPTER 3: METHODOLOGY .................................................................................33 CHAPTER 4: RESULTS ................................................................................................52 CHAPTER 5: DISCUSSION ........................................................................................114 REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................138 APPENDIX A: PRE-CONFLICT INTERACTION SURVEY MEASURES .........160 APPENDIX B: POST-CONFLICT INTERACTION SURVEY MEASURES .......167 APPENDIX C: DEMOGRAPHIC ITEMS ................................................................175 APPENDIX D: IDENTIFYING SERIAL ARGUMENT TOPICS ..........................176 APPENDIX E: SERIAL ARGUMENT IDENTIFICATION FORM ......................177 APPENDIX F: RANDOM ASSIGNMENT CONDITION INSTRUCTIONS ........178 APPENDIX G: TIMELINE OF TEXT MESSAGES TO CONFEDERATES .......180 APPENDIX H: COUNSELING INFORMATION SHEET .....................................181 APPENDIX I: DEBRIEF SCRIPT ..............................................................................182 APPENDIX J: INFORMED CONSENT DOCUMENTS .........................................184 APPENDIX K: ADDITIONAL PERMISSIONS FOR VIDEO RECORDINGS ...190 APPENDIX L: RECRUITMENT MATERIALS ......................................................194 v CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Today, how individuals connect interpersonally most certainly includes some form of computer-mediated communication (CMC), and data from the Pew Internet and American Life Project reflect this. Roughly three-quarters of American adult couples in married or committed relationships use communication technologies such as the internet, mobile phones, and social media for everyday communication (Pew Research Center, 2018). American teenagers report that they use social media, instant messaging, video chatting, mobile messaging apps, and text messaging to keep in touch throughout the day and to spend time with their significant others (Duggan & Brenner, 2013; Lenhart, Smith, Anderson, & Perrin, 2015). However, some adults report that mobile phones can be a source of tension in their relationship to the point that spouses have arguments over how much their partner uses their devices (Lenhart & Duggan, 2014). Accordingly, it is important to examine how and why individuals have disagreements about the use of communication technologies in their romantic relationships, and what effects these disagreements have on their relationships. Another way communication technologies have become integral is through the widespread use of mobile phones, and smartphones in particular (for reviews, see Duran, Miller- Ott, & Kelly, 2015; Juhasz & Bradford, 2016). As of 2018, 95% of adults in the United States owned a cell phone and 77% of adults owned a smartphone (Pew Research Center, 2018). Some scholars have made the case that mobile phones create new challenges for how we think and relate with others. For example, one argument is that the mobile phone inhibits original and analytical thought because individuals are focused elsewhere instead of their immediate surroundings and interaction partners (Turkle, 2008). Thus, attention to one’s mobile phone may make relationship initiation and maintenance more difficult (Turkle, 2011). Others have argued 1 that smartphone technologies further divide individuals’ attention between the present and the distant (i.e., friends on social network sites) and make relational communication less satisfying (Misra, Cheng, Genevie, & Yuan, 2016). Additionally, the presence of a mobile phone during a face-to-face (FtF) conversation (Przybylski & Weinstein, 2013) and the amount of time spent using a mobile phone (Brown, Manago, & Trimble, 2016) negatively impacts relationship satisfaction and conversation satisfaction. Thus, the use of mobile communication technologies in the presence of relationship partners may be fundamentally problematic; however, it is unclear whether the effect varies under different conversational contexts. One such important context to examine the effect of communication technologies is interpersonal conflict because how dating and marital partners communicate during conflict is key to relational quality and functioning (Caughlin, Vangelisti, & Mikucki-Enyart, 2013). There is evidence that communication technologies are now integral to how close relationship partners communicate during conflict (e.g., Caughlin, Basinger, & Sharabi, 2017). Social network sites (SNSs), for example, can be a source of conflict, such as when partners disagree about publicly broadcasting their relationship status to their network of friends on Facebook (Fox, Osborn, & Warber, 2014; Papp & Danielewicz, 2012). In short, examining the role of communication technologies is essential for understanding conflict in contemporary relationships. Despite the arguments and evidence that mobile phones may have adverse relational effects, scholars have generally overlooked two key issues. First, the position that mobile phones negatively impact relationships does not account for whether individuals are using their devices in prosocial or destructive ways. Much of what relationship partners do with their mobile phones serve a maintenance function