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Am “I” more important than “we”? Couples’ word use in instant messages

  1. RICHARD B. SLATCHER1,†,*,
  2. SIMINE VAZIRE2,‡,
  3. JAMES W. PENNEBAKER3,§

Article first published online: 3 DEC 2008

DOI: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2008.00207.x

Issue

Personal Relationships

Personal Relationships

Volume 15, Issue 4, pages 407–424, December 2008

Additional Information

How to Cite

SLATCHER, R. B., VAZIRE, S. and PENNEBAKER, J. W. (2008), Am “I” more important than “we”? Couples’ word use in instant messages. Personal Relationships, 15: 407–424. doi: 10.1111/j.1475-6811.2008.00207.x

Author Information

  1. 1

    University of California, Los Angeles

  2. 2

    Washington University in St. Louis

  3. 3

    The University of Texas at Austin

    Richard B. Slatcher, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesSimine Vazire, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. LouisJames W. Pennebaker, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin

*Richard B. Slatcher, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, e-mail: slatcher@ucla.edu.

  1. Richard B. Slatcher, Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles; Simine Vazire, Department of Psychology, Washington University in St. Louis; James W. Pennebaker, Department of Psychology, The University of Texas at Austin.

  2. A grant from the National Institutes of Health (MH52391) funded portions of this research. We would like to thank Andrew Lupo, Anne Marshall, and Janna Miller for their assistance with data collection; Tessa West for her assistance with analyses; and Benjamin Karney and Theodore Robles for their helpful comments on earlier drafts of this article.

Publication History

  1. Issue published online: 3 DEC 2008
  2. Article first published online: 3 DEC 2008

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Abstract

Recent studies have identified robust associations between the types of words that people use and their psychological health. This study investigated whether couples’ word use in their daily instant messages (IMs) is linked to the quality and stability of their relationships. Sixty-eight dating couples in the United States submitted 10 days of IM conversations with each other, which were analyzed with a linguistic word count program. Six months later, couples indicated whether they were still dating. Pronoun use and emotion word use both were associated with relationship satisfaction and stability. These findings extend previous research showing that the frequencies of certain words that people use are associated with the quality of their social relationships.

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