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Entropy as an Explanatory Mechanism for Relational Maintenance Behaviors in Friendships
Clyne, Lauren Elizabeth
Clyne, Lauren Elizabeth
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2020
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Building from prior relational maintenance scholarship (Stafford and Canary, 1991), this manuscript presents entropy, the natural tendency of the world to move from a state of order to a state of disorder, as a construct that might explain the central function of relational maintenance behavior in friendships. Study 1 explored the conceptual domain of entropy and Study 2 tested a measure of entropy in the context of friendships marked by religious (dis)similarity. The results indicated that religious similarity was positively associated with positivity, openness, interaction, and supportiveness. Religious similarity and relational maintenance were negatively associated with relational entropy. Exploratory factor analysis revealed two distinct dimensions of relational entropy: drift entropy and emotional entropy. Positivity and supportiveness mediated the association between religious similarity and drift entropy, and in a similar fashion, openness and interaction mediated the association between religious similarity and emotional entropy. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.
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Communication Studies