Advancing a Dual-Process Model to Explain Interpersonal Versus Intergroup Communication in Social Media

Abstract

Existing theories within interpersonal (IPC) and intergroup communication (IGC) have not yet explained when online interactions are initially intergroup in nature, interpersonal, or both. We address this undertheorized conundrum—which is particularly challenging as more communication occurs on social media, in which a multitude of goals may converge—by proposing the dual-process model of interpersonal–intergroup communication (IPC–IPG). Focusing on both the situation and a multiple goals perspective, this model can help explain where on the interpersonal–intergroup continuum online interactions fall. The ability to understand and articulate the antecedents and processes that may guide initial interactions can enhance future work by providing a mechanism through which to theorize which set(s) of theory may be most applicable to explain or predict a communicative situation and its outcomes.