Disrupting the flow: How brief silences in group conversations affect social needs

Namkje Koudenburg , Tom Postmes , Ernestine H. Gordijn

We all know the awkward feeling when a conversation is disrupted by a brief silence. This papers studies why such moments can be unsettling. We suggest that silences are particularly disturbing if they disrupt the conversational flow. In two experiments we examined the effects of a single brief instance of silence on social needs, perceived consensus, emotions, and rejection. Study 1 demonstrated that fluent conversations are associated with feelings of belonging, self-esteem, and social validation. If a brief silence disrupts this fluency, negative emotions and feelings of rejection increase. Study 2 replicated these effects in a more realistic setting, and showed that the effects of a brief silence are considerable despite participants' unawareness of the silence. Together, results show that conversational flow induces a sense of belonging and positive self-esteem. Moreover, this research suggests an implicit route to social validation, in which consensus is inferred from fluent group conversation.

Mots clés: Conversational flow; Rejection; Social needs; Social validation; Perceived consensus

Domaines: Psychologie et comportements

Namkje Koudenburg, Tom Postmes, Ernestine H. Gordijn. Disrupting the flow: How brief silences in group conversations affect social needs. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 2011, 47 (2), pp.512. ⟨10.1016/j.jesp.2010.12.006⟩. ⟨hal-00956609⟩