Social scientists have been studying imagined interactions since the mid-1980s and have measured numerous physiological correlates (Honeycutt, 2010). In this commentary I assess the research reported in Crisp and Turner (May-June 2009) and highlight the underlying mechanisms of imagined interactions that have empirically been laid out across…

This study examines imagined interactions (IIs) among young adults in the United States, Thailand, and Japan. A comparison of means across cultures on II characteristics reveals that the Japanese participants have the widest variety of II partners, whereas the American participants are the most self-dominant in their IIs and demonstrate the most…