Immediacy

Immediacy behaviors are actions that simultaneously communicate warmth, involvement, psychological closeness, availability for communication, and positive affect. Immediacy is the primary way humans signal interpersonal closeness, willingness to communicate, and positive feelings for other people. Immediacy behaviors are both verbal and nonverbal but typically occur in a cluster or group of consistent behaviors that provide fundamental connections between human beings. Verbal immediacy behaviors include both styles of communication that signal warmth and connection and linguistic messages that explicitly communicate immediacy. Stylistically, verbal immediacy behaviors include plural pronouns such as we and [Page 502]us that promote connection and relational closeness rather than individual pronouns such as you and I that express independence and separation. Similarly, informal forms of address, such as using first names or nicknames as opposed to formal names or titles, are a powerful, unobtrusive immediacy behavior. Open communication and increased self-disclosure are often classified as immediacy behaviors.

Verbal immediacy can be communicated explicitly through positive references to another person or to one's relationship. Compliments regarding another's personality, accomplishments, or appearance increase interpersonal immediacy. Likewise, positive, explicit relational comments such as saying “I love you” or saying how much one values a relationship are powerful, explicit indicants of immediacy.

Nonverbal behaviors communicate even more powerful messages of immediacy than verbal behaviors according to most theorists and researchers. Nonverbal immediacy is communicated as a consistent multichanneled message consisting of an entire set of interrelated nonverbal behaviors such as interpersonal touch, eye contact, closer distances, smiling, and positive vocal tones. Nonverbal immediacy is typically expressed spontaneously and mindlessly as a message of involvement with and affect for another person. Encoders are rarely aware of the many components of an immediacy display due to immediacy's spontaneous, mindless, multichanneled quality. Similarly, receivers typically perceive a message of warmth, interpersonal closeness, and involvement without being aware of all the components of multichanneled display. Communication theorists and researchers have analyzed the components of nonverbal immediacy, but typically immediacy is sent and received with little awareness of the components comprising an immediacy display.

In most relationships and interactions, immediacy is received positively by interactants according to Peter Andersen's direct effects model and Judee Burgoon's social meaning model. However, in some cases, immediacy displays are perceived as inappropriate or excessive, resulting in negative reaction, compensations, and relational deterioration. Tests of Andersen's cognitive valence theory suggest that the most common reason for perceptions of excessive immediacy is relational inappropriateness; some immediacy displays are inappropriate in professional or nonintimate relationships. The theory has shown that perceptions of excessive or inappropriate immediacy can also result from cultural differences, lack of attraction for the person initiating immediacy, personality of the recipient, the physical or psychological state of the recipient, or the situation.

Tactile behaviors are conceivably the most immediate actions because touch is inherently involving and reduces physical and psychological distance between communicators. Tactile or haptic immediacy includes warm handshakes, hand-holding, pats, hugs, and other touch that is relationally appropriate.

Similarly, immediacy can be conveyed proxemically through decreased interpersonal space and distance. In North America and northern Europe, the most immediate distance is less than 1.5 feet, a distance called the intimate space zone. Larger distances are progressively less immediate, signaling unavailability, less positive affect, and greater psychological distance. Face-to-face positions are most immediate, side-to-side less immediate, and back-to-back least immediate. Similarly, communicating on the same visual plane rather than towering over someone is more immediate.

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