Help-seekers predict potential help-givers’ costs based on daily communication

Abstract

Help-seekers focus not only on their own costs, but also on potential help-givers’ costs. However, few studies have examined the factors that help-seekers use to predict help-givers’ costs. We identified relational communication as the key to help-seekers’ predictions about potential help-givers’ costs. Fifteen pairs of Japanese college students had conversations for ten minutes and then calculated potential help-givers’ costs related to seeking help and intention to seek help. The results indicated that certain relational communication patterns are significantly associated with the prediction of help-givers’ costs. For example, the complementary pattern (↑↓) was found to be related to the prediction of depressive moods in potential help-givers. In addition, the symmetrical pattern (↑↑) was demonstrated to be negatively associated with the intention to seek help. The present study suggested that help-seekers predict the costs of potential help-givers based on daily communication.