Dynamic goal processes: an agenda for interpersonal communication research

ABSTRACT A longstanding tradition in communication research is that people have goals for communicative encounters. Communication research has evolved to better acknowledge that goals are malleable and can change during interactions. Drawing upon the history of communication goals theorizing and research, we elaborate three properties emerging from the juxtaposition of goals and time. We then explore theoretical accounts of goal change and options for data acquisition. We end with speculation on how goal dynamics might stimulate new questions about interpersonal communication and, perhaps, move the field into a new phase of inquiry.