How is your day going? Reciprocity Norm in Everyday Communication

In 6 experiments, we manipulated the length of a communication message to assess reciprocity norm-following behaviour during conversational interaction. In Studies 1 and 2, scripts of different length were used in an online chat, and chat logs were analysed. In Studies 3 and 4, participants e-mailed scripts that varied in length to acquaintances, and replies were analysed. In Studies 5 and 6, a confederate initiated conversations with either strangers or acquaintances and recorded the amount of time the person responded. The results suggest that conversation partners reciprocate length across different communication media, regardless of the depth of the information disclosed.