THE DIMENSION OF IMMEDIACY IN VERBAL COMMUNICATION QUANTIFIES DEGREE OF THE INTENSITY AND DIRECTNESS OF INTERACTION BETWEEN A COMMUNICATOR AND THE OBJECT OF HIS COMMUNICATION. A PREVIOUS STUDY INDICATES THAT THERE IS MORE IMMEDIACY IN COMMUNICATIONS ABOUT LIKED OTHERS THAN ABOUT DISLIKED OTHERS. IN THE PRESENT STUDY SS, WHO WERE NOT FAMILIAR WITH THE EXPLICIT IMMEDIACY CATEGORIES AND ASSOCIATED INFERENCES ABOUT ATTITUDES, WERE PRESENTED WITH PAIRS OF COMMUNICATIONS DIFFERING IN DEGREE OF IMMEDIACY, BUT NEUTRAL IN EXPLICIT COMMUNICATION OF ATTITUDES. IT WAS PREDICTED THAT IN THE CASE OF OSTENSIBLY NEUTRAL COMMUNICATIONS THE MORE IMMEDIATE COMMUNICATION IN EACH PAIR WOULD BE JUDGED AS INDICATING A MORE POSITIVE QUALITY OF COMMUNICATOR ATTITUDE. THE PREDICTION WAS CONFIRMED IN 6 OF THE 7 IMMEDIACY CATEGORIES INVESTIGATED. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)