Interpersonal communication motives and message design logic: Exploring their interaction on perceptions of competence

Message design logic and interpersonal communication motives were conjointly studied to assess their interaction on receivers' perceptions of senders' competence. Two 8 (motive) × 3 (message design logic) repeated measures ANOVAs indicated significant interaction effects for both effectiveness and appropriateness. Nevertheless, the effects of design logic and motive on perceptions of competence were not as expected for some situations. The results of the study fail to support past research suggesting that perceived effectiveness and appropriateness will be enhanced by using a more complex message design. In addition, no pattern emerged for the instrumental versus the ritualistic motivations in terms of the most competent message design.