Fighting Fiscal Awkwardness: How Relationship Strength Changes Individuals’ Communication Approach When Resolving Interpersonal Debt

Social interactions can be uncomfortable. The current research focuses on a particularly uneasy interaction that individuals face with their friends and acquaintances: the need to request owed money back. Nine preregistered studies (N = 6,953) show that individuals’ approach to resolving interpersonal debt varies based on their closeness with the requestee. Specifically, people prefer communication methods low in social richness (e.g., digital apps) when requesting money back from weak social connections such as distant acquaintances. However, they prefer communication methods high in social richness (e.g., in-person interactions) when requesting money back from strong social connections such as close friends. Process evidence reveals the psychological dynamics at play: (a) people anticipate discomfort when requesting money back from distant acquaintances in person, driving them away from in-person requests and toward digital apps, and (b) people are more averse to appearing impersonal with close friends, driving them away from digital apps and toward in-person requests. In sum, individuals adaptively approach uncomfortable financial interactions based on the relationship dynamics at hand.