2024/08/06 by Jonah Berger · 28 citations
Physics and Astronomy · Psychology · Social Sciences · #Advertising #Cognitive psychology #Computer science #Epistemology #Everyday life #Internet privacy #Interpersonal communication #Interpersonal relationship #Knowledge Management and Sharing #Linguistics #Modalities #Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence #Phone #Psychology #Social Media and Politics #Social psychology #Sociology #Word of mouth
paper · doi:10.1146/annurev-psych-013024-031524
published in Annual Review of Psychology 76(1), 559-581 (Annual Reviews)
openalex publication_date 2024/08/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/04
Interpersonal communication is an integral part of everyday life. People are constantly sharing thoughts, opinions, and information with others, both online and offline. Further, such social sharing has important implications for what people think, buy, and do. However, while it is clear that interpersonal communication is both frequent and important, research is only starting to understand what people share and why. This article reviews the literature on interpersonal communication and word of mouth, focusing on the drivers of social transmission and the implications for individuals and society at large. It discusses how factors like audiences, modalities (e.g., speaking or writing), channels (e.g., email or text), and devices (e.g., phone or PC) moderate what gets shared, and it outlines areas that deserve further attention. Such areas include the diffusion of false information, conversations and conversational dynamics, and how automated textual analysis can be used to shed light on a range of interesting questions.