Promises can both 1) help others predict and rely on our future behavior, and 2) signal our current feelings to others. The signaling function seems to dominate: People who had the most positive relationship feelings and who were most motivated to be responsive to the partner’s needs made bigger promises than did other people but were not any better at keeping them. Instead, promisers’ self-regulation skills, such as trait conscientiousness, predicted the extent to which promises were kept or broken. … Participants who were [caused to] focused on their feelings for their partner promised more, whereas participants who generated a plan of self-regulation followed through more on their promises. …
Likely, like pretty much all verbal/signaling behavior this is self-referential. Our promises are too our selves mainly and self-syntonic. Another way to maintain homeostasis internally -- maybe a little socially as well.
I thought the whole point of signalling was that it was costly and thus contains accurate information. Cheap talk which anyone can do is then simply "noise" rather than signal. So what's going on here?
Likely, like pretty much all verbal/signaling behavior this is self-referential. Our promises are too our selves mainly and self-syntonic. Another way to maintain homeostasis internally -- maybe a little socially as well.
TGGP, if people get upset when you break your promises, promising more does cost you more, so there is a credible costly signal here.
I thought the whole point of signalling was that it was costly and thus contains accurate information. Cheap talk which anyone can do is then simply "noise" rather than signal. So what's going on here?