The last decade also has witnessed increasingly complex examinations of related social interaction dynamics which may amplify social reinforcement influence mechanisms. Recent research using a dynamic systems framework has identified that among 14-year-old male dyads, highly organized or predictable dyadic social interactions (i.e., low levels of “entropy”) interact with deviant talk to predict increases in deviant behavior in young adulthood (Dishion et al., 2004; Dishion, Piehler, & Myers, 2008). Similarly, “dyadic mutuality,” or the degree of reciprocity, harmony, and understanding shared by two friends, also appears to moderate the effects of deviant talk on problem behavior (Piehler & Dishion, 2007). This work on interpersonal facets of influence mechanisms highlights the potential for relationship dynamics to function as both moderators and mediators of influence processes.
