The role of interpersonal competence in memory for conversation was investigated by comparing evidence for two mechanisms of competence effects: (a) organization of social knowledge in memory and (b) use of interaction management skills. In Study 1, undergraduates acted as participants or observers in conversations with scripted confederates and afterward took a cued recall test. Interpersonal competence was positively correlated with recall of the confederate’s ideas among participants with same-sex confederates. In Study 2, undergraduates acted as participants in similar conversations with friends or strangers, and the effect of competence was replicated. Results are interpreted as evidence for an interaction management skills explanation of competence effects.
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