Individuals replay interactions in their mind. Although previous studies have found that imagined interactions (IIs) help individuals recall past interactions and plan for future interactions, they have not investigated what occurs when individuals imagine the interactions of others. To fill this research gap, this study examined third-party imagined interactions (TPIIs), IIs that occur when an individual mentally experiences the interactions of others. The study results compare TPIIs and IIs finding they are mostly similar. Findings do not support a difference in topic, imagined partners, or when the imagined event occurred. The valence, frequency, and variety characteristics and the catharsis function showed differences between TPIIs and IIs, while equivalence-testing supports a conclusion of no difference in the discrepancy, retroactivity, specificity, and proactivity characteristics or the conflict-linkage, relational maintenance, rehearsal, and self-understanding functions. Satisfaction with the imagined encounter displayed the most significant difference.
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