To examine the effects of the contextual variables of relationship intimacy and time on communication satisfaction, a study was undertaken involving 252 college freshmen. The subjects participated in one of two treatments. In the first, they were randomly paired and participated in social conversation for 15 minutes. Following the conversation, they rated their communication satisfaction and their perceptions of relationship intimacy with each other. In the second, the subjects recalled either a recent satisfying or dissatisfying social conversation and also rated their perceived communication satisfaction and perceived relationship intimacy. A self-report instrument was used to measure communication satisfaction, and a checklist on which subjects indicated their perceptions of the other party in the conversation as a friend, acquaintance, or stranger was used to measure relationship intimacy. The results showed that communication satisfaction among friends was characterized by interaction management. It was also determined that when satisfaction was measured immediately, the process of communication emerged as an important determinant; however, for recalled conversations, one's intentions prior to the interaction and one's feelings of being understood afterward emerged. (FL)