Ninety-six male students participated in an experiment studying the relationship between reciprocity and compensation in dyadic communication. The subjects were asked to solve a hypothetical problem and, depending on their pretest instructions, were given an orientation toward competition or cooperation with their partners. Time was used to test development in the dependent variables confirmation, disconfirmation, and looking measures. Confirmation/disconfirmation represented the degree of support given by an individual to the relationship or the other member in the relationship. It was shown that confirmation can be measured reliably as a dependent variable. There was a significant correlation between the amounts of verbal confirmation and disconfirmation of dyadic partners, illustrating reciprocity. The various looking behaviors were correlated, and some produced significant negative correlations between dyadic partners, supporting compensation. There was an example of co-occurrence of reciprocity on the verbal and compensation on the nonverbal confirmation. Hypotheses on the effects of cooperation/competition on confirmation/disconfirmation were generally supported. Some of the looking behaviors were also affected by cooperation. As the experiment progressed, subjects tended to increase confirmation. (Appended material includes figures and tables related to the study.) (RL)