Article An Investigation of Bullying and Imagined Interactions Colton E. Krawietz 1 and James Honeycutt 2 Abstract The present study examines the usage of imagined interactions (IIs) among bullying perpetrators and those who are bullied. In reviewing the literature on IIs, an earlier study investigated the motivations by aggressive teasers for using IIs. This study laid the foundation for the present study. We were interested in the similarities and differences between aggressive teasers usage of IIs and the usage of IIs for bullying. Based on a survey of 319 participants, we found that bullying was predicted by the II attributes of retroactivity and positive valence. The regression analysis revealed a positive association between being bullied and the II attribute of retroactivity and the function of conflict-linkage. The findings and implications of these results are discussed in terms of rumination. Keywords imagined interaction, bullying, teasing, rumination Think of the following scenario: You know someone who bullies someone at work. The target feels aggrieved and wanders how they will respond for future encounters. You wander if the bully thinks about their bullying and how often the target replays encounters and thinks ahead. This type of mental imagery represents an imagined interaction (II). We examine that association between bullying and IIs. 1 Moody College of Communication, University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA 2 Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA Corresponding Author: Colton Krawietz, University of Texas, Austin, TX 78712, USA. Email: ckrawi1@utexas.edu Imagination, Cognition and Personality 0(0) 1–12 ! The Author(s) 2018 Article reuse guidelines: sagepub.com/journals-permissions DOI: 10.1177/0276236618806663 journals.sagepub.com/home/ica