Measuring Behavior 2005: Duncan

Using Theme to analyze face-to-face interaction

S. Duncan

Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA

Face-to-face interaction is defined in terms of mutually contingent action between participants. It follows that analyses of interaction are inherently sequential. The collection of data, often via The Observer^® (Noldus Information Technology bv, The Netherlands), provides information on each action, and the sequence in which actions occurred. In the data-collection phase, it is necessary to make strategic decisions regarding the actions to be included in the transcription and the fineness of the time scale with which they are transcribed. These initial decisions often take into account the speed at which the interaction occurs, and the actions actually observed in the interaction.

Because interaction data are typically complex, containing patterns not apparent to more intuitive inspection, it is frequently useful to analyze these data via Theme™ (PatternVision Ltd., Iceland). Theme is designed primarily for exploratory analyses, identifying sequential patterns in the data. These patterns are hierarchically constructed with no practical limit on the number of actions in the pattern or on the number of embedded subpatterns within a larger pattern.

In our research, Theme patterns are used to construct structures: hypotheses of rules applying to the observed interaction(s). That is, much of face-to-face interaction in general is regarded as convention based or rule governed. A rough analogy would be games such as chess or basketball. However, the rules for these games are explicit, while rules for much of face-to-face interaction —as are the rules for language— are implicit. Thus, the goal is to develop hypotheses of one or more structures: the rules being followed in the interactions being observed. It is typically found that, when approached from the perspective of rule-governed interaction, there are striking regularities in the results, just as there would be for chess or basketball.

Examples of various rule-governed interactions and their attendant regularities will be shown. These range from the exchange of speaking turns in conversations between adults, to fighting between young siblings. In addition, the work has included interactions in North American, Latino, African-American, and Chinese families.

Techniques for developing hypotheses regarding rule-governed interactions will be illustrated, as well as the hypothesized rules themselves.

Paper presented at Measuring Behavior 2005 , 5^th International Conference on Methods and Techniques in Behavioral Research, 30 August - 2 September 2005, Wageningen, The Netherlands.