Reviewed literature on the influence of a speaker's expressive behavior on the behavioral response of another person in adult-adult and infant-adult dyads. Mutual influence in expressive behaviors was demonstrated to be a pervasive feature of social interaction found across a variety of behaviors and across developmental time. (Author/DB)

Develops a model of negotiation rule use that incorporates both content and relational dimensions and focuses upon interaction as the dependent variable. Assesses how winners and losers in mock negotiations differ in their use of communication rules. (PD)

Discusses how assumptions of methodology rigidly restrict theory testing in the area of sequential analysis of social interaction. Assumptions explored center on three aspects of process: coding schemes, the nature of time, and the quality of explanations engendered by sequential analysis methodologies. (JMF)

Defines activity theory as a socio-cultural and socio-historical lens through which the interaction of human activity and consciousness within its relevant environmental context can be analyzed. Describes how activity theory can be used as a framework for analyzing activities and settings for the purpose of designing constructivist learning…

Idea evaluation is a critical aspect of creative thought. However, a number of errors might occur in the evaluation of new ideas. One error commonly observed is the tendency to underestimate the originality of truly novel ideas. In the present study, an attempt was made to assess whether analysis of the process leading to the idea generation and…

This study attempted to investigate the characteristics of interaction dynamics in a group oral interaction carried out by Japanese learners of English. The relationship between the participants' language development and interactional management functions (IMFs) was also explored. Oral performance tests in a paired or a small group have recently…

The purpose of this study was to link consultant and teacher verbal interaction patterns to consultation outcomes. Participants were 4 consultants, 20 teachers, and 20 elementary school students with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Audiotaped Problem Analysis Interviews (PAIs) from Project PASS (Promoting Academic Success in Students)…

Indepth studies of micropolitics at the school level are presented in this book, which includes nine qualitative studies of school politics conducted by different researchers. Chapters 2 through 10 examine the formal and informal processes and structures that constitute everyday political life in the schools. The studies explore how individuals…

A study examined variation in code choice in the same speakers in two contrasting situations--interorganizational and intraorganizational bargaining. Naturalistic interactions between teams of teacher's union bargaining agents, role-playing teachers, and school board members in the two settings were coded, using measures of structural and lexical…

A study was conducted to examine the presence and composition of nonverbal cues exhibited in a spontaneous dyadic interaction and to investigate the assumption that cue variation is inconsequential to the effect of nonverbal behavior implicit in methods that aggregate cue incidence across interactions. Subjects, 110 college undergraduates, worked…

In a two-stage procedure to discover how children use television commercials in family group viewing situations, researchers first conducted thirty family interviews with as many family members present as possible; then they selected nine children's families for extended (three month) participant observation to study the formative aspects of each…

One hundred mother/child dyads were involved in a study to provide empirical evidence on parent/child interaction in grocery stores and on the contributions of Saturday morning television commercials to those interactions and to the purchase of candy and cereals. Data were collected in 15 supermarkets in two midwestern cities. First, the…

This collection of abstracts is part of a continuing series providing information on recent doctoral dissertations. The 12 titles deal with a variety of topics, including the following: communication and perceptions of organizational climate; perceptions of communications between federal and local educational agencies; intraorganizational conflict…

Prompted by the need to develop improved tools for describing and assessing teachers' skills in teaching reading, a study was undertaken to examine the effectiveness of a system for classifying and tallying teacher-pupil verbal interaction during classroom instruction. Specifically, the study investigated the extent of agreement among college…

These materials will help the educator develop an awareness of nonverbal behavior, which is complimentary to and independent of the verbal realm, to give a complete picture of the classroom. The purpose of the manual is to enable the teacher to identify nonverbal components of behavior, including dimensions other than behavioral of the teacher's…