Suggests directions for research in the communicative import of silences in human intercommunication. (CH)

This paper reports two studies which examined sequential dependence in the dyadic interaction between mother and infant. In the first study, brief videotaped behavioral samples were collected for 24 primiparous mother-infant (M - I) dyads to examine the degree of reciprocal contingency in M - I interactions. Two coders, using a computer interfaced…

The need for an analytical approach to the study of phatic, metalingual, and metacommunicative functions in asymmetrical communicative situations (between native speakers and language learners) is discussed. The study presents theoretical frameworks for gambits and repairs, the linguistic phenomena that primarily serve those functions, and…

In forming a theory of communicative interaction between human beings it is necessary to consider some general features implicit in the communicative process. These include the context of situation, philosophical categories, psycholinguistic categories, grammatical categories, and nonverbal categories. Most of these are extra-linguistic and have…

The techniques, procedures, and principal findings of 15 different experiments in a research program on interactive communication are summarized in this paper. Among the principal findings reported are that: problems are solved faster in communication modes that have a voice channel than in those that do not have a voice channel, modes of…