Summary with the article: Turn-taking in conversations van Wiemann en Knapp (1975)
When we talk to someone, they have a certain role that we want to respect. One of these roles stands above all other: the role as a human being that deserves respect. In order to get and give respect, people have formed certain interaction rules. These rules are not written down, but everybody still knows them. Two examples of these rules:
- One person speaks at a time
- People take turns in speaking. One persons doesn’t talk de whole time
If people violate these rules, it says something about their relationship and it’s also a sign of disrespect.
According to the article, two researchers (named Cushman and Whiting) have defined two types of rules for communication.
- Rules that specify the content of a conversation
- Rules that specify the procedures around the content
If a rule is widely accepted, it’s a standardized rule for communication. If people fail to respond to these rules, they are different than the rest of the group. The rules are already learnt in kindergarten, where a new kid has to learn to raise a hand before they speak. At first it’s still okay if they forget that, there’s a learning period, but after that it’s not tolerated anymore. This shows that people rely on conformity to learn these rules. The article focuses on turn taking, and how people decide who speaks and who is silent.
Turn taking in conversation
The classroom example is an exception to the rule. Normally people don’t pay conscious attention to who speaks and who is quiet. Despite that, we do evaluate interaction according to these unconscious processes. Somebody who interrupts constantly is called ‘rude’. So if you want people to like you, you’d better avoid interrupting or talking all the time. But how do people decide who’s turn it is to talk? A researcher named Duncan differentiated between three aspects:
Turn yielding cues
These cues are an indication that the person who was listening, can start to talk. Examples are silence, changes in pitch and changes in intonation. Such cues don’t oblige a listener to speak; he can be silent and send cues backSuppression of speaker-turn claims
These cues make sure that the speaker keeps on speaking by counteracting turn yielding cues.Back channel cues
These are cues that show that the listener doesn’t want to talk yet.
Other researchers have looked at this mechanism. One of them, Wiemann, suggested to add one more rule to these three:
Turn requesting
These are cues whereby the listener wants to show that he wants to speak
Wiemann also studies turn yielding empirically. He found that the following aspects are important for turn yielding:
Completion
Completion means that the speakers finishes a sentence without showing any signs of wanting to continueBuffers
Buffers are little forms of language that don’t have much meaning. Examples: “you know”, “well”.Interrogative request
A request directed at somebody else. If somebody asks you a question, it’s normal to answer it.Other directed gaze
This was the only non-verbal aspect. It means looking at the other person.
Whereas buffers and interrogative requests seem quite natural, it’s harder to explain why completion plays such an important part in turn taking. Authors suggests that it’s the silence after a finished sentence gives certain cues that inform the listener that he may speak. Research from Jaffe and Feldstein has indeed showed that the longer the silence after a sentence, the more likely the other persons is to speak. Their research also showed that the silences have characteristics of the speakers and that the pace stays the same in two different conversations from the same people. It may be that people learn a certain rhythm in which they change from listener to speaker.
After this the author speaks about a couple of more things that are important for turn taking.
Eye gazing is the most used nonverbal method. Research has shown that at the end of a sentence, people look more at each other. This is probably a search for cues.
The role of gestures isn’t completely clear. Sometimes it’s significant, but in other researches it isn’t. A few factors are important in the occurrence of gestures. Some topics are not suitable for gestures. Also some situations aren’t good for a lot of gestures (for example the library, in contrast to a busy party).
Data show that shift in posture is unimportant, but the author thinks slight shifts in posture might make a difference.
Auditors usually tend to focus on the verbal message for turn taking cues.
Buffers are very important. Sometimes they are uttered during a sentence or at the end of a sentence, but usually they fall in a silence.
Head turning plays a major role in turn requestion but not so in turn taking.
The research has shown that small, ritualistic behaviour plays an important role in turn-taking.
Join with a free account for more service, or become a member for full access to exclusives and extra support of WorldSupporter >>
Contributions: posts
Spotlight: topics
Online access to all summaries, study notes en practice exams
- Check out: Register with JoHo WorldSupporter: starting page (EN)
- Check out: Aanmelden bij JoHo WorldSupporter - startpagina (NL)
How and why use WorldSupporter.org for your summaries and study assistance?
- For free use of many of the summaries and study aids provided or collected by your fellow students.
- For free use of many of the lecture and study group notes, exam questions and practice questions.
- For use of all exclusive summaries and study assistance for those who are member with JoHo WorldSupporter with online access
- For compiling your own materials and contributions with relevant study help
- For sharing and finding relevant and interesting summaries, documents, notes, blogs, tips, videos, discussions, activities, recipes, side jobs and more.
Using and finding summaries, notes and practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter
There are several ways to navigate the large amount of summaries, study notes en practice exams on JoHo WorldSupporter.
- Use the summaries home pages for your study or field of study
- Use the check and search pages for summaries and study aids by field of study, subject or faculty
- Use and follow your (study) organization
- by using your own student organization as a starting point, and continuing to follow it, easily discover which study materials are relevant to you
- this option is only available through partner organizations
- Check or follow authors or other WorldSupporters
- Use the menu above each page to go to the main theme pages for summaries
- Theme pages can be found for international studies as well as Dutch studies
Do you want to share your summaries with JoHo WorldSupporter and its visitors?
- Check out: Why and how to add a WorldSupporter contributions
- JoHo members: JoHo WorldSupporter members can share content directly and have access to all content: Join JoHo and become a JoHo member
- Non-members: When you are not a member you do not have full access, but if you want to share your own content with others you can fill out the contact form
Quicklinks to fields of study for summaries and study assistance
Main summaries home pages:
- Business organization and economics - Communication and marketing -International relations and international organizations - IT, logistics and technology - Law and administration - Leisure, sports and tourism - Medicine and healthcare - Pedagogy and educational science - Psychology and behavioral sciences - Society, culture and arts - Statistics and research
- Summaries: the best textbooks summarized per field of study
- Summaries: the best scientific articles summarized per field of study
- Summaries: the best definitions, descriptions and lists of terms per field of study
- Exams: home page for exams, exam tips and study tips
Main study fields:
Business organization and economics, Communication & Marketing, Education & Pedagogic Sciences, International Relations and Politics, IT and Technology, Law & Administration, Medicine & Health Care, Nature & Environmental Sciences, Psychology and behavioral sciences, Science and academic Research, Society & Culture, Tourisme & Sports
Main study fields NL:
- Studies: Bedrijfskunde en economie, communicatie en marketing, geneeskunde en gezondheidszorg, internationale studies en betrekkingen, IT, Logistiek en technologie, maatschappij, cultuur en sociale studies, pedagogiek en onderwijskunde, rechten en bestuurskunde, statistiek, onderzoeksmethoden en SPSS
- Studie instellingen: Maatschappij: ISW in Utrecht - Pedagogiek: Groningen, Leiden , Utrecht - Psychologie: Amsterdam, Leiden, Nijmegen, Twente, Utrecht - Recht: Arresten en jurisprudentie, Groningen, Leiden
JoHo can really use your help! Check out the various student jobs here that match your studies, improve your competencies, strengthen your CV and contribute to a more tolerant world
951 |
Add new contribution