Stability and Variability in Interactive Behavior as Measured by Methods of "Speech Chronemics"
In: Small group behavior, Volume 4, Issue 2, p. 95-122
Dyadic interaction is modelled as an adaptive process between personality of the partners involved and the characteristics of the theme. The theme structure and the principles which control the adaptation process are referred to as "syntality". The material of the studies reported are the speech signals of the verbal interaction reduced to an on-off pattern. In a first study individual speech behavior was found to remain stable in dyads even if partners changed. The second study showed the stability of the speech patterns for different interaction themes even if dyads changed. These apparently contradictory results are reconciled by introducing the concept of "adaptive stability". Individual speech behavior does not happen at a stable activity level, but is characterized by a constant relationship ("less" or "more") to the respective activity of the other partner.