Some Conversational Conditions and Processes of Brief Encounters

In: Communication research, Band 1, Heft 2, S. 167-183

Abstract

Conversation, the exchange of opinions between two parties, was analyzed as a function. of the parties' topical experience, attitudinal polarization, and three behavioral processes. Two experiments consisting of fifteen-minute conversational interactions showed different effects of experience and behavioral process factors on frequency of conversational statements. Behavioral processes were shown not to function by a similarity mechanism. Implications for thinking about conversation were drawn.