Simultaneous speech, interruptions and dominance

Abstract

Simultaneous speech and interruptions are often employed as measures of dominance in observational studies of family interaction. This paper questions the assumption that these particular features of conversation are signs of dominance. Four types of interruption or ‘speaker‐switch non‐fluency’ are distinguished on the basis of data drawn from 7 1/2 hours of spontaneous, experimentally unstructured conversation. Three of these non‐fluencies involve simultaneous speech. It is suggested that the classification of interruptions and simultaneous speech may not be altogether satisfactory in many observational studies of family interaction. Coefficients of correlation are computed for the four types of speaker‐switch non‐fluency and two measures of dominance. Only two of the non‐fluency types are significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with dominance. The data presented here are not final or conclusive, but it is hoped that they will stimulate critical evaluations of various behavioural measures which are used in family interaction research.

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