Vocal behavior in the dyadic interactions of preadolescent and early adolescent friends and acquaintances

Adolescence,  Fall, 2002  by Stanley Feldstein,  Tiffany Field

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The rather complex pattern of results also provides a salutary caution that things are often more complicated than they might otherwise appear. Specifically, these results point to the importance of considering the context of social interactions as a prime determinant of the function of any particular behavior. It is difficult, if not impossible to interpret, in the sense of main effects, the meaning and function of a particular behavior. We found that understanding the meaning of CIT in the conversations of these pre- and early adolescents required examination of the interactions rather than main effects. Clearly, CIT plays an important role in structuring these dialogues. However, one cannot interpret the role of CIT without considering the gender of each participant, the gender composition of the dyad, and the nature of the relationship (friend or acquaintance). The necessity of considering higher-order interactions replicates the findings of Jaffe and colleagues (2001) regarding the role of CIT in the dev elopment of adult dialogue. They found that the predictive utility of CIT varied significantly as a function of infant gender, whether the infant was interacting with mother or a stranger, the site of the interaction (laboratory or home), and the dependent variable under consideration (attachment or cognitive development). The degree of coordination between infant and adult assumed a very different meaning depending upon the context examined in any particular set of interactions. While the scope of the present study is more circumscribed than that of Jaffe et al., it too replicates the essential fact that the meaning of CIT can best be understood through the sophisticated analysis of higher-order interrelations. The subtleties of social interaction are not well captured solely by main effects.

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