The proposed research has three specific aims: 1) to examine the generalization of previously reported findings on the development of conversation from middle childhood to early adulthood, 2) to perform additional studies of conversational organization, and 3) to refine a theory of the development of conversation that takes account of the results of generalization studies, studies of conversational organization, and those pertaining to relationships between conversational behavior and real-time processing of conversation as reflected in commentary on and parsing of one's own conversation.
These aims were selected to further knowledge of the broad span development of conversational processes, an important but little-studied domain of social development. The proposed methods of study are observational and correlational. Observational studies of conversation include global levels of analysis such as topic and strategy as well as turn-level analyses such as social acts and focused exchanges. Correlational studies include explorations of relationships between aspects of conversational performance and measures of the real-time processing of conversation as well as more general knowledge of social processes. Measures of processing include Flapan's levels of social inference, segmentation of the stream of talk, and conceptions of the process of talk as revealed in commentary on one's own conversation.

Agency
National Institute of Health (NIH)
Institute
Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD)
Type
Unknown (R23)
Project #
5R23HD019629-02
Application #
3448077
Study Section
Human Development and Aging Subcommittee 1 (HUD)
Project Start
1985-08-01
Project End
1989-01-31
Budget Start
1986-08-01
Budget End
1988-01-31
Support Year
2
Fiscal Year
1986
Total Cost
Indirect Cost
Name
Louisiana State University-University of New Orleans
Department
Type
Schools of Arts and Sciences
DUNS #
City
New Orleans
State
LA
Country
United States
Zip Code
70148