230094 Synchrony in conversation and interaction (S) (SoSe 2012)

This reading seminar concerns the observation that people engaging in conversation (or other means of collaborative interaction) tend to become more similar to each other in many ways (speaking rate, pitch, dialectal varieties, movement, gaze patterns, and so on) as the conversation progresses. The observation is well-known and well-studied, and has been used in support of several divergent theories. Following a general introduction of the phenomenon and a discussion of the most frequently reported observations, reading is chosen from a selection of influential articles on the topic. Reports should take particular note of (a) how the increased similarity is defined, captured, and measured, (b) what reason for the increased similarities is given, and (c) if the similarities are taken as evidence for some wider theory.