According to situated cognition theory, cognitive accomplishments rely in part on structures and processes outside the individual. This article argues that interactional structures particularly those created through language use can make essential contributions to situated cognition in rational academic discourse. Most cognitive accomplishments rely in part on language, and language in use alwa...

One aspect of the relationship between meaning and interaction is explored here by taking the English particle actually, which is characterized by flexibility of syntactic position, and investigating its use in a range of interactional contexts. Syntactic alternatives in the form of clause-initial or clause-final placement are found to be selected by reference to interactional exigencies. The t...

This paper explores the existence and nature of accommodation processes within conversation, particularly convergence of fundamental frequency (Fo) of conversational participants over time. The study raises a number of issues related to methodologies for analysing interactional (typically conversational) data. Most important is the issue of the applicability of statistical sampling methods whic...

Speech is multifunctional, both communicating denotational content and establishing interactional positions for interlocu-tors. In some cases, the denotational and interactional func-tions of speech interrelate and even depend on each other. This paper describes a type of speech event in which the interrela-tions between denotation and interaction are particularly sali-ent—autobiographical narr...

I have elsewhere argued (Ariel, 2002) against the assumption that we can identify one literal meaning per sentence. Instead, I have suggested that there are (at least) three types of minimal meanings, each differently motivated. One implicit motivation behind the classical definition of literal meaning (Grice’s ‘what is said’) is a wish to capture the core content of sentences. I here examine d...

OBJECTIVES To evaluate interactional effects of patient-centered interviewing (PCI) compared to isolated clinician-centered interviewing (CCI). METHODS We conducted a pilot study comparing PCI (N=4) to CCI (N=4) for simulated new-patient visits. We rated interviews independently and measured patient satisfaction with the interaction via a validated questionnaire. We conducted interactional so...

Text-only CMC has been claimed to be interactionally incoherent due to limitations imposed by messaging systems on turn-taking and reference, yet its popularity continues to grow. In an attempt to resolve this apparent paradox, this study evaluates the coherence of computermediated interaction by surveying research on cross-turn coherence. The results reveal a high degree of disrupted adjacency...

Interactional quality has been shown to enhance learning during book reading and play, but has not been examined during touch screen use. Learning to apply knowledge from a touch screen is complex for infants because it involves transfer of learning between a two-dimensional (2D) screen and three-dimensional (3D) object in the physical world. This study uses a touch screen procedure to examine ...