Chapter Nine
Theories of Discourse
and Interaction
Foundations in the Study of Language
Processes
Semantics = “meaning” and the links
between signs and referents
 Syntax = the rules (grammars) that govern
the construction of utterances
 Pragmatics = the way language is used in
social situations (interactional goals and
consequences)
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Speech Act Theory
Speech Act Theory developed by Austin
and Searle
 Represents a pragmatic approach to
language use
 Central tenet: individuals perform actions
with the words they speak
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Levels of Speech Acts
Utterance level: the mere stringing
together of words
 Propositional level: content of the
statement
 Illocutionary level: intended effect of
statement (it’s cold in here)
 Perlocutionary level: received effect on
listener (closes the window or says, “I
don’t think it’s cold)
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Types of Speech Acts
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Most commonly used category scheme for
speech acts: assertives, directives, commissives,
expressives, and declaratives (p. 147)
Indirect speech acts: conventionalized forms
(e.g., “can you reach the salt”)
We make sense of speech acts through
application of felicity conditions—most
significant for declaratives
Applications
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Speech Act Theory has been used to describe
sequencing of utterances in conversation and
coherence of those sequences
Metts add: Has been useful for analyzing couples’
talk and how relational messages are construed. Ex.
I love you. (expressive)
I love you.
Thanks. or
No you don’t. We
I like you too.
have only been
dating a month.
Critiques
Speech Act Theory has been criticized in
terms of feasibility in ongoing interaction—
we construe meaning beyond the level of a
single turn
 Metts add: Categories are broad.
Expressives for example are strong and
weak as in example of expressing love or I
hate you vs I am upset with you.
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Grice’s Cooperative Principle
(not in chapter)
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See handout for information about implicature.
Grice’s theory fills in much of the meaning we
construct from conversation that cannot be
explained by speech act theory.
Implicature is a compliment for speech acts
Consider deception for example.
Strength of theory is its scope—every language
uses implicature and it helps explain
intercultural comm. problems.
Coordinated Management Of Meaning
Theory
Coordinated Management of Meaning
Theory developed in communication
discipline by Cronen and Pearce
 CMM follows a social constructionist
ontology and an interpretive or even
critical epistemology

Management Rules in Interaction
CMM sees interaction as rule-guided activity
 Constitutive rules: specify what behaviors
“count for” in interaction (what behaviors
constitute a “date”?)
 Regulative rules: specify sequences of
behavior for particular situations (what is
the sequence of behaviors on a first date?)

Meaning Systems of Social Reality
CMM proposes that rules are interpreted
within a hierarchy of meaning (Figure 9.1,
p. 151)
 It includes six levels of interpretation:
content level, speech act level, episode
level, relationship level, life script level, and
cultural patterns level
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Ex: “Would you stop that?!”
Culture
Life script/self-concept
Relationship
Episode
Speech Act
Text
Coordination Processes
Coordination in interaction refers to the
“meshing of actions” not the perfect
sharing of interpretations
 Interactions that are not well coordinated
(e.g., double binds and paradoxes) indicate
differences in rule usage and in levels of
interpretation
 Ex. Be spontaneous. (episode vs relational
level of interpretation)
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Communication Accommodation
Theory
CAT was developed by Giles and his
colleagues
 CAT considers the ways in which people
accommodate (or attune) to others
during interaction through processes of
convergence, divergence, and maintenance
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Three Forms of Accommodation
Convergence: Attempts to become
more like interaction partner in speech,
dress, other nonverbal cues
 Divergence: Efforts to accentuate
communicative differences
 Maintenance: Individual’s communication
patterns remain stable
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Dimensions of Convergence &
Divergence
Convergence/divergence can be:
◦ upward or downward
◦ varied in degree (full, partial, hyper)
◦ unimodal or multimodal
◦ symmetrical or asymmetrical
◦ objective, psychological, or perceptual
 Babytalk with elderly is psychological (converging
to stereotype) and
asymmetrical
Explanations for Accommodation
Convergence in interaction is often attributed
to need for social approval (similarity leads to
attraction), especially with status/powerful
others
 Divergence in interaction is often attributed
to desire to establish and emphasize distinct
social/cultural identity in interaction
 Both convergence and divergence will be
influenced by situation
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Three Main Accommodation
Approaches
 Convergence
 Divergence
 Maintenance
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1REumzRlncM&feature=related
Research: Results & Implications
(Booth-Butterfield & Jordan, 1989)
Results: Behaviors by Race & Group Composition
Homogenous
Heterogeneous
Black
White
Black
White
Smiling
46.7
25.78
28.7
47.33
Adaptors
6.6
9.89
5.3
9.11
Interrupt
5.4
1.78
2.3
1.55
Expressive
11.86
8.86
10.43
9.22
Luster
19
Consequences of Accommodation
Consequences will depend on perceived
motive of the interactant
 There are optimal levels of
accommodation, and it is possible to
“hypercorrect” in interaction
 Consequences will depend on
interpretations of receivers (some elders
find baby talk comforting)
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Expectancy Violation Theory
Expectancy Violation Theory developed by
Judee Burgoon and her colleagues
 Began as a theory of nonverbal behavior but
has been expanded to other forms of
interaction
 EVT considers expectations about
interaction and reactions if those
expectations are violated
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Expectancies in Interaction
A central tenet of EVT is that we have
expectations (expectancies) about
verbal and nonverbal behavior during
interaction
 Based on both cultural norms and
individual relationships
 We are often unaware of our
expectancies until they have been violated
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Violations of Expectations
When an expectation is violated, we feel
arousal
 Arousal is a physiological effect
 Arousal spurs an “orienting” reaction so
we look to find causes of arousal
 When the cause is unexpected behavior
by others, we process it.
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Impact of Violations
The impact of the violation will depend
on two factors
 (1) If the behavior (valence) is positive,
the violation will have positive effects
 (2) If the (communicator) reward
valence of the other person is positive,
the violation will also be seen in a positive
manner
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Extension of EVT: Interaction
Adaptation Theory
Burgoon and colleagues are extending
ideas from EVT into more broadly-based
“Interaction Adaptation Theory”
 IAT proposes that behavior is guided by
Required, Expected, and Desired
elements. These elements are then
compared to actual behavior in
interaction
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