title: Achieving parent-child coordination through convention: fixed- and variable-sequence conventions.
abstract: Convention provides a major means by which the child can achieve coordinated action with others. One aspect of the structural design of conventions is considered: the composition of a convention's interaction rules. Fixed-sequence conventions, defined as having only obligatory rules, are differentiated from variable-sequence conventions, having at least 1 optional rule. Some interactional effects of the 2 types of conventions are illustrated by a set of fixed- and variable-sequence conventions hypothesized for interaction within 2 families. Fixed- and variable-sequence conventions are placed within the larger context of the state sensitivity of conventions: the degree to which each convention provides both for participants' expressing convention-relevant states and changes in these states, and for their accommodating the interaction to these states and changes--all relevant to achieving coordinated action. The interactional effects of other major sources of state sensitivity are considered and contrasted with those of fixed- and variable-sequence conventions.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Chicago, IL 60637.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Duncan
authors.forename: A M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Farley
mesh_terms: D003142:Communication; D003299:Cooperative Behavior; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D010287:Parent-Child Relations; D010553:Personality Development; D011340:Problem Solving