"Dyadosyncrasy", Idiosyncrasy and Demographic Factors in Turn-Taking

TL;DR

This study investigates how demographic and individual factors influence turn-taking in US English conversations, revealing that dyadic relationships and joint activity are the primary determinants over demographic variables.

Contribution

It introduces the concept of 'dyadosyncrasy' showing that dyadic relationships significantly shape turn-taking behavior beyond demographic effects.

Findings

Dyadic similarity strongly influences turn-taking behavior.

Demographic factors like sex and age have minor effects.

Individual differences and dyadic relationships are the main determinants.

Abstract

Turn-taking in dialogue follows universal constraints but also varies significantly. This study examines how demographic (sex, age, education) and individual factors shape turn-taking using a large dataset of US English conversations (Fisher). We analyze Transition Floor Offset (TFO) and find notable interspeaker variation. Sex and age have small but significant effects female speakers and older individuals exhibit slightly shorter offsets - while education shows no effect. Lighter topics correlate with shorter TFOs. However, individual differences have a greater impact, driven by a strong idiosyncratic and an even stronger "dyadosyncratic" component - speakers in a dyad resemble each other more than they resemble themselves in different dyads. This suggests that the dyadic relationship and joint activity are the strongest determinants of TFO, outweighing demographic influences.