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.