Liisa Voutilainen

In her influential paper on stance, alignment, and affiliation in conversational storytelling, Tanya Stivers argued that two basic conversational means of receiving a story, nods and vocal continuers, differ in their function: whereas vocal continuers display alignment with the telling activity, nods, during the mid-telling, convey affiliation with the storytellers’ affective stance. In this paper, we elaborate these insights on the basis of a quantitative study informed by conversation analysis. Using a database of 317 stories told in Finnish, we analyzed how story recipients’ nods and continuers in different phases of storytelling (before and after the story climax) predict naïve raters’ judgments of the story recipients’ empathy toward the storyteller. We found that vocal continuers accounted for the perception of empathy during mid- telling, whereas the effect of nods remained weak. The study offers further support to the notion of structural organization of storytelling, and suggests that the significance of vocal continuers as a vehicle of empathy may be greater than has been generally thought of.

Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from psychodynamic therapy sessions, 24 sessions from 5 dyads, from which 694 therapist's interventions were coded. Heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA) of the participants were used to index emotional arousal. Facial muscle activity (electromyography) was used to index positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Electrophysiological data were analyzed in two time frames: (a) during the therapists' interventions and (b) across the whole psychotherapy session. Both empathy and challenge had an effect on psychophysiological responses in the participants. Therapists' empathy decreased clients' and increased their own EDA across the session. Therapists' challenge increased their own EDA in response to the interventions, but not across the sessions. Clients, on the other hand, did not respond to challenges during interventions, but challenges tended to increase EDA across a session. Furthermore, there was an interaction effect between empathy and challenge. Heart rate decreased and positive facial expressions increased in sessions where empathy and challenge were coupled, i.e., the amount of both empathy and challenge was either high or low. This suggests that these two variables work together. The results highlight the therapeutic functions and interrelation of empathy and challenge, and in line with the dyadic system theory by Beebe and Lachmann (2002), the systemic linkage between interactional expression and individual regulation of emotion.

Two central dimensions in psychotherapeutic work are a therapist's empathy with clients and challenging their judgments. We investigated how they influence psychophysiological responses in the participants. Data were from psychodynamic therapy sessions, 24 sessions from 5 dyads, from which 694 therapist's interventions were coded. Heart rate and electrodermal activity (EDA) of the participants were used to index emotional arousal. Facial muscle activity (electromyography) was used to index positive and negative emotional facial expressions. Electrophysiological data were analyzed in two time frames: (a) during the therapists' interventions and (b) across the whole psychotherapy session. Both empathy and challenge had an effect on psychophysiological responses in the participants. Therapists' empathy decreased clients' and increased their own EDA across the session. Therapists' challenge increased their own EDA in response to the interventions, but not across the sessions. Clients, on the other hand, did not respond to challenges during interventions, but challenges tended to increase EDA across a session. Furthermore, there was an interaction effect between empathy and challenge. Heart rate decreased and positive facial expressions increased in sessions where empathy and challenge were coupled, i.e., the amount of both empathy and challenge was either high or low. This suggests that these two variables work together. The results highlight the therapeutic functions and interrelation of empathy and challenge, and in line with the dyadic system theory by Beebe and Lachmann (2002), the systemic linkage between interactional expression and individual regulation of emotion.

We compared the patterns of affiliative and dominant behavior displayed in male dyads where one participant has Asperger's syndrome (AS) with those displayed in male dyads with two neurotypical (NT) participants. Drawing on interpersonal theory, according to which affiliation and dominance constitute two orthogonal axes of the " interpersonal circle, " we used a computer-joystick apparatus to assess the participants' moment-to-moment affiliative and dominant behaviors throughout conversation. The patterns of affiliation and dominance were subsequently studied in relation to post-conversation questionnaires that targeted the interactional experiences of the participants in the two different types of dyads (AS dyads, NT dyads). We found the overall interpersonal notion of complementarity to hold for AS and NT dyads alike: greater affiliation in one participant invoked greater affiliation in the co-participant, and greater dominance invoked greater submissiveness in the co-participant. The AS and NT dyads, however, differed with regard to how affiliative and dominant behaviors related to each other during the time course of a single conversation. Furthermore, we found important differences between the AS and NT dyads in how the different patterns of affiliation and dominance were experienced by the participants. For example, a high level of affiliation synchrony was experienced in more negative terms by the participants in the AS dyads than by those in the NT dyads, while a high level of dominance coordination was experienced in more positive terms by the participants in the AS dyads than by those in the NT dyads. The paper increases understanding of the details of the interactional deficits associated with AS and of the conditions in which AS participants may get maximally positive interactional experiences. More generally, our study highlights the necessity to take the study of individual differences in the experiences of patterns of affiliation and dominance into the official agenda of empirical interaction research.

We compared the patterns of affiliative and dominant behavior displayed in male dyads where one participant has Asperger's syndrome (AS) with those displayed in male dyads with two neurotypical (NT) participants. Drawing on interpersonal theory, according to which affiliation and dominance constitute two orthogonal axes of the " interpersonal circle, " we used a computer-joystick apparatus to assess the participants' moment-to-moment affiliative and dominant behaviors throughout conversation. The patterns of affiliation and dominance were subsequently studied in relation to post-conversation questionnaires that targeted the interactional experiences of the participants in the two different types of dyads (AS dyads, NT dyads). We found the overall interpersonal notion of complementarity to hold for AS and NT dyads alike: greater affiliation in one participant invoked greater affiliation in the co-participant, and greater dominance invoked greater submissiveness in the co-participant. The AS and NT dyads, however, differed with regard to how affiliative and dominant behaviors related to each other during the time course of a single conversation. Furthermore, we found important differences between the AS and NT dyads in how the different patterns of affiliation and dominance were experienced by the participants. For example, a high level of affiliation synchrony was experienced in more negative terms by the participants in the AS dyads than by those in the NT dyads, while a high level of dominance coordination was experienced in more positive terms by the participants in the AS dyads than by those in the NT dyads. The paper increases understanding of the details of the interactional deficits associated with AS and of the conditions in which AS participants may get maximally positive interactional experiences. More generally, our study highlights the necessity to take the study of individual differences in the experiences of patterns of affiliation and dominance into the official agenda of empirical interaction research.

This article examines a specific linguistic practice in psychotherapy in Finnish: ending a turn at talk with että (“that” or “so”). Making että the final item leaves some aspect of the turn implicit and invites the recipient somehow to deal with that implication. This happens in everyday interactions generally. However, whereas in everyday conversation the recipient usually does not explicate the implicit content of the turn, in psychotherapy the therapist may draw out different aspects of the implicit content and offer it to the client for confirmation. We will show that these practices are in service of addressing the problematic contents in the client’s telling and in managing resistance. We argue that the ways in which therapists depart from the practices of everyday conversation to deal with the implicit can be seen as institutionally specific means of working with previously avoided themes and integrating them to the client’s self. Data are in Finnish with English translation.

University students seek counseling to discuss concerns about their academic skills, motivation, time management, and well-being. This article examines the conversational activity of normalizing currently used by counselors to manage students’ negative emotions and troubles-telling. Normalizing refers to an activity in which something in the interaction is made normal by labeling it “normal” or “commonplace” or by interpreting it in an ordinary way. Three uses for normalizing were identified in a sample of 16 videotaped counseling sessions: 1) supporting the student’s position, 2) challenging the student, and 3) presenting the student’s problem as workable. We argue that normalizing is a means of addressing students’ problematic emotions and offering support, yet in a way that maintains an orientation toward problem solving. Furthermore, while normalizing seems to serve affiliation, suggesting that the problems are not unique, it can be treated as either delicate or as problematic by the counselors and by the students.

Earlier research has shown that conversational storytelling is a regular locus for displays of affective stance. A stance display by the teller invites a mirroring response from the recipient, and these reciprocal displays are finely organized and timed. The article adds a new aspect to the research on affective stance and affiliation by examining the linkages between interactional stance displays and physiological responses in the participants. We show that the valence, and especially ambivalence, of the stance displayed by the storyteller is associated with an increase in the autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity in the recipient. The participants were 40 students who were discussing their life events in dyads. Heart rate, electrodermal activity (skin conductance), and facial muscle activity (EMG) of the participants were measured. The conversations were videotaped, and the storytelling instances were coded by means of a quantitative application of conversation analysis. The stories were coded into three classes: happy, sad, and ambivalent (twofold) stories on the basis of the affective stance that was displayed by the teller. In comparison to a happy and sad stance, ambivalence increased significantly the recipient’s heart rate and electrodermal activity. Our interpretation is that the increased ANS activity reflects the more complex cognitive and interactional task faced by the recipients in affiliating with an ambivalent stance.

In conversational storytelling, the recipients are expected to show affiliation with the emo- tional stance displayed by the storytellers. We investigated emotional arousal-related auto- nomic nervous system responses in tellers and recipients of conversational stories. The data consist of 20 recordings of 45- to 60-minute dyadic conversations between female university and polytechnic students. Conversations were videotaped and analyzed by means of conversa- tion analysis (CA), with a special emphasis on the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation in storytelling. Electrodermal activity in both participants was measured to estimate their arousal level. The results show that the verbal and nonverbal displays of affiliation decrease the storyteller’s but increase the recipient’s level of arousal. This means that the monitoring of the recipient actions in storytelling, shown by earlier CA studies, has a physiological correlate. We suggest that storytelling involves an emotional load, which the participants share physi- ologically in affiliative responses.

A process of change within a single case of cognitive-constructivist therapy is analyzed by means of conversation analysis (CA). The focus is on a process of change in the sequences of interaction, which consist of the therapist's conclusion and the patient's response to it. In the conclusions, the therapist investigates and challenges the patient's tendency to transform her feelings of disappointment and anger into self-blame. Over the course of the therapy, the patient's responses to these conclusions are recast: from the patient first rejecting the conclusion, to then being ambivalent, and finally to agreeing with the therapist. On the basis of this case study, we suggest that an analysis that focuses on sequences of talk that are interactionally similar offers a sensitive method to investigate the manifestation of therapeutic change. It is suggested that this line of research can complement assimilation analysis and other methods of analyzing changes in a client's talk.Le processus de changement dans un cas unique de thérapie cognitive-constructiviste est analysé au moyen d'une analyse conversationnelle (CA). Le focus est le processus de changement dans une séquence d'interaction, séquence composée de la conclusion du thérapeute et la réponse du patient à celle-ci. Dans les conclusions, le thérapeute investigue et challenge la tendance du patient à transformer ses sentiments de désappointement et de colère dans un blâme de soi. Au cours de la thérapie, les réponses du patient à ces conclusions sont reformulées: du premier rejet de la conclusion du patient, à l'ambivalence, et finalement à l'accord avec le thérapeute. Sur la base de cette étude de cas, nous suggérons qu'une analyse qui se focalise sur une séquence langagière similaire interactionnellement offre une méthode sensible pour investiguer la manifestation du changement thérapeutique. Il est suggéré que cette ligne de recherche peut compléter une analyse de l'assimilation et d'autres méthodes d'analyse du changement dans le discours du patient.Um processo de mudança dentro de um único caso de terapia cognitivo-construtivista é analisado por meio da análise da conversação (AC). O foco está em um processo de mudança nas sequências de interacção, que consistem na conclusão do terapeuta e da resposta do paciente a ele. Nas conclusões, o terapeuta investiga e desafia a tendência do paciente para transformar os seus sentimentos de decepção e raiva em auto-culpa. No decorrer da terapia, as respostas do paciente a estas conclusões são reformuladas: a partir da primeira rejeição da conclusão do paciente, para então ser ambivalente e, finalmente, chegar a acordo com o terapeuta. Com base neste estudo de caso, sugerimos que a análise que se concentra em sequências de fala que são semelhantes interaccionalmente oferece um método sensível para investigar a manifestação da mudança terapêutica. Sugere-se que esta linha de pesquisa pode complementar a análise de assimilação e de outros métodos de análise das mudanças na conversa de um cliente.Tramite l'analisi conversazionale (CA), è stato analizzato un processo di cambiamento in un caso singolo di terapia cognitivo-costruttivista. Ci si è focalizzati sul processo di cambiamento nelle sequenze di interazione, che consistono nella conclusione del terapeuta e nella risposta del paziente ad essa. Nelle conclusioni, il terapeuta indaga e sfida la tendenza del paziente a trasformare i suoi sentimenti di delusione e rabbia in autocritica. Nel corso della terapia, le risposte del paziente a queste conclusioni sono state riformulate: ad un primo rifiuto della conclusione da parte del paziente, ad una successiva ambivalenza ed, infine, a concordare con il terapeuta. Sulla base di questo studio, suggeriamo che un'analisi che si focalizzi su sequenze di discorso che siano simili a livello internazionale, offre un metodo sensibile per indagare la manifestazione del cambiamento terapeutico. Si suggerisce come questa linea di ricerca possa essere complementare all'analisi con il modello dell'assimilazione e ad altri metodi di analisi del cambiamento nella conversazione del paziente.

... Arlie Hochschild (197927. Hochschild, A. 1979. Emotion work, feeling rules and social structure. ... View all notes. The patient finishes her turn with “so that.” Syntactically she could be starting a new unit of talk, but her creaky voice (see Ogden, 200138. Ogden, R. 2001. ...

The article reports conversation analysis of a single cognitive psychotherapy session in which an interactional misalignment between the therapist and the patient emerges, culminates, and is mitigated. Through this case study, the interactional practices leading to a rupture in therapeutic alliance and the practices leading to its mending are explored. In the session the therapist pursues investigative orientation in relation to the patient's experience under discussion, whereas the patient maintains orientation to “troubles-telling.” The diverging projects of the participants amount to overt misalignment. Eventually, the therapist brings the relationship of the patient and herself as a topic of conversation in ways which turn the misalignment into a resource of therapeutic work. The microanalysis of actual interactional patterns in this single case is linked to discussions of therapeutic alliance in psychotherapeutic literature.

Using audio-recorded data from cognitive-constructivist psychotherapy, the article shows a particular institutional context in which successful professional action does not adhere to the pattern of affective neutrality which Parsons saw as an inherent component of medicine and psychotherapy. In our data, the professional’s non-neutrality functions as a tool for achieving institutional goals. The analysis focuses on the psychotherapist’s actions that convey a critical stance towards a third party with whom the patient has experienced problems. The data analysis revealed two practices of this kind of critique: (1) the therapist can confirm the critique that the patient has expressed or (2) return to the critique from which the patient has focused away. These actions are shown to build grounds for the therapist’s further actions that challenge the patient’s dysfunctional beliefs. The article suggests that in the case of psychotherapy, actions that as such might be seen as apparent lapses from the neutral professional role can in their specific context perform the task of the institution at hand.