The development of sex-related use of interruption behavior

• Main Authors: Tammy A. Marche, Carole Peterson
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 1993
• Subjects: Newfoundland. Correspondence and reprint requests should be sent to the first author; Newfoundland
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.80.3943; http://interruptions.net/literature/Marche-HumanCommRes93.pdf

In this article the authors argue that claims of sex diflerences in interruption behavior should not be uncritically accepted as thereare limitations in prwious resmrch that make such acceptancequestionable. Thefrequencyof interruption was examinedovera portion of the early life span (Grades 4 and 9 and college). %enty-minute structured conversa-tions of 90 dyads (30 male, 30 fmale, and 30 mixed sex) were scoredfor four types of interruption, and both dewlopmental and sex diyemces in interruption behavior were examined. lnterruption frequency did not change over age or across dyads of different sex composition. Males did not interrupt any more than females did andfPmnles were interrupted by theirpartnm asfrequently as males were interrupted by theirs, with one exception: Grade 9 females were interrupted more by theirfemale partners. Interruptions were asymmetrically distributed in same-sex and opposite-sex dyads; however, the asymmetry in opposite-sexdyads was not predictablefrom sex ofsubject orsexofpartner. That is, males did not interrupt females any more than females interrupted males. The authors conclude that wholesale acceptance of sex diyerences in interruption behavior is not warranted. P articipants in conversations are expected to follow the tumtaking system, which specifies that only one speaker may talk at a time. Thus interruption is prohibited. An interruption event has been defined as an instance of simultaneous speech that involves "a deep intrusion into the internal structure of a speaker's