ANSEC: A BASIC package for lag sequential analysis of observational data

Three BASIC programs for processing observational, nonconcurrent sequential data are presented. The programs follow Sackett’s lag sequential analysis method and have the innovations of running on interactional microcomputers and of providing plots of results. The outcome of the analysis is stored on a magnetic disk, facilitating a further application of probabilistic models to the transformed data. The Allison-Liker correction for the comparison test between expected and observed lag probabilities is included in the programs.     

Antecedents and Consequences of Awkward Silence A Replication Using Revised Lag Sequential Analysis

McLaughlin and Cody's (1982) study of antecedents and consequences of awkward silence is replicated in this study. McLaughlin and Cody concluded that behavioral sequences before silence in dyads with multiple silences were characterized by a pattern of minimal response by one participant. They also concluded that posts/fence sequences were characterized by the presence of question-answer adjacency pairs. Advances made in our understanding of lag sequential analysis (Allison & Liker, 1982; Morley, in press; Sackett, in press) since their study was conducted indicate that statistics other than those employed in their study are more appropriate. A study of the antecedents and consequences of silence for dyads with multiple silences is reported and analyzed using reuised lag sequential analysis. This study found that silences were preceded by minimal responses at lag 1 and followed by questions at lag 1. However, silences were not followed by answers at lag 2. Additionally, the significant dependencies between minimal responses and silence, and silence and questions accounted for only a very small amount of the variance. Thus, although statistically significant, these dependencies are not theoretically meaningful.     

The microanalytic data analysis package

The Microanalytic Data Analysis Package is a series of BASIC programs designed to facilitate the analysis of observational data. The package provides: (1) an organizational framework for microanalytic data that is common to all programs; (2) reliability, frequency, cooccurrence, latency, distribution, and lag sequential analysis programs; and (3) data reduction programs.     

Psychophysical discontinuity and pseudosequence effects

A psychophysical model is advanced which explicitly allows for a major discontinuity in the response continuum, and for stochastic transition between response states, where each state is uniquely associated with one segment of the psychophysical relation. It is shown that the form of mean psychophysical gain function thus generated is consistent with second-order departures from simpler models, and that pseudosequential effects, up to a lag of two trials, can be generated if the gain function is assumed to be continuous when in fact it contains a major discontinuity. Previous evidence on apparent sequential effects must be reevaluated in the light of this result.     

Therapeutic Interaction and Dropout: Measuring Relational Communication in Solution-focused Therapy

The relational communication of sixteen dropout versus sixteen continuation sessions of solution-focused therapy was studied using two different coding schemes. On the Topic Initiation/Topic Following coding scheme (Tracey, 1986) no differences were found between dropout and continuation sessions, whereas the Family-Relational Communication Control Coding Scheme (Heatherington and Friedlander, 1987) yielded a number of significant findings. Both in 'successful' and in 'unsuccessful' dropout sessions, therapeutic interaction was found to be more conflictive than in continuation cases, with clients showing more domineering behaviour in dropout than in continuation sessions. Markovian and lag sequential analysis are used to clarify some of these findings, and their implications are discussed.     

Computing lag sequential statistics: The ELAG program

ELAG, a FORTRAN program that computes lag sequential statistics from event sequence data, is described, and its use is demonstrated. ELAG lets the user specify positive or negative lags of any length, whether codes may follow themselves or not, and whether z scores are to be computed as suggested by Allison and Liker (1982) or by Sackett (1980). Data sequences for individual subjects need not be continuous but can be broken into separate observations. Summary statistics for different groups of subjects may be printed. In addition, the initial data may be modified. The user may specify that an instance of one of a group of codes or of a particular two-code sequence is to be replaced with a new code before ELAG proceeds with its computations.     

CODING NATURALISTIC NEGOTIATION INTERACTION

While much recent work has attempted to code negotiation interaction to identify how individuals use communication tactics in negotiation settings, many coding schemes have been developed to analyze simulated activities and may not be appropriate for the analysis of formal, professional negotiation events. Moreover, most coding research has failed to focus on the relationships between individual tactics and larger communication strategies. This article proposes a coding mechanism sensitive to formal, naturally occurring communication in negotiation settings and capable of identifying strategic use of individual tactics. The coding scheme is then applied to simulated and naturalistic negotiation interaction and the resulting data are assessed, using lag sequential analysis. Significant differences are reflected between the naturalistic and simulated interactions and strong patterns of communication strategy are identified.     

Sequences of staff-child interactions on a psychiatric inpatient unit

Six psychiatry inpatients were observed during mealtimes to determine and evaluate staff intervention techniques. To extend and further elaborate the findings of a previous work (Pines, Kupst, Natta, & Schulman, 1985), staff behaviors (positive, punitive, isolating, and neutral) were investigated for their potential relationship to subsequent child behaviors (positive, negative, and inactive) via a lag sequential analytic approach. Staff punitive and isolating behaviors tended to be associated with significant increases in the likelihood of subsequent child negative behaviors and with significant decreases in child positive behaviors. Staff positive behaviors tended not to be related to a subsequent increase or decrease in any of the coded child behaviors. Findings demonstrate the utility of assessing conditional probabilities of sequences of staff-child behaviors in psychiatric inpatients.     

Facilitation of local information processing in the attentional blink as indexed by the shooting line illusion

Perception of the second of two rapidly sequential targets is impaired if the temporal lag between them is relatively short. This attentional blink (AB) is said to occur because the first target preoccupies attentional resources, leading to a shortage of attention for, and subsequent failure of judgement of, the second target. In the present study, we examined whether the attention which is preoccupied by the first target carries the common characteristic of spatial attention, that is local facilitation of information processing. To index the facilitation, we presented an attention-sensitive probe known as the shooting line illusion in which observers see a progressively drawn line from the attended end to the other. We found that illusory motion was perceived to emanate from the end where the first target was presented. This result demonstrates the inherently spatial nature of attention, even when it is defined by temporal and symbolic variables.     

A program to construct stimulus sequences for controlled lag recognition memory experiments

Experimental designs in recognition memory research frequently employ a continuous sequence of trials in which each stimulus item is presented on two separate occasions. Subjects are required to indicate for each item whether it is new (first presentation) or old (second presentation), and the lag between the first and second presentation is manipulated as a variable in the design. In order to take advantage of the power and efficiency of this procedure, it is necessary to construct sequences that contain the desired set of intervening lags, while leaving no unproductive gaps in the sequence. Furthermore, in order to reduce confounding due to sequential effects, it is desirable to block experimental conditions within subsections of the sequence. Thisfortran program obviates the labor involved in devising such sequences by automating the process of construction.     

Gender differences in reaction to psychological pressure: evidence from tennis players

Using data on about 35,000 professional tennis matches, we test whether men and women react differently to psychological pressure arising from the outcomes of sequential stages in a competition. We show that, with respect to men, women losing the first set are much more likely to play poorly the second set. This suggests that women are more discouraged when facing the pressure of falling behind and receiving negative feedback. The gender differential is stronger in high-stake matches. On the other hand, when players are tied in the third set we do not find any gender difference in players’ reactions suggesting that women are as able as men to handle pressure if they do not lag behind. These results are robust controlling for measures of abilities and fitness of players, such as players’ rankings, players’ ex-ante winning probability, players’ rest, monetary prizes, players’ and tournaments’ fixed effects.     

Career counseling meets motivational interviewing: A sequential analysis of dynamic counselor–client interactions

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a client-centered communication style with the aim to resolve client ambivalence within a change-related counseling. Its potential benefit for career counseling has been discussed by several scholars but no empirical research has investigated MI in this context so far. The current study used process measures from MI to investigate dynamic interactions within a career counseling intervention. Overall, we analyzed two videotaped sessions of 14 unique counselor–client dyads. Verbal behavior of counselors and clients were coded with two observational coding schemes from MI (one for counselors and one for clients, respectively). Behavior profiles of counselors were compared with benchmarks of good MI. Furthermore, client verbal ambivalence was compared between sessions. Finally, we conducted lag sequential analyses to analyze temporal dynamics between counselor behavior and immediate client verbal responses across N = 6883 behavioral events. Our results showed, first, behavior profiles of career counselors did significantly differ from recommended counseling benchmarks of good MI practice. Second, as assumed on the basis of past studies, client ambivalence decreased across sessions. Third, MI consistent counselor behaviors showed a positive sequential association with client positive career talk, whereas MI inconsistent counselor behaviors showed the reverse pattern. Our results suggest that counseling behaviors recommended from MI are facilitating career interventions. We discuss how trainings in MI could amend career counseling interventions and provide ethical implications when integrating MI into career counseling programs.     

Why does lag affect the durability of memory-based automaticity: Loss of memory strength or interference?

In Rickard, Lau, and Pashler's (2008) investigation of the lag effect on memory-based automaticity, response times were faster and proportion of trials retrieved was higher at the end of practice for short lag items than for long lag items. However, during testing after a delay, response times were slower and proportion of trials retrieved was lower for short lag items than for long lag items. The current study investigated the extent to which the lag effect on the durability of memory-based automaticity is due to interference or to the loss of memory strength with time. Participants repeatedly practiced alphabet subtraction items in short lag and long lag conditions. After practice, half of the participants were immediately tested and the other half were tested after a 7-day delay. Results indicate that the lag effect on the durability of memory-based automaticity is primarily due to interference. We discuss potential modification of current memory-based processing theories to account for these effects.     

Improving the effectiveness of an interruption lag by inducing a memory-based strategy

The memory for goals model (Altmann & Trafton, 2002) posits the importance of a short delay (the ‘interruption lag’) before an interrupting task to encode suspended goals for retrieval post-interruption. Two experiments used the theory of soft constraints (Gray, Simms, Fu & Schoelles, 2006) to investigate whether the efficacy of an interruption lag could be improved by increasing goal-state access cost to induce a more memory-based encoding strategy. Both experiments used a copying task with three access cost conditions (Low, Medium, and High) and a 5-s interruption lag with a no lag control condition. Experiment 1 found that the participants in the High access cost condition resumed more interrupted trials and executed more actions correctly from memory when coupled with an interruption lag. Experiment 2 used a prospective memory test post-interruption and an eyetracker recorded gaze activity during the interruption lag. The participants in the High access cost condition with an interruption lag were best at encoding target information during the interruption lag, evidenced by higher scores on the prospective memory measure and more gaze activity on the goal-state during the interruption lag. Theoretical and practical issues regarding the use of goal-state access cost and an interruption lag are discussed.     

The contribution of morphological and semantic relatedness to repetition priming at short and long lags: Evidence from hebrew

The effect of morphological repetition at lag 0 and at lag 15 on lexical decision was investigated in Hebrew with three types of relation between prime and target. In the semantic-plus-morphological condition (SM), the prime and the target in each pair were two semantically related derivatives of the same root. In the “pure morphological” condition (M), the prime and the target derived from the same root, but their semantic association was very low, or nonexistent. In the semantic priming condition (S), primes and targets were semantically associated but were not morphologically related. The pure semantic relationship produced a significant facilitation at lag 0 that disappeared completely at lag 15. The pure morphological relation produced (smaller but) significant facilitation at lag 0 that was not attenuated at lag 15. When prime and target were semantically as well as morphologically related, the facilitation at lag 0 was similar to semantic priming, whereas at lag 15 it was similar to the pure morphological effect. Significant repetition effects at both lags were also found with non-words that shared the same (nonsensical) root and differed with respect to real derivational affixes. The differential time course for facilitation due to semantic and morphological relatedness suggests distinct underlying processes, although at lag 0 it is possible that semantic relatedness may augment the morphological repetition effect. Morphological repetition probably facilitates the retrieval of lexical information that, under certain circumstances, is necessary for lexical decision.     

Modeling Temporal Interaction Dynamics in Organizational Settings

Most workplace phenomena take place in dynamic social settings and emerge over time, and scholars have repeatedly called for more research into the temporal dynamics of organizational behavior. One reason for this persistent research gap could be that organizational scholars are not aware of the methodological advances that are available today for modeling temporal interactions and detecting behavioral patterns that emerge over time. To facilitate such awareness, this Methods Corner contribution provides a hands-on tutorial for capturing and quantifying temporal behavioral patterns and for leveraging rich interaction data in organizational settings. We provide an overview of different approaches and methodologies for examining temporal interaction patterns, along with detailed information about the type of data that needs to be gathered in order to apply each method as well as the analytical steps (and available software options) involved in each method. Specifically, we discuss and illustrate lag sequential analysis, pattern analysis, statistical discourse analysis, and visualization methods for identifying temporal patterns in interaction data. We also provide key takeaways for integrating these methods more firmly in the field of organizational research and for moving interaction analytical research forward.     

Sequentiality of speech acts in conversational structure

One aspect of the phenomenon of coherence in conversational discourse was addressed in the present study: sequentiality of speech acts. Several models of discourse structure have postulated sequencing rules between speech acts in conversations, but these efforts have been hampered by the lack of an efficient empirical method that can characterize a large body of language data. The lag sequential technique is proposed here as a tool that can be used to abstract a grammar of speech act contingency from spoken discourse. Derived patterns of discourse between female adults and preschool children confirmed expectations that most discourse is based upon three fundamental speech act pairings: question-answer, statement-reply, and directive-acknowledgment. It was also found that interlocutor differences in status, knowledge, and conversational ability affected the structure of the discourse in predictable ways.     

Transition structure versus commitment in sequential subjective probability revision

When Ss revise subjective probabilities, in the light of new evidence, a common finding is that they are conservative with respect to Bayes' theorem; revisions are too small. One kind of hypothesis to account for this is ‘model specific’, assuming a breakdown in an otherwise potentially Bayesian process. The other kind assumes that statistically irrelevant, task-specific information is processed. An example of the latter is the commitment hypothesis, assuming a commitment building up to the indications of early evidence, causing Ss to lag behind Bayes' theorem in their later judgements. Evidence is presented suggesting that Ss are not necessarily sensitive to mere sub-sets of a sequence, but that this form of suboptimality may result from overall sequence structure; specifically from a bias against long runs of like evidence. This would fit with findings from other areas of research, and would suggest that there is a general form of suboptimality operating which is relevant to all sequential processing tasks.     

Conjunction error rates on a continuous recognition memory test: little evidence for recollection

Two experiments examined conjunction memory errors on a continuous recognition task where the lag between parent words (e.g., blackmail, jailbird) and later conjunction lures (blackbird) was manipulated. In Experiment 1, contrary to expectations, the conjunction error rate was highest at the shortest lag (1 word) and decreased as the lag increased. In Experiment 2 the conjunction error rate increased significantly from a 0- to a 1-word lag, then decreased slightly from a 1- to a 5-word lag. The results provide mixed support for simple familiarity and dual-process accounts of recognition. Paradoxically, searching for an item in memory does not appear to be a good encoding task.