This research profiles the topics of everyday talk, pinpointing topical patterns that are emergent, co-occurring, and relationally defining. Participants reported topics of their conversations with particular types of people (e.g., parents, significant others, bosses, professors, service people, etc.). The most commonly emerging topics were those most central to participants’ lives and that helped them “check in” with (i.e., update) and “check out” from (i.e., depart) others. Topics co-occurred to carry out conversational routines (e.g., starting and ending), fulfill communicative functions (e.g., informing), and achieve interpersonal agendas (e.g., comforting). Topics differed in their absolute prospects of arising within particular relational types and in their relative prospects of arising across relational types. The relational type was predictable more than 45% of the time by knowing only which topics occurred (and which did not). The profile of people’s topical talk is one of patterns in the topics that arise in their lives, that co-occur in their conversations, and that define their relationships.
Afifi, W. A.,& Burgoon, J. K. (1998).“We never talk about that”: A comparison of cross-sex friendships and dating relationships on uncertainty and topic avoidance. Personal Relationships, 5, 255-272.
2.
Aldenderfer, M. S., & Blashfield, R. K. (1984). Cluster analysis (Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-044). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
3.
Bartlett, M. S. (1937). Properties of sufficiency and statistical tests. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series A, Mathematical and Physical Sciences, 160, 268-282.
4.
Baxter, L., & Wilmot, W. W. (1985). Taboo topics in close relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 2, 253-296.
5.
Bedrosian, J. L. (1993). Making minds meet: Assessment of conversational topic in adults with mild to moderate mental retardation. Topics in Language Disorders, 13, 36-46.
6.
Bishop, Y. M. M., Fienberg, S. E.,& Holland, P. W. (1975). Discrete multivariate analysis: Theory and practice. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
7.
Brinton, B., Fujiki, M., & Powell, J. M. (1997). The ability of children with language impairment to manipulate topic in a structured task. Language, Speech, and Hearing Services in Schools, 28, 3-11.
8.
Brown, G., & Yule, G. (1983). Discourse analysis. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
9.
Brown, P., & Levinson, S. (1987). Politeness: Some universals in language usage. Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
10.
Burgoon, J. K., & Hale, J. L. (1987). Validation and measurement of the fundamental themes of relational communication. Communication Monographs, 54, 19-41.
11.
Burleson, B. R.,& Goldsmith, D. J. (1998). How the comforting process works: Alleviating emotional distress through conversationally induced reappraisals. In P. A. Andersen & L. K. Guerrero (Eds.), Handbook of communication and emotion: Research, theory, applications, and contexts(pp. 245-280). San Diego, CA: Academic Press.
12.
Button, G.,& Casey, N. (1985). Topic nomination and topic pursuit. Human Studies, 8,3-55.
13.
Button, G.,& Casey, N. (1988/1989). Topic initiation: Business-at-hand. Research on Language and Social Interaction, 22, 61-92.
14.
Cegala, D. J., Dewhurst, M., Galanes, G. J., Burggraf, C., Thorpe, J. M., Keyton, J., & Makay, L. (1989). A study of participants’ judgments of topic change during conversation: Global versus local definitions. Communication Reports, 2, 62-71.
15.
Chen, L. (1996). Cognitive complexity, situational influences, and topic selection in intracultural and intercultural dyadic interactions. Communication Reports, 9, 1-12.
16.
Clark, R. A. (1998). Acomparison of topics and objectives in a cross section of youngmen’s and women’s everyday conversations. In D. J. Canary & K. Dindia (Eds.), Sex differences and similarities in communication: Critical essays and empirical investigations of sex and gender in interaction(pp. 303-319). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
17.
Clarke, D. D.,& Argyle, M. (1982). Conversation sequences. In C. Fraser & K. R. Scherer (Eds.), Advances in the social psychology of language(pp. 159-204). Cambridge, England: Cambridge University Press.
18.
Cochran, W. G. (1954). Some methods for strengthening the common. 2 tests. Biometrics, 10, 417-451.
19.
Coulmas, F. (Ed.). (1981). Conversational routine: Explorations in standardized communication situations and prepatterned speech. The Hague, the Netherlands: Mouton.
20.
Coulthard, M. (1985). An introduction to discourse analysis: New edition. New York: Longman.
21.
Crow, B. K. (1983). Topic shifts in couples’ conversations. In R. T. Craig & K. Tracy (Eds.), Conversational coherence(pp. 136-156). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
22.
Csikszentmihalyi, M.,& Larson, R. W. (1984). Being adolescent. New York: Basic Books.
23.
Daly, J. A., Bell, R. A., Glenn, P. J.,& Lawrence, S. (1985). Conceptualizing conversational complexity. Human Communication Research, 12, 30-53.
24.
Daly, J. A., & Wiemann, J. M. (Eds.). (1994). Strategic interpersonal communication. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
25.
Dawson, R. B. (1954). A simplified expression for the variance of the. 2-function on a contingency table. Biometrika, 41, 280280.
26.
de Beaugrande, R. (1992). Topicality and emotion in the economy and agenda of discourse. Linguistics, 30, 243-265.
27.
Dillard, J. P., Solomon, D. H.,& Palmer, M. T. (1999). Structuring the concept of relational communication. Communication Monographs, 66, 49-65.
28.
Dunbar, R. I. M., Duncan, N. D. C.,& Marriott, A. (1997). Humanconversational behavior. Human Nature, 8, 231-246.
29.
Erickson, F.,& Rittenberg, W. (1987). Topic control and person control: A thorny problem for foreign physicians in interaction with American patients. Discourse Processes, 10, 401-415.
30.
Fienberg, S. E. (1980). The analysis of cross-classified categorical data(2nd ed.). Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
31.
Fiske, S. T., & Taylor, S. E. (1991). Social cognition(2nd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.
32.
Garvey, C. (1984). Children’s talk. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
33.
Gavruseva, L. (1995). Positioning and framing: Constructing interactional asymmetry in employer employee discourse. Discourse Processes, 20, 325-345.
34.
Gottman, J. M.,& Roy, A. K. (1990). Sequential analysis: A guide for behavioral researchers. New York: Cambridge University Press.
35.
Goutsos, D. (1997). Modeling discourse topic: Sequential relations and strategies in expository text. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
36.
Grosz, B.,& Sidner, C. L. (1986). Attention, intention and the structure of discourse. Computational Linguistics, 12, 175-204.
37.
Guerrero, L. K.,& Afifi, W. A. (1995). Some things are better left unsaid: Topic avoidance in family relationships. Communication Quarterly, 43, 276-296.
38.
Haas, A., & Sherman, M. A. (1982). Reported topics of conversation among same-sex adults. Communication Quarterly, 30, 332-342.
39.
Hair, J. F., Anderson, R. E.,& Tatham, R. L. (1987). Multivariate data analysis: With readings(2nd ed.). New York: Macmillan.
40.
Haldane, J. B. S. (1939). The mean and variance of. 2when used as a test of homogeneity, when expectations are small. Biometrika, 31, 346-355.
41.
Higgins, E. T., Herman, C. P.,& Zanna, M. P. (Eds.). (1981). Social cognition: The Ontario symposium(vol. 1). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
42.
Hinkel, E. (1994). Topic appropriateness in cross-cultural social conversations. Pragmatic and Language Learning, 5, 163-179.
43.
Kellermann, K. (1991). The conversation MOP: II. Progression through scenes in discourse. Human Communication Research, 17, 385-414.
44.
Kellermann, K. (1995). The conversation MOP: A model of patterned and pliable behavior. In D. E. Hewes (Ed.), The cognitive bases of interpersonal communication(pp. 181-221). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
45.
Kellermann, K., Broetzmann, S., Lim, T., & Kitao, K. (1989). The conversation MOP: Scenes in the stream of discourse. Discourse Processes, 12, 27-61.
46.
Kellermann, K.,& Lim, T. (1989). Conversational acquaintance: The flexibility of routinized behavior. In L. G. B. Dervin, B. F. O’Keefe,& E. Wartella (Eds.), Rethinking communication: Vol. 2. Paradigm exemplars(pp. 172-187). Newbury Park, CA: Sage.
47.
Kellermann, K., & Lim, T. (1990). The conversation MOP: III. Timing of scenes in discourse. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 59, 1163-1179.
48.
Kellermann, K., Reynolds, R.,& Chen, J. B-S. (1991). Strategies of conversational retreat: When parting is not sweet sorrow. Communication Monographs, 58, 362-383.
49.
Kennedy, J. J. (1983). Analyzing qualitative data: Introductory log-linear analysis for behavioral research. New York: Praeger.
50.
Kintsch, W.,& van Dijk, T. A. (1978). Toward a model of text comprehension and production. Psychological Review, 85, 363-394.
51.
Klecka, W. R. (1980). Discriminant analysis (Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, 07-019). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
52.
Knapp, M. L., Ellis, D. G.,& Williams, B. A. (1980). Perceptions of communication behavior associated with relationship terms. Communication Monographs, 47, 262-278.
53.
Knoke, D., & Burke, P. J. (1980). Log-linear models (Sage University Paper series on Quantitative Applications in the Social Sciences, series no. 07-020). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
54.
Kuder, S. J., & Bryen, D. N. (1993). Conversational topics of staff members and institutionalized individuals with mental retardation. Mental Retardation, 31, 148-153.
55.
Labov, W. (1972). Language in the inner city: Studies in the Black English vernacular. Philadelphia: University of Pennsylvania Press.
56.
Lachman, R., Lachman, J. L.,& Butterfield, E. C. (1979). Cognitive psychology and information processing: An introduction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
57.
Martin, R. (1997). “Girls don’t talk about garages!”: Perceptions of conversation in sameand cross-sex friendships. Personal Relationships, 4, 115-130.
58.
Marvin, C. A. (1994). Cartalk: Conversational topics of preschool children en route home from preschool. Language, Speech & Hearing Services in Schools, 25, 146-155.
59.
Marvin, C. A., Beukelman, D. R., Brockhaus, J.,& Kast, L. (1994). “What are you talking about?”: Semantic analysis of preschool children’s conversational topics in home and preschool settings. AAC: Augmentative & Alternative Communication, 10, 75-86.
60.
Marwell, G., & Hage, J. (1970). The organization of role relationships: A systematic description. American Sociological Review, 35, 884-900.
61.
Maxwell, A. E. (1961). Analysing qualitative data. London: Methuen & Co.
62.
Maynard, D. W. (1980). Placement of topic changes in conversation. Semiotica, 30, 263-290.
63.
Maynard, D. W.,& Zimmerman, D. H. (1984). Topical talk, ritual and the social organization of relationships. Social Psychology Quarterly, 47, 301-316.
64.
McCormick, N. B., & McCormick, J. W. (1992). Computer friends and foes: Content of undergraduates’ electronic mail. Computers and Human Behaviour, 8, 379-405.
65.
McLaughlin, M. L. (1984). Conversation: Howtalk is organized. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
66.
Mentis, M. (1994). Topic management in discourse: Assessment and intervention. Topic in Language Disorders, 14, 29-54.
67.
Nofsinger, R. E. (1990). Rethinking “topic.” Communication Reports, 3, 45-47.
68.
Odoroff, C. L. (1970). A comparison of minimum logit chi-square estimation and maximumlikelihood estimation in 2 · 2 · 2 and 3 · 2 · 2 contingency tables: Tests for interaction. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 65, 1617-1631. Ö
69.
hlschlegel, S., & Piontkowski, U. (1997). Topic progression and social categorization. Journal of Language and Social Psychology, 16, 444-455.
70.
Orletti, F. (1989). Topic organization in conversation. International Journal of the Sociology of Language, 76, 75-85.
71.
Palmer, M. T. (1989). Controlling conversations: Turns, topics, and interpersonal control. Communication Monographs, 56, 1-18.
72.
Palomares, N. A., Bradac, J. J.,& Kellermann, K.(2004). Conversational topic along a continuum of perspectives: Conceptual issues. Manuscript submitted for publication.
73.
Parker, J. H. (1985). Social logics: Conversations and groups in everyday life. A model for the social sciences. Lanham, MD: University Press of America.
74.
Raffaelli, M.,& Duckett, E. (1989).“We were just talking... ”: Conversations in early adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 18, 567-582.
75.
Reichman, R. (1978). Conversational coherency. Cognitive Science, 2, 283-327.
76.
Reinhart, T. (1981). Pragmatics and linguistics: An analysis of sentence topics. Philosophica, 27, 53-94.
77.
Romesburg, H. C. (1984). Cluster analysis for researchers. Belmont, CA: Lifetime Learning Publications.
78.
Rosch, E. (1978). Principles of categorization. In E. Rosch & B. B. Lloyd (Eds.), Cognition and categorization(pp. 27-48). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
79.
Sacks, H. (1992). Lectures on conversation. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
80.
Sargent, J. (2002). Topic avoidance: Is this the way to a more satisfying relationship?Communication Research Reports, 19, 175-182.
81.
Schaffer, H., Hepburn, A., & Collis, G. (1983). Verbal and nonverbal aspects of mother’s directives. Journal of Child Language, 10, 337-355.
82.
Schlobinski, P., & Schütze-Coburn, S. (1992). On the topic of topic and topic continuity. Linguistics, 30, 89-121.
83.
Schneider, K. P. (1988). Small talk: Analyzing phatic discourse. Marburg, Germany: Hitzeroth.
84.
Siegel, S., & Castellan, N. J. (1988). Nonparametric statistics for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.
85.
Spencer-Oatey, H. (1996). Reconsidering power and distance. Journal of Pragmatics, 26, 1-24.
86.
Stiles, W. B. (1980). Comparison of dimensions derived from rating versus coding dialogue. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 38, 359-374.
87.
Svennevig, J. (1999). Getting acquainted in conversation: A study of initial interactions. Philadelphia, PA: J. Benjamins Publications.
88.
Tannen, D. (1984). Conversational style: Analyzing talk among friends. Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
89.
Tattershall, S., & Creaghead, N. (1985). A comparison of communication at home and school. In D. Ripich & F. Spinelli (Eds.), School discourse problems(pp. 29-52). San Diego, CA: College-Hill Press.
90.
Tracy, K. (1985). Conversational coherence: A cognitively grounded rules approach. In R. L. Street & J. N. Cappella (Eds.), Sequence and pattern in communicative behaviour(pp. 30-49). London: Edward Arnold.
91.
Turner, E. H.,& Cullingford, R. E. (1989). Using conversation MOPs in natural language interfaces. Discourse Processes, 12, 63-90.
92.
Wardhaugh, R. (1985). How conversation works. Oxford, England: Blackwell.
93.
Wilmot, W. W. (1995). Relational communication. New York: McGraw-Hill.
94.
Wilmot, W. W.,& Baxter, L. (1989, February). The relationship schemata model: On linking relationships and communication. Paper presented at Western Speech Communication Association Convention, Spokane, WA.
95.
Wish, M., Deutsch, M.,& Kaplan, S. J. (1976). Perceived dimensions of interpersonal relations. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 33, 409-420.
96.
Yarnold, J. K. (1970). The minimum expectation of. 2 goodness-of-fit tests and the accuracy of approximation for the null distribution. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 65, 864-886.
97.
Youniss, J., & Smollar, J. (1985). Adolescent relations with mothers, fathers and friends. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
