Social interaction observed: Some approaches to the analysis of behavior streams

Abstract. Systematic observation of social interaction, noting the presence or absence of predefined behaviors in an ongoing stream of behavior, can result in an overwhelming mass of data. The central thesis of this report is that a few simple conceptual and analytic tools greatly facilitate the handling of such data. Various ways of representing observational data are discussed, and implications are included showing analyses of mother-infant, monkey-monkey, and human adult-adult interaction.- Systematic observation of behavior streams--the flow of behavior over time--has much to offer social psychologists. Both inside and out-side the laboratory, systematic observation can provide valid and com-pelling measures of behavior. And observing the patterns within streams of behavior can help reveal the dynamics of social interaction. Still, the social psychologist who embarks on a course of systematic observation may find himself on uncertain ground. He may collect a mass of data that his training and experience have not equipped him to ana