Memory for conversation: Toward a grammar of dyadic conversation
Glenn C. Gamst · Discourse Processes · 1982
A grammar of simple (one‐topic) dyadic conversation was postulated and examined in two experiments. The first experiment attempted to assess the extent to which subjects spontaneously utilized the grammatical rule structure by employing a dialogue‐generation task. It was found that the subject‐generated dialogues tended to closely match the proposed grammar. The second experiment demonstrated that structural violations but not recall instructions significantly influence memory of a brief dialogue. However, recall instructions were found to influence the sequential structure of the dialogues at retrieval time. The implications of the present grammar and suggestions for future research were discussed.