Gaze and proximity as turn regulators within three-party and two-party child conversations

Gaze and proximity as nonverbal turn-taking behaviors were investigated within the three-party and two-party conversations of normal children. Subjects were six 4-year-old girls matched for familiarity. Alternations of 20-min three-party and 15-min two-party interactions were videotaped and transcribed. The data indicate that within nonsimultaneous language events, gaze and proximity relate to changes in speaker turn and conversational role, with gaze functioning as a current-speaker-selects-next-speaker turn option and proximity functioning as both a current-speaker-selects-next-speaker and a listener self-selection turn option. The data are discussed in terms of the sociocentric character of children's conversations.