PSYC 83.10 Conversation

This course examines the psychology of conversation—how it works; what makes it succeed or fail; and what it takes to build a rigorous science of one of the most familiar yet poorly understood things that humans do. Drawing on interdisciplinary research, we cover topics including turn-taking, listening, prosody, common ground, politeness, gossip, humor, decision-making errors, and group dynamics, as well as how conversation varies across age, gender, personality, culture, and clinical populations. Students analyze real recorded conversations, conduct original observational research, engage with qualitative and computational methods, and participate in conversation simulations designed to sharpen both their scientific understanding and their skills as conversationalists.

The Timetable of Class Meetings contains the most up-to-date information about a course. It includes not only the meeting time and instructor, but also its official distributive and/or world culture designation. This information supersedes any information you may see elsewhere, to include what may appear in this ORC/Catalog or on a department/program website. Note that course attributes may change term to term therefore those in effect are those (only) during the term in which you enroll in the course.

Department-Specific Course Categories

Psychological and Brain Sciences