Parent Child Interaction Analysis Examples

Interactional analysis is the empirical analysis of human interaction with one another and with the environment (Jordan & Henderson, 1994). Unlike typical interpersonal communication research, interactional analysis is concerned with observing the interaction among people, and not with the cognitive functions of the individual. Therefore, this type of research requires an outside observer to view and categorize behaviors for later analysis. Researchers will often utilize a coding system to provide operational definitions of the behaviors they intend to observe. A unified coding system is essential for this type of research in order to replicate studies and generalize findings to the population. The analysis of parent- child interactions has …show more content…
These interactions feature an inherent power- dynamic. Children may be unable to negotiate in relational definition, due to their age and language skills. Analysis of parent- child interactions poses its own problems not seen in the study of adult interactions. For instance, Bakeman and Brown found that both mother and child were active concurrently for a significant amount of the time studied. While this behavior might represent talk- overs and signify rudeness in adult interactions, it is difficult to avoid with children who have yet to learn language (Bakeman & Brown, 1977). The Relational Coding Manual would code this behavior as one- up or dominating behavior when it has actually been shown to improve the bond between parent and child (Bakeman & Brown, 1977). The mother should be responsive in these interactions as a way to comfort and soothe the child (Bakeman & Brown, 1977.) Because it appears that the parent consistently dominates these interactions, speaking turns are not an accurate indicator of relational communication. Therefore, using the Relational Control Coding Manual’s classification of behaviors would not have accurately measured the interactions studied by Bakeman and …show more content…
Because humans are susceptible to biased interpretations of interactions, it is necessary to have a clearly defined coding system to deem the results of this method of analysis reliable. The validity of these results and their generalization of the population rests on the foundation of reliability. Because the study of parent- child interactions do not have a unified, defined coding system, the results produced under this type of analysis cannot be deemed reliable because they cannot be retested. To correct this issue, a new coding system must be created which addresses the issues specific to parent- child