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  4. A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING TALK-TIME SHARING DYNAMICS

A COMPUTATIONAL FRAMEWORK FOR ANALYZING TALK-TIME SHARING DYNAMICS

File(s)
Zhang_cornell_0058O_12735.pdf (1.82 MB)
Permanent Link(s)
https://doi.org/10.7298/m1tb-qj82
https://hdl.handle.net/1813/126267
Collections
Cornell Theses and Dissertations
Author
Zhang, Sean
Abstract

An intrinsic aspect of every conversation is the way talk-time is shared between multiple speakers. Conversations can be balanced, with each speaker claiming a similar amount of talk-time, or imbalanced when one talks disproportionately. Such overall distributions are the consequence of continuous negotiations between the speakers throughout the conversation: who should be talking at each point in time, and for how long? In this thesis we introduce a computational framework for quantifying both the conversation-level distribution of talk-time between speakers, as well as the lower-level dynamics that lead to it. We derive a typology of talk-time sharing dynamics structured by several intuitive axes of variation. By applying this framework to a large dataset of video-chats between strangers, we confirm that, perhaps unsurprisingly, different conversation-level distributions of talk-time are perceived differently by speakers, with balanced conversations being preferred over imbalanced ones, especially by those who end up talking less. Then we reveal that---even when they lead to the same level of overall balance---different types of talk-time sharing dynamics are perceived differently by the participants, highlighting the relevance of our newly introduced typology. Finally, we discuss how our framework offers new tools to designers of computer-mediated communication platforms, for both human-human and human-AI communication.

Description
98 pages
Date Issued
2026-05
Keywords
conversations
•
interaction patterns
Committee Chair
Danescu-Niculescu-Mizil, Cristian
Committee Member
Lee, Lillian
Degree Discipline
Computer Science
Degree Name
M.S., Computer Science
Degree Level
Master of Science
Rights
Attribution 4.0 International
Rights URI
https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Type
dissertation or thesis

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